Yes, it's another "Moving to Denver" post... (Aurora: new house, neighborhoods)

[PDX1978]

Hey all,

We may be staring down the barrel of a move to Denver in the short future if my husband gets this promotion. I believe Aurora is where his office would be located.

Currently we're on the tail end of a decade in Houston. It's awful here, but the Mexican food is good. We've never been a good fit for this state.

I need help figuring out where we'll need to look for our new house, should this all come together.

A bit about us:

Me and Him, mid-30's, "alternative", "liberal", "artistic" weirdos. I'm a Portland native, which probably explains never quite adapting to Texas

We have two boys, 15 and 10.
Our eldest is very smart and wants to be a linguist. Currently he is studying Latin and doing extremely well. Finding a school that has a Latin program is very important, so any help with that is appreciated.
Our youngest is ADHD/spectrum and would need a school that has good programs. Our current school for him is fantastic in this regard and he is poised to "graduate" from their program which is called SPEAK Social. Finding another school that does SPEAK would be ideal. I'm sorry but I forgot what SPEAK stands for. I'll edit this post once I figure it out.
Education as a whole is extremely important to us, so GOOD SCHOOLS is a must.

We also have pets. More precisely we have 2 Catahoula Leopard Dogs and one medium size emergency back-up dog (a keeshond). These are very large lab/hound animals. They are our ugly hairy children. In looking at some properties here online, I've noticed that either the back yards are non existent or the neighborhood seems to be allergic to fences. We need to have both in order to make good neighbors. Walking/biking trails, parks, and ideally a dog park would be amazing to live near.As far as the neighborhood, my husband would probably say he prefers new construction or newer construction. I would say that it doesn't matter as long as the house is in good condition. We're not handy people. I was told to look at Tallyn's Reach but they don't really have fencing that would contain our beasts.

Neighbors who might have similar interests or things to do nearby are always nice. We love "hole in the wall" food places, music, and art. I'd like a neighborhood that is walkable, bike-able. If anyone's ever lived in Portland you'll know what I'm getting at. I hear Denver has great public transportation and is compared to PDX a lot in that regard.

My husband would also like to add that Focus on the Family "creeps him out" and he doesn't want to live anywhere near that sort of scene.

I hope that gives a nice overview of what we're shooting for. The school and dog issues are mandatory. Everything else is negotiable.
I think our home price range would max out around $350k but future salary is unknown so we'll just stick with that number for now.

Thanks in advance!

[Mike from back east]

Aurora is geographically large, it will help if you tell about where in Aurora he'll work.

FotF is in COLO SPGS, won't be a problem if you're in the Denver Metro Area.

Lots to pick from here, most schools are very good, though some of the schools in Denver city proper are a bit iffy.

[PDX1978]

I'm not really sure where in Aurora the office is, they're actually opening up a new one so it may not even be in place yet. Based on the locations of their other offices I'm sure it will be centrally located near freeways and public transportation.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by PDX1978

I'm not really sure where in Aurora the office is, they're actually opening up a new one so it may not even be in place yet. Based on the locations of their other offices I'm sure it will be centrally located near freeways and public transportation.

Might he be a medical type that probably will be around the hospital complex out in east Aurora?

[PDX1978]

No, it's an IT firm.

[2bindenver]

I would guess you should start your quest for knowledge here.
Twice Exceptional

Besides a fence, what would you want in your new community?

[Mike from back east]

Okay, then he most likely will not be out east.

Look at this post from the3ds, she gives a lot of info, and she has many other postings worth looking at.

She's in the Cherry Creek School District (CCSD, a searchable term) that is one of the best.

[PDX1978]

Cool thanks!
I have heard good things about CCSD and it's on the top of our list now after seeing the language selection at the high school.

In our new community: fence, yard, bike and walking trails, parks, walking to things to do all would be nice.

[Augie Daugie]

Originally Posted by PDX1978

Cool thanks!
I have heard good things about CCSD and it's on the top of our list now after seeing the language selection at the high school.

In our new community: fence, yard, bike and walking trails, parks, walking to things to do all would be nice.

I think that many spots within the CCSD will get you fence, yard, biking and walking trails, parks, and of course, great schools. However, much of CCSD will lack those funky, artistic neighborhoods that have hole in the wall restaurants and lots of things to do. Those neighborhoods are mostly in Denver proper. Denver neighborhoods that remind me of Portland are Baker, Highland, Berkeley, Five Points, Whittier, Congress Park, Wash Park, and Platt Park. However, DPS schools are not quite as good as CCSD.

[Augie Daugie]

Originally Posted by PDX1978

Currently we're on the tail end of a decade in Houston. It's awful here, but the Mexican food is good. We've never been a good fit for this state.

Also...the mexican food is fantastic in Colorado! Plenty of great hole-in-the-wall options throughout Aurora.