[macroy]

So I'm contemplating a move to the mile-high city. Spent a few days there on business, liked the backdrop of the mountains... seems like a good place to start a family.

Would appreciate any feedback from those who live, or used to live in that area. Here are a few things I like to know:

Which area should be avoided in terms of housing? and which area is the best place for housing. Best/worst school districts?

I've done some research... just wanted to see how "opinions" back or contradict the statistics.

Thanks in advance.

[phantomdragonz]

well.... I live in boulder county and we have a better school district then denver public schools... stay away from those. I would not reccomend living in boulder as it costs too much, also it's called "The Peoples Republic of Boulder" for a reason... anyways, I only know about where i live, as i have lived here for like 12-13 years. depending on if you like big cities or not go for it, I dont like big cities and tend to stay away from denver, the area has a lot of cool places to go and things to see, I could easly see myself living here for the rest of my life.

ANYWAYS back on topic, Housing... Boulder is expensive, denver not so much (depending on where you live...) louisville, superior, broomfield, westminister, in that order, are usually better but thats only north metro area as thats where I live... i would not rule out Greely (school of mines and right up against the Mtn's and i-70)

sorry for all this jumbled info if you have any more questions PM me and I will try and help you out.

Zach

[DigitalEl]

Visually, it's one of the most beautiful places in this country. That skyline against the Rockies is that "purple mountains majesty" people sing about.

If you earn a good living, you'll do well there. The cost of living is high compared to the other places I've lived: Phoenix, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and even Hartford, CT. Homes are crazy expensive. That's the price you'll pay for the Ca-lee-forn-ya ex-pats moving in and making everything costlier... As they've done here in Arizona and other western states.

There is plenty of culture in Denver, not to mention all four major sports, if that's your thing. Outside of the city itself, Colorado is pretty politically conservative, too, if that matters to you.

And one intangible is the cost of airfare. If anything happens to United (and that's a strong possibility), that major airport of Denver's will be home, essentially, to a one-airline city. Frontier is a low-cost carrier now... But ask people in other cities dominated by a single carrier what it's like when the competition moves out. Why is this important? Because out west, unless you have a week off from work, almost nothing is driving distance. Unlike the eastern U.S., where you can drive from DC to Baltimore to Philadelphia to New York to Boston just bam-bam-bam-bam-bam, the distances between civilization are a bit longer out west. Compared to the major city every two hours thing you have goin' on back east, Denver's a long way from Phoenix or KC or Las Vegas or LA.

I just realized I didn't really hit any of your questions, per se. Hopefully someone who lived there longer than the two years I spent there can answer those. I do know Aurora is not necessarily the best part of town. Good luck!

[d4nth3m4n]

columbine.

[phantomdragonz]

colorado has a lot of stuff to do within driving distance... these things are just outdoor things, if you love the outdoors then colorado is your mecca... I go camping, 4 wheeling, skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, white water rafting, mtn biking... tons of stuff to do!!! the mountains are RIGHT there... thats what i love about this state, in an hour or two you could be walking in national forest land that VERY few people have ever been, well not quite, but still the mountains are breath taking and a lot of people dont go up there, except to ski, and I cant wait for this season to start. and in united goes down the sh**er then someone else will move in... it's not like it's the ONLY carrier... it only takes up b concorse and a few gates in a... frontier is huge and there is still c concorse, lufthansa and the like... not a worry for us...

but I guess my only point is there is lots of things to do out here, they are just outdoor things, but there is still denver and all it's normal city stuff... plays, concerts, hockey games, football games, basketball games... but I live here because of the outdoor aspect... I found my self looking out my door the other day and was just amazed at the mountains, they are within an hour drive (more like 20mins just to get there) and it is like a totally different world..

Zach

[phantomdragonz]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
columbine.

yeah... what about it... what I dont understand is why all the other schools in the nation put in metal detectors and all this extra crap... and NOTHING changes for us, I was still in highschool at the time and i was not worried or scared for my life...

WTF...

