Moving in 13 months, where to move? (Denver, Colorado Springs: 2013, rental, neighborhoods)

[roseba]

Originally Posted by Broomfielder

Sorry I don't know anything about the areas you might be interested in since I live in the suburbs. I just wanted to let you know that some people move here and complain about the quality of some of the cultural attractions. For example, our aquarium isn't as nice as the Chicago aquarium that they were used to. Denver is not as big as Chicago or NYC and we don't have the great food that NYC does or the world class museums. I would hate to see you come out here and find that it is not a good fit for you.

As I told many people, I don't need a selection of 500 good Chinese restaurants. 10 will be fine.

There is no point in having 1st rate cultural attractions, if the fees are so exorbitant, you can't go. (or that your rent is so high, you have no money left.)

When I have had the opportunity to compare similar productions, say, "Le Nozze di Figaro" at both the Met, and NYC Opera, I found that NYC was by far more interesting. The singers were up in coming. They were more excited doing the performance so their was a lot more life on the stage. Sure, I heard things like voice cracks or bad intonation. But it still was a lot better than the bored professionals who have done the show a zillion times with different casts who fly in, learn the blocking, but don't really engage their partner on the stage. That's just an example. I like good quality amateur productions. They almost make me cry because the emotion is so thick in the air, it's contagious.

[block]That being said, I will tell you what a northwest suburb has to offer you, specifically Broomfield since I know it best. Up here you can get more land and house for your money than a great neighborhood in Denver obviously. [/block]

I'll have to Google map it. From your description, it sounds like a lovely place to live. TRULY LOVELY. It sounds like it could be a right place to BUY a house when we are ready. (That would cost you about $650-$700K where I live.)

You didn't mention public transport. That makes me unsure if it is the right place to get started.

From my point of view, when you move to a new city, you should live pretty close to the "city" part of it so you can get to know it a little bit before you go to far out. Otherwise, you will end up being a tourist in your own city. My best friend who now lives in London grew up in the suburbs of NJ. She worked in Manhattan for years, but never new how to navigate at all in the city. I thought that was so weird.


Both Lowry and Stapleton sound nice, even if some people say some of the homes are cookie cutter. (Some of us, have to make trade offs in order to achieve most of our goals and can't be as picky.)

[roseba]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

Denver, Colorado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Try the above website. There are also links on it.

WIKI lists all the neighborhoods but when you click on the links, most of them have no entries.

[roseba]

Originally Posted by dj32

good photo tours on this website as well (city-data)

i may have missed it, but what is your range for rental?

Based upon that, I would recommend platte park, congress park, berkeley/highlands/sloans lake. Also southmoor- but you are getting a little further out of denver. GREAT elementary school for your soon to be Pre-Ker.

Age range doesn't factor in to the equation. Maintenance does.

You see, almost ALL the housing stock in NYC is pre-war. If it's "new" that means it was built in the 70's or, it was part of "urban development" housing, which you wouldn't want to live in, because they cut corners, and the areas are not where you would want to live.

We would like a dishwasher and laundry available, and updated electric so that I'm not constantly having to reset the circuit brakers.

***I listed our anticipated income so one could factor in where a good place should be. After all, rent isn't the only factor. Prices for MANY things are different. So it is easier to judge by income what one could pay based on experience living in Denver, than experience living in NY.

If all things remain the same, we could pay $1200 a month, but then, we wouldn't save anything. I don't want to spend that much, if I don't have to because I won't be saving any money to buy a house. I want basic, clean, safe, with at least 2 bedrooms.

[roseba]

Originally Posted by tfox

There's a number of other threads of people moving from NYC to Denver. Please do a search. As you'll read there, Denver will be a big difference for you.

You have a dilemma of sorts. From what you described, you most certainly want to live in the city of Denver and not the suburbs. I agree with some of the neighborhood recommendations, and personally live in Denver. However, the city of Denver is generally quite expensive and getting more expensive, particularly the good neighborhoods, so in comparison the suburbs are a ridiculous bargain in terms of price.

I have read the other threads. But my economic demographic is not the same as many of those who are looking ergo what works for them, may not work for us.

