Good Areas in Denver Metro that are not as well known (Lakewood: loans, new home)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by deanna.li

Thanks for the info on all these areas. I am one of those who is moving to Denver (from Minneapolis) and looking for established areas to find a place...close to the city, with character...and it is such a daunting task to do long-distance! I am enjoying hearing about and checking on these areas, thanks!

You really need to get out here and look around. What sounds good on paper may not be your cup of tea in person. Don't discount an area, either, because you heard bad things about it on city-data. (Even though we are a very reliable source, LOL.)

[judymoody]

Thank you all for this informative thread. My husband will be interviewing for a job in Denver later this week, and we hope to be living in your city by August. We certainly are not crowd followers and hope to find a home in a great diversity filled neighborhood. We don't care much about schools or family centered neighborhoods as we are enjoying being empty-nesters. Live Content, thank you for sharing your wonderfully grounded posts and perspectives based on your city wanderings. You are quite the modern day explorer! Needless to say, we will be searching through all of your suggestions from afar until we can come to Denver.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by judymoody

Thank you all for this informative thread. My husband will be interviewing for a job in Denver later this week, and we hope to be living in your city by August. We certainly are not crowd followers and hope to find a home in a great diversity filled neighborhood. We don't care much about schools or family centered neighborhoods as we are enjoying being empty-nesters. Live Content, thank you for sharing your wonderfully grounded posts and perspectives based on your city wanderings. You are quite the modern day explorer! Needless to say, we will be searching through all of your suggestions from afar until we can come to Denver.

Thank you for your nice comments. I am not the explorer today, as I was in the past because I am becoming more housebound because of a disability. It has become difficult for me to get around and gas prices has lessened my use of my horseless carriage--perhaps I should get a horse and feed it on all the blue grass that people fanatically plant. However, the web has been a great help in helping me see neighborhoods and areas. It is really amazing the street level views that you can get at google Map and google Earth. In addition, Microsoft Live Map has added new dimensions of viewing.

Livecontent

[livecontent]

This is a good article to attach to this thread about another good area worth looking at---South Broadway.

South Broadway: Funky, not sketchy - The Denver Post


This is one of my favorite areas because it easy to get to and through . It has the Broadway Bus, Route 0, and OLimited. You can go up and down quickly because the bus runs with a frequent scheldule at all hours. You have access to Downtown, Baker Neighborhood and the great shops in Englewood, areas in Littleton and end up in the enclave of Highland Ranch. This is the trip to see the good, the bad, the ugly, the old, the new and well, a good view of Denver.

A nice quick trip is down the Southwest Rail Corridor. Getting off at Broadway--you can access grocery and basic shopping; eat lunch at the cooking school; cross broadway to look at all the trains at the model train store.

Livecontent

Ah, Broadway, not like New York but funky, interesting, difference that merge and change.

[Koji321]

Thank you for all the input on the Ruby Hill neighborhood! I think it is great to hear that there are others out there as excited about the neighborhood as I am.

There is a meeting next week regarding the Ruby Hill Master Plan:

RUBY HILL PARK MASTER PLAN
Help mold the future of the park

] - Denver Parks and Recreation invites you to discuss the future of Ruby Hill Park during an informative meeting that will take place at the Garden Park Church Gymnasium on Wednesday, August 6, 2008.

Following the 2004 completion of the baseline for the Ruby Hill Park Master Plan, Denver Parks & Recreation now seeks community feedback to better define the next stages for the park’s future improvements. With the assistance of an Advisory Committee comprised of neighborhood leaders and advocates, a more detailed draft schematic design has been created to incorporate additional program elements.
Funding from the Better Denver Bond and Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement will allow the building of additional components to the Ruby Hill Master Plan. A follow up meeting will be held in the future months to address these improvements.
The Garden Park Church Gymnasium public session will be held at 1755 S. Zuni St , Denver (80219), from 6 to 8.30 p.m. For more information, please contact Jill McGranahan at 720-913-0633.

You can also view the plan on the Denver Government website:

http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/470/documents/Ruby_Hill_Final.pdf (broken link)

I purchased a home last year near Ruby Hill - also because my price point, as a single mother, would put us into a condo if I bought in one of the more 'trendy' parts of the city.

I hope that between Ruby Hill improving, the Gates Redevelopment, and River Point down Santa Fe - along with the other areas there appears to be growth along Santa Fe - my investment will payoff.

I have seen notices around Ruby Hill for re-zoning of particular areas - I wonder if that will have downstream effects on what I think are the section 8 apartments people have written about on here - any ideas?

[RonAriba]

Observatory Park neighborhood - Located on East Evans. Observatory park has a large telescope and once a month weather permitting the astronomy club provides free viewing. See: Public Calendar Page for additional information.

Belmar the new downtown Lakewood at Wadsworth and Alameda Avenue. Great shopping, Movie Theater, Dining, Music on the Plaza, Market, Art, ect. See: Belmar :: Events

Another, Old Arvada up north. See: Arvada Colorado, Historical Society in Arvada, Metro Denver CO

Downtown Littleton

West Highland, around 32th and Lowell. Home of the original Heidi's Brookline Deli in Denver. Great area to visit and look around.