Zach

[itai195]

Originally posted by DigitalEl:
That's the price you'll pay for the Ca-lee-forn-ya ex-pats moving in and making everything costlier... As they've done here in Arizona and other western states.

Damn, and I was thinking of moving to Denver

[olePigeon]

Hope you don't enjoy eating out. I lived in Colorado for a little over a year and the food there is just disgusting. I must've tried literally 30 different Chinese restaurants. I found ONE that was acceptable, but no where near what I would call good Chinese food. I found more than a couple "Chinese" places that were outright uneatable... I practically gagged on the food it was so disgusting. Only thing in common between Chinese food from California and Chinese food from Colorado it's still relatively expensive.

Boy did I take California for granted. California and New York have the best food from my experience. Being port cities, I'm guessing it's because of the huge diversity of culture so you can get authentic food.

If you do eat out, stick to the mainstream sit-down places like Outback or TGI Fridays. And avoid all pizza at all costs. Maybe it's the altitude, but every single pizza place that I've gone to or ordered from was terrible. The best pizza in Colorado was going to the grocery store and buying a frozen one. I almost tried a place called Uno's, but $30 for a "gourmet, Chicago style" medium pizza is just ridiculous.

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by DigitalEl:
There is plenty of culture in Denver...

As long as it's white or Native American.

[Rev-O]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
<snip>Boy did I take California for granted.<snip>

A Californian left Colorado? And they say there is no God.

[Rev-O]

Originally posted by macroy:
So I'm contemplating a move to the mile-high city. Spent a few days there on business, liked the backdrop of the mountains... seems like a good place to start a family.

Would appreciate any feedback from those who live, or used to live in that area. Here are a few things I like to know:

Which area should be avoided in terms of housing? and which area is the best place for housing. Best/worst school districts?

I've done some research... just wanted to see how "opinions" back or contradict the statistics.

Thanks in advance.

Cherry Creek School District is very good, but in a pricey area. Douglas County Schools are fine (somewhat overcrowded, but they're working on that), and in more affordable (somewhat) areas. Housing in the 'burbs runs at about $1000 to $1500 per square ft. I'd guess.

I've mostly lived in the southeast Denver Metro Area, and it is pretty nice. Centennial/Parker/Castle Rock/ Greenwood Village areas. Parts of Aurora are nice-ish, but for the most part Aurora (or as we call it: 'Saudi Aurora') could be skipped. Area around THE Columbine high school is nice too. Ignoring olepigeon, there are many fine eating establishments, and an abundance of micro-breweries. Good town to watch sports, unless you want to watch a good team (No Avalanche because of the lock out). All three sports centers are close to each other (Pepsi center for hockey and basketball, Invesco field for football, Coors field for baseball) and on the fringes of lower down town (LoDo), which is packed with eateries and bars. Home of one of the best bookstores in the united states, the Tattered Cover. 2 Apple stores.

Mountains are nice, skiing is overpriced and overcrowded, but off-roading is fantastic. All 'n' all, it's a fine place to live.

[macroy]

For those that say the area can be expensive in terms of housing... what are the averages? I'm seeing around 300K or so based on realtor.com... .which is pretty good compared to the DC area..

Just as a comparason, you'll be lucky to find an average townhouse in the county I live in right now for less than 400K.... Condos in a new developement nearby were listing for over 700K (but that's on the high end of the scale).

Also, I've heard someone mention the old Stapleton airport being turned into a planned community? good/bad?

Thanks for the info so far....

[iBook]

Originally posted by macroy:
So I'm contemplating a move to the mile-high city. Spent a few days there on business, liked the backdrop of the mountains... seems like a good place to start a family.

Would appreciate any feedback from those who live, or used to live in that area. Here are a few things I like to know:

Which area should be avoided in terms of housing? and which area is the best place for housing. Best/worst school districts?

I've done some research... just wanted to see how "opinions" back or contradict the statistics.

Thanks in advance.

