Another Young Couple with Neighborhood Questions! (Denver, Aurora: apartments, rental, lofts)

[DenverDomers]

Hello everyone! We know that many threads have already been made with similar questions (and we've looked at many of them), but we just wanted to get some direct feedback on our specific questions. Thank you in advance!! We're very excited to learn more about and move to Colorado!

My husband and I are moving to Colorado for a year this summer (he has a job that will be for 1 year only). We're in our mid-twenties and have lived in quite a few East Coast cities in the past few years between the two of us (Cambridge, MA, Washington, DC and New York City), although we're from smaller cities in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania (just to give you some background).

We are really looking forward to the sunshine of Colorado, as well as the accessability to the outdoors! My husband will be working in downtown Denver, and unfortunately we won't be able to spend a lot of time exploring Denver before we have to pick a place to live. We did walk around for 2 days last summer, but didn't get to many of the residential areas. (Although we did explore Golden a bit and thought it was very nice--our only concern is the commute for my husband and whether or not we'd feel there was a lack of things to do as far as nightlife, etc.)

What we're looking for:

-A place where it's possible to rent (as we're only going to be in CO for a year)

-Some greenery either in parks or just around--natural beauty is very important to us!!

-This may be asking for a lot, but ideally we'd like to live somewhere that feels residential (with mixed houses and apartments) and is safe, but where there is still a good amount of things to do (bars, coffee shops, small grocery stores, maybe some stores)

-A place that is pretty walkable/bikable (we'll have a car but like to be able to walk/bike places)

-Again, we don't want to be too picky, but coming from the East Coast we do like places that feel older or at least have some historic character

-Other youngish people!

-A place that is not too far from some form of public transportation (either light rail or bus) for my husband to use

-We'll also be looking for a Catholic church (but from research it looks like we will be able to find one not too far from anywhere in Denver)

From doing research on this board some places that sound interesting to us are Washington Park, Platt Park, the DU area, Highlands, and maybe Golden. Any advice/input you could give would be wonderful....thank you again!!!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by DenverDomers

From doing research on this board some places that sound interesting to us are Washington Park, Platt Park, the DU area, Highlands, and maybe Golden.

Yes.
You also might find a cute rental in Congress Park, north Country Club, Cherry Creek North, or Observatory Park (well, Observatory is really DU).

[el borracho]

Sloan lake ,32nd and Lowell just west of downtown are areas you might like and their very close to downtown Denver

[2bindenver]

where will the job be?

[DenverDomers]

In the central business district: he would get off the light rail at 18th and Stout.

Thanks so much for the quick responses everyone!

[Jerry Bckr]

Some of the south Denver neighborhoods would fit your needs. There are some walkable neighborhoods. South Pearl and Gaylord Streets each have a couple block area of walkable stores and what not. Same for the Sloans Lake - Tennyson area. Where in Wisconsin are one of you from? I grew up in Walworth County in the East Troy/Lake Geneva Area.

[DenverDomers]

Thanks for your help! We do think we'd really like the Washington Park and the surrounding areas. There seems to be just about everything you need. We're thinking about coming out in late March to try to find a place with a lease that starts in June. Do you think that is too early to find anywhere with a June 1st lease?

And I'm from Kenosha, WI! Really close to Lake Geneva... which I love, by the way. It's so cute!

Thanks again for your response.

[mcb1025]

I agree with another poster that Washington Park is very nice. Also, you might want to check around Cheesman Park or Capitol Hill.

Capitol Hill has a pretty young crowd, mostly art school students and struggling poets. The rent is cheap, but it's not necessarily "green" (very urban).

Cheesman Park is beautiful IMO. It's a great place for a walk or a jog. Plus, it's only a few minutes from downtown. I imagine the rent would be a little higher in this neighborhood though.

Littleton has a nice suburban vibe to it. Certainly not as "urbany" as Denver. It has a cool historic downtown, too. You can also catch the light rail into downtown from there.

Golden is a quaint town (though it's growing pretty fast, from what I hear) nestled in the foothills of the Rockies. This makes it very convenient if you're an avid cyclist or like to hike. The downtown is pretty cool, too.

You might also look into Boulder. It's about a 30 minute drive to Denver. This is a booming young college town where opportunities abound. I've heard public transportation between it and Denver is pretty good too.

Lakewood (directly west of Denver) has a newly developed downtown with nice apartments, lofts and townhouses. I wouldn't recommend anything outside of that area though.

Cities like Westminster, Northglenn, and Thornton (just north of Denver) are very typical suburban cities. Lots of retail and very spread out.

I would definitely avoid places like Aurora (directly east) and Commerce City (directly northeast), because they have crime problems.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by mcb1025

I would definitely avoid places like Aurora (directly east) and Commerce City (directly northeast), because they have crime problems.

Here we go again

[HighlandsGal]

Live in the Highlands! We rented for a year there before buying a house in the next neighborhood. It has everything you are looking for!