Creative Community in Denver?
 

Looking for funky and eclectic areas of Denver. Where do the writers, actors, musicians, filmmakers hang out? Where are the areas to move that offer the most diversity? We are a young family with kids moving from NYC for a better quality of life but would like to retain as much of the diversity of the city as possible. Any advice?
Thanks!

Washington Park, Cherry Creek and the new Stapleton area might be appealing to you. These areas are close to downtown with diversity and you can still own a home with a yard. Stapleton is a brand new community but is very interesting (you can check out http://www.stapletondenver.com/homes/ for an idea of the community). Wash Park is older but has a lot of character and Cherry Creek is a little newer and nicer.

Truthfully, that area is Boulder, although there isn't a whole lot of ethnic diversity there. Denver has a huge Mexican population, but is generally segregated out of the area that you'd consider more "arty." LoDo is definitely the more artistic district in the city of Denver. It's marketed as "East Village" but is really more "Upper West Side," but everyone's a white Christian.

Honestly, when I think Cherry Creek, I think Scarsdale, so I don't really think that fits with your plan.

You will get a *massive* loft in LoDo (or anywhere in Denver) for whatever you were paying in NYC.

Good luck. I just moved back to NYC after trying the "quality of life" thing in Boulder for about 18 months. Let me know if you need more detailed info.

Thanks for the tips. I've heard nice things about Cherry Creek but I know it's expensive (all relative, I guess)
and I hope it's less pretentious than Scarsdale. I'll check out Stapleton too. After 10 years in NYC, I'm looking forward to the change. Curious for Jeremy, what was it that you didn't like about Colorado? Keep the tips coming!
Thanks!

syd1 - I loved Boulder, and would move back in a heartbeat if I could find work. I'm really in a "corporate-type/finance-ish" career that really isn't done well in Colorado.

You'll get a great feel for each community when you go out there to check Colorado out (I hope you're doing that). I really think you should visit Boulder (about 25 minutes from downtown Denver). Make sure you visit Cherry Creek North, because it's really the "essence" of Cherry Creek. Some people like it, some don't.

As far as LoDo goes, anything between 19th and 16th street and between Wynkoop and Larimer are completely safe, and close to the "hip" restaurants and galleries. You can check out lofts in this area on the web - they should be very, very inexpensive compared to NY. Do *not* get your hopes up about the quantity or quality of the Denver version of "hip," though.

I met a bunch of New Yorkers out in CO for "lifestyle reasons" - not one of them regretted it. One you get used to the bad Chinese food, it's perfect.

Jeremy you seem to have some negative comments about Denver. Who moves somewhere for the food? You must not have gone to the right places because I know of quite a few chinese restaurants that are very good. I also disagree about Boulder. Boulder is a very nice town but Boulder is mostly made out of 3 types of people that don't fit that well together: Wealthy people, College students and Granolas. For someone who wants to retain some of the city life (which is considerably less than NYC) I would think being much closer to the city would probably give them what they are looking for. Although LoDo is nice (and pretty casual) I would think they might want a yard or house and I think housing in Denver is still considerably cheaper than NYC so that is what I would go for if I had kids.

Yes, I do have negative comments about Denver. I think it's a pretty uninteresting city. Its cultural and culinary offerings will be a disappointment to most New Yorkers.

Everyone from NYC that I know in Colorado has complained about the food. You simply can't find many good restaurants east of the ski resorts. If you think Denver has good Chinese, you don't understand the New York standard. Jax is not Le Bernadin, The Palm is not Luger's and Au Bon Pain is not the Blue Ribbon Bakery.

Cherry Creek is a suburb - a bedroom community for Denver. The distinction I was making was that people from Cherry Creek/Englewood *go to* LoDo and Boulder to *d*o interesting things. People live in Cherry Creek because it's quiet. I mean, there's a mall there, but that's about it.

I was under the impression that syd1 wanted an honest assessment, and a recommendation about the liveliest, most interesting places to live in the Denver area. If I was wrong, and syd1 was really looking for the best traditional suburban experience, I apologize.

Well your reply makes me wonder why you ever left NYC. Doesn't sound like you would be too happy anywhere else but there.

????

As I said before - once you get past the terrible Chinese food (no, P.F. Chang's is not "good" Chinese food), Colorado is perfect.

lenleigh - my email address is listed. Please don't pick a fight with me because we disagree. I thought my perspective, as a young-ish New Yorker who moved to the Denver area for better quality of life might be useful. If you'd like to argue, let's do it offline, and not hijack this thread.

Syd, if you?re looking for the artsy set, the Baker Neighborhood might be a good place, though know that it is in transition. For families I suggest Park Hill. Truly diverse population racially, economically, sexual preference, age. Lots of kids too. I am bias though I live in Park Hill and would not live anyplace else in Denver. Downside is that there are not really any places to eat/drink that you can walk to. The Capital Hill Neighborhood is also diverse close to downtown with places you can walk to, but I do not see that many kids.

Jeremy has a point; though the dining scene has improved dramatically over the past 10 years, Denver is not a true "foody" town. Better but not great. On the other hand if you are an outdoors person it is a great place to live.

this is a little bit off the food subject, but for those who live/have lived in Denver, how open are people to newcomers? i'm considering a move to this area b/c i love the outdoors lifestyle, but i've read some posts where CO residents seem to be very hostile towards outsiders. just wondering how prevalent this attitude is ... after living in new york, i can't imagine it's much more difficult, but i could be wrong ...

