A few general questions about living in the Denver area (house, neighborhood)

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by pretendingtowork

Yeah, looking for suburban living. As for as schools are concerned, we take a very proactive approach to our kids schooling. We like to stay involved and help out where we can too.

We have a Smash Burger out here, I wonder if it is the same thing. Good stuff though. I will be sure to watch the Casa Bonita South Park episode.

Thanks for all the information.

If you do decide to go to Casa Bonita be prepared for possibly the worst Mexican food you've ever had. Keep in mind it's about the atmosphere and the all-you-can-eat sopapillas. The main course? Not so much.

[davidv]

It is a well-documented fact that I am not a fan of the Douglas County School District.

The DCSD school board has created an atmosphere that is contentious with the teachers, and the district underperforms. Every teacher I know in the district (and I know several) would leave if it were possible. The good young teachers are leaving in droves to Littleton and Cherry Creek.

[pretendingtowork]

Good to know about DCSD.

If I do go to Casa Bonita, I will make sure to take my Bean-O

As for my wife, she got a job in the middle of Denver. I figured we would move south for the schools.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by pretendingtowork

As for my wife, she got a job in the middle of Denver.

Address? or cross streets?
budget?
children ages?

[philberf]

Originally Posted by Claire S.

Thems fighting words! We'll need to have an official CDF taste-off to determine the winner.

Don't forget Little Man.

[ALStafford]

What age are your kids, and what are they interested in? That may make a difference for the school you may want to attend. When I moved here last year, I focused mainly on school music programs, because my kiddo is a classical musician, planning on conservatory for college (in Europe, no less...sigh, I'll be eating ramen for YEARS to cover that!). It played a huge part in our decision process, and knocked Cherry Creek district out right away. Their programs are fine, but the music played by students at the highest level of skill did not meet what we needed. We ended up in Jeffco schools, and are crazy-happy with our decision! Our school has amazing, inclusive administration, the academics are challenging, and the music program is all the kiddo had hoped for, playing only pieces as written by the original composer, not arranged for school musicians (her private teacher looked at one piece and commented "we played this same version with the Colorado Symphony last year").

So, if you have kids that have a strong interest in a particular set of academics or programs (STEM? IB?), activities (theater? vocal music? instrumental music?), sports, definitely take that into consideration. If your kids are older, that can really help smooth the transition, because if you find a school with a good program, you kids will be able to immediately connect with others with the same interests.

And if you have any questions about Jeffco schools, or Lakewood (where I live), I'd be happy to answer!

[pretendingtowork]

I have to get the address from my wife of her new job. Don't know it off hand. Our budget is ~$300K for a house, cash in hand ready to move.

My oldest son is 8. My youngest is 3 right now. They both love to ride their bikes and be outside. We do a lot of hiking and backpacking as a family. My oldest got to the top of Mt. Whitney at 6 on his own power and is looking to conquer some of the 14'ers in Colorado as well. My 3 year old is working up to it, but can do quite a few miles in a day.

My oldest also races karts, plays baseball, soccer and is a cub scout. My youngest wants to do all that too. My kids aren't musicians, but it would be nice if they had that option. Most schools out here did away with music programs and even cut funding to a lot of sports programs. So I would say sports is a big thing for my kids. Academics as well, my oldest excels in school and is an avid reader. So an area with a great library would be nice.

Anyway, thanks again for your help guys.

[denverian]

People tend to believe Colorado has little to no earthquake risk. But, according to the Colorado Geological Survey, there is a risk. Earthquake insurance here is cheap, so we got it.


Earthquakes

"Several potentially active faults in Colorado are thought to be capable of causing earthquakes as large as magnitude 6.5 to 7.5."

"The largest known earthquake in Colorado occurred on November 7, 1882 and had an estimated magnitude of 6.6. The location of this earthquake was in the northern Front Range west of Fort Collins."

[cesium]

Originally Posted by pretendingtowork

Yeah, looking for suburban living. As for as schools are concerned, we take a very proactive approach to our kids schooling. We like to stay involved and help out where we can too.

We have a Smash Burger out here, I wonder if it is the same thing. Good stuff though. I will be sure to watch the Casa Bonita South Park episode.

Thanks for all the information.

There are a few kinds of suburbia here. Closer in to Denver is city blocks, tree lined streets, and alley ways. Farther out, especially to the South and East where a lot of development is happening, you get more cul-de-sacs, bigger houses, and fewer trees. Much of this is not technically Denver, but easily in commuting distance, particularly to the Denver tech center.

If she is downtown, the Light Rail system, which primarily serves the Southern and Western suburbs is an option. It can be much easier (and less expensive) to park at one of the stations than to find parking in the city.

Lakewood, as mentioned, forms a large area to the West of Denver, with easy commuting by highway or surface street. The schools are of excellent quality, and the government/civic services are generally well funded and executed.

Littleton could also be considered: decent schools, many housing choices, and good connectivity to many parts of the city. Comparable to Lakewood in some ways but to the South instead of West.

Traffic is not too bad, but you still want to plan according to her location of work, as going across town during rush hour can be a chore (e.g. living to the south and trying to get north of Denver for work). Remember too that snow, ice, and blizzards can be a factor in longer commutes. It is possible, for instance, to live quite a ways into the foothills and reach Denver, even some city bus routes serve towns there, but it's also possible that your street gets snowed in for a solid week.

You will not need a dehumidifier, and probably wouldn't be able to find one if you looked. A humidifier, however, may be a good investment if you are coming from a more humid area. The dry air is a big factor in wintertime colds/flu, and the humid air will make these more bearable.

Casa Bonita and burgers aside, there is good Mexican food to be found, my picks would be El Taco de Mexico (not to be confused with Del Taco..) and Santiago's, a chain with a few locations. There is a decent sized Vietnamese diaspora here, so good pho noodles to be found as well. Good Times, and Smash Burger, but also Lark Burger: similar to Smash but options like a big tuna steak burger.

[scrapper105]

I don't have time to do my usual rant against greatschools.org, but please don't use their rankings/ratings for anything - they are a for-profit website that is supported by advertisers and create ratings based on reviews (in part) that any Joe Schmoe can submit.

The only thing greatschools is good for is drilling down and looking at data of test scores, free lunch, and ethnicity.