Moving to Denver...Need Advice Please (Aurora, Arvada: to rent, custom home, neighborhoods)

[lillywillow]

We are uprooting our family of five to Denver from SoCal and would like advice on some of the best areas to raise a family. We have lived in SoCal our entire life and would love to raise our kids with seasons, a good community and lots of activities.

Our criteria are great schools, family oriented neighborhood, custom home $500-$700 range, with a view. We are very down to earth and would like to be in an area where it will be easy to make new friends.

We plan to rent the first yr. to make sure we like it. Any advice is much appreciated as my husband will be traveling out to Denver midFeb.
thanks,
Ally

[2bindenver]

Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Southern Aurora, Westminster, Broomfield, Arvada - possibilities are endless.

What do you want? Where will work be?

[sunflowers00]

Hi. My husband and I moved to Denver from PA about 1.5 yrs ago and we rent right now in the Wash Park area. You can prob have views just about anywhere in Denver, but it depends how close you want those views to be. One street over, we have amazing views of the mountains, and we're in south central Denver.

The more west you go, the better the views. We are looking for a house to buy as well and I'm looking into school districts. The best school districts around here are Cherry Creek...Douglas..I think Jefferson County..I can't recall what the other ones are right now, sorry.

Besides the cities already mentioned, you can try Evergreen, as they have a great school system. You can definitely find housing in your price range and the views will be amazing to say the least.

Boulder is also a cool, happening place to live. Just about anywhere you go, you will find friendly people honestly. Not sure about the schools in Boulder though.

We are looking down south, since the light rail doesn't go up north/west yet. Highlands Ranch is a popular place to live, very family oriented/neighborhood oriented, and you will have views. I would suggest looking here for sure! Great schools as well. This is where we are looking.

I hope this helps!!
Patsy

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by sunflowers00

The more west you go, the better the views.

I dispute that:
Southeast Aurora photo tour

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by lillywillow

We are uprooting our family of five to Denver from SoCal and would like advice on some of the best areas to raise a family. We have lived in SoCal our entire life and would love to raise our kids with seasons, a good community and lots of activities.

Our criteria are great schools, family oriented neighborhood, custom home $500-$700 range, with a view. We are very down to earth and would like to be in an area where it will be easy to make new friends.

We plan to rent the first yr. to make sure we like it. Any advice is much appreciated as my husband will be traveling out to Denver midFeb.
thanks,
Ally

I don't think there is any one, or even a half-dozen "best" areas to raise a family. It all depends on your individual preferences. There are "city mice" and "country mice". There isn't really much country here, in the sense of rural areas close to the city, but there is the city, and many different types of suburbs, e.g. inner-ring, older burbs, some "classic" burbs, some former small towns that have become suburbs, you name it.

In re: schools, the best advice a friend gave me when we moved to Albany, NY where she had once lived was "you're not going to buy a house in a bad school district". I honestly don't think there's as much disaparity here in CO as in other parts of the country due to the school finance equalization act, whereby the state gives more money to less wealthy districts. Evergreen, mentioned above as having a great school idstrict, is actually part of the Jefferson County SD. There aren't a lot of little districts here; Jeffco is the largest in Colorado. Someone said they're not sure about the schools in Boulder. Boulder Valley School District is very highly rated in all those "lists", even though I think they're baloney.

You will be hard put to buy a true "custom" home in your price range, even now.

