Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Colorado > Denver
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-08-2012, 10:58 AM
 
5 posts, read 10,206 times
Reputation: 13

Advertisements

I am looking to buy a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house for my wife and small child (I work overseas). I went to DU but graduated 22 years ago and the City has changed a lot since then. My criteria are as follows:

1. Safety (wife and kid will be alone a lot)
2. Good schools
3. Family and Dog friendly
4. Open-minded residents (my wife is from Ethiopia)
5. In or near Denver (not far out like Parker)
6. Ease of commute to ski resorts

Budget is $250K to $350K. So far, I've looked at University Park area and Littleton. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Also, if anyone has any direct experience with University Park Elementary School I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-08-2012, 12:07 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,669 posts, read 29,550,848 times
Reputation: 33180
Default Welcome back

Quote:
Originally Posted by ex-Denver1990 View Post
buy a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house for my wife and small child...My criteria are as follows:
1. Safety (wife and kid will be alone a lot)
2. Good schools
3. Family and Dog friendly
4. Open-minded residents (my wife is from Ethiopia)
6. Ease of commute to ski resorts
a. If you achieve #2 and #3 in you price range of $250-350K, then #1 will happen automatically.
b. Inside Denver, I would say that #4 is not even an issue.
c. Well, there is only one way to get to the ski resorts (I am ignoring Monarch) and that is via I-70. So you have to get to mile marker 265 as easy as possible. That means: C-470 or I-25 + 6th Avenue or I-70.
d. Schools. University Park has a good reputation. Cory (which is 1.5 miles north of University) has a very good rep. See Colorado School Grades from some data.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-08-2012, 12:12 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,167,257 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post
a. If you achieve #2 and #3 in you price range of $250-350K, then #1 will happen automatically.
b. Inside Denver, I would say that #4 is not even an issue.
c. Well, there is only one way to get to the ski resorts (I am ignoring Monarch) and that is via I-70. So you have to get to mile marker 265 as easy as possible. That means: C-470 or I-25 + 6th Avenue or I-70.
d. Schools. University Park has a good reputation. Cory (which is 1.5 miles north of University) has a very good rep. See Colorado School Grades from some data.
I would say that #4 would not be an issue in most burbs, either.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-08-2012, 01:19 PM
 
143 posts, read 274,454 times
Reputation: 97
I don't think you'll have any prejudice problems anywhere, but if your wife is interested in living near other people from Ethiopia, there are lot of them out my way around Havana and Mississippi.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-08-2012, 01:39 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,206 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Autodidact View Post
I don't think you'll have any prejudice problems anywhere, but if your wife is interested in living near other people from Ethiopia, there are lot of them out my way around Havana and Mississippi.
Thanks to all who responded so far. Living near other Ethiopians is not at all a factor for her.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2012, 01:19 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
410 posts, read 1,288,797 times
Reputation: 296
Littleton and Highlands Ranch would be good choices and keep you close to the mountains.. obviously most of the Cherry Creek School District Area would be good too. You should have no problems finding a home that fits all of your criteria.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2012, 02:49 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,206 times
Reputation: 13
Default What about Stapleton?

The houses in Stapleton look nice and appear to be good value for the money. Don't know much about Stapleton because when I lived in Denver it was still an airport.

Also, the houses are all new. Anyone know anything about the build quality? My understanding is that certain recent areas (GVR, for example) are known for shoddy build quality. Any similar issues in Stapleton?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2012, 03:27 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,669 posts, read 29,550,848 times
Reputation: 33180
Default All houses have issues

Quote:
Originally Posted by ex-Denver1990 View Post
Also, the houses are all new. Anyone know anything about the build quality? My understanding is that certain recent areas (GVR, for example) are known for shoddy build quality. Any similar issues in Stapleton?
1. Search for houses
Stapleton Denver CO Homes for Sale & Stapleton Real Estate - Zillow
2. Ask your potential neighbors.
3. Pay for a really thorough home inspection.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2012, 06:57 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
410 posts, read 1,288,797 times
Reputation: 296
Since schools are a concern, I would check coloradoschoolgrades.com and see how the schools rate in that area (Stapleton).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-12-2012, 06:08 PM
 
13 posts, read 52,488 times
Reputation: 27
If you work over seas, comfort for your wife and child are important. Take a guess and rent a house for a while to test drive an area. Denver has had such explosive growth, neighborhoods change by a couple streets. For upper class diversity and tolerance consider Denver metro or Boulder. The only "dangerous" is North Aurora. Intolerance and Midwest lack of personality is all over in pockets.

Last edited by Mike from back east; 02-12-2012 at 06:30 PM.. Reason: Bashing not allowed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Colorado > Denver

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top