Need safe area of city with suburban feel (Denver, Aurora: apartment complex, rental)

[katenik]

I thought I was going to have another 4-6 months to do this, but circumstances have changed, and I can now make the move to Denver as early as May, which is my goal. I'll be making an apartment hunting trip next month, and would like to know which neighborhoods to target.

I'm an early 40s single professional woman. I will be working from home initially, but I anticipate working downtown sometime within the first year, so I don't want to be too far from the city center. I prefer to be near older, more settled singles and families, rather than in the hottest-hippest, most crowded, and noisy place where all the 20s-somethings want to be. Having a choice of mid-market local restaurants/lounges, and at least one specialty grocer nearby is a must. Ideally, I would like a two-bedroom apartment or townhouse, but right now it's more important to keep the rent under $1200/mo. than have extra space, so I can live with only one for the time being if that's all the budget will allow.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[vegaspilgrim]

Katenik-- surprised (and glad) to see you on this forum! I remember when you helped me out trying to find a place to live in LA near USC a year ago.

How "suburban" exactly are you looking for? Suburban as in "historic" pre-WWII streetcar suburban or suburban as in strip malls, parking lots, and garden style apartment complexes suburban?

[katenik]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Katenik-- surprised (and glad) to see you on this forum! I remember when you helped me out trying to find a place to live in LA near USC a year ago.

How "suburban" exactly are you looking for? Suburban as in "historic" pre-WWII streetcar suburban or suburban as in strip malls, parking lots, and garden style apartment complexes suburban?

VegasPilgrim, I've seen your posts here in the Denver forum, and was hoping you would reply since you're familiar with LA. Thank you so much.

When I say "suburban feel," I have in mind someplace more like Old Town Pasadena than Santa Clarita. I want the peace and quiet of the suburbs when I close my door, but I don't want to have to travel more than a few minutes by car to reach a central shopping/ dining/entertainment area that isn't a strip mall. Here we would call it an "urban village," but I didn't know if people in Denver would know what that means, and I certainly don't want to overemphasize "urban." Although I prefer older architecture, I need modern amenities (updated kitchen w/ DW, W/D in unit, central heat/air), so if I have to choose one over the other, the amenities win. On-site, covered parking is also a must, because I have no desire to dig my car out of the snow on winter mornings.

[steveindenver]

It does not snow that much. Seriously.

Your budget and requirements don't match in Denver.

Old Town P does not exist here. Maybe I guess near downtown (old town) Arvada which might also meet the rent requirements and is still in close proximity.

The closest I can think of to your requirements of quiet and close with covered parking would be in the Lowry area, maybe Mayfair -- but rents are going to be at or above your listed requirements. Maybe not though, it is certainly worth looking.

Best of luck and welcome to Denver.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by steveindenver

It does not snow that much. Seriously.

Your budget and requirements don't match in Denver.

Old Town P does not exist here. Maybe I guess near downtown (old town) Arvada which might also meet the rent requirements and is still in close proximity.

The closest I can think of to your requirements of quiet and close with covered parking would be in the Lowry area, maybe Mayfair -- but rents are going to be at or above your listed requirements. Maybe not though, it is certainly worth looking.

Best of luck and welcome to Denver.

Could you tell me something more about those areas? Are they neighborhoods of Denver, or separate municipalities? Although I could spend more, I would rather not, because I'll be looking to buy in about two years, and I want to keep my overhead while renting at a comfortable minimum. I was told by a number of people who live or have lived in Denver that my stated budget would be more than adequate for a modest, well-equipped rental in a safe part of town. Was I misled?

[katenik]

Looked up Lowry. Here's an example of what I found: https://property.onesite.realpage.co...siteid=1011896

These properties are certainly within my price range, and are consistent for what I was told I could expect. Would this be typical for Denver, or is it an undesirable part of the city?

[vegaspilgrim]

Dammit, I just had a whole reply typed out, and my computer crashed!

