Gay families in Denver Suburbs? (Aurora, Boulder: real estate, condo, crime)

[ATL_RN123]

I'm currently living in Atlanta. I'm considering a move to a bunch of different cities and have already posted a few threads about other cities I'm interested in. Anyways, I'm considering the Denver area. I do have a few special circumstances though;
-I'm Gay, I hope to get married or at least 'married' and have adopt children one day in the future. I would really like a tolerant community where my children would face as little prejudice as possible.
-I have a pit bull, I'm an avid pit bull keeper. (Which gives you an idea what kind of "gay" I am.) Normally I wouldn't bring this up but I do because I know it means I'm not moving to Denver proper or Aurora thanks to the bans, so throw those cities out.
-I'm Jewish, I would like a suburb with a Jewish population or at least a religiously tolernat community.

So can anyone give me a good idea which suburbs are best for me? I've got a budget of around $250,000-$300,000 for when I buy (Which won't be for three or four more years, but I'd like to buy a cheaper house when I move there.) I need good schools, a commute to Downtown that takes less than 30 minutes, and all the things I listed above. Thank you all very much!

[Mike from back east]

Denver is not pit-bull-friendly. IIRC there is BSL in Denver city/county.

We have an existing thread on Jewish part of Denver / Boulder, find it with our search and it will tell you a lot.

[livecontent]

Gay, Jewish and Avid Pit Bull owner! We now have some variety in these posts! I am ex New Yorker where Jews are more common and I went to a University with a large Jewish student body, so I find this interesting.

Jewish is welcomed everywhere. Gay is tolerated everywhere. Avid Pit Bull Keeper is not welcomed, tolerated or wanted everywhere and certainly with many pit bulls. All suburbs have a Jewish Population but not enough to have a apparent Jewish culture. There are suburbs that have more Jewish families and can support a Synagogue, good if you are religious Jew but they tend to be more cultured and in more expensive suburbs. I would suspect they would look upon your dog avocation as an annoyance.

You say you are going to buy a cheap house. So, buy one in a lower income suburbs, except Aurora, where your dogs are banned. Lower income suburbs, especially in a lower class challenged neighborhood, would have no problem with your Pit bulls. Being Gay would be tolerated but not always welcomed and Gays are everywhere. You then can find a mate but if you want him to Jewish, your selection will be slim. Most Jewish Gays, from my experience, live in the City; pit bulls are banned in Denver.

Since you cannot live in Denver or Aurora, you can try some down in the dirt cheap housing area in Adams County where many roaming pitt bulls and dogs are part of the landscape; but most Jews would not be seen and Gays would be lonesome.

Livecontent

[mic111]

Here is some info on cities with breed bans.
Colorado FAQs

Unfortunately legislation can be passed at any time so you would have to check with any city your considering to see what the current status is.

[cowboyxjon]

I wonder about the Pit Bull bans. I live in Denver and work downtown and I see quite a few dogs that look like Pit Bulls on a regular basis. Are these bans actually enforced?

To bring this back to topic: I don't think you will have a problem intolerant neighbors. I live with my partner in Denver, but we're not in a cool or trendy neighborhood like Capitol Hill or Uptown. We get along with our neighbors just fine -- in fact, one my neighbors, who is a dad with kids, was teasing me the other day and said that I must be in the doghouse because he noticed that I was washing my partner's car.

[mic111]

Yes they do kill them on a regular basis. It is a huge risk to have a pit bull in Denver. Personally I'm against the ban.

Leaked: photos of pit bulls killed due to Denver ban - Denver - News - The Latest Word

[ledjar]

Denver's "gayborhood" is usually considered the Capitol Hill area, however i'd hate to imagine what a kid that was raised there would turn out like. Personally i love Capitol Hill but i would NEVER want to raise a kid there.

I know I've seen pit bulls in boulder so that might be an option for you. If you don't know its about 35 min NW of boulder. On top of that i think one of the larger Jewish populations in the Front Range area. The synagogue in boulder is one of the larger ones i've seen in Colorado (congregationharhashem.org/). Also considering boulder's liberal accepting status i would consider the city extremely tolerant.

