Best Area of Denver for a home 1mil or less? (Aurora: house, university)

[jessemh431]

Hey guys. I'm considering moving from LA to a couple other cities in the US, Denver being one of them. I don't know much about Denver, but I did a little research. It seems as though the area SW of downtown is nice, zip codes 80210 and 80209. Would you say they are good areas for a family? How are the schools? I really liked the homes there. Is the area safe to walk around for my children? Is it safe for them to walk or ride a bicycle to downtown? What's there to do for them? I know they'll probably love the rollercoasters.

If you don't think this area is good, what other areas would you recommend?

[livecontent]

These zip codes are in the nicer and some of the upscale areas of Denver--that being Denver South. These zip codes include the University area, the trendy and more expensive Washington Park, the very upscale Wilshire, and some moderate neighborhoods of Belcaro and Cory-Merrill. This is a very large area with a diversity of neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are safe but caution is adviced, especially for children in any area.

It would be impossible for children to walk to the dowtown, it would be too far. To bike downtown from this area is possible but not safe for children--as any city. Of course the amount of caution is predicated on the age of the children.

There are numerous light rail stations and buses in these neighborhoods that one can go downtown. Sure, children do take these trains and buses but again, it depends on the age of the child.

I realize Denver is not LA but it is not a small city; it is large in area and has very densely populated areas.

Livecontent

[2bindenver]

I'd do Denver Country Club, Wash Park or Belcaro...maybe Cherry Creek.

[jessemh431]

One child is in elementary school, next year middle school, and the other in high school.

I found several listings near South High School. Is that a good area? Good school?

I've heard good things about Aurora. Is it better than this area?

[2bindenver]

You can't bike to Downtown from Aurora. But you can get a house on the Res.

If you can afford a mill, why not private school?

[jessemh431]

I used to go to a private school and hated it. Then again, there was only 200 kids in the whole school and one class for each grade (it was K-8). Are there any large private schools or are public schools much better in Denver than LA?

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

I'd do Denver Country Club, Wash Park or Belcaro....

These are the places I would choose. 80218 is another zip code to check out.
Much has been written about Denver Public Schools here, you might want to do a search. There are good private schools, but with 3 kids that might be pricey.
If you bought in the Bromwell Elementary district, you would be close to nice parks, downtown as well as the Cherry Creek shopping area.
Bromwell Elementary is an excellent public school, East High is pretty darn good. I have heard good things about Morey Middle School, but my kids did not go there so I have no first-hand info about it.
My older kid used to get a summer pass for Elitch's and ride his bike there from our house. The main public library was easy to reach, as well.

[dj32]

I live in 80210. This area is great.
The Elem is good but I would not choose South High. There are many charter and Catholic elementary and high schools that are not as expensive as some private. Charter would be free. East High is suppossed to be very good but you would need to be in 80218, 80206 for that. I am not that familiar w/ the boundaries. You also may wish to check out University Hills area, Maybe is is Thomas Jefferson high? I am not sure how good that is... but I've heard "it's getting better". Elementary is good.

[jessemh431]

Are there any Jewish temples around that area because we are Jewish.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

Are there any Jewish temples around that area because we are Jewish.

Here's a link to Jewish Colorado that you will find useful as you narrow down your search area. http://www.jewishcolorado.org/