Good Neighborhoods for Kids of Working Parents in/around Denver (Lakewood: renting, condos)

[1999Laura]

My family of 4 (2 kids, ages 9 and 4) is planning to move from the Washington, DC area to the Denver area in 2008 and we are trying to figure out what town/neighborhood we'd like to live in. Here are some things we are taking into consideration:

1. Commute of 30 minutes or less (we'll both work downtown)
2. Great schools (elementary through high school due to our kids' ages)
3. Programs that are oriented towards families with working parents. For example, we'll need to find (fun/good) after school care for the kids until 5pm or so & will need to put them in full day summer camps.

I'm having a hard time figuring out how #3 will work, e.g., what areas will work well for working parents. I've lived in a place with not so good after-care programs near Washington DC and one with excellent programs, and it makes all the difference in the world to have fun programs where the kids could play basketball, jump rope, etc.

I'd love to hear any suggestions. Thanks so much! --Laura

[Bradburn1]

Hi Laura,

Could you narrow it down a little? I think you could find most/all of those requirements in many, many Denver and Denver suburan neighborhoods. Could you answer:

1. Buy or rent?
2. If Buy, do you want a single family home or open to other things (townhomes, condos), what price range? What size of home do you need?
3. Do you want to be able to walk to things and/or take public transit?
4. Urban, suburban or don't care?
5. What are the most important characteristics of a neighborhood for your family?

Big change moving from DC, but you will LOVE the summers here, they are bliss.

[1999Laura]

Thanks for your reply! I'm happy to answer those questions, see below.

1. Buy
2. Probably single family home in the $400ish range (or less, and we could do work on it, maybe more if we fell in love with a place). A townhome would be okay, but we don't want to have to worry about the kids making too much noise (playing the trumpet, etc). We are leaning towards a larger home (large compared to DC that is, e.g., 2000-2500sf). We also don't mind older homes.
3. In an ideal world, we'd like to walk to things, but having park space nearby for the kids might be a higher priority right now. We're flexible on public transit (not a must). We like the idea of Stapleton, but would prefer some of its characteristics in an older neighborhood.
4. Probably somewhat suburban in order to get slightly less air pollution (I have asthma).
5. We are pretty flexible on neighborhood characteristics. We like to have some older trees around. We also like to have sidewalks. We are big fans of ethnic restaurants & do like a little ethnic diversity in a neighborhood (my son is currently in a Spanish immersion elementary, but there don't seem to be any in Denver), but a short commute & family friendly issues are of greater importance.

Yes, the summers in Denver are very appealing, and I am originally from Chicago, so the snowy winters are actually a draw too. Thanks again! --Laura

[suzco]

Originally Posted by 1999Laura

Thanks for your reply! I'm happy to answer those questions, see below.

(my son is currently in a Spanish immersion elementary, but there don't seem to be any in Denver), . .
--Laura

I doubt that that's true; do some more research. In the Boulder Valley School District, for example, there is Uni-Hill in Boulder

University Hill offers a research-based Dual Language Program for preschool through 5th grade. We teach students to speak, read and write in both English and Spanish. The first emphasis is on achieving literacy in a child’s native language. The child is then taught to apply the learned skills and strategies to master the second language. Children develop bi-literacy by studying core curricula – science, mathematics, social studies and language arts – in both languages.

and Pioneer in Lafayette

Pioneer is located in old town Lafayette. Students come from Lafayette and the surrounding areas including Broomfield, Erie and Longmont. Pioneer is a focus school and all students enroll through the district open enrollment process. The student population is made up of approximately 50 percent Spanish speakers and 50 percent English speakers. There is considerable range of socio- economic status among Pioneer families

http://www.bvsd.org/

[oberon]

I strongly recommend renting for a while until you know the area. However, you may want to look around Wash Park or Cheesman Park.

[1999Laura]

Suzco, thanks so much for pointing out the immersion schools -- that's very helpful. I think we'll still try to find out what is available closer to Denver (maybe switching to a neighborhood without immersion if needed) because we'd prefer a shorter commute than Boulder and Lafayette. We'll keep them in mind though because we've been really happy with the immersion program in Arlingon, VA. Thanks! --Laura

[suzco]

Originally Posted by 1999Laura

Suzco, thanks so much for pointing out the immersion schools -- that's very helpful. I think we'll still try to find out what is available closer to Denver (maybe switching to a neighborhood without immersion if needed) because we'd prefer a shorter commute than Boulder and Lafayette. We'll keep them in mind though because we've been really happy with the immersion program in Arlingon, VA. Thanks! --Laura

You're welcome.

I wasn't recommending BVSD, only pointing out possiblilities.

Research the possibilities a bit more. I'm not personally as familiar with DPS, so I hesitated to say more. But research further, before you say Denver doesn't have it. I found, for example, the Academia Ana Marie Sandoval (Dual Language Montessori Model) one of Denver Public Schools. http://sandoval.dpsk12.org/english/index_montessori.htm.
(I know nothing about it from personal experience.)

[Bradburn1]

If you like Stapleton I would also check out my neighborhood, Bradburn Village, which is similar but smaller and has homes your size in that price range, also mega parks galore and great schools. I've posted about it ad naseum (because I love it so much), click on my name and go to "view all posts" if you are interested in it.

It's in Westminster, great suburban area 30 minute (in traffic) drive to downtown (shorter if you take bus from our close park n ride). Have great ethnic restaurants around (Middle Eastern, Indian, Thai, you name it we have it--although only Sushi place/Asian place in walking distance (the others are Mexican food, American, Irish, Pizza and ice cream LOL) and as far as diversity I'm sad to say we have fairly little.

Lots of families here have two working parents, so there are options for them galore around here, but I think that's probably pretty common in any suburban area around Denver. Westminster's on the north side (great veiw of Rockies (mountains, not the sports team)), but you might also have a look in Lakewood and Littleton on the south side of Denver. Both have very nice areas with homes in that price range and much older trees. If you might consider an area that is a bit more urban, check out Lowry and Bonnie Brae both in Denver.

[Katarina Witt]

(my son is currently in a Spanish immersion elementary, but there don't seem to be any in Denver)

My grand-niece is in a Spanish dual-immersion school somewhere in central Denver (public school), so I know they exist. You may have to be persistent when calling; it is my experience that the people who answer the phones don't always know everything.

[1999Laura]

Bradburn1, thank you for the suggestions about Bradburn Village. I think we'll check it out when we visit the area in January -- it's a little newer than we normally prefer, but the area, including Westminster, seems to have a lot of nice features. We're also looking into Lakewood and Littleton a little more -- we visited them both once, but I think we need to do more exploring to get a better sense of the areas.

Also, Suzco and Pittnurse70, thanks for the suggestions about the immersion schools. I had done some research, but I clearly hadn't done enough to actually find the schools. Pittnurse 70, based on central Denver location, I believe the one your grand-neice goes to is the Academia Ana Marie Sandoval that Suzco mentioned (I checked it out online). Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Has anyone checking the posts had their kids in any summer programs in the region? I'm interested in finding out if there are a lot of programs in certain regions compared to others (this is the case in the DC area -- there are huge variations), but maybe I should start a new thread for that. Thanks again!