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I didn't have a huge problem with grocery buying on foot in Baker. There was the Albertsons on Alameda/Broadway and Safeway in Alamo Placita, it wasn't too hard to walk there and get what I needed.
And, yes, Baker and West Wash Park sound like your best bets.
Baker and Washington Park West both seem kind of far from downtown though, no? Seems like a bit of a hike if I just wanted to stroll downtown. What about Capitol Hill, I've heard people say that is nice.
Baker and Washington Park West both seem kind of far from downtown though, no? Seems like a bit of a hike if I just wanted to stroll downtown. What about Capitol Hill, I've heard people say that is nice.
Or is the actual downtown area just all businesses anyway in which case maybe I wouldn't really even care about going there that much? I don't really know the setup of the downtown I guess.
In downtown Philly you have Market Street/JFK Blvd which is where most of the big buildings & businesses are but then if you go 1 block north or south you have tons of bars, restaurants, shopping, etc. so downtown kind of has it all. The further south you go the more neighborhood-like it gets (which is cool too because then you start getting into the more local bars/restaurants and less of the chain type places that you see right in the center of downtown.
Where I currently live in Philly, I'm basically right on the border of where it transitions from center city to more neighborhood area so I have access to both. Ideally, that is what I'm looking for in Denver. Easy to get to downtown if I want but I wouldn't mind living in a more neighborhood like area with local bars, restaurants, groceries and (dare I say it) maybe even a small outdoor space for a grill or something...
The CBD is mostly office space, with hotels, and scattered residential. The 16th st mall has your basics, touristy stuff, and a few stores/restaurants worth going to depending on your tastes. Outside of 16th the streetscape is 80's office plazas with a few exceptions. Exceptions like 14th is becoming more of a restaurant row with the convention center and theater district on it, and others. Some of the plaza's in the CBD are being filled in with retail but that is not happening overnight. Long story short Denver tore down a ton of downtown in the 60's, built a ton in the 80's, and started trying to fix the urban planning disaster both of those things caused in the late 90's. It takes time to make up for decades of bad decisions.
Officially downtown is not just the CBD it is comprised of part of North Capitol Hill, The Golden Triangle, Arapahoe Square and LoDo. Based on what you have said it sound like you would like pretty much any of those other downtown neighborhoods. LoDo is nice because it's the part of downtown that wasn't mostly torn down since the urban renewal authority ran out of money before it could get to it. Larimer Square has some amazing restaurants and upper Larimer closer to the ballpark has started to rival it. The other streets in LoDo are also filling up with various restaurants and bars so you have no shortage of options. Although the ballpark area could also meet your qualifications it is also filled with 20 somethings just looking to get drunk all the time. Other great spots would be LoHi and the up and coming RiNo (transitioning industrial area), but it may not be easy to get to the DTC from Rino, and LoHi you should stay as close to Union Station as possible if you want to use transit.
I love Capitol Hill but the proximity to Light Rail is lacking. If you choose to live there i would try to stick close to Broadway so you can take the 0 bus to the Broadway Light Rail station. Another alternative is biking to 10th and Osage from Capitol Hill.
Taking Light Rail to the DTC can be tough. The DTC is an edge city with very little thought given to transit, cyclists, and pedestrians. So getting from the station can be tough there MIGHT be a bus, there MIGHT be a safe way to get there on a bike, and there MIGHT be a sidewalk the entire way there. Use Google maps (+ street view for walking/biking) to figure out if it is feasible.
The CBD is mostly office space, with hotels, and scattered residential. The 16th st mall has your basics, touristy stuff, and a few stores/restaurants worth going to depending on your tastes. Outside of 16th the streetscape is 80's office plazas with a few exceptions. Exceptions like 14th is becoming more of a restaurant row with the convention center and theater district on it, and others. Some of the plaza's in the CBD are being filled in with retail but that is not happening overnight. Long story short Denver tore down a ton of downtown in the 60's, built a ton in the 80's, and started trying to fix the urban planning disaster both of those things caused in the late 90's. It takes time to make up for decades of bad decisions.
Officially downtown is not just the CBD it is comprised of part of North Capitol Hill, The Golden Triangle, Arapahoe Square and LoDo. Based on what you have said it sound like you would like pretty much any of those other downtown neighborhoods. LoDo is nice because it's the part of downtown that wasn't mostly torn down since the urban renewal authority ran out of money before it could get to it. Larimer Square has some amazing restaurants and upper Larimer closer to the ballpark has started to rival it. The other streets in LoDo are also filling up with various restaurants and bars so you have no shortage of options. Although the ballpark area could also meet your qualifications it is also filled with 20 somethings just looking to get drunk all the time. Other great spots would be LoHi and the up and coming RiNo (transitioning industrial area), but it may not be easy to get to the DTC from Rino, and LoHi you should stay as close to Union Station as possible if you want to use transit.
I love Capitol Hill but the proximity to Light Rail is lacking. If you choose to live there i would try to stick close to Broadway so you can take the 0 bus to the Broadway Light Rail station. Another alternative is biking to 10th and Osage from Capitol Hill.
