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My wife and I currently live in Portland, OR (moved there in January) and we have already grown tired of the whole "Keep Portland Weird" vibe they have going on. We are both very open-minded and progressive, but the hordes of hipsters with their whole screw everything mentality have taken a toll on our mentality. The weather definitely does not help with that. I have a job that allows me to live basically anywhere in the West by a major airport, so we've got Denver at the top of the list right now. But, we need some help locating our perfect neighborhood.
Here are our preferences:
- Would prefer to live close to Denver proper, but would not rule out the suburbs if that was the best situation for us
- Definitely have to live somewhere close to grocery stores and restaurants. My wife is a total foodie...
- We have a 10 month old, so a family-oriented neighborhood with other children would be a plus. Parks nearby would also be great
- Would like to have 3 bedrooms (2 at minimum) without spending over $1500-1600/month.
- Would also prefer a house instead of an apartment. Would love to have at least a small yard.
- SAFE neighborhood is a must
- Within a 45 minute drive to the airport. Could possibly stretch to an hour if needed
- I mentioned we were sick of the hipsters - we get along great with hippies so a hippie neighborhood would be fine. And, I don't want to pigeonhole all hipsters into the same bucket, but the ones in Portland just flat don't seem to care about anything - other than all looking alike, which is weird considering they try so hard to be different!
- Walkable neighborhood would be great, but with the cold weather that's not a must
I'm sure I'm leaving some things out, but at least that's a start. Also, on a friendliness scale, how would you rate the people of Denver on average? I would give Portlandians a 3 or 4 out of 10. People will say 'Hi' just to be cordial, but if you take a conversation beyond a simple hello, they quickly change their demeanor. No one seems to have time for a friendly convo, they act like you're wasting their time. I'm originally from the South, so that is something I haven't gotten used to.
I moved from Portland to Louisville earlier this year but I'm heading back to PDX. I was annoyed at the hipsters, like you, but now I miss them. I'm sick of the golf shirt / outdoorsy moms here that also all look alike (but I'm in the suburbs here...) It is a very different culture out here, which may be what you are looking for. You should explore the Highlands area of Denver, as well as some of the older neighborhoods. I found it really takes time to get to know your way around and Denver doesn't give off the safest first impression. I find that I'm reading about a lot more random violence here in Colorado than in Portland.
If you are looking for a very family friendly place, and VERY safe / suburban but with a cute old town - try out Louisville. Everyone has kids. There are about 5 good restaurants. Lots of free events like farmers market, summer concerts, etc... Boulder has some good restaurants and more of the hippy feel (but also extreme athletes and a ritzy vibe.)
I like the Berkeley neighborhood and actually would move there if we were staying. Tennyson street has some nice businesses. Some of the schools nearby look good.
In general, I don't think the food is a good out here because so much is imported. Many restaurants have a chain restaurant feel even if they're independent. I can't quite explain it. The food in Portland is so much better.
People are really friendly, probably because they're not depressed like half the population in Portland due to lack of sun. The sun is ever shining!
Location: Fort Collins / Boulder , CO ( and Sometimes LA)
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Originally Posted by localgirlpdxbldr
If you are looking for a very family friendly place, and VERY safe / suburban but with a cute old town - try out Louisville. Everyone has kids. There are about 5 good restaurants. Lots of free events like farmers market, summer concerts, etc... Boulder has some good restaurants and more of the hippy feel (but also extreme athletes and a ritzy vibe.)
I like the Berkeley neighborhood and actually would move there if we were staying. Tennyson street has some nice businesses. Some of the schools nearby look good.
Its funny you mention both of these locations because i actually did 4th grade - 10th in the Berkeley area and finished high school in Louisville. My grade school - holy family grade school (which isn't that anymore) was at 44th and Tennyson.
After having grown up in the Berkeley area I'd have to say your crazy to raise a kid in the area. Now keep in mind i was here from 1994-2002, since then it does appear the neighborhood has improved. but but the people in the area are the root of the community so no matter how nice you make it look, it could still be rotten at the core.
Kids tried to fight eath other ALL THE TIME at my school, and this was in a freggin' catholic school. We had all the windows shot out of our car one night. Our house broken into, and to top it all off... tons of kids would always ask to borrow video games from me as a kid and they would steal them. To top that off there parents would back there kids.
We lived in a duplex and went from having a wife beating drunk on the other side of the wall (fun to listen to every night), eventually the police showed up in force and they where evicted and had there children removed.
The next group we had for a year was a family of around 6 Latino's that had MASSIVE parties every night and every morning we'd have puke and beer bottles in our front and back yards. Needless to say during this year we didn't really use our shared yards.
Lastly a couple and a roommate moved in next door that where usually quiet... that was until they night they where all murdered. We never got much word from the police but they where all gunned down one night. I wasn't home however my mom was. After this it really was the straw that broke the camels back and we left north Denver for Louisville (this was 2002). our house was near 36th and Tennyson.
Other things worth mentioning about the Berkley area is the amount of dudes on bicycles that sell drugs. Often times if i sat outside for an hour when i was in middle school i'd have at least 3 dudes offer to sell me drugs from there bicycles. I don't want to make it sound too bad but living in Berkley had to have been the darkest part of my life. I'd very seriously rather be homeless in boulder than live in the Berkeley area again.
The neighborhood right next to Berkeley is called "globeville" which is in my openion the 2nd worst neighborhood in denver with 5 points being the worst. There's an awful lot gangs, drugs and violent crime in both globeville and 5 points. 5 points is more crack heady... globeville is more gangy...
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As for Louisville, It's consistently been ranked as the best place to live in the us. Wile its super suburby, its pretty much the safest city ever, and its really nice looking- the majority of the city is really well landscaped. However for Louisville you are going to pay a pretty penny, with prices that might be shocking for people that are from out of state. Condos are in the 150+k range and houses start at around 300k. $1500 might be do-able for rent for a house in the Louisville area.
