My husband recently took a job in downtown Denver so we will be moving to join him as soon as school is out. We know the area is huge and are somewhat overwhelmed with the options. Any opinions on the best area to live...keeping in mind my husband's commute to work downtown? We also attend Church of Christ and would love a community somewhat close to a place of worship that fits our needs.
Hi S.,
We live in Arvada in the community of WestWoods and we just love it! There are many places of worship close by and it's about a 25 minute commute to downtown. We're near the foothills and the schools are excellent. I have lived in many areas all over the US but will have to say this is my favorite.
D.
S., the Highlands neighborhood is wonderful, close to downtown (it is in Northwest Denver) and has many churches. I am not sure of their specific denomination, but it may be a good start. Good luck, S..
Hi S.,
I grew up in the Denver area and have house-hunted in, what feels like, just about every neighborhood in the city. I've read through some of these other posts and agree with all of them. You have gotten some really good advice so far.
One neighborhood that I haven't seen mentioned here is Washington Park (or Wash Park, as us locals call it). It is a bit pricey, but if you can afford it, its definitely worth a look. It is just a few miles south of downtown, and close to just about everything. It has a great neighborhood feel, and there are tons of kids and dogs. Its name was given to it due to the proximity to the park called Washington Park. I would consider it Denver's equivalent to Central Park.
If you are more interested in the suburbs, I would highly recommend Broomfield. We just moved there about 5 months ago and love it. I won't go into all the great things about Broomfield, as they have already been mentioned by others, but just know that its a great place to live.
Since your husband will be working downtown, I feel the need to offer a bit of advice about the commute and parking in Denver. If you would like to live in Denver, Stapleton, Wash Park and Lowry are all great neighborhoods with a short commute to downtown. If you want to live in the burbs, your husband is going to have a bit longer of a commute. If he does not have free parking through his job, I would highly recommend public transportation. Between gas and parking he will save a LOT of money and the commute will be only slightly longer. Denver has a train system called the Lightrail that runs downtown from some of the south and east suburbs (Littleton, Englewood, Aurora). In the north and west burbs only buses are available. I work downtown myself and take the bus every day from Broomfield. It only takes a few more minutes than it would if I drove, plus I save money and get to read every day.
Good luck with your search for a home. I'm sure you will love living here, no matter where you end up.
I am so thrilled with Broomfield. I grew up in Colorado, south of denver and was so discouraged to see it so overran with houses, shopping and crowds, south of Denver mirrors LA a lot! However north of Denver still has open space, nice views and Broomfield is a SUPER kid friendly community. Boulder Valley Schools are rated tops, it is clean and promotes health and wellness. I would never move to Boulder as I have a lot of issues with that area of town, just it being so over priced is one of them! Louisville and Lafayette are great places to live too. However Broomfield is minutes from Downtown and multiple different type neighborhoods, very family oriented community and very accessible to downtown and the mountains! I love it!
Consider this response the jackpot. We bought in Stapleton a few years ago, it's seems to get better by the day. My husband works downtown as well, a 4 mile commute. There are more families here than you can imagine, schools are outstanding, Colorado has some serious church goers, my son's part time sitter's husband, of whom is our neighbor is a Pastor, etc. The sense of community is overwhelmingly refreshing, you can rent or buy with price ranges from low income to millions. Personally I love having rich homes across the street raising my property value;-) The restuarants are locally owned and very kid friendly, pools, parks, built green (largest energy efficient neighborhood in America) with low taxes. Be sure to check out or join our online mom groups, Stapletonmoms @ yahoo, stapleton healthy moms "meetup" group. Or give us a call ###-###-####. Ciao, Meg
It depends what else you are looking for. Do you enjoy being close to the mountains? the suburbs? the outdoors?
We love Arvada. We are about a 20 minute commute to downtown Denver (less on Sunday); closer to the mountains (off of Ward Rd and I-70); pretty central to most of the suburbs as we have friends who live all over Denver; right next to open space and greenbelts for walking with kids and pets; and I am pretty sure there is a Church of Christ down the street.
