Denver Suburban (Lakewood, Arvada, Boulder: homes, neighborhood, school district)

[mrbuzz]

Can someone give me a sense of the better areas to live in Denver and one's to avoid?

Broomfield?
Lakewood?
Arvada?
Applewood?
Littleton?

[rockiesredhead]

These are all great suburbs on the western side of the city. It all depends on what you want. Several of the towns you listed fall into the Jefferson County school district and have some excellent schools. Broomfield might be Adams 12, Jeff Co, or Boulder depending upon where you live. Many of these places have older and newer homes. Applewood is part of Golden (east of the downtown) and has some great older homes with lots of trees set near the mountains. Like Applewood/Golden, Littleton, Lakewood and Western Arvada, where I live, are all easy access to the mountains, open spaces and bike trails. If you need to get downtown, I'd suggest living in a neighborhood closer to I-70 which has a pretty easy commute to the heart of the city. Do you like to go out to eat? You'd probably like Belmar in Lakewood. Arvada has less development, is less congested (on the western side), but it's harder to find a restaurant and retail super close (which is fine for those who don't want the traffic!) Broomfield is a bit more densely populated, but has easy access to restaurants, retail, but is farther from the mountains.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!