Need to rent apt. in cherry creek school district area/close to UCHSC(Aurora) (Denver: apartments)

[dentinden]

May be moving to aurora/denver area at the end of this year and doing research on the following:

1. Good/safe neighborhoods where we can rent an apartment within the cherry creek school district (heard it has an excellent rep., and we have a 10yr.old in a GT/IB program and would like to keep her in it). Prefer 2bed/2bath, gated/limited access,W/D in unit, 900-1000+ sq. feet. Can afford to pay around $800-1000 per month. Newer apt. community would be nice...(built within the past 6-8 yrs.)

2. Needs to be a short commute (less than 30 minutes) to University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.(Anschutz/Fitzsimmons?)

On the net, we found the Highline on Cherry Creek Apartments on 8252 East Harvard Ave, Denver CO 80231. Mapquest indicates it is around 10.53 miles/16 mins. drive to the university. Saddle Ridge Village interests us too..it's at 22959 E. Smoky Hill Rd., Aurora, CO 80015. It's supposedly a 30 min. drive away from the university...I would need to attend classes at UCHSC Mon.-Fri. so a shorter drive would be best, but if the location is better/safer we'd still consider it. Both apt. communities look nice online but would love any feedback from those who actually live in and know the area. Never been to Denver/Aurora, so any advice will be truly appreciated! Planning a weekend visit in June,but only have a day or less to check out the neighborhoods/schools near UCHSC, and would love a heads up on the best areas to see in order not to waste time...

---Also, anyone know bout job opportunities for RNs in the same area? Heard there were some hospitals close to the university...thanks for any help in advance! First time trying out a forum like this, so I'm sorry if my questions seem repetitive, but I'm hoping to get some answers tailored to our situation...Hope to hear from ya'll soon. THANK YOU again!!

[Katiana]

I would suggest looking in the indexes on the Colorado forum and Denver forum for information about Aurora, Cherry Creek schools, etc. There are several hospitals at UCHSC, University Hospital and Children's; I'm not sure about others, and I think some of the clinics are there, too.

[tfox]

As you probably know from reading this forum, Aurora does have some less desirable areas, and unfortunately the hospitals are currently in one of those less desirable areas. You seem to be on the right track, however, since the Cherry Creek school district roughly corresponds to the "good" side of Aurora.

Your second choice on Smoky Hill seems very far out to me. It may be that Mapquest or Google is giving that at 30 minute drive, but likely it's using E-470, a toll road ($4 round trip, $2.00 one way). Luckily E-470 is usually clear of traffic even during rush hour, but using it daily can certainly be a pain in the wallet.

[dentinden]

Katiana---thanks for your suggestions! I'll check them out.

tfox---yes,you're right--the Mapquest directions use E-470 and that is definitely too much to spend for daily commutes each week! I'm guessing the areas with zip codes 80015/80016 (where the top performing cherry creek schools are accdg, to greatschools.net) all use E-470 for quicker commutes to the University. Is I-225 a toll road?