Centennial / S Aurora area (Greenwood Village: rentals, houses, neighborhood)

[davidv]

Originally Posted by daisies76

We are contemplating leaving the kids here in Florida to finish out the year and stay with my mother, (which is ideal for the kids, and also ideal so we could locate and get familiar with the area, but I am just not sold that she wants that added responsibility) ... so we havent decided.

This would probably be best for the kids. It would allow them time to say good bye to their friends, and give them some quality time with their grandmother. After the move, they will not see much of her as daily life has a way of taking over and making it hard for your family to see her, and vice versa. I am not trying to guilt you or her, but it is a reality.

[daisies76]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

I've toured both the Sonoma Resort @ Saddle Rock and the Canyons @ Saddle Rock. They are both very nice apartments, as well as the Sanctuary @ Tallyns Reach apartments down the street.

Thank you so much for the info and the photo tour was great. Looks exactly like what we are looking for. I can see that we would like that area. When you are talking about the 40 min commute, is that from the Saddle Rock area? What we were trying to decide on now is if we should live closer to the S. Parker Rd area or closer to the Saddle Rock area. We didnt know about the Saddle Rock part of own until it was just mentioned by DenverBrian. When we saw your photo tour, looking at that outsde shopping mall (Southlands) that is exactly like the areas we would like to live near. We like newer buildings, shopping, restaurants, etc... When I say "live near" I dont necessarily mean walk-to or be in the back yard necessarily, but within a short drive would be great.

My daughter will be getting a PT job in retail, but she will also have a car (in time) so thats ok too. It would have been nice if she just had something walkable, but if she doesnt, thats ok, too.

We had ruled out Glendale as everything we read was negative, I didnt realize there were good parts of Glendale also. We are really trying to stay within that 1600.00 budget because of our house here in Florida in the event we dont get it rented right away. My husband and I will be driving to work together so the gas expense will be much better just for one commute!

We should be working 7am-3:30.

[daisies76]

Originally Posted by davidv

This would probably be best for the kids. It would allow them time to say good bye to their friends, and give them some quality time with their grandmother. After the move, they will not see much of her as daily life has a way of taking over and making it hard for your family to see her, and vice versa. I am not trying to guilt you or her, but it is a reality.

I agree with you completely. That was the original plan then we started charting out the cost of having to make a double move. We were going to do a 1 bedroom apt for just my husband and I for 5-6 months while my kids finished out the school year in FL, then come get them, or one-way ticket them out there once school finishes (but then they would have beds, mattresses, TV's, etc, so the plane ticket idea bombed)
then we started calling around on apts and saw that even to get a place for 6months, the pet deposits were insane, then to just have to turn around and pay them all over again when we got a 3 bedroom. Financially speaking I would just like to make the move once, bring everyone, bring all the stuff, but then I dont want the kids to have to possibly change schools again. (you know, start at one place when we get there, then possibly move which puts them in another school)

I want to find the right place now, if thats possible... 2000 miles away.
We wont have time to come out to look around first so we are depending on advice from others and researching on our own when these ideas come in.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by daisies76

We should be working 7am-3:30.

The high school for Saddle Rock/Southlands area is Cherokee Trail.

The middle school varies according to where you would live. East of E470, the MS is Fox Ridge, which is adjacent to CTHS.

West of E470 and north of Smoky Hill Rd the MS is Thunder Ridge which is adjacent to Eaglecrest HS.

West of E470 and south of Smoky Hill Road the MS is Liberty.

In order to get to work by 7 am, you will likely have to leave by 6:15 am at the latest. Your kids will have to get themselves to school, either walking to a bus stop or walking to the school. The high school starts around 7:15 am and the middle schools start around 8:00 am.

In bad weather, you will probably have to leave by 5:30 am.

One note about the area. It is the far edge of the metro area. The eastern part of the metro area gets more extreme weather. The snowstorms in the east are usually worse, and the lack of trees will lead to more blowing snow and blizzard conditions. The thunderstorms in the summer are more intense, and there is a chance that the area could be hit by tornadoes.

You need to make your own decisions, but I would not live in that area unless I worked no further than the DTC/Meridian area.

[Smyth76]

Hello everyone -

My family and I are moving from London to the Denver area in a few months time. We are looking at the SE Aurora / Englewood / Greenwood Village areas and I wonder if locals could help explain any main differences / cultural nuances between these areas?