There are currently no gay bars in boulder though, which is actually surprising for a city of its size. There is however a group that does a "gay bar invasion" once a month called prop gay. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/72114608545/members/)

With a budget of $250,000-$300,000 you should have NO problem finding a comfortable place almost anywhere on the front range. With that range a super high end condo or low end house would be in your sights in boulder.

[hammertime33]

Originally Posted by ledjar

Denver's "gayborhood" is usually considered the Capitol Hill area, however i'd hate to imagine what a kid that was raised there would turn out like. Personally i love Capitol Hill but i would NEVER want to raise a kid there.

Why wouldn't you want to raise a kid in Capitol Hill?

[ledjar]

Originally Posted by hammertime33

Why wouldn't you want to raise a kid in Capitol Hill?

WOAH! Re-reading the way i said what you quoted, it came out a little homophobic witch was VERY unintentional. I think I'd like to retract my comma for a period!!!!

Originally Posted by ledjar

Denver's "gayborhood" is usually considered the Capitol Hill area (PERIOD GOES HERE!!!!.) However i'd hate to imagine what a kid that was raised there would turn out like. Personally i love Capitol Hill but i would NEVER want to raise a kid there.

My biggest problem with Capitol Hill is the Crime Level.

Capitol Hill is a GREAT place to be if your over 21, the bars, the architecture and the entire area is amazing. It has some of the most history of anywhere you can live in Denver and your right there... in the center of our state and city, i LOVE capitol hill. LODO and Capitol Hill are easily my 2 favorite neighborhoods in Denver. I'm a big city lovin' guy and I've wanted to live in capitol hill forever, but the circumstances haven't been right. That's the only reason i don't live there now.

BUUUUUT if i had kids. What i consider 'safe' and what i consider to be a great would completely change. I've had 7 of my friends mugged around capitol hill. If your gonna get shot near a club, it's in capitol hill. If your just walking down the street in capitol hill, its hard not to be sold or given free crack. Capitol hill i wouldn't consider even in the slightest to be a 'family friendly' environment. I've done overnight security in a few locations around downtown and after seeing the super late 'nightlife' (the crackheads, hookers, and fun indiviguals like that) in lodo and capitol hill, it's definitely not for children.

That and most of the places are really small with no yard, if your uber rich (which i'm not) you might be able to afford something with a small yard in the area, but i honestly haven't seen many places with a yard. If you have a kid your gonna have to hit up the parks often since you don't have a yard, which leaves you with a very small amount of walkable options, much less options where you'd actually want to take your child. In the Capitol hill area there's really only 2 major parks i can think of, Civic Center Park and Governors Park. Civic center would NOT be an option if i had a child as it is an AWESOME place to go if you wanna buy some crack. Governors Park could be an option but I've ever been so i can't speak to that.

Personally i have no problem with Capitol Hill and personally would like to live there my self. But i can handle my own... a kid can't. If i where responsible for another human being, Capitol hill would be FAR from my first choice. I imagine people that grew up there are strong individuals, but I'm sure that's out of a large % that made some major life mistakes that may have not been made if they where raised in a different location.

[whoisjongalt]

Originally Posted by ledjar

Denver's "gayborhood" is usually considered the Capitol Hill area, however i'd hate to imagine what a kid that was raised there would turn out like. Personally i love Capitol Hill but i would NEVER want to raise a kid there.

I know I've seen pit bulls in boulder so that might be an option for you. If you don't know its about 35 min NW of boulder. On top of that i think one of the larger Jewish populations in the Front Range area. The synagogue in boulder is one of the larger ones i've seen in Colorado (congregationharhashem.org/). Also considering boulder's liberal accepting status i would consider the city extremely tolerant.

There are currently no gay bars in boulder though, which is actually surprising for a city of its size. There is however a group that does a "gay bar invasion" once a month called prop gay. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/72114608545/members/)

With a budget of $250,000-$300,000 you should have NO problem finding a comfortable place almost anywhere on the front range. With that range a super high end condo or low end house would be in your sights in boulder.

Boulder is a great choice but have you checked real estate prices in Boulder anytime lately? You might find a mediocre 1 or 2 bedroom condo for $300,000. You are not going to find a tiny house for under $400,000. I'm guessing the average home price is at least $600,000.