Taking Light Rail to the DTC can be tough. The DTC is an edge city with very little thought given to transit, cyclists, and pedestrians. So getting from the station can be tough there MIGHT be a bus, there MIGHT be a safe way to get there on a bike, and there MIGHT be a sidewalk the entire way there. Use Google maps (+ street view for walking/biking) to figure out if it is feasible.
thanks, this is really good information. it still kind of blows my mind sometimes that there are websites like this where everyone is so willing to take the time to respond.
thanks to everyone else who responded as well, much appreciated
I thought I would chime in as someone who has lived in Philly, has visited Denver, hates cars, and is in the process of relocating to Denver. I hope this helps, if not sorry to waste your time.
Denver does not have dense core like Philly and it isn't really centered on 5 streets that are 26 blocks wide. In fact, Philly was never meant to be that way either.
Denver is very spread out and the downtown isn't necessarily where you have to live to have access to dinner, shops, etc. They tend to have pockets of that in each neighborhood. I know amazing right? You can actually go to other neighborhoods and not worry so much about crime.
Places like Congress Park, Platt Park, Wash Park, Sante Fe arts district seem to have strips of of South St like businesses. I hear (even from Native Philadelphians) that Denver's Mass Transit is very good. But I would recommend the car. How else will you get to the mountains?
By the way if you like South St (or at least like what South St used to be before becoming a shoe store) check out Congress Park close to Colfax. I bet there are busses to light rail (check out RTD). It may be a bit of a commute (1 hour from my timing). If I were just starting out and wanted to be in a grittier area with lots happening I would chose Congress Park. I believe there are apartment buildings there.
Baker and Washington Park West both seem kind of far from downtown though, no? Seems like a bit of a hike if I just wanted to stroll downtown. What about Capitol Hill, I've heard people say that is nice.
When I lived on 3rd and Broadway (Baker), I could make it to the Denver Public Library/Museum area and Civic Center Park for festivals (14th and Broadway) with about a 20 minute walk. If I needed to go into downtown, which was honestly rare, I could take the 0 bus and be there in 10-15 minutes.
Downtown is heavy on offices and chain restaurants for the most part. 16th Street Mall is an decent shopping and dining experience, but there isn't a ton there that you can't find anywhere else or that you're going to want to visit every single weekend. When you get near Coors Field, there are some massive bars/nightclubs in the LoDo district, but if you prefer dive bars and brew pubs, there's a lot more of that scene happening on Broadway and Colfax.
I thought I would chime in as someone who has lived in Philly, has visited Denver, hates cars, and is in the process of relocating to Denver. I hope this helps, if not sorry to waste your time.
Denver does not have dense core like Philly and it isn't really centered on 5 streets that are 26 blocks wide. In fact, Philly was never meant to be that way either.
Denver is very spread out and the downtown isn't necessarily where you have to live to have access to dinner, shops, etc. They tend to have pockets of that in each neighborhood. I know amazing right? You can actually go to other neighborhoods and not worry so much about crime.
Places like Congress Park, Platt Park, Wash Park, Sante Fe arts district seem to have strips of of South St like businesses. I hear (even from Native Philadelphians) that Denver's Mass Transit is very good. But I would recommend the car. How else will you get to the mountains?
By the way if you like South St (or at least like what South St used to be before becoming a shoe store) check out Congress Park close to Colfax. I bet there are busses to light rail (check out RTD). It may be a bit of a commute (1 hour from my timing). If I were just starting out and wanted to be in a grittier area with lots happening I would chose Congress Park. I believe there are apartment buildings there.
ah good stuff, thanks for the info. yeah, no doubt i will want to get a car eventually for road trips and such but i guess i was hoping to at least initially get away without having one until i got settled in...and even once i do have one, i'd still like to be able to run errands without using it all the time if possible. but i think you hit the nail on the head as far as what type of area i want to live in. obviously i don't want to live in a crime-ridden area but i also don't want to live next to a red lobster either. a neighborhood that's walkable with a few cool local bars, good places to eat, etc. would do it for me. and if i could get a grocery store and proximity to public transportation in the mix i think i would be quite happy.
When I lived on 3rd and Broadway (Baker), I could make it to the Denver Public Library/Museum area and Civic Center Park for festivals (14th and Broadway) with about a 20 minute walk. If I needed to go into downtown, which was honestly rare, I could take the 0 bus and be there in 10-15 minutes.
Don't forget biking which is often the best way to get around Denver. From baker, you can get on the cherry creek bike path and be downtown in 10-15 minutes without crossing a road.
ah good stuff, thanks for the info. yeah, no doubt i will want to get a car eventually for road trips and such but i guess i was hoping to at least initially get away without having one until i got settled in...and even once i do have one, i'd still like to be able to run errands without using it all the time if possible. but i think you hit the nail on the head as far as what type of area i want to live in. obviously i don't want to live in a crime-ridden area but i also don't want to live next to a red lobster either. a neighborhood that's walkable with a few cool local bars, good places to eat, etc. would do it for me. and if i could get a grocery store and proximity to public transportation in the mix i think i would be quite happy.
I just read this morning that a King Soopers (grocery store - under the Kroger umbrella) will be opening somewhere around Union Station, I believe. I just skimmed the article, but it sounded like it will be part of an apartment building that has yet to be built. There is another King Soopers on the SE end of downtown at Colfax/Speer.
I just read this morning that a King Soopers ... will be opening somewhere around Union Station, I believe. I just skimmed the article, but it sounded like it will be part of an apartment building that has yet to be built.
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20th and Chestnut
