The wife and I finally got back to Denver for some vacation time and visiting her folks. We're more eager than ever to move to Denver (return, in her case). It appears that there are a number of large engineering consulting companies near Lakewood, including my employer.

Can you recommend humble neighborhoods with good school systems in the triangle between Lakewood, Downtown Denver and the Washington Park area? We'd be looking for a house in the $250k range, ideally close to conveniences but perhaps pastoral Lakewood is also a possiblity. Her folks live near Wash Park, but much of that area is now too expensive for us and it's also a bit far from Lakewood.

We drove around Sloan Lake (3 sides of it) but did not see any "revitalization" as we had heard about. The nearby Highlands area seemed nice, although pricey. There was an area just east of Downtown Denver that looked really neat (bordered by Colfax and 17th, near City Park?), but hemmed in on all sides by busy thoroughfares.

No need to recommend any "planned developments" as we find that sort of thing is corrosive to our souls (sorry no offense; just our pref.).

We enjoy doing "midnight rides" (urban; or critical mass type rides) and so hope to live close enough to areas that see such activity. Does Denver host the bicycle film festival? Thanks for any advice!

The wife and I finally got back to Denver for some vacation time and visiting her folks. We're more eager than ever to move to Denver (return, in her case). It appears that there are a number of large engineering consulting companies near Lakewood, including my employer.

Can you recommend humble neighborhoods with good school systems in the triangle between Lakewood, Downtown Denver and the Washington Park area? We'd be looking for a house in the $250k range, ideally close to conveniences but perhaps pastoral Lakewood is also a possiblity. Her folks live near Wash Park, but much of that area is now too expensive for us and it's also a bit far from Lakewood.

We drove around Sloan Lake (3 sides of it) but did not see any "revitalization" as we had heard about. The nearby Highlands area seemed nice, although pricey. There was an area just east of Downtown Denver that looked really neat (bordered by Colfax and 17th, near City Park?), but hemmed in on all sides by busy thoroughfares.

No need to recommend any "planned developments" as we find that sort of thing is corrosive to our souls (sorry no offense; just our pref.).

We enjoy doing "midnight rides" (urban; or critical mass type rides) and so hope to live close enough to areas that see such activity. Does Denver host the bicycle film festival? Thanks for any advice!
West High or is that East High that's the suck? < ducks > :rolleyes: Seriously though there are some great schools and some really crap schools with gang problems in Denver--do your homework before moving if you have kids.

I live in Boulder personally. Denver now has a cruiser ride and there is a bike messenger scene for alley cat races if you like that kinda thing.

http://denvercruisers.com/

You're not going to find much in central Denver under $300k, but there are a few pockets like Mayfair or Platte Park that have smaller, older homes that might not be too far above your target. Good schools in those areas too, otherwise its the burbs and all they have or don't have to offer. Lakewood can be hit or miss. Get a good buyer's broker and work with them to find a home. Keep in mind Denver is popular and the "deals" are long gone.

For that much money, you could get a decent townhouse in Lakewood. There are paths and low use streets that run down to the Platte River Greenway, which will take you to downtown. The median price of a single family home in metro Denver is $304,000.00. Denver is probably the most expensive (not including ultra ritzy sub urbs) per sq ft. The West Metro are is also pricey, compared to east (Brighton) and North (Longmont), as there just isn't any room to build tracks of new houses. Those that are being built are high dollar, large houses on old horse properties.

Humble neighborhoods and good schools can be mutually exclusive. My nephew just moved to Denver works in the same industry (URS) and lives in extreme SE Denver (Belleview and Yosemite). He wanted to live in the Wash Park area but was floored by the prices and what you got for the price.

Edgewater might be an option. You might want to check out the DU area as well.

Here's some info

Crime statistics:http://www.denvergov.org/2006CrimeStatistics/ACStatisticalNeighborhoods/tabid/425709/Default.aspx

School "Report Cards": http://reportcard.cde.state.co.us/reportcard/CommandHandler.jsp

Good Luck.

...Denver now has a cruiser ride and there is a bike messenger scene for alley cat races if you like that kinda thing.

http://denvercruisers.com/

That cruiser ride looks like fun. You won't see me at the alley cats though - i'd hate to be mistaken for a messenger...

That cruiser ride looks like fun. You won't see me at the alley cats though - i'd hate to be mistaken for a messenger...

We have a huge cruiser ride in Boulder also each Thurs. It's kind of on the D/L now due to some troublemakers, but we had 200 riders last night so it's not a very well kept secret.

Honestly, your expectations are a little challenging. A $250k home within the city means either a tiny (1000 sq feet or less) bungalow OR a bad neighborhood or both, generally. There are some good elementary and middle schools in Denver, though VERY few and most (other than Park Hill Elementary) serve pretty pricey neighborhoods.

PS -- Wash Park (although out of your budget) is not far from Lakewood. I-25 to 6th Ave is probably, what, 10-15 mins? If you are working in Lakewood and on a budget, you'll do more bang for the buck w/better schools in Jefferson County, but with all the drawbacks of suburbanville.

It is all probably too complex to address in a single online thread. My advice is to get the job you want and then rent for six months to get a feel for neighborhoods, etc. I would think that Sloan's Lake, Edgewater, Highland, Inspiration Pt., and all that NW Denver stuff could be a possibility 'cept for the school problem. So, with the school issue I really think you should look at DU/Platte Park, Park Hill, Stapleton, etc., but it may be a stretch beyond your budget.

dito on the rent first, buy later.
it allows you to snoop around for a great deal.

you might want to check out around old town arvada
it's pretty central.

quick jaunt south to lakewood
I-70 access is easy.
or north to 36 is good to get toward boulder

also, check on www.rtd-denver.com
that is the local mass transit. Olde town arvada will eventualy have lightrail access on the future west line to downtown. Look for the 'fast tracks' link

i've recently moved in with the fiance just north of that area and am finding lots of good riding semi-urban. To the west there are lots of farms that have less congested traffic to ride with.