# looking for Denver neighborhood, may move



## ispoke (Feb 28, 2005)

I didn't get many nibbles on the previous post, so let me restate the question:

My wife's folks live off S. Colorado Blvd. near the U (in south Denver). It's a nice humble, modest, safe middle class city neighborhood (slightly boring and not trendy, but we like it!). My company has an office in Broomfield, and so we're considering moving to the Denver area. We're only familiar with the area around S. Colorado and I-25. If we wanted to live farther north, either closer to downtown or perhaps even north/west of downtown, can you recommend any similar neighborhoods? Are there many options?

We'd likely live near metro Denver due to affordability and proximity to family. Less likely to live as far north as Broomfield or Boulder unless affordability was persuasive. Thanks for any advice...


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

*Lowry*

Have you checked out Lowry? Its about 5 minutes east of the Cherry Creek area. Nice small town feel, historic, you can walk to stores/restaurants, somewhat affordable (nothing in town really is anyway), yet minutes from anywhere including Lodo. Check out:
http://www.lowry.org/


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

South Denver to Broomfield is a fairly long commute, no matter how you do it. There are lots of options to ride it. As you get north of downtown Denver you go through a rather pricey revitalized neighborhood (+$300K) then through some areas in need of revitalization. I would not live in these, but ride through them. Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield and Boulder are all good suburban options, but I don't think you will find much in those areas for $200K. For $200K you are going to be looking in areas like Brighton (NE), Highlands Ranch (way S), and up I-25 like Longmont and beyond.

Sledge


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## LyncStar (May 1, 2005)

ispoke said:


> I didn't get many nibbles on the previous post, so let me restate the question:
> 
> My wife's folks live off S. Colorado Blvd. near the U (in south Denver). It's a nice humble, modest, safe middle class city neighborhood (slightly boring and not trendy, but we like it!). My company has an office in Broomfield, and so we're considering moving to the Denver area. We're only familiar with the area around S. Colorado and I-25. If we wanted to live farther north, either closer to downtown or perhaps even north/west of downtown, can you recommend any similar neighborhoods? Are there many options?
> 
> We'd likely live near metro Denver due to affordability and proximity to family. Less likely to live as far north as Broomfield or Boulder unless affordability was persuasive. Thanks for any advice...


You should check out the Stapleton neighborhood. It is very family oriented, ten minutes east of Downtown and probably about a 20-25 minute drive to Broomfield.


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## John Nelson (Mar 10, 2006)

If you live in South Denver, you better like to bicycle commute to Broomfield, because you're going to hate the drive.


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## ispoke (Feb 28, 2005)

*thanks / details?*

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Sledgehammer - Our ideal is under $300k (not 200). We could probably creep over 300 but not by much. Does that give us any leeway with Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield and Boulder? I like the idea of being situated near both Denver, Boulder, and the 70 corridor to good skiing!

John Nelson - Any predictions on the drive/commute time from S. Denver (25/Colorado) to Broomfield beginning around 7 a.m.? Forgive me for sounding ignorant, but everyone reacts differently. I've moved around quite a bit and found that most metro areas involve 45 minute commutes (which I'm accustomed to).

As for Lowry and Stapleton, gotta admit we have knee jerk reactions to (against) the words "development" and "town center". According to the Lowry FAQs, it's built on a contaminated groundwater plume under remediation by the Air Force. And Stapleton is the old airport site? Given the record of other military sites and air bases, I'd hesitate to 'plant roots' there without spending a lot of time researching just how big and how numerous the problems/contaminants are...


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## MDGColorado (Nov 9, 2004)

ispoke said:


> Our ideal is under $300k (not 200). We could probably creep over 300 but not by much. Does that give us any leeway with Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield and Boulder? I like the idea of being situated near both Denver, Boulder, and the 70 corridor to good skiing!


Lots of choices under $300K in Longmont, and some in Louisville and Lafayette. The latter two are close to Broomfield. In my neighborhood (NE Longmont) the range is about 210 to 280K. For Boulder, 300 would probably be the low end. I think your range would get you into Broomfield, Arvada, or Westminster as well.


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

There's really very little in Stapleton under $300k (actually, virtually nothing if you want a single family home) and same with Lowry. For those Denver neighborhoods where houses are still under $300k, it can be pretty rough (I'm thinking SW Denver near Alameda and Federal) or else you're looking at something under 1000 sq feet (and still not in a great neighborhood usually). 

You'll do much better in Westminster and Arvada. Look out some by Standley Lake, also. There are some subdivisions in places like Thorton and Federal Heights, but honestly I just don't think those are communities with as good an investment as Westminster, Arvada, or Broomfield. 

Boulder is a non-starter and much of Broomfield is rapidly headed that way.


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

South Denver really won't be in the cards for you. $300K homes are being used as tear downs for new infill construction in Cory-Merrill, Platte Park, Harvard Gulch, DU, etc. etc. The commute would probably be about 40 min I'd guess but I-25 is a bit unpredictable.


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## RickC5 (Apr 26, 2002)

*Something else to consider.....*

A 30-40 minute commute on the freeway in good weather can easily turn into a 5-10 HOUR commute when it starts to snow. Happens ALL the time.

