Denver - Things to Do (1 Viewer)

[Arsenal of Doom]

A buddy is about to relocate from San Francisco to Denver. He works remotely so he's not tied to any specific area. Price isn't an issue as he and his wife are professionals who do well financially and they don't have kids.

They are currently looking at Stapleton. Any thoughts? Suggestions for other nice neighborhoods around the city?

Depends on what they are looking for. The new developments in Stapleton are nice but surrounded by not-so-nice Aurora. I know a lot of young, childless professionals like the Highlands or Washington Park areas. Both are also closer to downtown than Stapleton. If they want something really urban they could look in LoDo (Lower Downtown).

If they prefer something more rural or mountain-y they could look in Evergreen or Sedalia to West/Southwest or Elizabeth to the Southeast.

If they want to have kids and want the full suburban experience, then definitely live where I do in Highlands Ranch

 

[tommyGunZ]

Thanks Drifter, Strike, & AOD for the info. I'm forwarding it along.

Any other thoughts from others are also appreciated.

 

[Drifter]

Highlands is a great choice if they want to be downtownish (ETA not to be confused with Highlands Ranch)

 

[JHuber77]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

 

[Drifter]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

A little overblown. For people who actually enjoy living in the city, not endless suburbs, there's great neighborhoods like Congress Park and Cherry Creek. For the super urban Capital Hill and LoDo become options. Westside (which you completely ignored) Highlands and Sloan lake strike a happy medium. If you get to the burbs the answer is Northwest, West and Southwest. South and Southeast is suburban central with very few of the advantages I, personally, would want from living in Denver.

 

[JHuber77]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

A little overblown. For people who actually enjoy living in the city, not endless suburbs, there's great neighborhoods like Congress Park and Cherry Creek. For the super urban Capital Hill and LoDo become options. Westside (which you completely ignored) Highlands and Sloan lake strike a happy medium. If you get to the burbs the answer is Northwest, West and Southwest. South and Southeast is suburban central with very few of the advantages I, personally, would want from living in Denver.

Don't see how you could live in SF and want to move right back into a situation like that again. Most of those areas you mentioned are pretty crappy neighborhoods that just have been recently revitalized. The area is still the same, just with newer buildings. To each their own I suppose.

 

[Mile High]

I like living north of Denver.

 

[Drifter]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

A little overblown. For people who actually enjoy living in the city, not endless suburbs, there's great neighborhoods like Congress Park and Cherry Creek. For the super urban Capital Hill and LoDo become options. Westside (which you completely ignored) Highlands and Sloan lake strike a happy medium. If you get to the burbs the answer is Northwest, West and Southwest. South and Southeast is suburban central with very few of the advantages I, personally, would want from living in Denver.

Don't see how you could live in SF and want to move right back into a situation like that again. Most of those areas you mentioned are pretty crappy neighborhoods that just have been recently revitalized. The area is still the same, just with newer buildings. To each their own I suppose.

Are you kidding? Cherry Creek and Congress Park are some of the oldest, most prestigious neighborhoods in the city?! Capital Hill and LoDo are super urban and not even really recently rennovated. They just are what they are but they are great for people who love city living and high walk score. Highlands and Sloan lake are "recently" rennovated if by recently you mean they got white hot 15 years ago. At this point, they are well established neighborhoods and a good blend of quieter neighborhood and close to downtown.

 

[JHuber77]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

A little overblown. For people who actually enjoy living in the city, not endless suburbs, there's great neighborhoods like Congress Park and Cherry Creek. For the super urban Capital Hill and LoDo become options. Westside (which you completely ignored) Highlands and Sloan lake strike a happy medium. If you get to the burbs the answer is Northwest, West and Southwest. South and Southeast is suburban central with very few of the advantages I, personally, would want from living in Denver.

Don't see how you could live in SF and want to move right back into a situation like that again. Most of those areas you mentioned are pretty crappy neighborhoods that just have been recently revitalized. The area is still the same, just with newer buildings. To each their own I suppose.

Are you kidding? Cherry Creek and Congress Park are some of the oldest, most prestigious neighborhoods in the city?! Capital Hill and LoDo are super urban and not even really recently rennovated. They just are what they are but they are great for people who love city living and high walk score. Highlands and Sloan lake are "recently" rennovated if by recently you mean they got white hot 15 years ago. At this point, they are well established neighborhoods and a good blend of quieter neighborhood and close to downtown.

To each their own....just don't realize why people want to live in the city in a very active state like Colorado. So much to do outdoors but some people love living in close proximity to each other. It's just an opinion, you don't need to be so offended.

 

[Drifter]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

A little overblown. For people who actually enjoy living in the city, not endless suburbs, there's great neighborhoods like Congress Park and Cherry Creek. For the super urban Capital Hill and LoDo become options. Westside (which you completely ignored) Highlands and Sloan lake strike a happy medium. If you get to the burbs the answer is Northwest, West and Southwest. South and Southeast is suburban central with very few of the advantages I, personally, would want from living in Denver.

Don't see how you could live in SF and want to move right back into a situation like that again. Most of those areas you mentioned are pretty crappy neighborhoods that just have been recently revitalized. The area is still the same, just with newer buildings. To each their own I suppose.

