I am moving to the Denver area and wanting to know what area would be the best to live?

Question

I am interested in finding good schools and making sure the neiphborhood is kid friendly and not much crime. I used to live in Aurora like almost 20 years ago and am told it has been going down hill. The biggest factor for me is the schools. My children's education is the most important to me.

Answer 1

We live in Littleton, and the schools are really great here...not a lot of crime. Never have to go into Denver proper if you do not want to. Jefferson County has lots of great rec centers and family services. Some people I know from where we moved from are scared because if we stay in Littleton our kids will wind up going to Columbine HS...that does not bother me as the school is really great and I don't feel you can judge the whole school on what happened 8 years ago.

Another really great up and coming neighboorhood is Highlands Ranch. Douglas County was the fastest growing and fastest income increasing county in the US last year. It is a family centric neighboor hood but I personally feel it is very expensive. Your HOA fees you pay to live in Highlands Ranch get you into all of the rec centers for free which is really great.

I have a friend who lives in Roxborough and she loves it...it is still a quite small neighboorhood but the housing costs are reasonable and the schools are good she says (I really don't know because I have not personally researched that)...

http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/

http://www.greatschools.net/city/Highlands_Ranch/CO

http://www.roxborough.net/

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/co/542

Answer 2

I would move to Highlands Ranch if you can afford it. It's a middle/upper class area with amazing schools and it's got plenty of things to do. It also has a high percentage of families in it, so it's very kid friendly. Littleton is also awesome and is more centrally located in the metro area.

I wouldn't go to Boulder because the drug problems are out of control over there. Might not be the best place to raise a kid. Lakewood has good schools, but the area itself can be fairly bad in some parts.

Answer 3

I have two suggestions, and they depend on your price range for a house.
First is Boulder, if you can spend atleast half a million on a house. The schools are the best, lots of families, little crime, lots of culture, close to the mountains, etc. (If you like Boulder but cant do the price tag, look to surrounding areas ,like Broomfield, where housing is a little cheaper but its still a good area and you may be close enough for your kids to still attend Boulder schoos)
Second, Littleton. You can easily get a nice house for 300K. I like this area because it is very family-oriented. Economical classes range from medium to upper. Culture suffers a bit as it is very much white suburbia. But both nearby school districts, Littleton Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Schools are great and it is safe and kid-friendly.

Hope this helps! Good Luck!

PS Stay away from Aurora *shudder*

Answer 4

Castle Rock, 30 min south of Denver off I25. Voted one of the top 10 family friendly towns in the US by Family Circle Magazine. Moved here 16 years ago from Jersey . raised 2 kids here. Great town, schools churches and people. We love it. http://www.townofcastlerock.org
Aroura has gone down hill. Can't give you the details tho.

Answer 5

Check out GreatSchools.com. They can give you the details on each public school like how many kids qualify for free lunch and what the ethnic breakdown is. That way, you can avoid the poor and/or minorities.

Answer 6

i used to live in westminster. it was nice.
i would have loved to live in boulder.
lakewood was nice.
i moved a few years ago; no kids, so not too sure about the schools...try to look up the school districts online. their websites should show their state ranking, teacher degrees, and other stats.

Answer 7

loveland