Considering moving to the Denver area

In My Humble Opinion
1

My wife might have a job opportunity in the Denver area. It’s still very early, and we’re not sure we even want to move, but we’re giving it some thought. She’ll be interviewing in October, and I’ll probably go with her to look around.

I found a couple of threads here from people asking this question, but the last one I saw was in 2010, and neither of the threads had a lot of responses, so I thought I’d run it through again.

So… if the job happens, I think my wife would be working primarily in the Stapleton area – near Roslyn Street and MLK Blvd., I believe. She might have to travel to Colorado Springs once a week or so. I work at home, but if I ever left this job and started looking, it would be most likely that I’d land something with a big company with a major IT function. So, wherever the big corporate campuses are, is where I’d be working if I’m not working in my basement. But my wife’s commute is the bigger issue since I’ll probably stay with my current gig for a while.

We’re in our early 40s. We have kids aged 4 and almost 2. We do some outdoorsy things, but we’re more interested in cultural things. We don’t really need to be close to skiing or hiking. Being reasonably close to museums and educational/historical activities is more important to us. Being close to things like a farmer’s market, specialty/international grocery stores, a good library, etc., would be nice as well.

We’ll probably want to buy a house. We’d probably lean toward older, denser neighborhoods rather than sprawling subdivisions. Small yard, close to activities would be more attractive than a quieter suburb. However, school quality will be a factor, so we will try to find a balance. We’re not sure if we’re going to go with private or public schools for the munchkins.

Any suggestions on neighborhoods we should look at when we visit in October? Any general thoughts about living in the area? How is driving in the winter? Will we need an AWD vehicle? I see there is a light rail system – how is it? What are the better school districts?

2

Based on what you’ve described, it sounds like you’re interested in Cherry Creek / Washington Park areas of Denver. That’s maybe a 6-8 mile commute through town to Stapleton–no freeway and basically a grid street system so if there is an accident someplace there are many ways to get around it. It’s not cheap to live there, and right now Denver is a big-time seller’s market. But there are always bargains to be found. I believe Cherry Creek school district is supposed to be good, or at least well-funded, but I’m not a respectable cite for that. Washington Park is very close to I-25 which will take you south to the Tech Center in about 10 - 25 minutes (depending on traffic).

Winter driving ain’t no thang. Plows/sand usually get the roads clear within 24 hours. If it’s really bad you may have a few days of street glaciers. AWD is always nice, but IME you really don’t need it.

Outside of Denver you might think of Lakewood / Golden / Highlands Ranch / Lone Tree / Centennial / carefully selected bits of Aurora. But those are suburbia.

3

I’m in Boulder, not too far away, so I’m not too familiar with Denver residential neighborhoods, but I’ll give my impressions.

Stapleton is a very nice, newer neighborhood with good schools. It is where the old airport was, which closed 30 years ago. It took a while to demolish the old airport and redevelopment didn’t start until a while later. It wasn’t until the mid/late 00’s when things really got going. So it is new, but nice. Denver Public Schools are low performing, but this NW part of the city are by far the best and comparable to the higher performing suburban schools.

Just south of Stapleton is Park Hill and old Denver neighborhood that was run down when the airport was there but is now a highly desired location. There are everything from old, old (for Denver) mansions to small bungaloes on tree lined streets close to downtown. It’s near the zoo and the Natural History Museum.

The tech corridors are south of Denver (Denver Tech Center) and on the road to and into Boulder. Neither are too far away from Stapleton. For public transport, you could take a short bus ride to an RTD station and get on Light Rail, which will take you right to the Tech Center. Light Rail goes nowhere north of Denver, which pisses us off who pay taxes to the district but get no services. Stapleton is north of downtown Denver, so you’d be going against the flow of traffic to Boulder during rush hour, so that’s good.

The best school districts are not close to Denver - Boulder, Cherry Creek, Douglas County, etc. That said, the really bad schools are not going to be serving areas that middle class families are going to be living in anyway. Private Schools are not really a big thing in Colorado. There are some very good and big Catholic/Jewish/general Christian schools, but only a handful of them. Even the very wealthiest Coloradoans send their kids to public school. I saw John Elway many times in the stands cheering his kids (Cherry Creek HS) at soccer and volleyball tournaments.

Denver and environs are a great place to live and grow up in. Winters are different than most people think. We get a lot of snow, but it comes in bunches and we get warm, sunny weather in between storms, which melts the snow. It is nothing like the upper midwest, which is cold and snow covered from November into April. I’ve golfed on New Years Day more than once.

