What did I get myself into, want to live near the Denver metro area, but not sure if Aurora is a good place. (Arvada: lower-class, lease)

[Mezter]

Originally Posted by Salolo1

I appreciate all the feedbacks. It seems like the consensus is either southern part of Aurora or get out.

I'm not sure if you've been to the area or checked it out on Google Maps yet, but here are a few google map shots of Southern Aurora
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6032...7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5886...7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6044...7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6059...7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5941...7i13312!8i6656

As you can see, Aurora is far more than the slightly "hardcore" Northern part of the city. Family Friendly, wide open spaces, and some nice topography If nothing in Aurora is to your liking, I suggest Centennial, Parker, or another suburb in the southern metro area

[mic111]

There are many nice areas in Aurora. In fact some are very wealthy. It is very similar in that way to Denver and for instance Lakewood. The northern part of Lakewood used to be gang central. The southern part has million dollar homes and there are lots of standard middle class suburbs in the middle. Denver north also was blighted. Basically Colfax from east to west was all run down. This affected northern Aurora, north Denver and northern Lakewood. The old Stapleton Airport also drove down the values of the homes around it because of noise and pollution which included those in northern Aurora and Denver.

I think it is human nature for people to have something to look down and in Denver the area that took the brunt of that was Aurora even though north Denver and north Lakewood were pretty much in the same shape.

[SkyDog77]

80231 is Unicorporated Arapahoe County, close to Aurora and Denver. It has some nice homes and some below average homes. Cherry Creek Schools.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by Salolo1

I appreciate all the feedbacks. It seems like the consensus is either southern part of Aurora or get out.

Or just move over to Stapleton if you're interested in staying close to Peoria due to things like work, etc. Huge population of kids, schools that are some of the best in the area and only getting better due to the population, and real estate that is a solid investment.

SE Aurora is nice but you might want to look at commute times if you job is anywhere except off of E470.

[emm74]

Where do you and your fiance work? (General location, you don't have to say the specific workplaces)

And what's your budget for housing?

That would help people give you some more specific recommendations, both inside and outside of Aurora, for some good places to research.

As you've seen, Aurora is too big to give a blanket yes or no but it's also so big that depending on where you work, the nicer parts may make for a less than ideal commute.

[schloe]

There's a reason they call it Saudi Aurora - it's awful.

[emm74]

Originally Posted by blondmoray

I was raised in the 80012, and no, I wouldn't live there now. As the previous poster mentioned, the Village Green neighborhood is 80012 and is Cherry Creek schools (although not very good cherry creek schools) and the neighborhood is still pretty nice and relatively affordable.

This is important to remember too. Just because it's the CC district doesn't automatically mean it's a great school.

I just got an email about a fundraising project for a Cherry Creek elementary with 80% of the kids qualifying for free or reduced fee lunch and it gets a 1 on the Great Schools ratings. Not that either of those automatically means its bad, but it's not what people think about when they hear Cherry Creek school.

Looks like a worthy cause if anyone is inclined to donate, btw. (I have no connection whatsoever other than being a Donors Choose donor in the past so they sent out an email about this particular project)

Seatbacks for a deskless classroom

[Salolo1]

As far as work is concerned it will be in Aurora. I figure housing budget to be from 250,000 to 300,000. I'm not sure where that would put me as far as location.

[Greentea323]

We own a townhome in 80012. It is not that bad! However, our son will be attending private school if we still live here and would have been regardless of our neighborhood. APS also has several charter schools & a magnet school. There's a lot of stuff for kids to do here and a lot of nice people and families.

We are near Florida & Abilene, and while there's definitely a lower class population, it is nothing like living off of East Colfax, or SW Denver along Federal. I also find the location relatively convenient. There's been a lot of new construction.

Anyways, I wouldn't discount it completely. It really depends on your budget and work location. I would look at SE Denver. It's pretty close and sort of diverse. Or as others have said, the different areas of Aurora. Green Valley Ranch is an option too, but schools are not great and we found it inconvenient location wise.

[Claire S.]

Originally Posted by Salolo1

As far as work is concerned it will be in Aurora. I figure housing budget to be from 250,000 to 300,000. I'm not sure where that would put me as far as location.

South Aurora is the best fit for your budget.