It looks like work and family is more than likely sending me from stumptown to Denver. Any 'nectors already out there? Tell me about Denver. Best place to buy a house (I've got two kids ones about to start public school). Favorite tidbits? Want to post a pic of Napolean Dynamite? This is the place.
Nothing to do with Denver...but I knew it was inevitable so I thought I'd try to get it out of the way at the beginning...and now that that is done, let's talk about Denver.
I would suggest living in the Capitol Hill/Cheeseman/Congress park area. There are some decent homes for fairly reasonable prices. Most are old and may need a bit of fixing up. And I hear East High School is the place to be. Denver has horrendous traffic so live close to where you work. It also has horrendous sprawl and there are track homes for as far as the eye can see.
Quality of life is high (lots of bike paths, mountains, outdoor stuff), cost of living is fairly low, but it is a bit of a cultural and diversity void. But it has a great music scene, good music and book stores, and lots of cheap, direct flights to New York and Chicago so you can get your big city fix.
I live in Boulder and have contemplated the move to Denver for a couple years... The Highland's or near Sloan's Lake is where I'd live... Directly North of town across I-25 is an up and coming area - there's a lot of parks and a fun skatepark easily accessible. You can still walk/bike to Lodo.
I don't know much about schools in these areas as I don't have kids. I'd do a bunch of research on this though as from what I can tell Colorado's public schools seem to be all over the board. [we were 49th in funding for a while! but i think it's gotten better]
Yes, that would be a good choice as well. Homes in the highlands can be pretty expensive, but if you go further west (west of Sheridan) you get into Wheatridge which i hear has cheaper homes and better schools. And Wheatridge is right next to Sloans lake and a little area called Edgewater, which is nice.
But if you can afford the highlands, you couldn't go wrong with it. Great restaurants and shops and it feels like a nice community.
I bet the DNC in August will make for a fun downtown environment that week, ....
The biggest problem with Denver is that there are no nectors there...and sometimes hard to find people with the capacity for abstract thought...however, if its natural beauty and healthy lifestyles...you will like it. Try the First Friday (artist street party) on Santa Fe, or alternative theatre scene for a vacation from the "Midwesterness" of it ...
As for locales,...look at the "fast track" light rail plan and you will see how to make your investment in a region that might be very transit oriented one day, make you money... ,so keep that in mind..
I'd skip CH with kids. Highlands/Sloans Lake/Jefferson park are nice areas. Highlands and Sloans just successfully (to my dismay) downzoned, so there won't be anymore developments there.
Sloans would be much nicer for a family, much more single family residences, nice park at the lake, quiet streets. Highlands is more trending, full of almost-finished 600-800k townhomes (some decent designs too), but much more dense.
For family life, I'd check out Sunnyside or Berkeley. A little less trendy (although we'll see how long that lasts), some really nice old trees.
32nd and Lowell area is super cool, too. All these are bordering each other.
For fun, 32nd/Lowell has some good places, Highlands has a few good ones too. Downtown has many, but weekend parking can be a pain.
What's your budget? As an FYI, all these places continue to increase in value, no slack off with the housing market in the 'hip' areas, so don't expect bargains near downtown.
If you don't mind taking the light rail or a commute, you can probably find good deals amongst the rampant sprawl (of which, I have no idea what to recommend).
FYI - there are a few of use here ;-). Architecture scene continues to grow, latest announcement is Clyfford Still's museum by Allied Works.
Thanks.
Budget is high 300's, 400 max. Got in before the big growth in my Portland neighborhood. Hoping not to have as much of a fixer (read complete do-over) this time.
The office is just west of I-25 from downtown (across the new pedestrian bridge), so highlands is appealing. Sprawl living is not on the top of the list. Having been in PDX for 10 years (after growing up in Fort collins) it is always depressing to go back to CO and see what lack of urban planning has done to the front range.
Allied Works can't get a building in Portland, it is good to see Denver being so adventurous (ie. david adjaye, allied works) if not naive (ie. Libeskind). It'll be fun territory to move in to though.
denver is a very nice place for those who enjoy an outdoorsy lifestyle.
make sure you have lots of fleece. the fleece is necessary for blending in with the locals. there's a nice REI overlooking confluence park if you need to stock up.
There is so much nasty urban sprawl on the periphery that it almost looks like Dallas or the DC beltway... unfortunately that may be the only place that's truly affordable.
But in the city is pretty nice. There's a lot going on. Anywhere near Cherry Creek is a pretty nice place to buy a house, although it'll cost you.
300-400 is not much for a house. I'd say at about 400-500 you could start to see decent homes in this area. I'd look, there are tons of foreclosures that might be good fixer-uppers, I've almost bought a few as scrapers, but it was never worth it.
I know of a nice house that we had the property under contract, as a scraper, but the historic district wouldn't let us do anything. Ain't that pretty, and probably needs at least $150k of work, but the location is very good (literally a block from the 32nd and lowell hot spot).
