What is the absolutely best/worst place in CO? (Denver: real estate, hoa)

[gionje]

LiveContent...you mention Wheat Ridge and Arvada. What do you think of Golden and Lakewood?

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by gionje

LiveContent...you mention Wheat Ridge and Arvada. What do you think of Golden and Lakewood?

Lakewood is a the largest suburbs on the west side and is very expansive. Consequently it many different types of areas and good services. The older area is the north area along West Colfax and has older homes with many businesses. The city has been active in the redevelopment of this area and it will continue because the new light rail line, which is now under construction, will run, just south of Colfax, west from Downtown to Golden.

The Area with the intersections of Alameda and Wadsworth has become the city center of Lakewood with the Belmar Development and the Civic Complex; there some nice older homes with large lots and has good access to transportation and services. My sister lives near here and has a nice older home with a very large lot and wide streets.

The newer areas are in the Southwest area from an established neighborhoods near Wadsworth and Bowles. There is a large mall there and good shopping, nice homes, good public transportation, The area around to kipling on the west is a great area to live and the area to east of Wadsworth has great established neighborhoods around Columbine park, which starts into Englewood suburbs. (Yes, the tragedy of Columbine is at this high school). I think the Southwest area down Wadsworth and Kipling is the preferred area to live with many newer homes and good access to the newer types of businesses.

Another big area is around the Federal Center on Union near Alameda. This is a business orientated area, with many condos. It does have some nice homes off of Alameda in the green mountain area, good shopping. The new west light rail line will go to the Federal Center off Union and will be near the relocated new St. Anthony Hospital.

Golden is one of the unique cities here. It has many nice older homes, very hilly, dominated in the center of town by the Coors Brewery. Many Condo and housing development around, and some semi-remote. The city is surrounded by two table top mountains and is in the foothills. The most selective college here is the Colorado School of Mines and therefore it attracts very brainy and well behaved students. The Jefferson County Complex is just west of town and the new light rail west line will end there. My parents live just North of Golden in West Arvada. There are many nice semi-rural areas good tree coverage.

I think the area on the west side is more of what many would consider the traditional western neighborhoods, especially around Golden and West Colfax.

I like Lakewood and Golden area as it close to the mountains, has many creeks, large parks, established older neighborhoods that are separated from traffic, good public transportation. I think Lakewood may provide more options for newcomers, has more extensive stores and is easier to access the other areas of the metro area.

I am sure other members have better knowledge and opinions.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by livecontent

The newer areas are in the Southwest area from an established neighborhoods near Wadsworth and Bowles. There is a large mall there and good shopping, nice homes, good public transportation, The area around to kipling on the west is a great area to live and the area to east of Wadsworth has great established neighborhoods around Columbine park, which starts into Englewood suburbs. (Yes, the tragedy of Columbine is at this high school). I think the Southwest area down Wadsworth and Kipling is the preferred area to live with many newer homes and good access to the newer types of businesses.

.

I should have said Littleton. This is the suburbs that borders Southwest Lakewood on the east.

[retrobeast]

I have lived there in the past while working at Colorado Trails Ranch. When the season ended I came very close to opening a small personal training and rehab studio.
The cost of housing stopped me in my tracks since I knew it would take time to build the business.
How can a person who is sick of the big city enjoy the small town with jobs being so scarce?
Thanks

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by retrobeast

I have lived there in the past while working at Colorado Trails Ranch. When the season ended I came very close to opening a small personal training and rehab studio.
The cost of housing stopped me in my tracks since I knew it would take time to build the business.
How can a person who is sick of the big city enjoy the small town with jobs being so scarce?
Thanks

That's been the dilemma in rural Colorado for years. The inflation in real estate prices by monied outsiders bidding up the market has only made it worse.

I have posted this before, but quite awile back. I knew a fellow who moved to Durango years ago. He bought a small business in town--he and his family were going to live their "dream" in Durango. Well, after a few years, he came to the realization that he and his wife were working 60-70 hours a week each to run the business and that they couldn't afford or find much decent additional help. They were getting by, but barely, financially. They never had the time to enjoy the mountains or anything else around Durango because they were always working. Their few days off each year were spent taking care of family business or travelling elsewhere to see family. As their children got bigger, they started having some problems with them because they didn't have the time to invest in them, either. Disillusioned, they moved to the Front Range where the husband got a good-paying, but 8 to 5, management job. His wife no longer had to work full-time. He remarked to me that he had far more time to spend recreating in Durango once he left than he ever did when he lived there. As to his business, he sold it to another "dreamer," and--I would presume--the cycle repeated itself again (probably several times). This cycle has been coined "the Paradise Syndrome" and it has been playing out like a bad repititious movie for all of the 40+ years that I have been knocking around rural Colorado.

[rkb0305]

Originally Posted by cil

I agree.
And I think Denver, with its many green spaces, is a nice, livable city, though it's becoming a bit congested.
We saw some towns in southwest Colorado that might be considered armpits, but to me they had a 50's charm about them.
Greeley can be pretty stinky.
I dunno, when it comes to best/worst, it's awfully subjective.

Why does Greeley stink? Is it literally smelly?

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by rkb0305

Why does Greeley stink? Is it literally smelly?

Yep. Stock yards will do that.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by gpraceman

Yep. Stock yards will do that.

Yes, that is the smell of the western cattle raising and I love it. It is the stink of a part of industrial America. Now, the pretty tenderfoots would love to turn Colorado into a bluegrass water sucking development. If they have their ways, cattle will be raised in China and we be importing specious and suspect meat.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Yes, that is the smell of the western cattle raising and I love it. It is the stink of a part of industrial America. Now, the pretty tenderfoots would love to turn Colorado into a bluegrass water sucking development. If they have their ways, cattle will be raised in China and we be importing specious and suspect meat.

I'll take the ranches, feedlots, and packing plants over suburban sprawl any day of the week. It always amazes me how many suburban Americans think their food grows in the grocery store. Today, some American's pets are being poisoned by adulterated imported pet food. How long do you suppose before American PEOPLE are being poisoned from adulterated food imported from countries that have no safety or inspection standards? I also find it horrifying that we may become dependent on food imports just like we currently are for petroleum. That happened to Germany and Japan in the 1930's and it led to a World War. We should be doing everything we can (in Colorado and the U.S.) to promote agriculture and STOP the devouring of our water and land resources by sprawl. We are going to need those resources to feed ourselves.

[McGowdog]

Hey Jazz, I wonder if you might appreciate this one;