Aurora or Thornton (Denver, Westminster, Northglenn: housing, rent, job)

[dbray77]

Hi,

I will be visiting Denver for the first time next month, and was hoping that you guys could help answer a few questions that I have. I've been perusing the internet looking at homes in the $200-250k price range. We could afford more later down the road, but my wife will be staying at home with our daughter for the next few years. It seems like there are a lot of nice homes in Thornton and Aurora (We currently live in Los Angeles, so anything would be an upgrade when it comes to houses). In your opinion, which area is better? I'm an accountant, so I can probably find work near either location. Thanks in advance.

[2bindenver]

There is no reason not to consider both...along with Northglenn, Commerce City....a lot depends on what you want in a community, besides cheap housing...what about schools for your daughter? work opportunities for your wife?

[Noahma]

Thornton is in Adams county, which has some really good schools. its close to almost every city in the front range.

[tfox]

They're both pretty similar. Both have less desirable older sections and more desirable newer sections. In the case of Thornton, the less desirable sections are to the south while the more desirable ones are to the north. In the case of Aurora, the more desirable sections are to the southeast. Of the two, Aurora probably has the wider extremes: its nice sections can be very nice indeed with beautiful neighborhoods and great schools (Cherry Creek), but the older sections can be very, very bad in spots. Thornton is probably not quite so nice at its best but also not quite so bad at its worst.

As the previous poster said, you might as well include Northglenn (which is virtually surrounded by Thornton) in your search. I'd also add Westminster. It's in the same area and shares many of the same characteristics of Thornton. As for Aurora, parts of Eastern Centennial are virtually indistinguishable from Aurora, so look there too.

Part of it depends on what you want to be close to. Thornton will open up the North and Northwest Metro, including Downtown Denver, whereas in the decent parts of Aurora you'll get the southeast Metro including the DTC.

Metro Denver housing market is a mixed bag right now, but in your price range and locations expect a very, very strong buyers' market with (slightly) falling prices, desperate sellers and tons of foreclosures. You can probably find some screaming deals out there. Just don't expect any price appreciation for a few years.

[Katiana]

I would get the job thing rolling. It will make a difference where you choose to locate.

[dbray77]

Thanks for the input - I really appreciate it. I'm really excited about visiting next month. I can't start looking for a job just yet - I'm not sure when we would make the move. But I'm confident that I can find something within a 10 mile radius of wherever we choose to live. How big is Denver, geographically speaking? Could I drive through the entire metro area in an hour or so? I'm just trying to get an idea of the size of the city. I know the metro population is approx 2.5 million. Also, would it be nuts to consider moving in the middle of winter? I don't know if my wife and kid could handle the sudden shock. I'd like to ease them into the climate change (Compared to California's).

[Katiana]

You may be over-confrident. The job market here is competitive. At least plan to rent at first, in case you end up with a job 50 miles from where you live, not 10. Get yourself a good Denver map, too.

[Noahma]

Denver is not all to bad to get from one end to the other, as long as its not during rush hour. Middle of winter should not be a problem in moving here. our winters are usualy mild, with the exception of some freak storms every winter. watch the news and the weather reports before you move though.

[ColoWeb]

Both are good. I would make the choice based on your work. Once you find the areas that you like , maybe compare schools.