Let me know if you are interested, it was a foreclosure and as far as I know the bank still owns it. But it would take a lot of work, so not sure if you want to take that on.
Look around on Craigslist - search for Highlands (make sure you don't look at Highlands Ranch), Jefferson Park, Sloans Lake, Sunnyside and Berkeley.
5 years ago my budget for a house was $175k, now its more than doubled and I still am at the bottom of the market. Things change quick.
CraigsList looks hopeful for these areas in my price range. Hopefully this will prove to be true.
Any hints on finding foreclosures?
Also,
Anyone familiar with the mid-century modern neighborhoods in Denver. Arapahoe Acres, Holly Hills, etc. Englewood seems pretty far out from the urban life, but it'd be pretty nice to live in a house that was formerly owned by Mr. Incredible.
Moved away from Denver 2 years ago this month. God I miss it!
I lived in the Uptown, West City Park neighborhood and loved it. With kids, however, Stapleton would probably be my top choice. (Stapletondenver.com) It's in a great location about 5 miles from DT and has several good, new public schools right in the neighborhood. There are dozens of parks and tons of green space. It's a new urbanist community and kind of Disney-esque fakey, but very clean, safe, and seems like it would be a great place to raise a family.
If you haven't found it already, the public MLS system is http://www.recolorado.com/ You can search for stapleton resale homes by puting "stapleton" in the neighborhood field.
Other neighborhoods to look at:
Highlands (not Highlands Ranch) ($$)
Washington Park ($$$$)
Platt Park ($$$)
City Park ($$)
Whittier ($)
Baker ($)
Congress Park ($$$)
Cherry Creek ($$$$)
Denver, Colorado
It looks like work and family is more than likely sending me from stumptown to Denver. Any 'nectors already out there? Tell me about Denver. Best place to buy a house (I've got two kids ones about to start public school). Favorite tidbits? Want to post a pic of Napolean Dynamite? This is the place.
don't mind if i do - thanks!
but what does this have to do with denver?
Nothing to do with Denver...but I knew it was inevitable so I thought I'd try to get it out of the way at the beginning...and now that that is done, let's talk about Denver.
got it - glad to help.
i'm in albuquerque, never been to denver but want to, however i'll be going to salt lake city next weekend.
I would suggest living in the Capitol Hill/Cheeseman/Congress park area. There are some decent homes for fairly reasonable prices. Most are old and may need a bit of fixing up. And I hear East High School is the place to be. Denver has horrendous traffic so live close to where you work. It also has horrendous sprawl and there are track homes for as far as the eye can see.
Quality of life is high (lots of bike paths, mountains, outdoor stuff), cost of living is fairly low, but it is a bit of a cultural and diversity void. But it has a great music scene, good music and book stores, and lots of cheap, direct flights to New York and Chicago so you can get your big city fix.
I live in Boulder and have contemplated the move to Denver for a couple years... The Highland's or near Sloan's Lake is where I'd live... Directly North of town across I-25 is an up and coming area - there's a lot of parks and a fun skatepark easily accessible. You can still walk/bike to Lodo.
I don't know much about schools in these areas as I don't have kids. I'd do a bunch of research on this though as from what I can tell Colorado's public schools seem to be all over the board. [we were 49th in funding for a while! but i think it's gotten better]
Yes, that would be a good choice as well. Homes in the highlands can be pretty expensive, but if you go further west (west of Sheridan) you get into Wheatridge which i hear has cheaper homes and better schools. And Wheatridge is right next to Sloans lake and a little area called Edgewater, which is nice.
But if you can afford the highlands, you couldn't go wrong with it. Great restaurants and shops and it feels like a nice community.
I bet the DNC in August will make for a fun downtown environment that week, ....
The biggest problem with Denver is that there are no nectors there...and sometimes hard to find people with the capacity for abstract thought...however, if its natural beauty and healthy lifestyles...you will like it. Try the First Friday (artist street party) on Santa Fe, or alternative theatre scene for a vacation from the "Midwesterness" of it ...
As for locales,...look at the "fast track" light rail plan and you will see how to make your investment in a region that might be very transit oriented one day, make you money... ,so keep that in mind..
I'd skip CH with kids. Highlands/Sloans Lake/Jefferson park are nice areas. Highlands and Sloans just successfully (to my dismay) downzoned, so there won't be anymore developments there.
Sloans would be much nicer for a family, much more single family residences, nice park at the lake, quiet streets. Highlands is more trending, full of almost-finished 600-800k townhomes (some decent designs too), but much more dense.
For family life, I'd check out Sunnyside or Berkeley. A little less trendy (although we'll see how long that lasts), some really nice old trees.
32nd and Lowell area is super cool, too. All these are bordering each other.
