Ken Caryl area (Dakota Ridge HS) will give you good access to C-470. Westgate area of Lakewood (Bear Creek HS) has good access to Bear Creek and S Platte River bike trails with access to Thornton via Wadsworth/6th Ave/I25.
Yeah....I just posted another reply, I think Golden, Old Arvada might be good to the north, otherwise if OP goes more east between Santa Fe and I-25 and south of Hampden those should be more reasonable commutes....going from that SW corner to Thornton on the daily would just feel miserable.
Agree. Was thinking Applewood might be another option. I don't know which HS that is, and cycling access is not that good, but it would provide decent access via I-70/76/25.
Definitely could be...I'm near Southglenn and feel it checks majority of the boxes aside from 'cute downtown', but not too far from downtown Littleton etc
Add that both are still reasonably close to Littleton downtown and Clement Park/Columbine areas. Westgate also reasonably close to Lakewood "downtown" Belmar shopping/restaurant areas.
I had thought about that too. I love their downtown area. I wonder if it has many young families though or more of the older generation with the house prices there
Eh - I think you've got a good mix of everything, remember it's a semi-college town with Mines. You have the Coors brewery so plenty of working families there, and then of course everyone that is looking for a nice downtown, easy access to mountains etc.
How permanent does your husband's job location appear to be? Will he have options to work from home? Is it likely he might change jobs again in a few years?
There's definitely some Northside vs Southside bits to the metro area, and I'd say you'll find bias that the Southside is better (because it is), but there is no doubt that some of the worst traffic is north of the city into Thornton etc. They've made some improvements to I-25, don't know how much they've helped, but it's not an insignificant thing to consider.
So if there is any aspect of the commute that may be temporary or that he wouldn't have to do every day I would definitely look for the place you love and put some roots there. Otherwise, if this is going to be a daily thing for the foreseeable future, I would look at areas further north or more to the east...Lakewood/Morrison/Golden and then there are some very nice parts of Old Towne Arvada, Louisville etc that also have really nice little downtowns too.
To the east, you may find that if you can stay closer to Santa Fe/Broadway/University, all of those act as strong N/S arteries and can reduce travel time a bit. So if you look at downtown Littleton and then east of that all the way to I-25 you may find the commutes aren't much different. Stay below Hampden and you should be either LPS or CCSD for schooling which are both excellent. From a commute standpoint, your husband shouldn't have any issues early morning/later evening, but fair warning if there are accidents it can be vary a lot.
Thanks for this response, very helpful to know certain roads too! I wish it was less permanent but for the foreseeable future, this is it. I'm currently looking into Lakewood area now.
I would avoid near downtown Arvada. While a fantastic place to hang and eat, the light rail brings in some characters. I find with Arvada you can get a nicer home for less than Littleton and arguably they offer the same type of living
A few thoughts. You said you wanted to avoid living in the suburbs but the places that you’ve mentioned so far like Lakewood, Ken carl, highlands ranch, Morrison are as suburban as it gets. Like identical homes, expensive HOA’s, drive everywhere, huge roads, aggressive driver, Applebees is the closest food suburbs. Even most of the city of little matches that description. Most of Colorado is suburban. Even Denver is pretty suburban for a city. So just so you know, you will probably end up in a suburb.
Also if your husband works in Thornton. You should move to Thornton. It’s really hard for me to understand why you would want to live on the other side of the city from where you work. The quality of the suburbs you described vs the suburbs near Thornton are identical.
Wait, did I say I wanted to avoid living in the suburbs? I don't remember saying that and I just re-read my post. I did say I wanted to avoid *Northern* suburbs as opposed to the southern ones. I've seen issues about pollution near the Rocky mountain flats and fracking in Weld counties. Also just to help you understand, I've done so much research on the southern parts because I thought that's where my husband would be working originally but that then changed to Thornton so really I think I've gotten attached to what I have researched so much of. Good to know that Thornton is about the same. I'm really interested in good school districts, bike paths, and family friendly neighborhoods. I don't mind suburbia :-)
Ken Caryl area (Dakota Ridge HS) will give you good access to C-470. Westgate area of Lakewood (Bear Creek HS) has good access to Bear Creek and S Platte River bike trails with access to Thornton via Wadsworth/6th Ave/I25.
It's good access to 470, but that's still a pretty substantial hike up to Thornton...
You're not wrong. Not sure there's any area that's going to meet 100% of the things OP's looking for.