Are you kidding? Cherry Creek and Congress Park are some of the oldest, most prestigious neighborhoods in the city?! Capital Hill and LoDo are super urban and not even really recently rennovated. They just are what they are but they are great for people who love city living and high walk score. Highlands and Sloan lake are "recently" rennovated if by recently you mean they got white hot 15 years ago. At this point, they are well established neighborhoods and a good blend of quieter neighborhood and close to downtown.

To each their own....just don't realize why people want to live in the city in a very active state like Colorado. So much to do outdoors but some people love living in close proximity to each other. It's just an opinion, you don't need to be so offended.

Not offended. You were just saying things that flat out aren't true (although I completely agree about Stapleton - I thought it was gilded when they built it and it seems like the polish is wearing off).

I would also question living in a sprawling, characterless suburb like Aurora as opposed to the Western suburbs where you can take even better advantage of what Colorado has to offer if the city isn't your thing.

 

[ffldrew]

All sorts of choices - one place to stay away from is the far south areas in douglas County area like Castle Rock - they do not own their water rights and are going to be struggling in the future. They are currently tapping in to the aquifer and it is disappearing faster then they thought. Stupid Development. Be careful up in the far north - you touch the oilfield areas up there and fracking is an issue.

Some like the north burbs near to Boulder - if he can I'd look at Boulder as well. But the North burbs along I-25 are tough commutes into the Denver if that is needed.

Stapleton isn't that bad - some open areas in the midst of the city - they have really mixed up the housing from condos. small homes to big homes. Schools are a mess there with all the young people. I'm not a huge fan

I'd pick either Highlands - or in Capitol hill area around Cheesman say a few blocks south of Colfax or focus to the south towards Alamo Placito from Governors Park area personally. Easy access to lots of places and parks. Restaurants, etc.

Highlands doesn't have that huge park access like the Wash Park/Cheesman Park/Congress Park/City Park areas - unless you go to the very west to hit Sloans Lake. But Downtown access is great.Those areas aren't cheap - they are the most desirable and expensive in the city.Coming from SF it would be the closest feel.

 

[Kev4029]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

A little overblown. For people who actually enjoy living in the city, not endless suburbs, there's great neighborhoods like Congress Park and Cherry Creek. For the super urban Capital Hill and LoDo become options. Westside (which you completely ignored) Highlands and Sloan lake strike a happy medium. If you get to the burbs the answer is Northwest, West and Southwest. South and Southeast is suburban central with very few of the advantages I, personally, would want from living in Denver.

Don't see how you could live in SF and want to move right back into a situation like that again. Most of those areas you mentioned are pretty crappy neighborhoods that just have been recently revitalized. The area is still the same, just with newer buildings. To each their own I suppose.

Are you kidding? Cherry Creek and Congress Park are some of the oldest, most prestigious neighborhoods in the city?! Capital Hill and LoDo are super urban and not even really recently rennovated. They just are what they are but they are great for people who love city living and high walk score. Highlands and Sloan lake are "recently" rennovated if by recently you mean they got white hot 15 years ago. At this point, they are well established neighborhoods and a good blend of quieter neighborhood and close to downtown.

To each their own....just don't realize why people want to live in the city in a very active state like Colorado. So much to do outdoors but some people love living in close proximity to each other. It's just an opinion, you don't need to be so offended.

Not offended. You were just saying things that flat out aren't true (although I completely agree about Stapleton - I thought it was gilded when they built it and it seems like the polish is wearing off).

I would also question living in a sprawling, characterless suburb like Aurora as opposed to the Western suburbs where you can take even better advantage of what Colorado has to offer if the city isn't your thing.

The advantage of the eastern suburbs is price. The iffy parts of Aurora are cheaper than the iffy parts of Littleton or Lakewood, and the nice parts of Parker and Aurora are far nicer than anything that is even remotely comparable in price to Golden/Morrison/Lakewood/Ken Caryl/Whatever. Aurora is definitely characterless but where we are at offers the best school district in the metro area, the homes are new without the need for renovations, the commute to DTC is pretty easy (as an added bonus my commute always has the sun to my back), and we got probably twice the house for the money as compared to my friends that live on the west side of town.

 

[JHuber77]

Do not move to the Stapleton area. Montbello is down the street and to the south you have a pretty crappy area as well. Not to mention Commerce City to the north. SE, South and SW areas of Denver are the places you should be looking

A little overblown. For people who actually enjoy living in the city, not endless suburbs, there's great neighborhoods like Congress Park and Cherry Creek. For the super urban Capital Hill and LoDo become options. Westside (which you completely ignored) Highlands and Sloan lake strike a happy medium. If you get to the burbs the answer is Northwest, West and Southwest. South and Southeast is suburban central with very few of the advantages I, personally, would want from living in Denver.

Don't see how you could live in SF and want to move right back into a situation like that again. Most of those areas you mentioned are pretty crappy neighborhoods that just have been recently revitalized. The area is still the same, just with newer buildings. To each their own I suppose.