[apriella]

um ok... i am very new to this site. but I also just uprooted from SoCal and moved to Broomfield, CO. I grew up in the desert my whole life. so this is the complete opposite. I am looking for a good place to raise my young daughter, and I think I have found it. I moved here Jan 5th, and I have a 4 yr old. i dont know how old your kids are, but this whole city is sooo friendly! I am not used to the kindness people give here, I love it! We moved to Broomfield area, but there are soo many cities right around here. I think with the price range you would maybe like looking in Superior area. broomfield has nice size houses too, and a lot of brand new developments. the town seems big when you get here, but they have Spring/Summer/Fall festivals and stuff in between. Christmas Tree lighting ceremonies, so they try to stay invovled in a fun way! I just want a good place for my daughter to grow up in. Schools out here are confusing, and you need to ask other parents on how they work. My kid is young still but the one Dad I heard talking said the local schools, public, are difficult. I assume some of your kids are older since you said fam of 5. So your looking for a CUSTOM home, good for you, for real! You have alot of room there to choose what you really want, your biggest leap is WHERE you want! Just keep asking! And VISIT! Thats what we did, we came out for a week in Oct. and checked things out just driving around, with our own eyes... Good luck! I hope I helped in some way!

[Nav]

I would recommend selecting a few areas and visiting them while you are here. Every area is different, each with their own draws. Highlands ranch is nice, but it is basically one large subdivision with 90 thousand people living in it. Basically a sea of tract housing. Wash Park is a nice "city" area, but unless you have 600k to put down on a fixer upper, it is unaffordable. Parker is a bit to the east and has a collection of everything from tract housing to mini farms. Head a bit south east and you'll find ELizabeth, with its laid back "Rural Rancher" lifestyle. If you want a real nice community with 2-5 acre lots, you could try Deerfield in Franktown. Everythings different, its really depends on what you would like to call home.

Traffic and home value wise, you'll want to stay to the south side of Denver. Commuting from the south is easy, from the north, its a nightmare. The southern region of denver and its outlying areas are generally more expensive than areas to the north such as Thorton and Brighton. Light rail goes to the south, not to the north so you also have that commuting option. Your price range is right in the middle of the southern area. You will be able to find a newer home in a tract housing community or an older home on an acre or two. I would use zillow.com to get a good idea of whats available in your price range.
Nav

[Bradburn1]

If you want a super social neighborhood that is filled with kids, take a look at my neighborhood, Bradburn Village in Westminster. We have custom houses in your price range, some with stunning views of the mountains. Excellent schools, walkable neighborhood with our own "downtown". BUT not for everyone. Houses are close together on smaller lots than traditional suburban neighborhoods and if you never want to talk to/know your neighbors not a good choice. But, if you would like a very (very) friendly neighborhood filled to the brim with kids (most under 10) where you can walk to shops/restaurants/services (like the dentist etc..) might be a good fit. If you search "Bradburn Village" on the Denver forum you will see a bunch of my other posts on the neighborhood that go into more detail.

There are TONS of other neighborhoods all around Denver though that would suit your needs, if commuting is a concern I would let that guide what areas you look at. Bradburn is 20 minutes to downtown Denver and 20 minutes to Boulder, but not really suited for anyone working too far south of downtown such as the Denver Tech Center (Englewood).

[steveindenver]

Where will you be working?

If west, Bradburn (although I'm not sure about the 20 minutes from Denver part, closer to 40-45 with any traffic)

If central, Stapleton is Bradburn in the city with more parks, Wash Park, Bonnie Brae, Park Hill South, Mayfair, so many options.

If South, Castle Pines, Littleton, Parker, and others.

Good schools can be found everywhere, as can bad ones. Water, or the lack thereof is on the verge of becoming a very big issue in the area, generally outside of the Denver proper boundaries in particular in the south and southeast areas where very soon McMansionville will simply not have any.

[Johnny Bananas]

Just putting my basic knowledge of the area. This is what I've heard so I'm not 100% sure but pretty positive about the info I get from family.

I have family living all around the Denver area.

My grandmother lives in Littleton. Very nice area and probably a bit more family oriented.

My aunt and her husband and two kids (16 & 8) live in the Cherry Creek school district. My dad went to Cherry Creek and now my cousin is a Sophomore there and I've heard only great things about the district. I'm not sure if this applies to their district but they have a non-traditional school year. Something like go to school for 6 months then a few weeks off... I dunno. You'll have to ask people who are more familiar with the area.

I know it isn't much but hope it's helped a little. Good luck with your move!