May relocate from Michigan (Denver, Lakewood: how much, homes, landscaping)

[SillyJKC]

My husband and I may relocate to Denver from Royal Oak Michigan. Neither of us have ever been to Colorado and are very excited about the possibility of moving there. We are searching online for housing to have a better idea of the cost of living. The job is in Lakewood. We don't mind a commute of 20 minutes or so. Can anyone offer suggestions as to areas we should look that are safe, clean, pretty, cool restaurants and bars, a nice area for kids, etc.? The area we live in now has a cute walking district of shops etc., and we would like to find a place like that if possible. Thanks!

[Jerry Bckr]

Those types of areas are very hard to find in the Denver metro area. The closest to Lakewood would be downtown Golden, however, housing choices that are close can be limited. You didn't mention how much you wanted to spend, so the info you get on here may be incomplete. Lakewood is comprised of mostly older ranch style homes built in the 50's -70's. The eastern edge will have the older homes. Keep in mind when people give comments on neighborhoods, much of the time they are speaking in generalities. There are always exceptions. Most of the concentration of office buildings are in the west side of Lakewood, like Denver West and the Federal Center. The good news is that you have great access to these areas via 6th Avenue, I-70, and C-470.

There is a custom area called 6th Avenue Estates just south of 6th Ave, and east of Indianna. There's also a semi custom area of newer homes south of Golden, plus a pocket on the west side, that's wedged between highway 93 and the hills. Applewood is an area of older homes that's north of Lakewood. These homes sit on large lots with more mature landscaping. Built in the 70's and 80's some of these homes have been up-dated and some have not. There are other choices as you go south on c-470. There's a planned community called Ken-Caryl Ranch, which is where I live. There are pictures of it in one of my albums. I hope to up-date the pics this week as they were taken in the fall. Everywhere you see brown grass is now lush green.

You won't be able to duplicate the walkable neighborhood that you presently have, but good shopping and restaurants are always a short car or bike ride away. You'll love the climate here, as I'm a refugee from the Wisconsin winters and can't think of many places that have the change of seasons plus mild winters.

[2bindenver]

Try Lakewood. Plenty of places; Belmar, Green Mountain...

[maximusmgm]

I would suggest something near Belmar (Intersection: Alameda and Wadsworth). Its a pseudo downtown shopping area. If you are working in Lakewood the commute should be fine.

[rolo99]

I moved to Denver from Michigan 2 yrs ago but lived in Royal Oak 1995-98. I was at Webster & Crooks. I don't know Lakewood but I live in Stapleton. Check it out.

[tigerwings]

There is no Royal Oak here.

[tfox]

There's dozens of areas of the city of Denver that would fit the bill: Old South Pearl Area, DU area, Highlands, Berkeley, Capitol HIll, Baker. ...

If you are looking for something in the suburbs, check out Old Town Arvada. It sounds like that's what you're looking for. As mentioned, Golden would certainly qualify, but it's a bit on the expensive side.