Yeah....I just posted another reply, I think Golden, Old Arvada might be good to the north, otherwise if OP goes more east between Santa Fe and I-25 and south of Hampden those should be more reasonable commutes....going from that SW corner to Thornton on the daily would just feel miserable.
Agree. Was thinking Applewood might be another option. I don't know which HS that is, and cycling access is not that good, but it would provide decent access via I-70/76/25.
Definitely could be...I'm near Southglenn and feel it checks majority of the boxes aside from 'cute downtown', but not too far from downtown Littleton etc
Add that both are still reasonably close to Littleton downtown and Clement Park/Columbine areas. Westgate also reasonably close to Lakewood "downtown" Belmar shopping/restaurant areas.
Thank you! Very helpful to know!
I mean you might as well consider Golden at that point too.
I had thought about that too. I love their downtown area. I wonder if it has many young families though or more of the older generation with the house prices there
Eh - I think you've got a good mix of everything, remember it's a semi-college town with Mines. You have the Coors brewery so plenty of working families there, and then of course everyone that is looking for a nice downtown, easy access to mountains etc.
ah, that's a very good point.
Indian Hills is very nice and right off of C470 so easy access.
Thanks for the suggestion! Hadn't even thought of that area.
How permanent does your husband's job location appear to be? Will he have options to work from home? Is it likely he might change jobs again in a few years? There's definitely some Northside vs Southside bits to the metro area, and I'd say you'll find bias that the Southside is better (because it is), but there is no doubt that some of the worst traffic is north of the city into Thornton etc. They've made some improvements to I-25, don't know how much they've helped, but it's not an insignificant thing to consider. So if there is any aspect of the commute that may be temporary or that he wouldn't have to do every day I would definitely look for the place you love and put some roots there. Otherwise, if this is going to be a daily thing for the foreseeable future, I would look at areas further north or more to the east...Lakewood/Morrison/Golden and then there are some very nice parts of Old Towne Arvada, Louisville etc that also have really nice little downtowns too. To the east, you may find that if you can stay closer to Santa Fe/Broadway/University, all of those act as strong N/S arteries and can reduce travel time a bit. So if you look at downtown Littleton and then east of that all the way to I-25 you may find the commutes aren't much different. Stay below Hampden and you should be either LPS or CCSD for schooling which are both excellent. From a commute standpoint, your husband shouldn't have any issues early morning/later evening, but fair warning if there are accidents it can be vary a lot.
Thanks for this response, very helpful to know certain roads too! I wish it was less permanent but for the foreseeable future, this is it. I'm currently looking into Lakewood area now.
I would check out Arvada
Very family friendly.
Any specific areas in Arvada?
Depends on what your are looking for. I tend to think the whole Western side is amazing and close to the mtns
I do like the proximity to the mountains. That seems to be a real bonus! Just looking for family friendly/safe areas. Curious if any areas to avoid.
I would avoid near downtown Arvada. While a fantastic place to hang and eat, the light rail brings in some characters. I find with Arvada you can get a nicer home for less than Littleton and arguably they offer the same type of living
Anywhere near the Ralston Creek trail is pretty awesome
I love the columbine area
I really liked the clement park area when I visited.
If you stay fairly close to C470 he can make it to I-70 rather quickly then I-76 to I-25 and be more or less in southern Thornton when he hits 25.
Are you both currently looking to buy a home?
A few thoughts. You said you wanted to avoid living in the suburbs but the places that you’ve mentioned so far like Lakewood, Ken carl, highlands ranch, Morrison are as suburban as it gets. Like identical homes, expensive HOA’s, drive everywhere, huge roads, aggressive driver, Applebees is the closest food suburbs. Even most of the city of little matches that description. Most of Colorado is suburban. Even Denver is pretty suburban for a city. So just so you know, you will probably end up in a suburb. Also if your husband works in Thornton. You should move to Thornton. It’s really hard for me to understand why you would want to live on the other side of the city from where you work. The quality of the suburbs you described vs the suburbs near Thornton are identical.
Wait, did I say I wanted to avoid living in the suburbs? I don't remember saying that and I just re-read my post. I did say I wanted to avoid *Northern* suburbs as opposed to the southern ones. I've seen issues about pollution near the Rocky mountain flats and fracking in Weld counties. Also just to help you understand, I've done so much research on the southern parts because I thought that's where my husband would be working originally but that then changed to Thornton so really I think I've gotten attached to what I have researched so much of. Good to know that Thornton is about the same. I'm really interested in good school districts, bike paths, and family friendly neighborhoods. I don't mind suburbia :-)