Northern Colorado

Anyone live or know anything about city's north of Denver? Boulder, Ft Collins, smaller towns up there? Right now my family lives south of Denver, in Parker. I like it, but it is pretty expensive. We are thiking of moving and are considering lots of areas. Both my husband and I work in Denver, but we do not want to live in the Aurora/Denver area. What are the areas like? How expensive is it in northern colorado? What are the schools like (we have two small kids, our daughter is in kindergarten and our son is almost two, so will start school in a few years). Any info or advice would be appreciated.

(Oh, I did a search, but the only thread I could come up with was over 2 years old, wanted more recent info) Thanks!