Kenny, thx for your answers..one more question re: Aurora, CO?

Question

I did not look into Aurora, CO aside from looking into Castle Rock & Westminster. I found an abundance of things to do there on the internet. It looks pretty nice. Do you know anything more on Aurora, personally? Any areas I should watch for? Good place to raise a family?

Answer 1

One of my best friends grew up in Aurora. As you've probably gleamed from the other responses, some of its neighborhoods are known for being "gritty", especially at night. Denver's somewhat famous Colfax Avenue(*) extends from Aurora, through Denver, and into Lakewood. (Colfax is quickly gentrifying near downtown Denver, but it's known for kind of being the Sunset Blvd of Denver.)

Covering considerably more area than Denver itself, Aurora does have plenty of neighborhoods and they DO vary a lot. Aurora's physical surface area is HUGE. Most of Aurora is cheaper than other parts of Denver because it's far away from the mountains. My word of caution is that you should really know the neighborhood you'll be in before you commit to anything. Also, I don't think Aurora's schools are rated as highly as Westminster's, but that isn't to say the specific school you'll be close to won't be a good school. Overall Aurora is usually considered less fashionable than other suburbs.

You mentioned you wanted diversity, and unfortunately the trade-off is that you will have to tell your kids that they can't ride their bikes into certain places. Westminster and Castle Rock, being far flung from Denver itself, tend to be safer for kids to roam in, although not terribly exciting.

Also, if you don't mind being far from Denver, Longmont might be worth looking into. It's pretty cute and safe, near Boulder, and has its own sort of local flavor with a cute little downtown.

I found some photos of Aurora:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Aurora-Colorado.html

(*) Colfax: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colfax_Avenue

Answer 2

My cousin moved from Aurora three years ago. Since it has become a bit more upscale in places, it has also grown a lot of Home Owner Association attitudes.

I think you might like Castle Rock or Westminster better.

Answer 3

I was living in Aurora for a year and it have good areas... the bad things is that there´s a lot of poor areas that you need to watch but the aurora city center is pretty nice...! good luck

Answer 4

I also answered your question on Westminster. Aurora is more diverse chiefly because it has some poor areas. To me it's not as desirable because you have to go all the way across the city to get to the mountains, and you can't see them very well from there.

Unfortunately diversity and child safety are a tradeoff. LoDo and Highland Square were my personal idea of a good balance, but only you know yours.

Answer 5

I grew up in Aurora and I think I turned out ok, lol. Aurora is HUGE, covers a lot of area, Colorado's third largest city, lots of possibilities. I haven't been back for years and since then has grown and expanded, I'm not so familiar with the newer areas.

Check out these links:

http://www.auroragov.org/AuroraGov/Visitors/Moving_To_Aurora/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora,_Colorado

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/snapshots/PL0804000.html

Answer 6

Aurora doesn't have the best reputation in town, try looking at something closer to Littleton, Lakewood, Highlands Ranch. Much nicer areas and less problems.

Answer 7

From one Jersey person to another.........forget Aurora, would be like living in the suburbs of Newark.
My step- daughter lives there.
Look for me when you're in town, my lic. plate is the same as my screen name