Lakewood Area (Denver, Highlands Ranch, Littleton: low crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[dcr2day]

Hi All,
Have a good lead on a job in Lakewood. Could use some inside information on the area. If I relocate I'd like to purchase a home within 45 minutes commute(less is better). Friendly, Suburb type town, must have excellent schools(my daughter is going into 5th grade), low crime, newer type homes in the $300k range. I've read other threads and saw someone reccommend Golden or Evergreen. Any other input would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance
dcr

[TinajaCo]

Lakewood is an older, inner-ring suburb of Denver, although there are areas on its edges where new development is still taking place. Golden would be a good option-- it has a different feel from Denver, and feels somewhat separate from the city, although it is today essentially a suburb and has easy access to all the city amenities. Evergreen is more remote, would give you a longer commute, and would likely not give you much house for your price range. Personally, based on what you said you are looking for, I would be hesitant to look around Evergreen. I think Littleton and Highlands Ranch would also be worth looking into-- Littleton tends to be a bit older but has more character, HR is newer but is pretty cookie-cutter. Both have good schools, would likely give you a commute within the timeframe you want, and are very safe. Lakewood is a big city, though, so it's hard to give a general commute time without knowing where in the city you'll be.

[2bindenver]

South Jeffco - called Littleton, but not in Arapahoe County. 20 minutes - depending on where in Lakewood.

[tfox]

Why not just live in Lakewood? It's a nice enough suburb with some great neighborhoods, and the location between Denver and the foothills is outstanding.

[dcr2day]

Originally Posted by tfox

Why not just live in Lakewood? It's a nice enough suburb with some great neighborhoods, and the location between Denver and the foothills is outstanding.

OKAY! What are some of the great neighborhoods? I've heard a lot of the houses are old and be careful of certain city sections. Schools and saftey for my daughter are my primary concern.
Thanks again

[tfox]

Originally Posted by dcr2day

OKAY! What are some of the great neighborhoods? I've heard a lot of the houses are old and be careful of certain city sections. Schools and saftey for my daughter are my primary concern.
Thanks again

Safety should not be a concern for the most part in Lakewood, especially west of Wadsworth. The further west you go, the less likely you're going to see crime and decay.

Schools in Lakewood are overall good. Lakewood High School, for example, was recently featured in U.S. News for one of America's "best" schools (though to be frank I think it's really no better or worse than many other Jefferson County Schools, which are largely good).

The houses are indeed "old" for the most part in Lakewood like most of the other mature suburbs -- there are some newer areas to the west however.

As for two neighborhoods -- I hope others will chime in but I've always liked the Green Mountain area. Also, if you want a more dense infill neighborhood there is a "downtown" going up called "Belmar" at Wadsworth and Alameda.