Moving to Denver area from Florida (Castle Rock, Center: crime rate, to buy, luxury)

[MaverickMuze]

That money and 4 people in downtown are not likely.

So, 80,000 is not suffice for a family of four in denver?

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by MaverickMuze

That money and 4 people in downtown are not likely.

So, 80,000 is not suffice for a family of four in denver?

LOL, more is always better. You could do it on that; it would probably help if you took a PT job, too. The $1000 for a house to rent in downtown is unrealistic. In fact, it is unrealistic for most of the metro area.

I would suggest doing a bit of research on housing prices on the various real-estate web sites. To answer you other questions, there is a wealth of information on this site that you can find: a)by purusing the threads, and b)by doing a search. Public transit is extensive; whether you can take it 24/7 depends on where you're coming and going from. It does run pretty late in the city.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by MaverickMuze

That money and 4 people in downtown are not likely.

So, 80,000 is not suffice for a family of four in denver?

I think that he meant the $1000.00 rent for a two bedroom downtown. That said, you should be able to get a 2BR place in Capitol Hill for that rent amount, and that's in some ways better than living right downtown. There are some decent schools serving the Capitol Hill area, so city living and schools are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

As for public transit -- it is not 24/7 and not up to NYC city standards if that's what you're thinking. However, for a city of Denver's size it is not bad. Commuting to the airport by transit is something that many airport employees do.

You might also consider the Stapleton neighborhood, as Stapleton is very well connected to DIA via transit.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by tfox

I think that he meant the $1000.00 rent for a two bedroom downtown. That said, you should be able to get a 2BR place in Capitol Hill for that rent amount, and that's in some ways better than living right downtown. There are some decent schools serving the Capitol Hill area, so city living and schools are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

As for public transit -- it is not 24/7 and not up to NYC city standards if that's what you're thinking. However, for a city of Denver's size it is not bad. Commuting to the airport by transit is something that many airport employees do.

You might also consider the Stapleton neighborhood, as Stapleton is very well connected to DIA via transit.

Stapleton has the good schools, but may be more expensive than the OP wants to pay. I would suggest getting a feel for housing prices here before setting an absolute lower limit.

[Mr. Answers]

There's no way in hell that I would raise my kids downtown. DPS schools + laughably overpriced cost of living + no other kids within 5 miles = I'm off to the 'burbs.

[MaverickMuze]

katiana,

I am actually going to be employed as well in Denver. which would bring our income to 115,000. nonetheless, I am considering stapleton. thank you all.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Mr. Answers

There's no way in hell that I would raise my kids downtown. DPS schools + laughably overpriced cost of living + no other kids within 5 miles = I'm off to the 'burbs.

You obviously know nothing about Denver if you think there's no kids within 5 miles of DT.

[MantaRay]

The whole "move where the best schools are" thing is a farce. There are highly underperforming schools, which are usually violent, and there are schools which perform well on the standardized tests. Picking the top scoring schools over the next top scoring schools is an effort in futility and I'll tell you why.

The term "best schools" means highest scoring on standardized tests. The biggest influence on those scores is parental involvement- parents making their kids do their homework and helping kids when the kids need help. The highest scoring schools have the greatest % of actively involved parents. These are usually situations where most of the parents are themselves educated. That means that if a school A has 90% of students with actively involved parents and a school B has 80% of students with actively involved parents, school A will typically score higher on the standardized tests. School B will score well, but won't be considered "the best schools." Nonetheless a student WITH actively involved parents can do just as well at school B as at school A. The decision to go to school A just because it's the highest actually gets the kid NO BENEFIT over school B since the parents being involved will help that child do just as well on standardized tests and on the SAT. Now remember I'm comparing top scoring schools to good scoring schools that are not the top. Underperforming schools, which are typically violent, have a negative influence on a child's performance due to the violence and also to the excessive number of students who have low expectations because of LACK of parental involvement. But as far as the "best schools" versus the good scoring schools which are not at the top, there is no benefit for a child to go to the top scoring school.

Secondly, studies have shown that those standardized tests are not accurate predictors of collegiate success. In other words, many times students who have done well on the standardized tests have struggled once they got to college. And for most actively involved parents, the goal is 1)get the kid into a good college, 2)prepare the kid for collegiate success. Guess what that means? Chasing standardized test scores is not an accurate way to guarantee your child is prepared for collegiate success. So the whole basis of "best schools" is based on something that is NOT a predictor of college success. So why chase it? Why not chase what IS a good predictor of collegiate success? And that is active parental involvement and them setting high standards.

So how SHOULD people pick a neighborhood to live in? Find out what the "best schools" are but also what the "good schools" are. Stay away from the underperformers. Then, of that list, add in other factors that are important, and for different people these will be different. It might be best area for recreation, or closest area to downtown, or area with the most historical architecture, or area with the newer planned community homes, etc. Of course real estate agents LOVE the "best schools" talk because usually those neighborhoods carry the highest price tag and thus they get the highest commission. Often you can get the same house for less money in a "good schools" district versus in a "best schools" district. In other words, you can save money and STILL get the same result for your child.

Save the "best schools" rhetoric for when it really DOES matter- college. Harvard or UPenn business is "best schools." And the name of the school on the degree matters to employers. The name of the high school to college admissions, not so much so. Therefore the "best schools" thing is a farce.

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

Nonetheless a student WITH actively involved parents can do just as well at school B as at school A.

I wish that had been the case for our family. Despite heavy involvement from both parents along with additional tutoring, it took a move to a top-rated Cherry Creek elementary school before our children finally took off academically. The last school they attended was hardly a bottom feeder, but they consistently ignored my concerns about our children's performance, and I listened when they down-played the problems. Within the first month of attending their new school, my son, who was a border-line behavior problem in kindergarten, had a complete about-face. Furthermore, my daughter had been targeted for extra help in her weakest subjects, and her teacher began communicating with us regularly about her progress without me nagging for updates.

I do agree with you that parental involvement is key, but for the best results the school needs most parents to be active. You can't be the only one volunteering to help.

[murof]

With that kind of income, you should definitely move to Stapleton. It's right up your alley. I make 30K a year, and pay almost $1000 a month in rent. You must be a saver, huh.