The nice thing about Denver is that you can hit the mountains pretty easily. I live in Arvada, and the cost is outrageous... I love it here, but it's getting out of hand. Beside that, I am no help.
As others have said, the Denver area is traffic-packed nearly any time of day and the cost of living is sky high. My suggestion would be to come out for a long weekend and get around to all areas and see what jumps out at you.
I rode thru there twice in the past few weeks- once going west, the other returning. The traffic absolutely sucked.
on the way west, I was outbound on I-70, the inbound 70 was backed up for 10+ miles. That was a Sunday. Unsure if that is 'normal'.
Coming home, took secondary roads into Denver after leaving Gunnison. Came in on 285. Traffic for miles. Took me 3 hours to get to and thru Denver. Swore I would never again ride thru that City heading west.
I rode thru there twice in the past few weeks- once going west, the other returning. The traffic absolutely sucked.
on the way west, I was outbound on I-70, the inbound 70 was backed up for 10+ miles. That was a Sunday. Unsure if that is 'normal'.
Coming home, took secondary roads into Denver after leaving Gunnison. Came in on 285. Traffic for miles. Took me 3 hours to get to and thru Denver. Swore I would never again ride thru that City heading west.
End of rant.
This is normal. If you think this was bad, wait for ski season...
I pulled this off another forum because this guy did all the legwork! In skimming it over I'd say his assessment of the various areas is pretty good.
In general (zip codes):
All of _____ are fine IMO: Arvada Broomfield Castle Pines Castle Rock Centennial Cherry Hills Village Golden Greenwood Village Highlands Ranch Lafayette anything called Littleton Lone Tree Louisville Morrison Parker
When it comes to Denver: 80202 (downtown), is considered very safe for a central business district 80203, good, dense area 80204, not well regarded (some people like the Baker n'hood though) 80205, generally not well regarded (some people like Five Points and Whittier) 80206, very nice city neighborhoods 80207, very nice south, gets worse as you go north (Park Hill area) 80209, Washington Park area, very nice 80210, in and around DU, very nice 80211, Highlands area, nice, better west of Federal, gets worse as you go east 80212, Berkeley, Sloan's Lake, West Highlands, good areas 80216, Elyria-Swansea, industrial, not nice 80218, good, dense area 80219, SW Denver, the best part is below average (Harvey Park), gets worse as you go north 80220, E Denver, nice/very nice W of Quebec St, gets worse east of there 80221, NW Denver/Unincorporated Adams County, lower middle class and lower 80222, S/SE Denver, solid middle class 80223, SW Denver, below average generally 80224, E/SE Denver, solid middle class 80227, Far SW Denver/Lakewood, solid middle class 80230, Lowry, new, nice 80231, SE Denver, middle class, nice 80235, SW Denver, basically a golf course community flanked by apartments, average and better 80236, SW Denver, average, middle class 80237, SE Denver, middle class and better, nice 80238, Stapleton, people who live there generally love it, new urbanism 80239, Montbello, a decaying suburban neighborhood, not well regarded 80246, E Denver, average & nice established neighborhoods, and also Glendale, which is basically all cheap dense apartments 80247, Mostly unincorporated Arapahoe, kind of average, apartments, and some random homes on large lots 80249, Green Valley Ranch, a newer middle class development that has a bad rep for some reason
When it comes to Aurora: 80016 is adored 80015 is above average 80014 and 80013 are average 80018 and 80019 are forgotten about (new subdivisions in the middle of nowhere) 80012 and 80017 are a little below average 80010 and 80011 aren't well thought of generally
Commerce City: 80022, isn't well regarded (with the exception of the Reunion area subdivisions)
Englewood: 80110, average and slightly below average area 80113, nice, older homes, shares zip with elite Cherry Hills Village
"Englewood" 80112, not really Englewood, nice
Lakewood: 80214/80215, average, better as you go west 80226/80227/80232, established middle class 80228, Green Mountain, nice
Northglenn: 80233, average, middle class
Thornton: 80229/80260, below average 80233/80241, middle class to nice
Westminster: 80021, 80031, 80234, middle class to nice 80030, average to below average
Wheat Ridge: 80033/80212, average
I feel like I've done this before.
Please note, these are all generalizations, if there's a specific area or crossroads you want to know about, ask, and you shall receive.
Like your daughter all I need is a 1 bedroom. I live in a closet in nyc and 800 ft sounds luxurious. What areas south do you suggest?
Avoid Aurora, just about anything " affordable will be in a sketchy area. My daughter found a place in far southeast Denver near the Denver Tech Center. A very nice place, actually. Capitol Hill, Cherry Hills, and those areas are trendy and a lot of people in your demographic aspire to live those areas, but they are very expensive, and many of the neighborhoods are places I wouldn't want to live.
It's been almost 2 years since I made the jump. The mountain roads have put a smile on my face more then 2 hour trips to bear mountain ever would. I live on Hampden and 25 and it's a way commute to work mountains and playing downtown. It's been great. Only thing is lack of friends, but as long as I got my motorcycle and lady I'm good!
08-02-2018, 10:32 PM