Louisville is definitely up and coming as well... i use yelp a lot and in the last 4 years the old town area has BOOMED!! Theres so many super high rated bars, restaurants and coffee shops there now.
I can honestly say I'm not very familiar with the southern half of Denver (south of 1st) as I've only driven though it about 15 times, but I'm extremely familiar with the northern half. From what i understand the southern portion of Denver is generally nicer / safer than the northern half. The same goes for east vs west... the west side is far nicer and safer as well.
The 2 nicest areas of Denver in the southern side that i know of is obviously "cherry creek" which is like Denver's beverly hills. Its super ritzy and for me, totally uncool. The other area i've always liked is the university area around DU. I had a cousin that lived near university for a little wile and when i visited i really like the area, there's a good deal of places to eat and all grocery stores and liquor stores where really close.
If i had children i wouldn't even consider living anywhere south of 104th with certain areas excepted. The amount of stress of going to schools south of there and the monsters I've seen kids that i knew south of there become I'd just avoid the whole thing. I had more friends become meth junkies that lived between 60th and 90th street during high school than i can count.
I know your trying to get away from the 'keep Portland weird' crowd and they used to have bumper stickers that said 'keep boulder weird' honestly for me, the best place to live in the (northern) Denver area would be in fact boulder. It's got all the amenities of a big city (for the most part) and wile the hippies and students can get annoying i can't get enough of that city. The people in boulder are great too, wile many are stuck up, there's still a huge number of super cool super friendly people in the city. I'd live there now if my girlfriend of 8 years wasn't getting a degree up here in foco at CSU.
As much effort as you put into your post, truth is you didn't really define too much. Your budget is pretty reasonable for anything but the higher end parts of Denver. Parks are pretty much everywhere, especially inside of Denver. Its almost easy to overlook when driving around, but when you start biking or walking you'll be amazed at how you are rarely more than a quarter mile from a nice park. While you will love how much we all ***** and moan about how far away DIA is, 45 minutes covers pretty much the whole metro area and could even get you just about to Boulder unless you were doing this drive during rush hour. There are some sketchy areas here and there where you probably wouldn't want to live, but they are limited mostly to the east and northeast of downtown and there are no ghettos or gang wars around, its kind of hard to consider the area as a whole unsafe. And my goodness its hard for any city to even come close to Portland except maybe Austin. Hipsters get their own little spots and culture, but you'll rarely run into it if you aren't looking for it. Even in the areas hipsters want to live you'll find plenty of people of all ages and family types around.
South Park Hill sounds like a good fit for you, but you might not get as much for your budget. Just South of SPH is Mayfair (where I currently live), which isn't as stellar, but very nice for a family and a little bit more affordable. A Sprouts Market is opening up nearby on Colfax near Colo Blvd and Trader Joe's is opening at 8th & Colo. We already have a Marczyk's at Colfax & Fairfax, which is kind of like Foster & Dobbs in PDX. The neighborhood is really safe - a few instances of petty theft here and there, but no violent crime in the five years I've been here.
I should mention that Mayfair leaves a little to be desired in terms of restaurants - you'll definitely get more of that in Berkeley/Highlands. We do have less trendy, more ethnically authentic restaurants (ethiopian, venezuelan, mexican, salvadoran, cuban, middle eastern, fish & chips, italian, etc.)
I moved here from California and I'd say that people in Denver are really friendly while giving you space. I'd rank friendliness as a 7 out of 10.
i actually did 4th grade - 10th in the Berkeley area...i was here from 1994-2002, since then it does appear the neighborhood has improved. but but the people in the area are the root of the community so no matter how nice you make it look, it could still be rotten at the core....our house was near 36th and Tennyson...dudes on bicycles that sell drugs...neighborhood right next to Berkeley is called "globeville" which is in my opinion the 2nd worst neighborhood in denver with 5 points being the worst.
1. Wow! I think you need to return to Berkeley and see what it is now. I have lived here for a year (moved from Bonnie Brae). Berkeley is changing at a very rapid clip as Yuppies and Boomers move in. There is a huge building boom going on. 160 new houses (or units as we have many duplexes) have been built or are about to be built since 2000. (I have a spreadsheet on which I am tracking all of these.)
2. 36th and Tennyson is NOT Berkeley, it is West Highland. One of the trendiest neighborhoods in Denver for 30-somethings with kids.
3. Globeville is NOT next to Berkeley. Sunnyside is between Berkeley and Globeville.
5. I have never seen anyone selling drugs on a bicycle. Why buy from some guy when MMJs are all over the place.
6. My neighbors who have lived here for decades are the nicest, quietest people. They are not "rotten". Lower middle class and some poor, but nice people.
7. One of Denver's At-Large City Council members (Robin Kneich) lives in Berkeley.
Thanks everyone for the feedback! I have spent some time in Denver, but it's been a few years and I wasn't investigating with the intent to move there at that point in time. We plan to get out there in the next month or two and check things out. I at least now have some specific areas in mind to check out.
As someone above mentioned, I'm sure the food in Portland is better than it is in Denver. The food scene in Portland is amazing, and is just about the only thing that keeps us sane in this town. Portland has so much potential, it's just not living up to it. That being said, I have no doubt that Denver could keep us satisfied on the food front.
Thanks for the help, but I can't get that link to work. It says that no search results are found.
From the research I have done thus far, it sounds like Berkeley may be a neighborhood that fits the bill. Thoughts???
Didn't know it didn't work. I typed in "where to live" in the Advanced Search/Colorado/Denver forum. I wonder how many times I've posted that linky and it didn't work?
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