Working in Englewood. Where to live? (Denver, Boulder: new home, neighborhood, school district)

[grasshopper3]

Hi - I have an job opportunity in Englewood and am trying to decide where to live. The job is in the 285/85 area. I'd like to commute no more than 25-30 minutes, if possible. I'm looking for a suburb with a walkable downtown area but also access to open space or an area within Denver that fits that bill (not sure if Denver Public Schools are very good). I can pretty comfortably spend $400k on a house. Maybe $450 if I have to, but I'd prefer the cushion in my wallet. I'd consider the Washington Park area which I loved when I lived in Colorado 10 years ago, but I don't think the budget and school criteria would be met, right? How about the commute? I'm also interested in a more liberal outlook, if possible.

I'm very excited to move back to CO!

[2bindenver]

Wow. Try looking in the city of Littleton. Then the South Jeffco part of Littleton, then Englewood and Centennial.

[shukertj]

Littleton has a charming, walkable downtown area and it would be a reasonable commute from your work. The public schools are generally very good, if that's a main concern. And, depending on the neighborhood and your expectations, you should be able to get a nice home for around $400k. Although I've never lived there and I'm not sure how liberal/progressive of a town it is, I'm sure it's diverse enough that you'd be able to find all types of people with every possible social/political leaning. I wish I could recommend Park Hill, which is just east of the Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Zoo. Its feel is similar to Washington Park and is very progressive. It also has a great elementary school, but the commute would probably be a daily drudgery.

[shukertj]

Hi again,

Many parts of Centennial are in the Cherry Creek School district, which is generally regarded as one of the best. Of course, that's up to individual parents to decide! : )

[Jerry Bckr]

Are you the Grasshopper that was always mentioned in the old Kung Fu TV series, or was that your grandfather, since you're number 3?

Right off the top, Littleton is your best bet as it fills all your needs except being Washington Park. It has light rail that runs along Santa Fe with a stop just north of 285, so you could take that if the terminal is close to your work. Just west of Littleton is the South Platte Park with it's lakes and bike trails that can take you all the way to Brighton, but you may just want to stop at downtown. There is a very walkable dowtown with some very good restaurants. Since you lived here in the past, you may be familiar with how some of these places are. There are others like Old South Peal, South Gaylord Street, Highlands, etc., that have these types of walkable areas, but except for a restaurant and coffee shop or two, there really isn't much there. I mean they're kinda' fun to walk through for the first time or two, but after that you realize you have nothing in common with 95% of the retail stores, located there.

Since you were here, the old Southglenn Mall has been torn down, and is now a concentrated walkable mall with fountains, small parks, retail, commercial, bars and restaurants. It's a nice bike ride from central Littleton.

Littleton is one of those places, that turns up unique places as you dig deeper into it. Some of the newer homes are in the south area, like Southpark. It was built by Writer Homes and contains many green belts that are linked together with trails. Just south of downtown is a eclectic selection of older homes, many of which surround small parks or lakes, like Kettring or Sterne Park. There are also some neat areas along Ridge Road, especially to the south. Now if you want newer homes, you could also go down to Coal Mine and Platte Canyon, where some new homes were added in the last five years.

Keep in mind, the closer you stay to 85, the quicker your commute, however, straying off a little might really be worth the extra five minutes.

[Currency Pair Crocodile]

Wow, the real estatist icons are having a field day Just kidding

[shukertj]

Lol--I noticed that too! Sorry, we can't help ourselves! : )

[Davros]

Originally Posted by shukertj

Littleton ... Although I've never lived there and I'm not sure how liberal/progressive of a town it is,

Congressional District 6 never votes more than, say, 35% for the Democrat for the House election, if that's any clue. South suburbs of Denver are generally very conservative.

Only parts of Colorado that are really liberal are probably the more urban areas of Denver metro (especially city and county of Denver), some parts of Summit County, and of course Boulder. The rest of Colorado is conservative. Colorado is a red state.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by grasshopper3

Hi - I have an job opportunity in Englewood and am trying to decide where to live. The job is in the 285/85 area. I'd like to commute no more than 25-30 minutes, if possible. I'm looking for a suburb with a walkable downtown area but also access to open space or an area within Denver that fits that bill (not sure if Denver Public Schools are very good). I can pretty comfortably spend $400k on a house. Maybe $450 if I have to, but I'd prefer the cushion in my wallet. I'd consider the Washington Park area which I loved when I lived in Colorado 10 years ago, but I don't think the budget and school criteria would be met, right? How about the commute? I'm also interested in a more liberal outlook, if possible.

I'm very excited to move back to CO!

Englewood (such as near the Light Rail Station at downtown Englewood) might suit you well. Not as ritzy as Littleton. Not at all considered a dangerous part of the Denver area, but would have more crime/wannabe's/troublemakers than Littleton probably. Has some pretty good parks such as Belleview park. Not sure about the quality of the schools, but should be enough to get your kids a good education if they work hard and don't hang out with troublemakers. "Old" Englewood (i.e. areas near and west of Broadway) is generally considered a good, solid, working class community in the Denver area.

There are probably more liberals in Englewood than in Littleton.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Wow. Try looking in the city of Littleton. Then the South Jeffco part of Littleton, then Englewood and Centennial.

Not a bad list of places to check out.