Questions about the city of Denver (Lone Tree, Center: lease, car insurance, condos)

[Dogs_in_Denver]

Originally Posted by lovethebigcity

I will be moving out to Denver sometime late spring/early summer & I'm really excited about it. I will be working in Denver & would like to live in Denver, but I have no clue on what areas are nice, not nice, should never walk alone at night, etc. I'm single & in my late 20s. I've noticed a lot of apartments in Northglenn & Thornton. I've also seen a lot of apartments on the southern side of Denver. If I were to move to Thornton or one of these areas outside of Denver how easy is it to catch the bus? I do have a car, but if I could I would rather use public transportation if its accessible to locations.

Thanks

Public transportation isnt fabulous here, sadly. There is a light rail but you need to drive to get the rail station. If you don't want to drive I would recommend living in the city. I live in SE Denver (near Glendale and Cherry Creek- technically in the Virginia Vail neighborhood) and it's pretty easy to catch a bus to downtown.

[dj32]

also good neighborhood to walk to light rail is West Wash Park or Platte Park. Lots going on in platte park as well. DU area- observatory park would also work for walking to University light rail stop. There are lots of things being built near light rail stations now.

Sorry, I didn't know Publix ... but I do know Harris Teeter was in Charlotte. I used to live there. Safeway is actually "upscaling" their image now though.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by dj32

Sorry, I didn't know Publix ... but I do know Harris Teeter was in Charlotte. I used to live there. Safeway is actually "upscaling" their image now though.

To me, Harris Teeter seems just a little bit *nicer* than both Safeway and Publix, although of course individual stores can vary.
Yes the Safeway we used to go to (6th and Downing) used to be horrible before their upgrade a few years back.

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by lovethebigcity

I will be moving out to Denver sometime late spring/early summer & I'm really excited about it. I will be working in Denver & would like to live in Denver, but I have no clue on what areas are nice, not nice, should never walk alone at night, etc. I'm single & in my late 20s. I've noticed a lot of apartments in Northglenn & Thornton. I've also seen a lot of apartments on the southern side of Denver. If I were to move to Thornton or one of these areas outside of Denver how easy is it to catch the bus? I do have a car, but if I could I would rather use public transportation if its accessible to locations.

Thanks

Check out Denver Tech Center... very, very nice area to live. Very nice.

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by lovethebigcity

I have some more questions...I hope you all don't mind answering
What grocery stores are out in Denver?
What drug store chains do you have (CVS, Walgreens)?
Gas stations (Exxon, Shell, BP)?

Thanks

King Soopers is Krogers (for us southeastern transplants) and there are tons of King Soopers everywhere.
Also, about every type of gasoline station you can imagine.
You'll have no problem finding places to shop for groceries (or anything for that matter).... even Target sells groceries in their Super Targets.....the same for WalMart and K-Mart.

[lovethebigcity]

Thanks for all the info everyone. Keep it coming
I'm getting excited about moving out to Denver . I always enjoy new experiences & adventures.

[EugeneBKLYN]

You might wanna consider Glendale, CO.
Its a town within a city (Literally encompassed by Denver on all sides, similar to Hamtramck in Detroit).
It's a very safe area. I personally love it because alot of my Russian comrades live there.

[lovethebigcity]

Are there any stores/restaurants that are not chains that are located only in the Denver area (or Colorado) that would be neat to check out?

[hello-world]

another point of reference in terms of crime - my gosh, denver (and cap hill and cheesman!) is not detroit, or the bronx, or south chicago, or east LA, or anacostia/DC. it's a city, yes, but it's not "a dangerous place". there are some city goings on, but... if you "lovethebigcity", then you'll know what i'm talking about once you get here. even cap hill and cheesman (which are definitely not considered the "bad parts of town" - slightly more crime than most of denver metro on average, maybe, but most people i know still consider downtown denver...not "the big city") will seem tame, even wonderful and leafy, to someone that truly "lovesthebigcity". you can look crime stats up relativew to other places to see for yourself. or visit and ask around. not to downplay the usual necessity to exercise some streetsmarts/precautions, but, not "a dangerous place".

[Dr Drake Ramore]

lovethebigcity - I hope this is not too late...I had to create an account on this web site just to counter a bit of the negativity about downtown denver...although I guess it does make the downtown scene better if folks stay in the 'burbs.

I have lived downtown since I moved to Denver (3.5 yrs ago) and can't say enough about it. Is there graffiti? Sure, it's a big city (although it's not everywhere). Will you be approached by homeless people? Undoubtedly. But I have never, not once, been afraid walking around town at night. Nor has my girlfriend, who lives in the same district (Lodo, Coor's Field). The question is: do you want to drive 20 minutes + for fun or do you want to walk? Do you want to be surrounded by shopping malls and mini vans or do you want to be within 2 miles of coor's field, the pepsi center, invesco field, the art center, the capitol, larimer square?

There are sketchy areas in town, but they are balanced, I feel, with opportunity. For instance, as you head out into Capitol Hill (and east) you will find more seediness, for certain - but you will also find tons of character and some of the most interesting bars and restaurants in town. You can also explore Uptown and the Highlands - a new pedestrian bridge connects that area (more 'neighborhoody') to downtown. Right now there are many places available for downtown living if you want to rent - the Metro apartments, Brooks Tower, the Archstone, the Parkway, Post Uptown Square (changed names, I think)...

I do not have a car here, so I can also vouch for the public transit system - light rail and bus. My gf also takes the light rail to work (down south) every day. You will prob'ly want a car--or a friend with a car--to get to the mountains...

Ok, enough - if you are going to work downtown Denver, you MUST take a look downtown. Everyone I know that lives down here wishes they could walk to work everyday and avoid the traffic (oh yeah, did I mention that? Driving in or out from the 'burbs will be pretty nasty given all the other suburbanites driving into town...)...I travel for work but my company is downtown; so when I'm not on client site, I get to experience the joy of grabbing some coffee from Common Grounds and listening to my music as I walk 10 minutes to the office...stay outta the 'burbs!