Our main considerations for location are:
1) Commute time to the south side of Arapahoe Co Airport, off E-470 - close to where my husband will work.
2) Good schools for our young boys (aged 4 and 3) - Cherry Creek District seems to be consistently good, and has been my main focus.
3) Clean, well-maintained, safe neighborhoods with other young families - lots of opportunities for friends and playdates!
4) House price - we are hoping to buy something with 4+ bedrooms and a good size yard under $400k.

I've read the thread posts, and the one below from vegaspilgrim has me especially hopeful that all of these areas are worth looking into. But, is there much difference between them? For instance, as compared to Englewood, SE Aurora seems to have more reasonably priced houses and still is within the CC School District. However, the cynical side of me wonders why (i.e. is the area not as nice or well-established?)

Are there any other areas that I should be targeting?

Many thanks for the advice and help,
- Andrea

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

...You could also consider the western part of Centennial which is near Greenwood Village, Englewood, and Littleton. This is an older part of town, but every bit as nice as SE Aurora/ E Centennial. Some of this area is in the Cherry Creek School district, some of it is in Littleton schools (which is another great district)....

[davidv]

Originally Posted by Smyth76

Hello everyone -

My family and I are moving from London to the Denver area in a few months time. We are looking at the SE Aurora / Englewood / Greenwood Village areas and I wonder if locals could help explain any main differences / cultural nuances between these areas?

Our main considerations for location are:
1) Commute time to the south side of Arapahoe Co Airport, off E-470 - close to where my husband will work.
2) Good schools for our young boys (aged 4 and 3) - Cherry Creek District seems to be consistently good, and has been my main focus.
3) Clean, well-maintained, safe neighborhoods with other young families - lots of opportunities for friends and playdates!
4) House price - we are hoping to buy something with 4+ bedrooms and a good size yard under $400k.

I've read the thread posts, and the one below from vegaspilgrim has me especially hopeful that all of these areas are worth looking into. But, is there much difference between them? For instance, as compared to Englewood, SE Aurora seems to have more reasonably priced houses and still is within the CC School District. However, the cynical side of me wonders why (i.e. is the area not as nice or well-established?)

Are there any other areas that I should be targeting?

Many thanks for the advice and help,
- Andrea

For your purposes, SE Aurora would be fine. The western cities of Centennial and Greenwood Village (that area has Englewood addresses, but is not part of the city of Englewood) are more expensive because:

1. These areas are much closer to the major employment centers of Downtown Denver (25-30 min away in rush hour as opposed to 50-60 minutes from SE Aurora) and the Denver Tech Center (5-10 min away vs. 20-25 min away).

2. Centennial and Greenwood Village have better transit options with both bus and light rail access around the metro area. SE Aurora has limited transit options.

3. Centennial and Greenwood Village are older, more established neighborhoods, which in Colorado means they actually have mature landscaping and trees. SE Auora will seem quite barren by comparison because trees do not grow naturally here, and the neighborhoods, when viewed from above, are seas of rooftops because their is no canopy of large mature trees. Some people also prefer the older, but updated, homes (mostly built before 1980) because they feel that they are better constructed than newer homes are. I have no sense that the new homes are bad, that is just how some feel.

4. Centennial and Greenwood Village send their kids to Cherry Creek High School, which is one of the most highly regarded schools in Colorado, and has a national reputation for excellence. Even with open enrollment laws in Colorado, it is virtually impossible to get your kids into CCHS without living within the attendance boundaries. I do feel that Grandview and Cherokee Trail high schools in SE Aurora are both very good.

They are part of Cherry Creek High S

[Smyth76]

Brilliant - just the kind of information I was looking for. Many thanks, davidv.

[2bindenver]

I would look at the various neighborhoods in your price range and see which ones feel right to you.

Some neighborhoods have pools, recreation centers, tennis, etc...
Some have more space between houses.

For $400,000, you are going to be in a upper middle class neighborhood.

Welcome to Denver.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Smyth76 -- My old neighborhood has homes in your price range (mid $300's). It is called Cherry Creek Farm, located between S. Havana Street and S. Dayton, north of Arapahoe Road -- basically west Centennial and very close to Greenwood Village. Although homes were built in the late 70's/early 80's most have been updated and are well-maintained. It is in the Cherry Creek school district, feeding into High Plains Elementary, Campus Middle School and Cherry Creek High School. There are lots of young families with kids, but no community amenities other than greenbelts.

[S.MacGregor]

Grandview is a newer school, smaller than Cherry Creek and has the number one cheerleading team (for whatever that's worth) Arapahoe High School in Centennial is wonderful, a top notch academically school, but no diversity, if that is important. I have heard good things about Grandview. If you don't want the urban jungle, don't go to East High. Cool and extremely popular school but...nah..I went there.