Colorado


Overview

Colorado is a generally good place to live. The atmosphere is pretty good and so is the scenery and things to do. The job market in Colorado is somewhat poor, so I would definitely secure a position before moving especially if you are not skilled in specific professional areas, and/or college education. There is alot of entertainment in Colorado, however, plan on spending a fair amount of money for entertainment, though there is fun stuff to do if you know where to go.


Cost of living

Generally the cost of living in Colorado is slightly above average. I would rate it pretty nominal. If you plan to rent an apartment it really does not depend too greatly on where you live in Colorado, and I have typically found that the nicer places to live are just slightly higher than the not so nice places. You should expect to pay around $700 for a good 1-bedroom apartment in a good area, $8-850 for a 2-bedroom and $900-$1100 for a 3-4 bedroom; it is a better value to rent a house as you can expect to pay $750-$1400 for a small-small medium sized house for rent; this does vary on where you live as you can find houses for rent in bad Denver areas for as little as $4-600. If you plan on buying a house, this does vary tremendously on where you live obviously. Houses range from $150,000 to $250,000 in the nicer areas for a small-medium sized house and as much as $400,000 in the ritzy areas.

The cost of living is often considered by many to be high based on the pay rates. Unskilled work generally starts at $5.25/hr and skilled un-professional type work can pay anywhere from $7-$12/hr. Skilled professionals can earn anywhere from $40-$80k/yr and highly skilled $100k plus. So, based on that pay rates in colorado are considered to be below average, but the nominal cost of living somewhat balances that.


Traffic

In Colorado, traffic is not near as bad as California, however it is much worse than it was 10-years ago and the "T-Rex" project has magnified this issue greatly. Even when T-Rex is done, many people estimate that it will be much much worse even at that point based on the fact that T-Rex is only completing what should have been done several years ago and does not begin to take into account a population growth at the rate it has been at for the past 12-years it is essentially just making the highway systems adequate for our current population. A few examples: Boulder to Downtown Denver ETA - 30-min (off peak) 60-min (peak) Downtown Denver to DTC/Littleton ETA - 25-min (off peak) 50-min (peak) Downtown Denver to Greely ETA - 90-min (off peak) 120-min (peak). So as you can see, it typically takes 25-100% longer to get places during peak hours. These are not the greatest examples though they are very typical. The mass transit system is pretty good compared to most states. RTD, the local bus system was rated the #1 transit system in the nation and the airline system is above average.


Food

Dining in Colorado is good and there are many great places to eat if know where to go. You can expect to find many different types of food, anywhere from Chinese to Italian to Korean cuisine. The cost of food is slightly above average where you can expect to pay $15-20 per head to be served at a diner type restaurant and $20-40 per head at a middle-class type place and $50-100 at the finer places.


Conclusion

All-in-all Colorado is a quite decent place to live. I would recommend finding residence in Broomfield or Arvada as these are both equally great areas with easy access to a ton of good places to shop, eat and have fun. I would strongly recommend avoiding boulder as the cost of living is quite high and it really is the place to visit, but not to live. Greeley I would also avoid; the cost of living in Greeley is pretty low, however crime is nearly on par with Denver and so is heavy drug use, the atmosphere is generally poor also, unless you like cattle ranches. Commerce city I would avoid; I comically refer to it as communist city. Littleton has its nicer areas and I would reccomend that next on the list under broomfield or arvada. Longmont and Loveland is pretty nice, but should be avoided as it is far from the Denver Metro area and this is where the job market is the strongest.

[phantomdragonz]

well iBook pretty much hit it on the nose... But I think he missed the north metro area pretty good, we are closer to the mtns and still have that proximity to denver..

Zach

[macroy]

Originally posted by iBook:
Colorado


Overview.... <cut>

Very informative. Thank you.

not to keep asking.. but which is more expensive to live in - Denver or Colorado Springs?? The company I work for actually has a branch at Colorado Springs... so that may be a more viable alternative.

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by iBook:
Dining in Colorado is good and there are many great places to eat if know where to go. You can expect to find many different types of food, anywhere from Chinese to Italian to Korean cuisine. The cost of food is slightly above average where you can expect to pay $15-20 per head to be served at a diner type restaurant and $20-40 per head at a middle-class type place and $50-100 at the finer places.