I am aware that the city will be a bit more expensive than the suburbs. But for me, I LIVE IN THE CITY, now, and that's a 40 minute commute. I also pay A LOT MORE MONEY, to live in a dump. (What I pay, buys you luxury by comparison in Denver.) So to me, living 20 minutes out (providing their is good public transport of some kind) may not be the same as how you define living in the city.

Also, what you may deem as "ghetto" might be a lot nicer than the "nice" neighborhoods in Brooklyn or Queens. That is why I posted my own thread.

[2bindenver]

I was born and raised in DC. My parents were both NYC born and raised. I visited often. Denver is nothing like NYC - even downtown. Yes, we have museums, art shows, 5 star resturarants, shopping, rtd (The Regional Transportation District Home Page) and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts...the pace of life here is much slower.

We do have some turn of the century construction, but you will find 70% of the city's housing stock to be 1960's+ and very suburban like.

[steveco.]

Look into the platt park neighborhood in Denver. Most of the housing stock is from the 20's and 30's. There is a lightrail station not to far and it will take you downtown or areas south. There is a really nice park in the middle of the area as well as a really neat library in a renovated old mansion, as well as some really neat restaurants in the old pearl st. business district. The people in the area are similar to you with small children and there are many homes open for rent in the area not sure of pricing though.

[roseba]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

I was born and raised in DC. My parents were both NYC born and raised. I visited often. Denver is nothing like NYC - even downtown. Yes, we have museums, art shows, 5 star resturarants, shopping, rtd (The Regional Transportation District Home Page) and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts...the pace of life here is much slower.

We do have some turn of the century construction, but you will find 70% of the city's housing stock to be 1960's+ and very suburban like.

Sounds nice, especially the slower pace.

I didn't mean to imply that newer housing was inferior, only that it is inferior in NYC unless it is luxury housing. (It's the most expensive municipality out there in terms of cost of construction. Probably due to building codes, and salaries.)

[DAS]

Roseba I also check out other forums as I am looking at other cities myself and I came across your thread. It is very informative. I just want to suggest that you just state what you are looking for. It seems that you are stating what you are looking for and then giving NY examples of things, to explain why you are looking for those things.

Your examples really won't click if a person has never been to NY and especially if they have never lived there. Most people have never dealt with what NYer has to deal with let alone on a daily basis.

Good wishes to you and your family I hope you find a great place to relocate to. Post back on the NY forum and let us know. If you haven't checked on there lately people are posting about how well they are doing in other places. Most of them 20 somethings.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by roseba

WIKI lists all the neighborhoods but when you click on the links, most of them have no entries.

Here's some other links that might be helpful, mostly for the city-center neighborhoods.

| Live Downtown Denver | Brought To You By The Downtown Denver Partnership |

DenverInfill.com: Downtown Denver and Its Urban Infill and Redevelopment Projects

Here are some websites of some of the neighborhood shopping/dining areas:

COLFAX AVENUE THE BLUEBIRD BEAT.com Colfax Avenue Retailers Denver Bars and Restaurants GooseTown Tavern serving sandwiches on our house baked bread learn Karate in Denver Tiger Kims Blue Bird Theater Hooked On Colfax SENGER ON THE FAX BEST BAR ROOF
Highlands Square in Historic Northwest Denver--Street Fair, Shopping, Restaurants, nightlife and more
Old South Pearl Street - The Heart of South Denver
Welcome to Old South Gaylord Street - Denver Colorado
Tennyson Street Denver - Home

And (sigh) there's Cherry Creek North, if you can stand it (too yuppified for my tastes), and no longer neighborhood-y AT ALL:

Cherry Creek North - Home

Each of the denver neighborhoods has their own neighborhood association, many of them very active. Sometimes there are multiple associations. Examples are CPUN for Capitol Hill (a VERY active organization), HUNI for East Highland, West Wash Park Neighbors for West Wash Park, etc. You can check out the websites of these various associations.

[Broomfielder]

Public transportation up here isn't that great. There are bus stops but I don't think the buses run very often. If you wanted to go to the zoo or something that would be a hassle using public transportation but you could get to the grocery store or mall easily enough using a bike.

Just some other FYI, I have a friend that lives near Denver University. They are a one car household. Even in a more urban area she still has trouble getting places via the bus because of the transfers. It may take a lot of work but going over the RTD bus schedule may help you decide what area may work for your family and your transportation needs.