Relocating from UK to Denver - advice on neighbourhoods (Lakewood: top neighborhood, 2013)

[RWR2012]

We are planning to relocate from the UK to Denver in 2013, and I'm looking for recommendations on where to look for a house to rent for 2 years.

My husband will be working in the centre of the city, and we'd like to live in a city neighbourhood - however I've never been to Denver so I'm just guessing! We'd prefer a neighbourhood which has some character with older houses, rather than the newer suburban areas. Alternatively, a nice area just outside the city that has character houses and a sense of community.

Schools are very important - we have a daughter who will be 16 and a son who will be 8 - and are looking at public schools.

My daughter likes the look of Highlands Ranch..... not sure if that would be too far out of the city?

Any recommendations? I'd like a little garden and wonder what you can get for around $1750/$2000 per month?

Many thanks!

[Katarina Witt]

I think at your price point you could find what you want. Considering you want older houses, etc, Highlands Ranch would probably not meet your needs, though it is a great family neighborhood and it might work well for your kids. HR is farther out from the city than some of the other burbs.

Family neighborhoods in Denver include Washington Park and others on the east side of the city. The west side, while gentrifying, is still a bit "grittier".

[Augie Daugie]

Highlands Ranch is pretty far from Downtown Denver. While it has lovely rolling hills, plenty of open space, and gorgeous vistas, you are not likely to find charming older homes in that area. I think most of it has been built post 1980. However, they do have some of the best schools in the metro area.

Within you budget, you could probably live in quite a few great neighborhoods within the City of Denver. Some that quickly come to mind are Park Hill, Montclair, Highlands, and Berkeley. However, the schools can be spotty in each of these neighborhoods. It is possible that you might find a smaller place in the Hilltop neighborhood, which would qualify your son to go to Steck or Carson, while your daughter would be within the East High boundary (i think)...all great schools within DPS. Stapleton has newer homes with a lot of character, great schools, proximity to the city, but doesn't have space for gardening. I don't know. Do more research...I'm sure others can tell you more about the close-in suburbs.

[petedoty]

My daughter lives in Edinburgh and on our visits I am amazed at 2 things:
1. The age and beauty of the buildings built from stone (Colorado became a state in 1876) so our history, and therefore our architecture, is very "young" by comparison to the UK....and 2. How wet and damp and green the UK is even in the winter. We offer bright vibrant blue skies, snow capped mountains, gorgeous green springs and very dry and brown winters with occasional snow. Focus on the vibrant blue skies with 220 days of full sunshine every year and 300+ with sun to partial sun. It is bright!

Schools being a big priority might find you out of the city center into the suburbs to Cherry Creek Schools, Douglas County (Highlands Ranch) or north towards Boulder. Littleton also has a great school district. These areas are only 45 minutes from city center during most commute times.

Rents are a funny thing here right now...they keep on getting higher. And your garden will be a fair sized what we call yard so the young boy can have some fun running about. Your budget should find you a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath about 1800 square feet plus a basement and a 2 car garage in Highlands Ranch. You may want to try to secure it early, but landlords will probably not hold it as that market is so hot they can get someone in tomorrow and not wait.

So make sure you have as much credit history, and completed rental applications, copies of passports & visas, as well as a substantial rental deposit.

[historygal]

At your budget you should have a lot of flexibility, I would say you could probably expect a nice 3 bdrm, 1.5-2 bath with a decent backyard for the kids to play in and chase a dog in should you wish. If you are looking for something within the city check out Washington Park (known as Wash Park), Park Hill, or the Highlands. The Highlands is a really great area with houses from the 1920s, and some even earlier. There is also a pretty great community feel in parts of the Highlands. However, you can quickly get out of the Highlands and into a not so great area within just a few blocks, so keep that in mind. Stapleton is another fantastic area. The houses are newer, its a redevelopment project from the old airport that closed about 20 years ago, so nothing was built before 1990, but the neighborhood has a fantastic feel.