ETA: Driving. Unless you will be making regular visits to the mountains, AWD isn’t needed. I don’t even use snow tires and I’ve never had an accident in 30 years.

Hope that helps.

4

Lamar gave you a very good lowdown, but I’ll add a few things.

Lamar is right about Stapleton. The developments there are nice, the planning has been done well, and the resurgence of the area has given the neighboring environs a big shot in the arm. It’s very ‘cookie cutter’, is my only criticism. The houses look very much alike. That’s not my particular taste, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with it.

Park Hill, the Wash Park (near Washington Park) area and the area around the U of Denver are lovely, albeit very very pricey. Denver occupancy is at an all-time high, so be prepared for big home prices and some scarcity in desirable areas. But you can’t beat those beautiful older brick homes built when fires were a major concern in developing Denver. Those brick homes really last.

Denver has two commercial hubs - one is the downtown area, and the other is what is known as the Tech Center and is located in the far southeast portion of the city. It draws from Centennial, Parker, Highlands Ranch, and southeast Aurora = all nice surburban areas. Don’t locate north of 6th Avenue, unless you are going to the far north burbs like Thornton or Westminster. North of 6th you have a lot of gang activity, even in the newer developments near the airport. Northwest Denver has the same sort of issues.

The Cherry Creek schools and feeder system schools are really quite good. And there is a robust charter school system that offers a great alternative to traditional public schools. If you want to hob knob with the professional sport figures, there’s the Cherry Hills neighborhood.

There is a very robust and lively cultural arts area near downtown. The zoo is routinely listed in the country’s top 10 zoos, the new art museum is architectural wonder an houses some fine collections. The Colorado Ballet and Opera and Theatre district is also in this same area right near downtown. And the children’s museum here is terrific.

Another thing that is good to know if you need it, is the proponderance of fine hospitals in the area. Being the regional hub for this part of the country for medical care means there are numerous cutting edge programs available.

The commute around Denver can be a royal pain. Several things factor into it, including the fact that the highway system simply hasn’t been able to keep up with the population boom. By the time a new highway is built, its already obsolete. It is wise to live somewhere near where you work, if at all possible.

Weather here is close to magnificent. Lots of sunny days, not much rain, and the bulk of the Colorado snow one hears about falls in the mountains, not along the front range, I wouldn’t say we don’t get any, but it isn’t burdensome. The weather is whimsical, however, and you can easily get 3 seasons in 3 days. It’s fabulous to get an 80 degree day in mid-February, but we have also had measurable snowfalls in June.

I worked in downtown Denver for seven years and routinely took the light rail rather than ante up big bucks for parking. It’s very reliable, and once you are downtown, you connect up with a free shuttle that takes you up and down the main drag. You seldom have more than a 2-block walk to get anywhere once you arrive. Downtown is geared toward walking, there is lots to do downtown within walking distance. They are presently extending the light rail to more and more of the suburbs. One of the most anticipated developments is the extension of the direct light rail line from downtown to the airport. Getting downtown from the airport can easily be a 2 hour drive at a cost of $75 in a taxi.

I work in the Tech Center now and it isn’t nearly as walker-friendly as downtown, but you can still get here easily on the bus system, if that’s your transportation choice. Plenty of stops.

I think that’s about it, off the top of my head, but please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

I moved here from a university town in the general area of Chicago. While I miss fresh water and lush lawns and gardens, the trade up in weather is amazing. There is very little humidity here which I absolutely love. I feel most ‘at home’ in the DU area, which is no surprise since that’s Denver’s university community. But I live in one of the burbs south of town and there is much to like here, too.

5

Sorry for the second post, but I wanted to make one more point. It sounds silly and certainly shouldn’t be your first consideration, but commuting against the sun (with the sun in your eyes) is, or can be, a big problem. It’s why we decided to locate on the east side of the city. Sun glare at this altitude is major. Again, small consideration, but something it’s helpful to know.

Other than that - you’ll need lots of three things - sunscreen, lip balm, and lotion. It’s very dry here.

6

If you are commuting to the Springs, the freeway has a couple closures every year at Monument. I would look south of the city near highway 83. I like Parker a lot.

The freeway commute in the Denver area is getting worse every year. I compare it to Los Angeles 10 years ago.

