Downtown Denver or Centennial? (Englewood, Evans: apartments, houses, neighborhoods)

[em251]

Hi there! I'm a 26 year old professional moving to Colorado - most of the jobs I have been looking at have been in the Centennial area (around Yosemite St/East County Line Rd near the Centennial Promenade/near Ikea).

I like the idea of living in downtown so I can be close to bars/restaurants/friends, but I also don't like the idea of a long commute. Wondering what you guys would recommend??

[MissTerri]

Originally Posted by em251

Hi there! I'm a 26 year old professional moving to Colorado - most of the jobs I have been looking at have been in the Centennial area (around Yosemite St/East County Line Rd near the Centennial Promenade/near Ikea).

I like the idea of living in downtown so I can be close to bars/restaurants/friends, but I also don't like the idea of a long commute. Wondering what you guys would recommend??

Consider living near a light rail stop. An area that is in between downtown and IKEA that has a lot of nightlife and light rail access would be the DU area (university of Denver, university and Evans area).

[jweb29]

being close to friends and young single people is way worth it over living in boring suburbs full of old families. unless you already have a spouse in which case send it to the burbs! You are young so I'm guessing you probably want the cheapest you can get in order to save $$ while still being liveable in a cool neighborhood. Entry points around here are 1200 a month, but maybe you can find a deal.


South denver is my favorite!

In terms of closeness to centennial...
Englewood: seems to have a young crowd there,but meh, it's just too far for me. depends what you want tho. Many people live in houses with roommates there or have a spouse they split a place with.


Platte Park: is super cute. This would be where I look if i were you. apartment buildings are scattered around lovely medium sized houses. Coffee shops and bars around as well. I just discovered this area a year ago. seems like a bit of a hipsterville. super clean and established.


West wash park: I'd heavily consider this. It's urban yet very clean and nice. This is where the pretty ladies seem to like to live cause it's super safe. Lots of 1 bedroom apartments around there i think.


Baker/Speer/Alamo Placita would be excellent options too, then you are really city living. Singles all around. A bit rougher there tho.... but still quite nice. Denver is nice.


Even further yet is capitol hill, where I call home, and MANY other single 20's folk call home. It's the one of few real parts of denver as far as 27 year old me is concerned. I live there.


TLDR: Platte Park, or West Wash Park. like this if your on a budget.... or spend an extra 1-200 and get an extra 2-300sf : https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6...01899241_zpid/

if this isn't garden level, i'd say it's worth looking at, seems cheap!: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...6139715_zpid/?

[Westerner92]

It sounds like we’ll be work neighbors. Washington Park West and Platt Park sound right up your alley. They’re about a 15-minute straight shot down I-25 to work off-peak rush hour, 30 minutes with heavy traffic. You can ride the E/F lines to work easily too, takes 30-45 minutes. It’s often worth it well just to not have to deal with traffic, especially during winter weather. You’re a 15-45 minute bike ride to most of the urban areas of town with bike lanes most of the way. There are also nice restaurants and pubs scattered throughout the neighborhoods. Friends from all over the metro can easily get to you as well.

[alloo66]

Originally Posted by em251

Hi there! I'm a 26 year old professional moving to Colorado - most of the jobs I have been looking at have been in the Centennial area (around Yosemite St/East County Line Rd near the Centennial Promenade/near Ikea).

I like the idea of living in downtown so I can be close to bars/restaurants/friends, but I also don't like the idea of a long commute. Wondering what you guys would recommend??

Why not live somewhere in between? You can have the best of both worlds that way. Your quality of life will also be awesome! Good luck!

[Phil P]

Don't live right downtown if you don't work there. There's more headaches, more costs, more homeless... There's actually more activity, better restaurants and bars, and nicer environments in the middle ring of Denver. The reverse commute down to Ikea SUCKS in a car. It's just as bad as the commute to downtown; it took me about an hour each way when I had to go from Colorado and I 25 down to 470 for a training. If you can light rail to your job, I'd recommend Platte Park area. If you cant, get closer because that commute will drain you.

[daprara]

lite rail
there are (2) rail lines going significantly south; one follows i25 and another runs along SantaFe Dr. Just so the OP knows but he should look at RTD's rail line maps. Either way dosnt do any good to live next to a rail line, need to locate next to a station and that station should have ample free park and ride so you can find a spot before it fills up. You can live in centennial where you work and do the lite rail into denver for the evening.

Consider a South Denver home; you could work commute south down Broadway to say Belview and go east into Centennial the tech center and avoide the i25 freeway grid lock. There may be other alternative routes.

[jweb29]

whatever you do don't go north of colfax. I dated a girl who commuted from cole -> dtc. and it was a 1 hour commute. She was miserable with that setup. Why would you do that to yourself when South Denver is gorgeous and safe?