Need safe area of city with suburban feel (Denver, Aurora: home, price)

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by katenik

I hope he didn't move because it was too crowded or too noisy. Wherever I end up, I know that it will be for no more than two years, so I'm willing to sacrifice a great deal in the short term, but I MUST have peace and quiet. I suppose that that is possible in a large complex if the other tenants place a premium on same, but the odds certainly decrease as residency increases.

He moved to Pittsburgh!

[katenik]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

No, not at all. The gentrification of those neighborhoods has been complete for awhile now. Berkeley and Highland have plenty of "mature, single professionals", and aren't areas known to be particularly kid-centric, nor or they even close to being ghettos, or on the fringe of one.

Have you given SE Denver a thought? Try zips 80231, 80222, 80224, 80237, etc.

What are some of the communities that comprise SE Denver? I have only a neighborhood map to which to refer, and it's hard to know where the lines are drawn from a local's perspective.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by katenik

I hope he didn't move because it was too crowded or too noisy. Wherever I end up, I know that it will be for no more than two years, so I'm willing to sacrifice a great deal in the short term, but I MUST have peace and quiet. I suppose that that is possible in a large complex if the other tenants place a premium on same, but the odds certainly decrease as residency increases.

May not be what you're looking for but I think you'd have a better shot of getting a quiet apartment with modern, more sound-proof walls and windows and your own garage at one of the many luxury apartment complexes in the Greenwood Village/ Denver Tech Center area (roughly from Belleview south to Arapahoe, between Quebec and Yosemite) although unofficially this area now extends to Dry Creek and even as far south as Lincoln (Lone Tree)). This is a pretty upscale area and at apartment complexes there you'll find a lot of 20s and 30s yuppies-- but not a "hip" or "party" atmosphere by any means. There are many places you could live that would be close to Park and Ride locations along I-25 with easy light rail access to downtown. Because these apartments are pretty expensive compared to most of the metro area, a lot of the "trashier" trouble making elements are automatically filtered out. Here's a few pictures from one of my photo tours that illustrate what the DTC area looks like:

Light rail over I-25:




This place, called The Landmark, is now completely finished, featuring a number of upscale bars and restaurants, a theater, comedy club, and high rise condos.


Apartments near Belleview & Prentice:

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by katenik

What are some of the communities that comprise SE Denver? I have only a neighborhood map to which to refer, and it's hard to know where the lines are drawn from a local's perspective.

This is my favorite part of the city-- it's not too old, not too new, not too crazy, not too boring-- just right. In fact when I eventually get my own place this is probably the area I'm going to live. Roughly, we're talking areas south of the Cherry Creek (as in the actual "river"), east of Colorado Blvd, west of the Denver-Aurora border, and north of Greenwood Village/Cherry Hills Village. Where the boundary of SE Denver differs "south Denver" I don't know exactly, it all runs together. Parts of this area include Arapahoe County islands.

Examples of what I think of southeast Denver neighborhoods (some of these might be listed on your official map, some of them aren't): Tamarac, Southmoor, Hampden, Kennedy, University Hills, Cherry Hills East.

Major streets running through southeast Denver include Hampden, Yale, Iliff/Evans, Colorado Blvd, Syracuse, Yosemite, Monaco, Quincy, Happy Canyon, Dahlia, Holly, Dayton.

My photo tour pretty much sums this area up: South/ SE Denver photo tour.

Don't be afraid to venture into Greenwood Village as well, some of the best apartments in the metro area are in that city. Also if you like ethnic diversity and kind of an urban/suburban mixture, the west-central part of Aurora in and around the triangle around Havana/Dartmouth/Parker Rd might be of interest.

[steveindenver]

This is my favorite part of the city-- it's not too old, not too new, not too crazy, not too boring-- just right

It is not a part of the city. That area is suburban sprawl at its worst. Want to drive everywhere for everything and sit in traffic for 40 minutes each way to get to the city? Live down there with all of the other suckers we are bailing out for being underwater on their mortgages right now.

The OP mentioned she might be working in the city. For that and countless other reasons I can't believe anyone would mention the blight that is SE Denver suburbs.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by steveindenver

It is not a part of the city. That area is suburban sprawl at its worst. Want to drive everywhere for everything and sit in traffic for 40 minutes each way to get to the city? Live down there with all of the other suckers we are bailing out for being underwater on their mortgages right now.

The OP mentioned she might be working in the city. For that and countless other reasons I can't believe anyone would mention the blight that is SE Denver suburbs.

I don't have a problem with being outside the city limits, or with a moderate commute. I live in LA, where it is not uncommon to drive 45 minutes to travel 4-6 miles, so my travel-tolerance is probably greater than the average Denver resident's.

[David Aguilar]

Originally Posted by katenik

I don't have a problem with being outside the city limits, or with a moderate commute. I live in LA, where it is not uncommon to drive 45 minutes to travel 4-6 miles, so my travel-tolerance is probably greater than the average Denver resident's.

I don't know if Steve was referring to the SE Denver suburbs (SE Aurora, E Centennial, etc) or the SE section of the city of Denver, which is where vegaspilgrim and myself were talking about. SE Denver is not suburban sprawl, whereas SE Aurora/Centennial could be considered as such. SE Denver (city) is pretty well-established.

Vegaspilgrim did a great job of describing the boundaries of SE Denver; I would consider the western boundary of it to be I-25.

Your travel tolerance will decline after living here awhile. After not too long, commuting 30 minutes will seem long.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by katenik

I don't have a problem with being outside the city limits, or with a moderate commute. I live in LA, where it is not uncommon to drive 45 minutes to travel 4-6 miles, so my travel-tolerance is probably greater than the average Denver resident's.

Take anything he writes with a grain of salt. He hates cars and anything remotely suburban with a passion and writes as if dropping by Safeway on your drive home from work is the cause of all of society's ills.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

This is my favorite part of the city-- it's not too old, not too new, not too crazy, not too boring-- just right. In fact when I eventually get my own place this is probably the area I'm going to live. Roughly, we're talking areas south of the Cherry Creek (as in the actual "river"), east of Colorado Blvd, west of the Denver-Aurora border, and north of Greenwood Village/Cherry Hills Village. Where the boundary of SE Denver differs "south Denver" I don't know exactly, it all runs together. Parts of this area include Arapahoe County islands.

Examples of what I think of southeast Denver neighborhoods (some of these might be listed on your official map, some of them aren't): Tamarac, Southmoor, Hampden, Kennedy, University Hills, Cherry Hills East.

Major streets running through southeast Denver include Hampden, Yale, Iliff/Evans, Colorado Blvd, Syracuse, Yosemite, Monaco, Quincy, Happy Canyon, Dahlia, Holly, Dayton.

My photo tour pretty much sums this area up: South/ SE Denver photo tour.

Don't be afraid to venture into Greenwood Village as well, some of the best apartments in the metro area are in that city. Also if you like ethnic diversity and kind of an urban/suburban mixture, the west-central part of Aurora in and around the triangle around Havana/Dartmouth/Parker Rd might be of interest.

I'm definitely not suburbia-averse. I just figured that being new to the city, it would be a good idea to stay close to the 'action' until I learn up from down.

[yodi]

I would say Lowry and Mayfair would be good places to check out. Both are quiet and have a suburban feel but are just minutes from everything the city has to offer.

I'd also reccomend Platt park. It has older architecture and is not as hip as Washington Park so it's a lot more quiet. It has light rail access and is a short drive to downtown Denver. Here is a photo tour:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...uth-pearl.html