Commuting to Downtown - Best Area to Live? (Denver, Arvada: daycare, how much)

[imdudesdad]

Hello all.
My wife, 16 month old, and myself will be moving to Denver. My job is Downtown, and I need to take flights 1x per month. Just curious what area someone would recommend? We are fairly active mid-40s and like suburban areas with larger yards. Some recommended driving in on 6th avenue, others said Littleton/Highlands Ranch and taking the metro.

Is traffic really bad going north on I-25 at 7:30am?

[Katarina Witt]

If you want large yards, you should look more towards Arvada than Highlands Ranch. I never drove north on I-25 at 7:30 AM.

[sunsprit]

There's a number of neighborhoods that have very close access to downtown, ranging from Cherry Creek, Denver Country Club, City Park, Park Hill, Mayfair, and so forth. I've lived in them all and it's easy to get a sizable yard, some privacy, and an environment not much different from some of the outlying suburbs. I rented a house on the Highline Canal that was as private ... if not more so ... then living in the Ken Caryl Ranch ... which isn't very close to downtown even with C-470 access.

The big questions: What is your price range and what size house do you need?

[imdudesdad]

Sorry - should've mentioned the house price - up to 400K - 1500 sq ft +.

[davidv]

The town of Littleton (between Santa Fe and Broadway and Ridge Rd and Mineral) fits your criteria. Light Rail runs up Santa Fe and offers easy downtown access.

Greenwood Village (many houses will be over 400k) and Centennial are similar to Littleton in the southeast part of metro Denver. Light Rail runs up I-25 from there.

Arvada is a good option, but commuting from the west brings problems with sun glare on the commute to and from downtown, and often these routes are very congested. No light rail yet, but it is under construction.

Pinehurst and Pinecrest in SW Denver are nice, but schools are not good. Open enrollment into JeffCo schools is the most frequent option for families there.

The same can be said for Southmoor in SE Denver, but open enrollment into Cherry Creek schools is harder.

[2bindenver]

Either side of light rails SE or SW lines would fit the bill.

For $400,000 you are looking at 3000+ sq ft. home not including the basement. Is a large yard fit for a pony or a playset? How much money would like to spend on watering your grass?

What else do you want in a community? Tennis, playgrounds, concerts in the park, trails, pools, daycare?

[imdudesdad]

Hello 2B - you know, these are really good questions. We like parks, etc.., but I know in the winter, there will be less of that from what we do now. My 16 month old son takes swims and sign language classes, and will probably be in pre-school. We won't need daycare, but play activities and hikes are nice on weekends. We like nice neighbors to socialize - like everyone else probably. We're not really interested in big homes - a small ranch is quite good. I say about 1800 sq. ft. because that's what were in now and it's fine. I can't imagine being in a 3k sq. ft. place to be honest, and as you said, don't see the need to dump tonnes of water on a yard. We don't mind a nice townhome as long as it has a garage and small yard. I have been to Morrison before - up by the large kinda hilly lots, and really liked that - but it's probably not cheap I imagine. Thanks again for the help. I like these ideas.

[2bindenver]

Go to REColorado.com and plug in these numbers:

983785

1006750

960192

[Moonwalkr]

Originally Posted by imdudesdad

Is traffic really bad going north on I-25 at 7:30am?

Probably not bad compared to SD traffic, around 20-30 minutes most days for me and that's with a long drive before and after I-25.

You can also consider Stapleton if you want slightly closer access to the airport. Houses and yards are smaller there.