Nothing to add except you need a 4WD/AWD or FWD for driving in the winter. RWD and ice don’t mix.

7

Second post. I know that urban school districts are like last resorts and Cherry Creek is an awesome district. However, Denver Public Schools is a great district as far as a large urban district goes. They may not be perfect but I’ve worked in a few sprawling districts Los Angeles Unified and Phoenix) and at least DPS realizes we live in 2015 and they try their best to be progressive.

8

And sunglasses, year round. Good ones.

Lived in Denver from '75 till '92. Much of it in the Washington Park area. And also further southeast. Littleton. My Mom still lives in the Wash Park area. It’s very, very nice but with all the pop-tops, some big beautiful homes, with not much yard. And it’s $$.

I live in the mountains west of Denver now. But Denver itself is ok with a front wheel drive. As anything, it depends. I wouldn’t live there with out AWD. But then, I’ve never had, or liked the ‘option’ of not going where I want, when I want to.

It’s very true that Denver has IMHO great weather if you like 4 seasons. And it is very very true that a nice 60 degree day can come 3 days after a snowstorm that dropped a foot of snow. Also, you might see a few days of 95-100 degree weather every few years, but the humidity is low. So not really a big deal.

9

I agree with virtually everything sobs says, but have a quibble with this part. Denver had a gang problem, and it was in the areas he/she mentioned, but that was in the 90’s. Since then, the city has been gentrifying at a rapid pace. The building of Coors Field in an old flophouse/warehouse district started it and is one of the rare instances when building a publicly financed stadium turned out to be an economic boon to a city. The ballpark neighborhood is now packed with bars, restaurants, shops, galleries and million dollar condos in high rise buildings.

Poverty was gradually pushed out (some by gentrification, but also due to a booming economy) and gangs started to lose their customer base. What we have now is more “groups of bored youth getting into trouble on weekend nights.”

Denver has the same issues as any large city, bit it’s miles and miles away from Chicago or Baltimore or Washington, DC. And it’s nothing close to what it was like in the 1990’s.

10

I have very little to add to this thread as it’s been over a decade since I left Colorado. But the above statement stood out to me - the “4 season” thing is very much in the eye of the beholder. I left Colorado in part because I was sick of not having seasons.

If you come from warm climates, sure, Colorado has seasons. But coming from anywhere with big, defined seasons (upper Midwest/northeast), Denver is going to seem like one big long sunny day. Which, to some people, is perfect. Others, like me, not so much.

11

Thanks to all for the great input! I’m a little unclear on one point. According to Wiki, Cherry Creek is a neighborhood inside Denver. Are the schools there in a separate district, or are they part of Denver Public Schools? Saint Cad seemed to draw a distinction between Denver Public and Cherry Creek schools. And Cherry Hill is a separate municipality with its own school district?

On the rare occasion that we can get away from the kids for a date, where would my wife and I go for dinner and entertainment?

12

Yeah, I always roll my eyes at people who say Colorado has 4 seasons. There are two: Summer and winter, and the boundaries of the two are extremely muddled. The very common misconception about Colorado winters is that they’re harsh and snow-filled. Nothing could be further from the truth. 50-70 degree days are common. When there is snow, it melts quickly, because the sun is almost always shining. That also means that plowing is sort of a joke, because the attitude is, “Eh, it’ll melt in a day or two.” Another bonus, unless you like making snowmen, is that the snow is dry and fluffy - except the annual spring blizzard snow. :slight_smile:

Summers are HOT. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s a dry heat, but so is a blast furnace. Everything that isn’t watered regularly will revert to its natural state of “crispy and brown”. It is the desert, after all.

I lived there for 25 years and just recently escaped to a place with water and trees and 4 actual seasons. There’s a lot to like about the Denver area, but I enjoy having distinct seasons (and precipitation).

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The most important thing is - what’s your house budget? For a lot of the better areas listed above, you’d have to plan on $400k at an absolute minimum. And living inside the Denver city limits is generally pricier than right outside of them; one way to get a less pricey home is check some of the nearest suburbs. If you want older, less “subdivision”-ish homes, I’d look in Arvada. Nice town and the prices are exploding at quite the same rate as some of the other neighborhoods. Another option is southern Aurora (near Quincy or Hampden), which is all in the Cherry Creek school district, I think.

I wouldn’t recommend Parker. Although there are some nice older areas, there are a LOT of newer, cookie-cutter subdivisions. And the commute sucks - there’s really only two roads to the town (I-25 and Parker Road) and they back up every day.