[tolife]

Originally Posted by Koji321

Thank you for all the input on the Ruby Hill neighborhood! I think it is great to hear that there are others out there as excited about the neighborhood as I am.

There is a meeting next week regarding the Ruby Hill Master Plan:

RUBY HILL PARK MASTER PLAN
Help mold the future of the park

] - Denver Parks and Recreation invites you to discuss the future of Ruby Hill Park during an informative meeting that will take place at the Garden Park Church Gymnasium on Wednesday, August 6, 2008.

Following the 2004 completion of the baseline for the Ruby Hill Park Master Plan, Denver Parks & Recreation now seeks community feedback to better define the next stages for the park’s future improvements. With the assistance of an Advisory Committee comprised of neighborhood leaders and advocates, a more detailed draft schematic design has been created to incorporate additional program elements.
Funding from the Better Denver Bond and Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement will allow the building of additional components to the Ruby Hill Master Plan. A follow up meeting will be held in the future months to address these improvements.
The Garden Park Church Gymnasium public session will be held at 1755 S. Zuni St , Denver (80219), from 6 to 8.30 p.m. For more information, please contact Jill McGranahan at 720-913-0633.

You can also view the plan on the Denver Government website:

http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/470/documents/Ruby_Hill_Final.pdf (broken link)

I purchased a home last year near Ruby Hill - also because my price point, as a single mother, would put us into a condo if I bought in one of the more 'trendy' parts of the city.

I hope that between Ruby Hill improving, the Gates Redevelopment, and River Point down Santa Fe - along with the other areas there appears to be growth along Santa Fe - my investment will payoff.

I have seen notices around Ruby Hill for re-zoning of particular areas - I wonder if that will have downstream effects on what I think are the section 8 apartments people have written about on here - any ideas?

Hey there! Thanks for posting this info about Ruby Hill. I just bought a new home in the neighborhood and I'd love to meet you!

[Autumnlily]

First I would like to thank you all for posting and making this forum. Informative.

So here is my story.

I'm a Kansas girl born and raised and married to a Texan. I relocated to Washington State to be with now hubby back in early 2006.

It is way expensive up here. The rain all the time doesn't bother me as much as it does some. I like thunderstorms and miss them being from Kansas we had many. We know we want to move to Denver. I do have family in nearby Pueblo. I don't think however that place is right for us. Husband as well as myself are family people. We currently reside with his parents. For many reasons. 1) being to expensive to divide as neither of us would survive. Even in Denver as my search is on going.
2)My husbands adult onset disability.

The condition you ask? It is the polictily correct way is D.I.D dissociative identity disorder or more commonly known as MPD or Multiple personality disorder. His condition has gotten better however. But this still has problems in finding an area that will accept him and the other personality that is female and dress as such. I'm sure the word crossdresser and how wild some can dress comes to mind. However this is not the case with his female personality. She dresses as any other female would. Skirts, pantyhose, heals, wig, make-up (to try to cut down on the facial hair 5 oclock shadow).

I myself problems as I am bi-polar with rapid cycles. Not only that but I have physical problems that I am unable to get and keep a job.

As for his parents they are not in good physical health either.

If we did make this move we were hoping for early October. As it will be cooler for husband whom has had heat stroke.


We are not ones to follow the crowd. We need an area that will welcome us in being as "strange" as we are and affordable. I have searched the Cherry Creek area to find most of the appartments in our price range to be "roach" hotels. I have no idea where to look for nice appartments with certain things we need for comfortable living. Being I'm so far away looking at these places is impossible.

We would one day love to buy a home however this seems more and more impossible. So I'm limited to just appartments for price budget.

Some information if you know of places or would recomend.

2 bedrooms, 2 bath. Air conditioning, helpful if water, sewer, and trash was included in rent. Laundry rooms on ground floor if not in apparment. More than 1 parking space. Helpful if 3 but 2 would work. Cap for rent for this of $1000.

I've tried rent.com and when I looked up appartment ratings for them very, very low.

Any thing you could provide would be helpful.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Autumn

[DanFromSoDak]

Great thread, livecontent.

One small neighborhood that caught our eyes when we were looking is called "Summerglen" or "Summerhill", which is actually one development split in two halves on opposite sides of Chambers Rd in Aurora, right next to the Aurora Municipal Center.

A few things we really liked about this neighborhood were that it:
1. Is realatively new and clean
2. Is VERY diverse (many Mexican-, African-, Indian-, etc)
3. Right next door to the Aurora Municipal Center, DeLaney Farm, Aurora Town Center mall, and Aurora City Center outdoor "shopping plaza"
4. Is the ONLY development of new (<10yrs old) single-family housing units within a few miles of the new CU medical center in Aurora. I would expect once that hospital/school reaches full build-out, these properties will be very desirable to people wanting to live within biking distance of the hospital.
5. Finally, the one neat and quirky thing, is that this development is literally built AROUND a horse stable and farmhouse that were presumably here first. Whenever we go for a walk through this neighborhood, we can usually hear a horse or two whinneying.

[cjbailey8]

Thanks for the great info.. I am leaning toward Sloans Lake area or maybe just a little north, like Sunnyside..What do you think the citizen response would be for an Eco-friendly house that has less than $20/month utility payments?