We lived in the Denver metro area for over 20 years, and IMHO, the shorter commute, the better. If your job is in Broomfield, why not live in Broomfield or Arvada or Westminster?

For a year, I commuted from Lafayette to SE Denver (corner of Iliff & Parker Rd). That was one miserable commute. Took about an hour or more each way, and that was going against the usual traffic flow. I hated it!

Before you decide on where to live, drive all of the possible commutes during rush hours, both morning & evening and see how you like it. Riding to work in the summer is great, but when it's 25 degrees, snowing and icy, you may want to consider driving. Or maybe you like to ride in that kind of weather, what do I know?


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## ispoke (Feb 28, 2005)

RickC5 said:


> ...Riding to work in the summer is great, but when it's 25 degrees, snowing and icy, you may want to consider driving. Or maybe you like to ride in that kind of weather, what do I know?


Thanks for the great advice folks. Nice to have a few neighborhoods to focus on now. I like to ice bike as much as the next guy, but snowy commutes will likely be on 4 wheels...


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

*Alternative transport.*

Check out www.rtd-denver.com. There's a growing public transport system and on the longer distance buses you can bring your bike, i.e. ride one way and bike the other.

They also have trains that go pretty far south.


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## John Nelson (Mar 10, 2006)

Your commute could be anywhere from 20 minutes in light traffic to 2 hours in heavy traffic. And that's without any snow, rain or accidents.


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

ispoke said:


> Thanks for all the advice guys!
> 
> Sledgehammer - Our ideal is under $300k (not 200). We could probably creep over 300 but not by much. Does that give us any leeway with Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield and Boulder? I like the idea of being situated near both Denver, Boulder, and the 70 corridor to good skiing!
> 
> ...


$270K-$330K will got you a nice place in Arvada, not new though. Same for Westminster. Something along the lines of 2 car garage, 4 bedrooms, 200 square feet, nice yard, 20+ years old. Newer development will run up over $400K, in a hurry, and brand new is $700K+. That is West Arvada, I am not too sure about the other areas, but they are similar. $300K in Boulder won't get you very much, but is appreciates nicely. From my house to Interloken busines park is about 15-20 minutes drive, all the time (back roads). There is lots for sale now!

Good Luck


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## wuggabugga (Oct 3, 2005)

Personally,

I'd live closer to work. Did the "hell commute" from Washington Park to Broomfield for two years and hated it. Pricewise, forget about Wasington Park. It has gone "stupid" over the years for beat up old 1000 sq ft bungalows excess of 300K. Recently the "scrapeoffs' with 750K duplexes are completely insane.


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## ispoke (Feb 28, 2005)

*Sloan Lake?*

What about Sloan Lake, west of downtown? Just heard that a friend of a friend bought a house there...


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## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

*8 out of 10*

Don't over think this. I was once told that if a house/neighborhood meets 8 of your 10 requirements, buy it. You'll never find a perfect anything. I wouldn't be too concerned about Lowry or Stapleton for that matter. I know what's under my house. They have to disclose what's in the soil. Reality vs. what people think is very different. Lowry's soil is better than some of the other parts of the metro area. Only there's no website devoted to Park Hill or Lone Tree's soil conditions for people to understand the risks in those areas. Heck I had more contaminants in my old garage than I have under my new house in Lowry. Lowry has the highest appreciation rate in metro Denver and I don't think it is because people are glowing, if you know what I mean. OK, sorry that was my rant for the day.


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

I like the Sloan's Lake area, and in fact the character of NW Denver from Sloan's Lake north through the Highlands and Berkeley. There are still a few more rundown homes and rentals in those neighborhoods, which has helped the area keep some diversity and character (as well as price control). That being said, anything with decent square footage and a garage has climbed over $300k (mostly). But it is a great area for access to downtown, the highways, and the mountains.


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## Ride-Fly (Mar 27, 2002)

*sloans lake, highlands area is rapidly becoming re-gentrified*

before I moved out to Boulder, Colorado from Redondo Beach, CA, I took a serious look at Sloans/Highlands as well as some areas close to LoDo (Congress Park, Capitol Hill, Westside of City Park). I think I prefer the downtown or close to downtown living that those areas offer. If I were in your position, I would buy in Sloans/Highlands. The area around 32nd and Lowell ave have a lot of great little restaurants and shops. It is rapidly becoming a hip area to live and the bonus for you is that it is the closest to Broomfield so that your commute won't be bad at all. Here is a couple of links that you can check out to give youan idea of what you'll find for homes. www.recolorado.com and www.coloproperty.com For the 1st link, put in your requirements and type in Highlands or Sloan's Lake for the subdivisions. Hope this helps and good luck!!


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## 8art8 (Feb 2, 2007)

we got a 5 br completely updated 35 yo house in arvada for 300 on a golf course. westminster & broomfield have similar prices for brand new houses with pretty small lots. all of these cities are pretty close to each other and very close to great rides out of boulder or golden.


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## fleck (Mar 25, 2005)

PM me with an e-mail and i can send you crime reports figures by neighborhoods in the City of denver...


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