Picking a Denver-area neighborhood?

If you're planning to buy a single family house in Golden, and want to be within walking distance of downtown, plan to spend at least $350k for a 2 bed/2 bath that is in decent shape. I recently listed a 3 bed/3 bath townhouse, 2 story with a basement, 1800 sf total, no garage and it sold for $315k.

You can get more house for you $$$ in Lakewood (check out the neighborhoods around Green Mountain), but lose the small town perks of Golden.

Inventory is low and the good properties receive multiple offers. A lot of people rent for a year to become familiar with the area before buying. But, mortgage rates are forecast to rise so waiting could mean paying a higher interest rate. Good luck!

Where is your job located?

JCM wrote: Haven't heard about that one. Where, what, when?

Golden Moon Distillery is opening one, January 16th! The entrance is right next to the arch on the west side of the street.

C'est La Vie wrote:As someone living in Aurora, not Aurora.

Roger that.

John McNamee wrote:Where is your job located?

I'm in IT consulting. We implement financial systems for governments. If I'm not on site with a client (all over the country) then I usually work from home. Denver is just a geographically convenient spot to be closer to some of our existing clients (and areas we want to expand our reach).

I live on the West side of Denver in a small city called Wheatridge.....
Golden is next door, the highway out to the mountains is very close
Your not in Golden, not in Denver.....

And in a super nice community with large lots nice houses mature trees.....

And so freaking quiet it would make your head spin......

I'm sure you'll find ur spot to land

I'm not a fan of Lakewood, or in Denver , smaller lots and more crowded....

Good luck....

If anyone knows of a house for rent in Golden or Arvada please let me know! My wife and I are looking to move from Boone, nc and are having a horrible time looking on craigslist and other sites. Thanks guys! Shoot me a pm if you know of anything. Would love to rent from owner and support someone locally.

To recap:

Just got back yesterday from spending 10 days in CO looking all over the Front Range. We checked out Denver, Boulder/Gun Barrel, Golden, Evergreen, Littleton, Superior, Morrison, and maybe one or two others that escape me right now.

I had high hopes for Golden, but we weren't particularly enamored with it. The brewery is a major eyesore in an otherwise pretty town. Also, after driving around, we never found any "mid range" houses. What we did see was a bit neglected - rusty wire fences, cars on blocks in the yard, etc. There appeared to be a large divide between the big mansions up on the hill and what we saw in town, with not much in between.

All the town/cities off 36 between Boulder and Denver were very nice, but not for us. They were heavily leaning towards condos/townhouses and "planned communities" where all the houses look the same. While I'm sure they're great places with lots of space to affordably raise a family, they weren't for us.

Boulder is.... Boulder. Beautiful, unparalleled access to outdoor fun, all the healthy food you could ever want, but just a bit too.... intense. Expensive too, unfortunately.

Then, on a whim, we decided to check out Evergreen and fell in love. It's truly IN the mountains but still close enough to everything. The setting is absolutely gorgeous, the houses (that we can afford) are quaint, but have space. Yadda, yadda, yadda. We're going to start looking for a house in March/April and aiming to move in May/June.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions everyone! I'd be happy to grab a beer and tie in to a rope with anyone/everyone this summer, whether outdoors or at Earth Treks on the very rare rainy day.

^^^^ Nice. Glad you found the spot that is just right for you. Evergreen is great, and you'll love the access to the S. Platte. That's one great thing about this area: there is a lot of variety. Different sorts of towns, different rock types and climbing styles, different landscapes. Its easy to find your niche.

Side note: the brewery is huge, and definitely an eyesore, but I've grown to appreciate it. It gives the town a bit of gritty charm, and helps stave off the Boulder-esque vibe of outdoor disneyland.

Jt Greene wrote:If anyone knows of a house for rent in Golden or Arvada please let me know! My wife and I are looking to move from Boone, nc and are having a horrible time looking on craigslist and other sites. Thanks guys! Shoot me a pm if you know of anything. Would love to rent from owner and support someone locally.

It took us a couple of months of patiently scouring CL to find something that matched what we wanted in Arvada. Even though we caught it the day it was posted and got a tour that evening, they said we were the 6th couple to tour and apply for the rental. Its pretty crazy, so you might have to be patient. I'll keep an eye out in our neighborhood and let you know if I see anything.

Hey there, Jon,

Congrats on the upcoming move to paradise!! Seriously, you will love it. In addition to being a climber, I work as a residential real estate agent in the Denver area. Would love to be helpful to you. milehighpropertyguy.kwrealt…

Also, I know it you are thinking you want to find a place in Evergreen, but I thought I'd pass along this article I wrote today on my blog about an up-and-coming neighborhood in Denver called RiNo (River North). Very different than Evergreen, but I thought it was relevant due to the subject of the thread: thegoodlifedenver.com/2014/…

Cheers,

David

I had a house in Wheat Ridge, which is right next to the Highlands. There are a lot of neat older homes. Arvada is pretty cool, too. I have a friend there and have spent a fair amount of time there. It's west of Denver, so closer to the mountains. Lots of places to explore!

Glad you found something in Evergreen.

With Evergreen just make sure you have a good fire break around your home.....

Don't want to sound negative but the foothills each year get wildfires that cannot be stopped and devastates everything in its path.....

Has anyone mentioned Golden yet?