Cherry Hills Village/Cherry Creek Mall (Denver, Aurora: crime rate, neighborhood, school district)

[davara]

We're considering moving to the CHV area and wondered about the atmosphere/safety. Have 3 teenagers and 1 10yo that will of course be driving around, to the mall, etc, alone at times. Is this area safe? Are there any areas in the CHV or CCM to be avoided?

Also, how welcoming or friendly are people in this area, especially kids/teens?

Would really appreciate anyone's opinions or feedback.

Thanks

[tfox]

I'm confused. Cherry Creek Mall and Cherry Hills Village are not close to one another. Of course, if you live in CHV, your teens may very well end up going to Cherry Creek, but it's not like it's in the neighborhood -- Park Meadows might actually be closer to CHV than Cherry Creek.

I think you might be confusing the Cherry Creek School District with the Cherry Creek neighborhood in Denver? They're not close to one another.

[2bindenver]

Both areas are on the high side of Denver housing costs - I would guess that in CCM area the highest crime rate is for shoplifting.

[steveco.]

These areas are also some of the most upscale areas in the denver area so crime in these areas is relativly low. I think too cherry hills has its own police force and the majority of its gated.. I imagine the police probably serve more as butlers than as actual police

[davara]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry I didn't make myself clear. I'm basically trying to find out how safe is the general area of Cherry Creek Mall and also the Cherry Hills Village area.

[tfox]

Well, CHV has about as few safety issues as you can possibly imagine. In fact, the place looks like a fortress or something with its 18 foot high brick walls. I'm sure the only crime in CHV is of the white collar variety.

Cherry Creek, well, considering only millionaires live anywhere near, there's not too much crime there, but then again, a government witness due to testify in a gang-related trial was shot dead in broad daylight there by in a drive-by shooting. Something you should be worried about? Well, if you're planning on testifying against the mob, maybe.

[denver_hacker]

CHV is very exclusive and full of money with no affordable housing whatsoever, so there are no poor or rough areas at all. I think there's only one commercial area - a small strip mall with Wild Oats and Old Navy stores. It's bordered by Greenwood Village (another high end town), Englewood (middle class), and Denver (middle to upper class suburban Denver, nothing urban nearby). In fact, the Denver neighborhood named Wellshire just north of CHV has the lowest crime rate in the city - kind of like being the smartest kid on the short bus, but still good to know. There are head shops and some mildly run-down areas along Broadway to the West of CHV in Englewood and Denver, but nothing close to a ghetto. A teenager is most likely going to be bored to tears in CHV and will find normal upper class suburban trouble to get into (friend's parents gone = party time, drive through downtown Denver looking at the city, etc).

CCM is as close to Rodeo Drive as you're going to find in Colorado. Tiffany, Cartier, Saks, Nordstrom, lots of plastic surgery walking around, etc. It too is pretty safe, my wife and two kids, ages 1 and 3, go there after dark without any worry at all.

Honestly, I haven't seen a *really* bad area in the entire Denver Metro area. There are a few (Aurora Mall, 5 Points) that I wouldn't let a teen drive around at 2am, but then, I wouldn't let a teen out at 2am in the first place.

I think the area overall is quite safe for teens, the biggest safety issue is likely the congested roads. S. University Ave. just south of Evans is very busy with no divider between the lanes and I wouldn't let a teenage driver on that street at all. I-25 during rush hour is stop and go but Colorado has some of the friendliest drivers I've ever seen - people will generally let people merge in and expect a "thanks!" wave.

The area is very family friendly and there are lots of possibilities for teens. It really depends on what they're into. Lots of outdoors activities and sports are big. The only thing that's completely lacking is surfing...and I would imagine being a goth in Colorado would be tough. It's always sunny and the people are upbeat. And I guess if you're coming from South Beach or LA the "scene" here is pretty boring - not very flashy or hip.

Having said all that, I don't think the area you live in gives you the leeway to let your guard down. Teens are going to come in contact with things that scare the hell out of you no matter where you live. Once you get past the level of no drive-by shootings or crack dealers out your front door, I would think the issues are the same regardless of your neighborhood.

[steveco.]

Its funny to hear what some people think of as a "bad area" as opposed to others. To tell you the truth after coming from southern california and seeing all the seedy areas out there it makes denver look like a walk in a park. To tell you the truth there are not many places in this area that I would feel unsafe (even 5 points or the newly multi million dollar renovated aurora mall) walking around at any time of night (some parts of aurora and east colfax) generally these areas are in the central part of the larger cities. Like was stated above you probably have to worry more about you're teen getting in to a traffic accident than having them get mugged at knife point in cherry creek. That said then these areas are perfect for you

[kwk722]

In Cherry Hills Village/Glenmoor you can have neighbors like Shanahan and Elway. CHV cops do patrol University, Quincy and Belleview. Where they dont treat regular people like they're residents. Very nice area all around. Most of the crime is probably speeding tickets.

[kwk722]

Originally Posted by steveco.

Its funny to hear what some people think of as a "bad area" as opposed to others. To tell you the truth after coming from southern california and seeing all the seedy areas out there it makes denver look like a walk in a park. To tell you the truth there are not many places in this area that I would feel unsafe (even 5 points or the newly multi million dollar renovated aurora mall) walking around at any time of night (some parts of aurora and east colfax) generally these areas are in the central part of the larger cities. Like was stated above you probably have to worry more about you're teen getting in to a traffic accident than having them get mugged at knife point in cherry creek. That said then these areas are perfect for you

How true. I used to think Denver had rough areas until I lived and worked in Florida... pass through Liberty City outside of Miami and you get a different view of a "bad area"- Passing through other big cities makes you realize how clean Denver is.