14

Cherry Creek the neighborhood ($$$$) is not the same thing as the Cherry Creek school district, which is much, much larger. Here’s a map of the Cherry Creek School District. Looking at this map, I don’t even think the neighborhood is inside the school district! Not too confusing!

15

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Creek_School_District

I’m so bad with links, but if this one ‘took’, it’s a brief definition of the Cherry Creek School District. As you will see, it is separate from Denver Public Schools.

Cherry Hills neighborhoods are a part of the Cherry Creek School District.

For entertainment, a lot depends on what you like. The Red Rocks venue is stellar for any kind of musical entertainment, and they have concerts of all types there - from classical to EDM. The natural acoustics and the lovely setting make attending an event there exceptional. Numerous artists have stated that this is one of their favorite venues to play and as a result we often get some of their finest performances. Live albums are often recorded here, again because of the acoustics.

For an evening/afternoon at Red Rocks, stop by the small town of Morrison, just outside the park. It’s very eclectic and Colorado bohemian, and there’s a couple of good quality restaurants there. Plus it’s just so darn cute. :slight_smile:

In downtown Denver, you have all the usual cultural events - theatre, ballet, opera, symphony orchestra - and there are several fun outdoor festivals during the summer. The People’s Fair and Taste of Colorado are two good ones.

Denver is an emerging ‘foodie’ city and we have quite a number of top drawer restaurants. It’s sometimes a little challenging to ferret them out amongst all the chain places, and the restaurant culture tends to be a bit fluid, so a place you enjoyed last month might not be there next month.

The Santa Fe arts district has a lot of events involving the various arts. An evening spent strolling down Santa Fe and peeking into boutiques and small galleries can be a lot of fun if you are into art at all.

There are a couple of fine jazz clubs in LoDo (Lower Downtown’s acronym) which is a vital, reemerging neighborhood with lots going on.

If you are adventurous eaters, try the Buckhorn Exchange on 10th. It’s Denver’s oldest continuously operating establishment and they specialize in exotic meats. The decor is also not to be missed. If you’re not all that adventurous, try the bison. They do it wonderfully.

The U of Denver has a lot of events going on - lectures, concerts, etc. And of course we have all the major sports represented here. A summer night at Coors Field watching the Rockies is so enjoyable. The Rocks are pretty terrible right now, but Coors is a great venue for baseball, and our evenings are usually so nice weatherwise.

I pretty much do my recreating in the downtown area, so I’ll let someone else jump in who is more familiar with what’s available in the burbs.

And a quick, pleasant drive gets you to Boulder, Golden, Idaho Springs, and other surrounding towns with lots to see and do as well.

16

I live in Golden and work in Arvada and I’m so happy every day that I don’t have to work downtown any more. The commute wasn’t bad but once I was down there I was stuck on the 16th street mall since I didn’t want to have to repark to go some where for lunch. The publication c transportation off of the mall isn’t great.

That being said the culture and night life in Denver is great. We have one great and one good theater company and most of the major plays make there way through, Wicked just finished a run and I’m going to finally get to see Book of Mormon in athe couple of months. The zoo as mentioned is great with a wide variety of events of children and adults and if you like any of the major sports Denver has a team. Coors Field is the third oldest ball park in the national league and its still gorgeous.

As far a were to live if you’re going to be commuting to Stapleton I’d look in Park Hill or anywhere east along the new Gold light rail line that will be completed next year. Generally the North west side of town has the easiest time getting around town with three major freeways connecting pretty close to Golden while the south east side is basically screwed with just a single toll way. For me I like to look at how long it takes me to get to downtown and the long way from my house takes 45 min to get parked at coors field while the highways take 20 min. It takes almost an hour by highway from my sisters house by the Aurora reservoir by highway to make the same trip.

17

Cherry Creek School District
Whatever you do - DO NOT enroll your kids in Mapleton #50 SD. They are a crazy-ass district.

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You will want to visit a restaurant called “Casa Bonita”. Crappy Mexican food but good entertainment.

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Agree on the Casa - everyone should go at least once. But don’t eat there if you can help it. The food is just awful.

20

Veto the Casa Bonita!!!
<whoop whoop red lights flashing>
The food is abysmally bad and the “entertainment” is soooo stupid.
It is not worth the over-priced, not-as-good-as-Taco Bell crap they sell you.
Stay away - far away.