FYI....We lived in the northern suburbs (Thornoton/Westminster/Northglenn region) and the communte to Denver is TERRIBLE from up there. We liked the area and did get a little more house for our money, but the time spent in the car to get to hiking trails and to work was not worth it for us. Our commute on I-70 to Denver isn't as bad and I now live less 10 minutes from excellent hiking trails.
Hi there! I live in a great new neighborhood called "Village of Five Parks" in Arvada, just 15 miles NW of downtown Denver (where I work as well). It is a really family oriented neighborhood with five small community parks, a pool, yoga center, coffee shop and brand new school call Mieklejohn Elementary. It is a little suburban, but also close to Boulder. Tons and tons of kids and a great network of supportive moms. You also might want to check out the new neighborhood called "Stapleton" which is actually closer to the airport. Good luck! J.
S.,
My husband and I live in Arvada. We have been here for 10 years and have two boys 8 & 5. I really like it. Their is a Church of Christ in the Arvada, but I have never been there. If we were going to move I would try the Lakewood area. While the other people have recommended the Highlands and Stapleton, I think both are great, but Arvada is more affordable. It also has trees and coming from the east coast I wanted trees when we moved here.
Good luck.
Dear S.,
Though Denver may seem a big city, it is actually composed of many small neighborhoods - I've lived in the city itself for 26 years, and currently live in a wonderful neighborhood with big backyards, trees, walking distance to supermarket, etc. My kids are 12 and 8 and go to excellent Denver Public Schools. I'd think more about finding good schools and a church you like than having to be outside of Denver. Stapleton, for example, is wonderful as a couple of other moms have said, and is actually just a development in the city of Denver also. So is Lowry, another planned development that is lovely.
I have a wonderful realtor to recommend - Deb Ellis of Coldwell Banker ###-###-#### www.debellishomes.com
You might find organized help like hers more useful!
take care, S.
if you can afford it, STAPLETON!
Well, small world to see this name! My name is also S.! I can't believe it! I have only seen my name about one other time!
You'll love Colorado, it's really a great place to live. You'll be good to live in just about any city surrounding Denver. I grew up in the Arvada area, but I now have resided in Thornton for the last 8 years and have really have grown to love the city. Each city has old and new neighborhoods, good and bad. What I like about Thornton is it has had so much growth in the last several years, there's lots of great neighborhoods and wonderful schools. We are part of the adams12 school district www.adams12.org check them out. I can also let you know what are the best schools right now.
In Thornton, I believe you get a good sized house for your dollar. Arvada is very expensive to live because it's closer to the mountains. From Thornton, you can get to Denver in 20 minutes or less depending on traffic.
A couple neighborhoods for you to check out is "Fallbrook Farms" 144th between York and Colorado Blvd. Also "The Haven" is pretty popular which is off 150th & York, or several other neighborhoods around the area are also wonderful places to live. I've met wonderful friends in the area, and the City of Thornton has great ammenities around town including big festivals they have about 3 times a year.
Not sure if your Mormon or Catholic? But either one has great churches in cities all around.
Please feel free to ask me anything else your curious about.
Good luck!
We live in the Bear Valley area and love it! I grew up here and we're now living in the same neighborhood. We don't have to commute, but our DS often has morning appointments downtown. It usually takes me about 30 minutes to get to hospital row. 6th ave. gets us there pretty quickly. Highlands Ranch is also a nice area, but I hear the commute is longer.
I live in Westminster. My home is just on the border between Broomfield and Westminster. Broomfield is a very nice place to live, and the homes are quite affordable. But downtown Denver is probably about a 20 minute drive from this area, and when it snows, your husband may have a discouraging drive to downtown. This area though is a safe, friendly environment.
I am glad I moved here 7 years ago. I came from Florida, and did not know the area. My business led me to this area, and I am really happy I found it. There are some small communities in Lafayette, Superior, these are nice areas as well, but may be harder to get to downtown from there. Good luck, and hope you find an area that you like.
