My husband and I may be moving to the Denver area and we are looking for advice. We would like an area close to DIA, a young community with kids (we have a one year old), good shopping and restaurants, good people, low crime, good schools...just a good community in general. Any suggestions would be very helpful! Thanks!
2006-12-12 03:26:06 · 9 answers · asked by Dalchase 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Denver
We live in Castle Rock, about a 25 min. drive to downtown Denver and about 45-50 min. drive to DIA. Great little town, good schools, churches, resturants and any kind of store you would need, low crime, been here 15 years and raised 3 children. check out.
http://www.townofcastlerock.org
2006-12-12 13:16:19 · answer #1 · answered by xjoizey 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many people don't think of this first, but the Central Platte Valley and Riverfront Park are a wonderful location to think of. The largest park system is there with Commons Park and the trail system connects there with the Cherry Creek trail and the expansive bike system. Union Station is a short walk which put syou directly on the planned train ride to DIA (forget driving).
The CPV is in the center of some of the best restaurants in Denver, allowing you to walk into Lodo, or across the new pedestrian bridge that opens December 16th connecting into the highlands. This also means great shopping all around as well, and a new grocery store on the corner of 15th and platte opened in November so everything is walkable.
What is really interesting about Riverfront as a community is that the master HOA dues across about 20+ acres of the area (And all the buildings in it) sponsor off duty police officers for security. Talk about taking a bite out of crime, this means that security is great and the funding also pays for an a team to keep the area spotless, pick up litter, plant flowers, etc.
Its just a fun area and many younger couples live there because of all there is to do and the wonderful lifestyle there. At some point, schools become a question and some opt to look to the suburbs or the private schools. It would be nice to think that all the ongoing development downtown will turn into a significant investment in the schools, but only time will tell. But if you have a one year old you have time. You could even enjoy the lifestyle downtown and then always have a downtown retreat to use, rent out, or consider an investment.
I live in the CPV and love it. My fiancee and I want to stay there and are planning to start baby making (wahoo) right after the wedding (gotta have the honeymoon).
Good luck! Email me for more details if you need them or a contact.
2006-12-12 06:43:26 · answer #2 · answered by urbanite 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DIA area is not a good idea. Houses are cheap there, but that's for serveral reasons. DIA is a very busy airport and you'll have lots of planes flying overhead. The freeways out there aren't great, the schools are overcrowded from sprawl, and you'll probably end up commuting to a more central location. Last year, I read in the Rocky Mountain News (one of Denver's major papers) that the DIA area also actually LOST land value in 2005.
You would do better to pick between north Denver and south Denver. You might give Longmont a look. It's a town outside of Boulder with good schools, low crime, good parks, etc. Still somewhat affordable too.
If you're looking around DIA because it's cheap, maybe you should look around Firestone or along the I-25 corridor. There's cheap land that's far flung from Denver in places a lot better than DIA.
I should note that if you want to commute to DIA, you might look for houses along the E-470 highway. That highway isn't congested, so you can get pretty far away from DIA without having to spend time in traffic.
2006-12-12 04:31:48 · answer #3 · answered by STFU Dude 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with everyone else. You do NOT want to move close to DIA. I grew up close to the old stapleton airport and didn't like it one bit. There are many other suburbs that are really good. I live in Westminster and I really, really like it. I think that the Arvada/Wheatridge area is really nice. If you want to live on the East side of town close to DIA I would say that you would probably like Parker. It's south of town, so it's not so busy, but it is very nice. Kind of high class. Nicer that Aurora or Brighton.
2006-12-12 09:38:47 · answer #4 · answered by Amy_S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a new community called Reunion...its beautiful with nice new homes and its mostly families. It's close to DIA, but not too close. I would recommend staying north...Thornton, Broomfield, Brighton is really expanding as well. DO NOT do Aurora!!!
http://www.reunionco.com/
I personally live in Thornton and I have 2 kids ages 1 and 7 and I love it. But if I could afford it, I'd def do Reunion!!
2006-12-13 08:36:12 · answer #5 · answered by [un]bro/ken 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We lived in Castle Rock, Co. We didn't have kids, but all our friends did. Check out homes on Castle Pines Pkwy. We lived in Forest Park, it feels like you are in the mountains. There are 2 schools off the pkwy. Not far from Park Meadows Mall, or the toll road to DIA. You must check it out! Good Luck.
2006-12-13 05:40:04 · answer #6 · answered by martinigal 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lakewood. It's not close to DIA, but for what your looking for, I don't think you'll find on the East side of town.
2006-12-12 04:16:57 · answer #7 · answered by ropemancometh 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Broomfield and Thornton are both north and nice!!
2006-12-12 03:34:22 · answer #8 · answered by totrisha 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
SIX FLAGS!!
2006-12-13 01:19:48 · answer #9 · answered by starsgirl021687 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