For fun, 32nd/Lowell has some good places, Highlands has a few good ones too. Downtown has many, but weekend parking can be a pain.
What's your budget? As an FYI, all these places continue to increase in value, no slack off with the housing market in the 'hip' areas, so don't expect bargains near downtown.
If you don't mind taking the light rail or a commute, you can probably find good deals amongst the rampant sprawl (of which, I have no idea what to recommend).
FYI - there are a few of use here ;-). Architecture scene continues to grow, latest announcement is Clyfford Still's museum by Allied Works.
http://www.clyffordstillmuseum.org/
Thanks.
Budget is high 300's, 400 max. Got in before the big growth in my Portland neighborhood. Hoping not to have as much of a fixer (read complete do-over) this time.
The office is just west of I-25 from downtown (across the new pedestrian bridge), so highlands is appealing. Sprawl living is not on the top of the list. Having been in PDX for 10 years (after growing up in Fort collins) it is always depressing to go back to CO and see what lack of urban planning has done to the front range.
Allied Works can't get a building in Portland, it is good to see Denver being so adventurous (ie. david adjaye, allied works) if not naive (ie. Libeskind). It'll be fun territory to move in to though.
denver is a very nice place for those who enjoy an outdoorsy lifestyle.
make sure you have lots of fleece. the fleece is necessary for blending in with the locals. there's a nice REI overlooking confluence park if you need to stock up.
Being a Denverite is almost as like being a Boulderite, but less granola..
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=boulderite
My personal entry was #2.
There is so much nasty urban sprawl on the periphery that it almost looks like Dallas or the DC beltway... unfortunately that may be the only place that's truly affordable.
But in the city is pretty nice. There's a lot going on. Anywhere near Cherry Creek is a pretty nice place to buy a house, although it'll cost you.
300-400 is not much for a house. I'd say at about 400-500 you could start to see decent homes in this area. I'd look, there are tons of foreclosures that might be good fixer-uppers, I've almost bought a few as scrapers, but it was never worth it.
I know of a nice house that we had the property under contract, as a scraper, but the historic district wouldn't let us do anything. Ain't that pretty, and probably needs at least $150k of work, but the location is very good (literally a block from the 32nd and lowell hot spot).
Let me know if you are interested, it was a foreclosure and as far as I know the bank still owns it. But it would take a lot of work, so not sure if you want to take that on.
Look around on Craigslist - search for Highlands (make sure you don't look at Highlands Ranch), Jefferson Park, Sloans Lake, Sunnyside and Berkeley.
i'm visiting in a few weeks. i love denver.
What happens at 32nd and Lowell?
5 years ago my budget for a house was $175k, now its more than doubled and I still am at the bottom of the market. Things change quick.
CraigsList looks hopeful for these areas in my price range. Hopefully this will prove to be true.
Any hints on finding foreclosures?
Thanks again.
Also,
Anyone familiar with the mid-century modern neighborhoods in Denver. Arapahoe Acres, Holly Hills, etc. Englewood seems pretty far out from the urban life, but it'd be pretty nice to live in a house that was formerly owned by Mr. Incredible.
Moved away from Denver 2 years ago this month. God I miss it!
I lived in the Uptown, West City Park neighborhood and loved it. With kids, however, Stapleton would probably be my top choice. (Stapletondenver.com) It's in a great location about 5 miles from DT and has several good, new public schools right in the neighborhood. There are dozens of parks and tons of green space. It's a new urbanist community and kind of Disney-esque fakey, but very clean, safe, and seems like it would be a great place to raise a family.
If you haven't found it already, the public MLS system is http://www.recolorado.com/ You can search for stapleton resale homes by puting "stapleton" in the neighborhood field.
Other neighborhoods to look at:
Highlands (not Highlands Ranch) ($$)
Washington Park ($$$$)
Platt Park ($$$)
City Park ($$)
Whittier ($)
Baker ($)
Congress Park ($$$)
Cherry Creek ($$$$)
Good Luck!
There are foreclosure based websites, most you have to pay a fee to view all the details. Zillow is also helpful.
Honestly, though, I've found just as many leads on Craigslist.
There are tons here, going through another wave, supposedly hitting more middle class homes, so you timing could be right.
Personally, I don't like Stapleton (just there this morning), seems too sterile to me. But for family life, its probably great.
I'd add to 9sq's summation:
Sunnyside ($$)
Berkeley ($$)
Jefferson Park ($+ .5)
Check out:
http://www.denverinfill.com/ - super resource of new developments
http://blog.riverfrontpark.com/ - kinda a marketing blog for Riverfront Park, but still a good thing to look at
For Mid-Century Modern:
Krisana Park: http://groups.msn.com/KrisanaPark
Also, this realty company focuses on modern in and around Denver
http://www.milehimodern.com/
I like my neighborhood, Whittier/Five Points, but if I had as much to spend as you I wouldn't live here. I'd go for Wash Park.
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