Outside Denver I would head west and north to the suburbs. Arvada is a good area, especially around 80th and Wadsworth area and further north towards the western edge of Westminster. The houses are older, have a bit more character, the neighborhoods are more established. Generally you would want to stay west of Sheridan Blvd. Littleton is also great (that is southwest of Denver). Boulder is a great area, with a lot of character in the right area, but your budget won't go as far, it can be pretty expensive up there and its a drive into Denver every morning for your husband.

Highlands Ranch is a nice, open area, but I don't think it has any character. Check it out, but I don't think you will like it.

Keep in mind, you can drive into Denver in 30 minutes from most of the suburbs. Morning and evening rush hour will tack on time to that drive for your husband, but I do the drive right now and don't mind it at all. Most people don't.

As for schools, if you stay in the Denver area, try to get your kids into schools that feed into an International Baccalaureate high school or even into the pre IB program in their elementary or middle school. Keep in mind that if your kids have been educated in the UK education system, they are probably a year or 2 ahead of kids here. An IB program might be your best bet, so I suggest looking into that. My father taught in the IB program for 20 years in Denver, it is always the best way for kids transferring from European education systems because it is a program modeled on those systems. Overall the Denver School district isn't the greatest, it's not horrid, but it is a city school district, so they have issues. You will have a very diverse group of kids who have very wide ranges in their education abilities, so the teachers have to teach to those kids who are not as advanced as others. If you live outside the city, Jefferson County Schools are good, Douglas County is one of the best school districts. No matter what, your kids will probably both test into a higher grade level simply because of their past education.

Hope that helps.

[RWR2012]

Thank you so much for your answers, which are all very helpful. I will start looking into these areas - there's a lot to look at and consider!

One more question - I do like the look of Highland for sure, but taking note about the schools.... Do kids tend to go to the neighbourhood high school or is there any flexibility of choice? I haven't seen such positive comments on the local high school.

Many thanks.

[RWR2012]

[quote=historygal;27037225]If you are looking for something within the city check out Washington Park (known as Wash Park), Park Hill, or the Highlands. The Highlands is a really great area with houses from the 1920s, and some even earlier. There is also a pretty great community feel in parts of the Highlands. However, you can quickly get out of the Highlands and into a not so great area within just a few blocks, so keep that in mind.



Is that Highlands (near Westminster) or Highland (nearer the centre)?

Thanks!

[Augie Daugie]

[quote=RWR2012;27039037]

Originally Posted by historygal

If you are looking for something within the city check out Washington Park (known as Wash Park), Park Hill, or the Highlands. The Highlands is a really great area with houses from the 1920s, and some even earlier. There is also a pretty great community feel in parts of the Highlands. However, you can quickly get out of the Highlands and into a not so great area within just a few blocks, so keep that in mind.



Is that Highlands (near Westminster) or Highland (nearer the centre)?

Thanks!

The Highlands neighborhood is in Denver on the Northwest side of town. Highlands Ranch is a suburb in the far southern section of the metro area.

Denver Public Schools allows for students to choice into other schools on a space available basis. As you can imagine, the highest performing schools are the most popular. There are also a few specialty schools with no set boundaries that are really great, like the Denver School for Science and Technology and the Denver School of the Arts. Both of those schools are on the eastside of town.

I don't know much about the schools in the Highlands area, other than they are lower performing.

[Augie Daugie]

I should also mention that George Washington High has an outstanding International Baccalaureate program, if that is something that your child might be interested in.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by RWR2012

Thank you so much for your answers, which are all very helpful. I will start looking into these areas - there's a lot to look at and consider!

One more question - I do like the look of Highland for sure, but taking note about the schools.... Do kids tend to go to the neighbourhood high school or is there any flexibility of choice? I haven't seen such positive comments on the local high school.

Many thanks.

North High School is not good.

A viable alternative: Lakewood High School IB program. It is in Jefferson County, so you would have to apply to get in. It is much closer than any other Denver magnet programs.