Sooo...

[Front_Range_Guy]

How about that local sporting team?

Really though... I have no problem posting here... but talking to yourself sucks. Someone. Anyone?

[RestedTraveler]

How about that local sporting team?

Really though... I have no problem posting here... but talking to yourself sucks. Someone. Anyone?

[Front_Range_Guy]

Which local sporting team is that? Did I miss something? My house is on the market. As soon as it sells, we're headed out to the sprawling metropolitain suburb of Aurora, so you won't be talking to yourself for very long.

[RestedTraveler]

It was either Aurora or Castle Rock, but the homes in Castle Rock is just too darned expensive still.

I'll follow developments in Denver as closely as I can, but there's just too much stuff to do out there, so I may have a tough time squeezing it in. I'll definitely enjoy living there.

[Front_Range_Guy]

I prefer Aurora over Castle Rock.

Why not Central Denver?

[teshadoh]

Can't say I can rep Denver, rarely visit except for the occasional dr. appointment for the daughter. Great city though, but too far away from where I work (not that I'm crazy about my 15 mile commute). Otherwise, there isn't much to say about Boulder or Longmont...

[Front_Range_Guy]

All you gotta do is read the post or the news and tell us what's going on... not that I couldn't do that, but I'm busy reading the gazette, the indy, newspeak, and the chieftain, you see.

[RestedTraveler]

I can do that much once I get out there. I presume there's a Business Journal periodical publication in Denver such as there is in most markets...a lot of good development news is to be had in those.

Why not Central Denver?

[Front_Range_Guy]

Yeah... I usually hear bad things about Denver Public Schools, but I don't really know. One of my co-workers lives in Greenwood Village because she wanted her kids to go to school down there. Her son decided to go to a DPS school, anyway, and now he's in jail. I'm sure that doesn't mean anything.

I'm guessing you could find something nice and affordable in the city of Denver outside of downtown. A person raising a family probably doesn't want to live in Capitol Hill... but there are other nieghborhoods... Washington Park seems nice. Highlands is all the rage, but I think it's pricey. I don't know... I'm far from a Denver expert.

Denver does have a Business Journal. Another publication I never read, haha.

[RestedTraveler]

So far, we're leaning toward the Cherry Creek School District - seems to be one of the best around, from what we've read...so this puts us in S.E. Aurora, near the Southlands Mall area...and no-doubt amidst all the sprawl that's out that way...it doesn't look too bad though. It'll be convenient as most of the regular shopping we would do would be nearby and all of the schools are pretty close-knitt in that area, too, so we wouldn't have to drive far to get to things we need regularly. The trail system looks pretty extensive, too, so I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time on our bikes...and at the Aurora Resrvoir. We're not 100% settled on this area yet, though. We'll be visiting in July and plan to scope other areas out as well while we're there.

[Front_Range_Guy]

I don't know... that area is not my cup of tea at all, it's about as anti-urban as you can possibly get actually... but obviously you have other considerations. Are you planning to buy a home? I don't know the boundries of the Cherry Creek District, if your willing to buy a used home, something closer to I-25/the tech center might be better.

Haha... here I am trying to tell you what's best for you. I know... messed up... I just hate to see good people move into bad places.

[teshadoh]

So far, we're leaning toward the Cherry Creek School District - seems to be one of the best around, from what we've read...so this puts us in S.E. Aurora, near the Southlands Mall area...and no-doubt amidst all the sprawl that's out that way...it doesn't look too bad though. It'll be convenient as most of the regular shopping we would do would be nearby and all of the schools are pretty close-knitt in that area, too, so we wouldn't have to drive far to get to things we need regularly. The trail system looks pretty extensive, too, so I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time on our bikes...and at the Aurora Resrvoir. We're not 100% settled on this area yet, though. We'll be visiting in July and plan to scope other areas out as well while we're there.

[RestedTraveler]

That should be a good area - you all are near the Tech Center which is the biggest employment center outside of Denver. Also of course the bike trails are great along Cherry Creek - you would be able to bike downtown. And of course convenient shopping.

[RestedTraveler]

Why not Central Denver?

[teshadoh]

I love Stapleton - I first visited several years ago when they first broke ground. There are at least 2 other big new urbanist developments around Denver - I think another one you might want to take a look at is the Lowry development where an air base used to be.

Any negative comments I could think of? The neighborhoods surrounding Stapleton suck, the retail part of Stapleton was not done well but at least from the Stapleton side it isn't too bad. I think that is all - I do believe the big mall like retail part is or will be connected by a bike trail on the north side of the freeway & long term RTD plans is for transit connection to the airport.

Yes, the wife & I thought we would move there years ago b/c it was similar to Atlanta's Atlantic Station which we like.

[RestedTraveler]

Cool. Thanks for the feedback! I've seen mention of Lowry in the City-Data forums, too...I'll check that out, but Stapleton looks awfully cool. I have seen comments on City-Data as well about the lousy neighborhoods surrounding Stapleton. I suppose nobody really wanted to live around an airport back in the day, so the housing became more affordable back then and those who could afford it are who moved in. It sounds as though the presence of Stapleton itself is also changing the surrounding neighborhoods, too, much to the chagrin of the current residents there. It'll be interesting to see these areas first-hand.

The shopping seems to be on the periphery, but that's not so bad compared to what we face now (driving 15-20 miles or more to get to the shopping areas). The Northfields and Quebec Center areas seem quite adequate for what we would ever need. Also, I seem to have gleaned that Whole Foods is the last remaining missing retailer from the Northfields shopping center, too...seems that the merger between Whole Foods and Wild Oats delayed development of the store. That'd be convenient for us. The RTD Stapleton Transfer station will (in a few years) be a light rail station, too, from what it appears...so that'd be extra convenient.

I think the Expeditionary Learning that the K-8 school in Stapleton offers would be perfect for my daughter, too. She's very smart and is (quite frankly) not being challenged nearly enough here in SC...so she gets bored and acts up and gets in trouble a lot (but makes straight A's - usually 100+ on most everything). If we could get her into a school like that, it'd do wonders for her behavior, I have no doubt.

I've been over to Atlantic Station a few times and I don't really see much similarity between it and Stapleton? There appear to be a ton of single-family homes in Stapleton, for starters...more than condos and townhouses and apartments. Also, the high rise component (aside from the old air traffic control tower) is missing...I guess you could compare the air traffic control tower in Stapleton to the old smokestack in Atlantic Station. :-)

[teshadoh]

Yeah, not the best comparison, but just large scale mixed use developments in general is what I was referring to.

...and don't tell the peeps back in the SC thread - but even the best SC school districts only match up to the average suburban Denver school districts. Education is taken a lot more seriously here, I'm fortunate that we're raising our daughter here rather than back home in Atlanta or SC.

[Front_Range_Guy]

Don't let living in the suburbs make you feel guilty, it isn't where you live but how you live that determines how much of an environmental impact you make. A lot of people that live in central Denver drive to work & especially for shopping. There are even people that live in central Denver & drive to the suburbs to work so if you ever hear them speak bitterly about suburbanites be sure to call them a big filthy hypocrite.