Are you kidding? Cherry Creek and Congress Park are some of the oldest, most prestigious neighborhoods in the city?! Capital Hill and LoDo are super urban and not even really recently rennovated. They just are what they are but they are great for people who love city living and high walk score. Highlands and Sloan lake are "recently" rennovated if by recently you mean they got white hot 15 years ago. At this point, they are well established neighborhoods and a good blend of quieter neighborhood and close to downtown.

To each their own....just don't realize why people want to live in the city in a very active state like Colorado. So much to do outdoors but some people love living in close proximity to each other. It's just an opinion, you don't need to be so offended.

Not offended. You were just saying things that flat out aren't true (although I completely agree about Stapleton - I thought it was gilded when they built it and it seems like the polish is wearing off).

I would also question living in a sprawling, characterless suburb like Aurora as opposed to the Western suburbs where you can take even better advantage of what Colorado has to offer if the city isn't your thing.

The advantage of the eastern suburbs is price. The iffy parts of Aurora are cheaper than the iffy parts of Littleton or Lakewood, and the nice parts of Parker and Aurora are far nicer than anything that is even remotely comparable in price to Golden/Morrison/Lakewood/Ken Caryl/Whatever. Aurora is definitely characterless but where we are at offers the best school district in the metro area, the homes are new without the need for renovations, the commute to DTC is pretty easy (as an added bonus my commute always has the sun to my back), and we got probably twice the house for the money as compared to my friends that live on the west side of town.

It also depends on where you live in Aurora. The SE portion of Aurora is quite nice towards Smoky Hill.

 

[Kanil]

All sorts of choices - one place to stay away from is the far south areas in douglas County area like Castle Rock - they do not own their water rights and are going to be struggling in the future. They are currently tapping in to the aquifer and it is disappearing faster then they thought. Stupid Development. Be careful up in the far north - you touch the oilfield areas up there and fracking is an issue.

Some like the north burbs near to Boulder - if he can I'd look at Boulder as well. But the North burbs along I-25 are tough commutes into the Denver if that is needed.

Stapleton isn't that bad - some open areas in the midst of the city - they have really mixed up the housing from condos. small homes to big homes. Schools are a mess there with all the young people. I'm not a huge fan

I'd pick either Highlands - or in Capitol hill area around Cheesman say a few blocks south of Colfax or focus to the south towards Alamo Placito from Governors Park area personally. Easy access to lots of places and parks. Restaurants, etc.

Highlands doesn't have that huge park access like the Wash Park/Cheesman Park/Congress Park/City Park areas - unless you go to the very west to hit Sloans Lake. But Downtown access is great.Those areas aren't cheap - they are the most desirable and expensive in the city.Coming from SF it would be the closest feel.

Honestly, someone who likes living in SF would enjoy living in Boulder. Very similar mentalities.

 

[shadrap]

I would also like to see the mountains up close, not sure if there is anything relatively hassle free that would be worthwhile to do in order to see some of the scenary. Maybe a short roadtrip or even some light hiking would be cool. Suggestions?

Red Rocks is one of my favorite places on earth and seeing a show there is on my bucket-list. The drive to Breckenridge is awesome, especially if you stay off the highway and it's a cool little town. Breckenridge Brewery happens to make my favorite beer and just yesterday I had a buddy of mine bring a growler back straight from the source... delicious. He was very impressed with the food there too.

Saw Top Petty & Steve Winwood at Red Rock last fall. Classic Area!!!!!! Go to Red Rock.

 

[worrierking]

Are you dead?

If so, may I suggest working on a steak with Waddy in the Rattlesnake Café?

 

[Buckfast 1]

T-GunZ, I think there has been pretty decent advice in this thread about Denver neighborhoods so far. It sounds like I am probably in a similar position as your friends (younger middle-aged professional living in Denver with no kids), so hopefully I can give some good advice.

I would urge your friends not to look at any of the suburbs mentioned, as I think that they would be missing out on the great advantages of living in Denver if they move directly to the suburbs. I would also advise against Stapleton, mostly because it just feels like too much of a cookie cutter suburban family community where two professionals without children might feel out of place. I think Stapleton is probably a nice place if you want a suburban family feel inside the Denver city limits, but I don't think it is ideal for two young professionals without children. On the other side of the spectrum, I would probably advise against LoDo because it will probably feel too young for your friends, as the LoDo populace largely consists of young single people who just moved to Denver after college.

I would recommend that your friends look at a neighborhood in Denver where they can get a house in a residential area that is surrounded by a vibrant restaurant and brewery scene. My top recommendations would probably be the Highlands, Washington Park, Uptown, Platte Park, Congress Park, City Park, Sloan's Lake, and Park Hill. All of those neighborhoods are conveniently located to downtown, parks, and other fun parts of town with lots of new restaurants and breweries. I think that they could probably find a cool place to live in any of those neighborhoods. Just be aware that the real estate market in Denver is pretty intense right now with so many people flocking to the coolest city in America, so they will likely have to act quickly if they find a place that they really like.

Let me know if they have any questions about specific neighborhoods or Denver in general.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Thanks gentlemen. Very much appreciate the insight.

I'll definitely be back with more questions once my buddy has had a chance to peep out many of the hoods you guys suggested.