If you've never eaten any food outside of Colorado, I can see how a person would think the food is fine... because that's the only food you've eaten.

[phoenixboy70]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
If you've never eaten any food outside of Colorado, I can see how a person would think the food is fine... because that's the only food you've eaten.

damn, dude, i really don't know what you're talking about. i lived in boulder for about 4 years and had some really great food there. denver was okay as well....

ot: the denver/boulder area is the only place i've ever lived in the us for any longer period of time. the school systems looked pretty good (from what i remember the high-school kids there told me) and the weather is absolutely spectacular.

the pace of life seems a bit slower than in most metropolitan/urban areas i've been, but that's what you get when half of the population is stoned out of their mind 90% of the time.

living in boulder is a bit on the expensive side, but as far as recreational activities, culture and standard of living go, one of the better places i've seen. if you're really paranoid you'll also enjoy the comparatively low crime rate there.

in denver i really liked cherry creek, and the downtown area around coors park etc. - didn't really care that much for the surrounding "towns" like broomfield, westminster etc. seemed pretty bland to me.

i only was in colorado springs a couple of times. housing is probably a lot cheaper than in denver, but the standard of living doesn't even come close, imho. i also remember it being quite a long drive from denver.

[olePigeon]

Originally posted by phoenixboy70:
damn, dude, i really don't know what you're talking about. i lived in boulder for about 4 years and had some really great food there. denver was okay as well....

You can find great food. Basically, anything grilled or BBQed. Excellent steaks and decent hamburgers. Good ribs and stuff.

But outside of that... good gods! I mean, pizza. How do you f*ck up pizza? Every single Pizza place I tried (and I tried them at random, and probably about 30 different places, not namebrand fastfood pizza either) had cardboard for crust and gods know what for pepperoni. Actually, I narrowed down the pepperoni part. Most of them use Hormel *barf*

The main problem with Colorado is that if you're going to any ethnic food, it's almost always cooked by white people. White people with no training have no business making Chinese food. White people should probably stay away from cooking Chinese food anyway, and just leave it to the Chinese.

I had a really hard time finding a good Chinese restaurant. Although I did figure out a trick to picking one at random that might be decent. 95% of them list chow mein as a hard noodle dish, and low mein as the soft noodle dish (instead of chow mein as soft noodle, and low mein as flat noodle or hard noodle. Like the rest of the country.) If you find a Chinese restaurant that actually lists chow mein as a soft noodle dish, you're probably in good hands. That means a Chinese person probably made the menu and are probably cooking the food.

Edit: I haven't seen so many white people cooking ethnic foods in my life. I think that really is the problem with Colorado. Oh, and don't let the food stop you, though. They have some of the best clubs and great skiing.

[d4nth3m4n]

illegal petes is the sh*t. dont harp on colorado food.

unless you want to talk about all the strip mall crap in the suburbs south of denver. i was stuck in cherry creek for three weeks about a year ago. i really hated it. just flat prairie and strip malls.

Great place to raise kids hence, the columbine remark.

[phantomdragonz]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
illegal petes is the sh*t.

at the pearl street store they have some DAMN hot girls... reason enough to go... and it's 10x better then chipotle!

but anyways... yeah, I used to work at a mexican restaurant... I was in like 8th grade... and I could have been a cook if i really wanted to be... boy did that place ruin me for mexican food, but then again there is this chinese place down the street from me... literally a hole in the wall place... with a MUCH bigger BETTER location two doors down.. but their food sucks in comparison to this place... damn it's good food... and they speak a different language in the kitchen... so it's not white boys.. but damn people... we are fighting about the damn food!!! there are some good places and some bad places... being in the middle of the country there is not that much culture... there were LITERALLY 5 or 6 african americans and maybe 6 asian kids in my highschool... and we had 1,700 kids... it's DAMN WHITE out here... but colorado is a beautiful and amazing place to live, I urge you to at least visit and check some of the places out...


Zach