Work in Denver, family lives where? (Aurora, Lakewood: apartment complex, renters, buying a house)

[Moonwalkr]

Also, depending on the age of your kids. I know many families with young children at Stapleton, and their elementary school is good. If your kids are older, they will be going to decent schools for DPS, but certainly not great at this point. As the kids in Stapleton age they will be building new schools to accommodate them.

[LeavinMI]

It looks from what I see like Stapleton is a lot of condos and townhomes?

We definitely want a single family residence.

I would say our priorities in order are:
1. Good or great schools.
2. Clean well kept community. (have no problems with HOA)
3. Commute less than 30 miles to Denver.
4. Somewhat decent sized yard (thus no townhomes or condos) for our 2 dogs and children to play in.

Aurora has shockingly low priced homes. Is there a reason for that? Or do you just pay a premium to live in the city limits?

[zionvier]

LeavinMI: Aurora makes up a large area compared to most of the other surrounding towns of Denver. Like other threads have stated so many times, Denver doesn't really have any "ghetto" areas like other cities. But Aurora does contain some "less desirable" areas, but it also contains some really nice areas at affordable prices with larger yards than elsewhere.

A general rule with this area is that the farther from the mountains you go, the more bang for the buck you get. Of course there's always exceptions though.

[Moonwalkr]

I think for $2500 a month, you will probably have to knock out #4 off your priority if you still want #1-3. But I don't know what your critera for decent sized yard is (I consider 1/4 acre decent but someone else probably think 1/2 acre is still too small).

[mtngal49]

I live in Lakewood and love it because it is close to the foothills, great hiking and biking, schools, lakes, and every kind of shopping you will ever want or need, and is a 15-20 minute commute to downtown Denver.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by LeavinMI

It looks from what I see like Stapleton is a lot of condos and townhomes?

We definitely want a single family residence.

I would say our priorities in order are:
1. Good or great schools.
2. Clean well kept community. (have no problems with HOA)
3. Commute less than 30 miles to Denver.
4. Somewhat decent sized yard (thus no townhomes or condos) for our 2 dogs and children to play in.

Aurora has shockingly low priced homes. Is there a reason for that? Or do you just pay a premium to live in the city limits?

Actually it's mostly houses overall. But if you're looking for a house where you can't see your neighbors, Stapleton isn't for you. The back yards are big enough for a swingset, patio and a small garden. There are no front lawns, other than the grass between the sidewalk and street. It's very social (lots of interraction with your neighbors) and fairly liberal. If you're looking for cul-de-sacs and lots of grass to water and mow, you wouldn't like Stapleton.

[LeavinMI]

Ok that isn't bad then. Good to know. We aren't looking for huge lots - I guess I should have been more specific. I don't expect to get a house where I can't see my neighbors and actually prefer more social neighborhoods by far. So perhaps I am overlooking something interesting in Stapleton or perhaps it's too far out of what I assume a price range would be to find anythign BUT condos and townhomes LOL

I am more than willing to sacrifice number 4 if the first 3 criteria are met. (Which is why it's number 4)

Definitely do NOT want shared walls with a townhome or condo though. We do want at least a yard big enough for a barbecue and a friendly game of ball with the kids. We aren't looking for a horse ranch or anything like that.

Thanks again for all the replies, I appreciate every one of them. I will look into Lakewood too. That sounds nice. Are the schools there pretty good?

That's incredibly appealing to me to hear that there isn't really any ghetto area. I almost can't believe it. So the bad areas in Denver are just less attractive but not really unsafe? Is that what I'm reading here? Sounds wonderful to me!

[steveindenver]

For a 4 bedroom in Stapleton you are likely looking at 480 on the low end for a 4 bedroom. You might find some KB homes for a bit less, in particular on the resale market.

Many of the homes run in the 550-750 range with some just over 1 million.

[2bindenver]

There are plenty of homes in Denver that fit you wish list.

Try Bear Valley, Southmoor - SE Denver has better schools overall.

[steveindenver]

I think you may have overlooked the working downtown part, the commute from that far south to downtown would stink, light rail or not.

There are plenty of neighborhoods with great schools closer in, but there are going to have to be trade offs on amenities or price by the sounds of it.