Moving from Durango to Denver - need help with a nice area to live (Aurora: neighborhoods)

[Ruca]

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I will be moving to Denver next summer where I will be attending UC Medical School in Aurora and he will be at University of Denver Law School in well, Denver. We currently live in Durango - a little outside of town in the mountains and are - hopefully - looking for the same type of feel in Denver. We love to be outdoors so we would like to be near the mountains or a nice body of water but if that doesn't exist in an area close enough, we would also consider living in the city if there are nice walking/biking communities with parks and friendly people I would like to be within 30 minutes of campus, same for my fiance... closer would be nice! Thanks ahead of time!

[vegaspilgrim]

What happened to the plan of starting a bakery?

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

What happened to the plan of starting a bakery?

Reality probably set in. Given their circumstances, "mountain living" and commuting is probably a bad choice. Though I loathe Denver and Aurora, if I had to be there for career reasons (as they apparently do), I would probably suggest Stapleton. Relatively easy commutes for both of them, sort of a New Urbanist community, close to city amenities.

[brightdoglover]

Is Stapleton the planned community where the old airport was? I've read about it- sounds like a success.

[Ruca]

haha, I knew someone would ask about the bakery After doing A LOT of research - it's just not the right move for us. I still bake and do wedding cakes on the side but am going to keep it as just a hobby. I love it and want to keep it that way! So anyway, I have decided to stick to my original plan of medical school, since it is what I have been going to school for, and hope to practice rural family medicine in the future. Thanks everyone for the input! We are sad to have to leave Durango... we could stay here forever but are excited to see what Denver has to offer.

[borborygmi]

Originally Posted by Ruca

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I will be moving to Denver next summer where I will be attending UC Medical School in Aurora and he will be at University of Denver Law School in well, Denver. We currently live in Durango - a little outside of town in the mountains and are - hopefully - looking for the same type of feel in Denver. We love to be outdoors so we would like to be near the mountains or a nice body of water but if that doesn't exist in an area close enough, we would also consider living in the city if there are nice walking/biking communities with parks and friendly people I would like to be within 30 minutes of campus, same for my fiance... closer would be nice! Thanks ahead of time!

Not to rain on your parade or anything, but I went to medical school, and let me tell you- for the next 8 or so years of your life, depending on what you choose to specialize in, the amount of discretionary free time you're going to have at your disposal to enjoy outdoor recreational activities is going to be pretty much nil. Be prepared to live a troglodytic lifestyle, study longer hours and work harder than you ever dreamed imaginable. Being close to somewhere with abundant recreational options, sorry to say, you'll find isn't really going to be a high priority once you get started.

I'd make my decision based on proximity to the medical campus in Aurura, as that's where you're bound to be spending the vast majority of your time, and any extra time out of your day that you can save by not commuting too far to & from there is going to be more valuable than gold.

[Ruca]

Thanks for the advice - although, I did get a chance to talk to some med students today while on campus and the students I talked to, do live off campus near downtown. Also, they all did say they have time to do things like hiking and camping as long as they prioritize and use the little free time that they have wisely.

[borborygmi]

Originally Posted by Ruca

Thanks for the advice - although, I did get a chance to talk to some med students today while on campus and the students I talked to, do live off campus near downtown. Also, they all did say they have time to do things like hiking and camping as long as they prioritize and use the little free time that they have wisely.

Again, I don't mean to rain on your parade or anything- I'm sure you'll have some free time to do those things, I'm just giving you a heads-up that med school is a full-time, life consuming commitment the likes of which you've never known, and residency isn't likely to be much better, depending on what your specialty is. Also, as I'm sure you've noticed, Denver isn't anything like Durango in terms of just how close in proximity outdoor recreational activities are. You'll have to drive quite a bit farther and it is likely to take a bit more time, money and energy to feed your outdoor fix there.

One thing you might want to take into consideration is that DU's campus and the Aurora medical campus aren't really that close to each other. It might be worthwhile to try to find somewhere in between, so that commuting won't be so time consuming for either of you.

[Ruca]

Don't worry, you're not raining on my parade. I am well aware of the massive commitment that medical school/residency is. I guess I was just looking for advice on Denver neighborhoods, not a lecture in how I should live close to campus - I think I will get the best advice from other medical students about that. As far as recreational activities, it is just a short drive on the weekends - no big deal.