South Fort Collins vs. South Denver suburbs

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by NoVaFirstTimer

Following. Our original goal was CA but we realized that Denver is a much better fit after visiting.

We are basically in the same boat with 3 kids under 5 yrs, remote job, outdoor interests and are fine with a cookie cutter home (minus the horse). Plans underway to move to Denver this Fall - close to Littleton near distant family.

We are going to be renting for the first year and narrowed it down to the below areas (schools, parks, groceries, walking trails etc):
1. Highlands Ranch (South Denver)
2. Lone Tree (South Denver)
3. Littleton (South-West Denver)
4. Centennial (South Denver)
5. Stonegate & Parker (South-East Denver) - A bit far from Littleton
6. Castle Pines (Too $$$) South of Denver
7. Lakewood (Iffy schools?) (East Denver)
8. Arvada (North-East Denver)

How does it compare to your research? Most of these places have Townhouses or SFHs rentals within our budget (~<= 2.2k). Only thing I noticed was the abundance of rental agencies on Zillow.

Denver folks - is that the norm?

In addition, Denver county gives preschool tuition credits for residents which is great. However, the rents are higher or Aurora areas seem iffy - so I think it is a wash.

Good luck OP!

You’re new so you get a pass, but Lakewood is west of Denver and Arvada is northwest of Denver.

Hotpads.com is another good resource for rentals. You pick your area and other selection criteria and it shows you what is available.

I needed a one lease apartment in Denver for work and Hotpads worked great.

[Squib]

Originally Posted by NoVaFirstTimer

Following. Our original goal was CA but we realized that Denver is a much better fit after visiting.

We are basically in the same boat with 3 kids under 5 yrs, remote job, outdoor interests and are fine with a cookie cutter home (minus the horse). Plans underway to move to Denver this Fall - close to Littleton near distant family.

We are going to be renting for the first year and narrowed it down to the below areas (schools, parks, groceries, walking trails etc):
1. Highlands Ranch (South Denver)
2. Lone Tree (South Denver)
3. Littleton (South-West Denver)
4. Centennial (South Denver)
5. Stonegate & Parker (South-East Denver) - A bit far from Littleton
6. Castle Pines (Too $$$) South of Denver
7. Lakewood (Iffy schools?) (East Denver)
8. Arvada (North-East Denver)

How does it compare to your research? Most of these places have Townhouses or SFHs rentals within our budget (~<= 2.2k). Only thing I noticed was the abundance of rental agencies on Zillow.

Denver folks - is that the norm?

In addition, Denver county gives preschool tuition credits for residents which is great. However, the rents are higher or Aurora areas seem iffy - so I think it is a wash.

Good luck OP!

A few things to note about the schools:

1. Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, Stonegate and Castle Pines will all be Douglas County schools. Decent schools with a bad recent history due to right-wing grass roots initiatives to choke funding. This has been fixed by the voters but you may still hear people talk about DougCo school issues due to the bad word of mouth and former teachers/residents.
2. Western Centennial will be Littleton Public Schools, while eastern Centennial will be Cherry Creek schools. (Both districts are top notch with the edge going to Cherry Creek).
3. Lakewood and Arvada will be Jefferson County schools. At one time they were the best in the state, but not anymore. Still good though. (Personally, Arvada > Lakewood by far).
4. With a few exceptions I’d pick any of the above places above Aurora or Denver proper. Both cities have some really nice areas, but it’s hit or miss and the schools suffer for it.

Another piece of advice: Unless budget necessitates it, just stay away from Aurora (and to a lesser extent Lakewood and Denver) until you know the good parts from the bad. The other places you mentioned are all nice, safe and generically “middle/upper middle class” (with all of the good and bad that comes with that definition).