As much as Denver's urban hipsters like to flatter themselves, Denver's most urban areas are really urban-lite compared to LA. Most of Denver feels like an old, early twentieth century suburb with a lot of city parks. In fact most Denver neighborhoods are oriented around parks. There are plenty of tiny neighborhood business districts though.

There are many neighborhoods you would probably like-- such as Highland, the southern parts of City Park and Park Hill, some of Congress Park and Cheeseman Park, Washington Park and Platt Park (especially those two), these are the "usual suspects," but you'd probably like some or all of these neighborhoods. Only thing is finding an apartment in some of those that meets all your criteria (especially parking criteria) could be a challenge.

I might get flamed for saying this, but much of the actual apartment buildings in old central part of the city of Denver seems to be either one of three things-- 1) ugly, high rise, 1950s-70s era "Bronx style" apartments scattered around the city and even some of the suburbs-- 2) 2-3 story 100 year old mansion/apartment buildings, or 3) brand new sleek glass condos with high rise rents. You might also find a scattering of red brick box style apartments, some of these have ground level parking under the building. You'd have to drive/walk around and play it by ear to find these. Finding covered parking might be very challenging. If you go out to the "inner ring," 50s-70s era suburbs you'll find plenty of large garden style apartment complexes. One idea could be to look for a modern apartment complex in walking distance to the Yale, Hampden, or Dayton stations on the SE light rail line. Or downtown Littleton perhaps (which also has a light rail headed to downtown).

Check out some of my photo tours to kind of get a sense of what different parts of the Denver metro area look like:

Xeriscaping in Denver: Smoky Hill tour
Parker Rd/ Leetsdale Dr photo tour
Aurora photo tour-- Iliff Ave.
Photo tour: Federal Blvd
South/ SE Denver photo tour
Misc. Denver metro photo tour
DTC/ Centennial Airport area photo tour
*Mediterranean / Tuscan Style Homes???
Cherry Creek State Park photos, Extras
East Colfax photo tour
Southeast Aurora photo tour, Sunset
The Exurbs: Elbert & eastern Douglas counties photo tour
Cherry Creek North shopping & neighborhood photo tour
Arapahoe Rd photo tour
Colorado Blvd photo tour
Denver freeways photo tour
Mission Viejo, Aurora photo tour

Also be sure to see DenverAztec's photo tours of downtown, public festivals, and many of Denver's historic neighborhoods.

[steveindenver]

I might get flamed for saying this, but much of the old central part of the city of Denver seems to be either one of three things-- 1) ugly, high rise, 1950s-70s era "Bronx style" apartments scattered around the city and even some of the suburbs-- 2) 2-3 story 100 year old mansion/apartment buildings, or 3) brand new sleek glass condos with high rise rents.

Not flamed, it is just not accurate. There are tons of single family homes, generally old vics and ugly denver squares.

I was told by a number of people who live or have lived in Denver that my stated budget would be more than adequate for a modest, well-equipped rental in a safe part of town. Was I misled?

No, just maybe not EVERY requirement.

Lowry was an old Air Force base that was decomissioned and has been turned into a mixed development project. It remains very spread out in terms of where they have built, but it meets your requirement of quiet and close to the city. Yes it is safe -- Denver overall is safe anywhere, certainly anywhere in your price range.

You might also consider Stapleton if bikeability or easier bus lines to downtown proper are a requirement.

I never mentioned places that Vega did because they are a bit less quiet. The Cheesman Park area (Congress Park), Washington Park (eh personally) and even parts of Uptown are options. Closer to downtown (some within walking distance) but they are not really the quiet space you are looking for.

Map of Denver neighborhoods for future reference should folks speak in terms of "neighborhoods."

http://www.denvergov.com/Portals/144/documents/DENVER_NEIGH_Map.pdf (broken link)

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by steveindenver

Not flamed, it is just not accurate. There are tons of single family homes, generally old vics and ugly denver squares.

Excuse me.... I meant to say actual apartment buildings in Denver. Obviously most of Denver consists of single family houses.

[steveindenver]

In that case, I totally agree. Ugly stuff on the whole.