Jeb we moved to Denver Colorado in 1991. I cannot think of one time that people were rude to me because we moved here. Yes ppl complain that it has gotten crowded and expensive but individually folks are pretty nice here. We have many friends that are Colorado natives as well as newbie?s. Maybe in other areas it is different but I have not found it to be so. Good question. I will be interested in what others say. Goes without saying you reap what you sow.

thx for the feedback. i'd read some things that suggested an unfriendly attitude or resentment towards natives of california and texas. i wasn't sure how widespread this attitude was or if it was just the feeling of the posters i'd come across.

Jeremy, I will pass on the email offer. I just think you come off as snobby. I love Denver and although you say you loved Boulder you complain a lot about it. You say one nice thing about it but then you follow it up by something negative. Anyways, to each his own. So what if the food isn't up to the New Yorkers standards (and no, anyone would know that you can find a PF Changs in every major city and that was not what I referring to nor any nasty chinese buffets). New York doesn't have the outdoor activities and mountains that Colorado have. New York is New York and Colorado is Colorado.

Jeb76, some do make comments about all the people from California and some (especially in Durango) might make comments about Texans but if you moved here you wouldn't find any resentment or open hostility. It is true however that a LOT of people moved to Colorado from California (not that there is anything wrong with that) but I can now see why the traffic in Denver has become so horrendous. From our experiences in LA, people are just plain horrible drivers. Some people love Denver and some don't. You just have to see how you feel. Personally I hope downtown doesn't become like a trendy NYC or LA scene.

I've created a monster! Again, thanks to all who posted their candid comments. And, Jeremy, yes, this was what I was looking for. I appreciate the advice greatly.
As far as I'm concerned, I can always visit NYC to get good food. I'd rather have the air than Ollie's dumplings, the mountains than the Met, and I'll just have to work harder to find diversity and culture in CO rather than get it by osmosis in NYC.
As a former Atlanta native, I've seen what expansion and urban sprawl do to cities and it isn't pretty. That being said, we are all living in America, and I would hope that newcomers are always welcome. The solution is not to push them away, but to encourage better city planning and public transportation as a way to adapt.
I seem to find that on so many of these threads cities are eulogized (for lack of a better word) as not being "what they were." But such is life. Cities, as do people, change over the years and as a result, they become something new to everyone who experiences them.
I know that there is no other city like New York, but I will move to Denver because it offers something totally different. But again, I appreciate everyone's candor, comments and suggestions and look forward to visiting all of the communities that you have suggested.
I hope I haven't caused any ill will towards the posters on this thread.
Peace,
Syd.

Well with an attitude like that you are going to be very welcome here!
If your coming to check out Denver may I suggest that you stay Downtown? Both the Oxford and The Brown Palace are great historic hotels. For more moderate lodging try the Courtyard by Marriott on 16th.

From Downtown you can drive east on 17th. You will go through the Uptown and Capitol Hill neighborhoods. You will go past the City Park that has the zoo and science museum. Stop at the museum go to the back entrance and see the view of the city. Continue east on 17th you will then be in Park Hill, go to Monaco St left to Montview left again to Forest right to 23rd. Maybe stop in Spinellis market to get a feel of the people here and get a great sandwich. If you want new lenleigh's suggestion of Stapleton is a good one. The only new development that I would live in. Take 23rd east to Quebec go left and follow the signs.

Hope this helps.

A great itinerary, thank you!
Someone mentioned a place to me called Lowry. Does anyone have any comments on that and how it relates to Stapleton? Are both cookie cutter communities?

Syd, forget LoDo. All the people telling you to consider that are out of their minds. I'm from NYC too, and i can tell you that LoDo is great if (a) you've got a million bucks in the bank, (b) you're retired and (c) you're in visiting from out of town. People are buying massive loft-style apartments only to find there is a complete lack of neighborhood feel [save for a few touristy blocks like Larimer Square] and amenities we NYers are used to, like, say a store open past 8 at night, a corner grocery, etc.

Young families with kids who want a diverse area would probably fare better in Stapleton or Lowry [where i live with my young family and about 500 other young families], which both offer "town centers". As between the two, Stapleton offers a little more in the way of diversity than probably most other communities. diversity in NYC versus colorado is going to be a very different concept, although in Denver the hispanic population has actually surpassed the white.

With apologies to Lenleigh, Wash Park and Cherry Creek are about as lilly-white as you can get in Colo.

and with apologies to Jeremy, LoDo used to be an "arty" area, but with the real estate boom went the artists to the golden triangle area (just a bit south of downtown on broadway)and the only artists you'll find in LoDo nowadays are probably those eating at Mortons or hobknobing with our new mayor at his resto on Wynkoop street.

I'm a former Chicagoan who moved to Denver for the lifestyle about 10 years ago. I still miss the vibrancy, diversity and great ethnic food of my downtown Chicago neighborhood, but then in Chicago, I couldn't go for the long bike rides or runs from my front door that I do here, I couldn't see the Rocky mountains from my back door, and I definitely couldn't get to the mountains so quickly! No place is perfect, and I and my husband chose the more relaxed (but more active physically) lifestyle and natural beauty over the excitement and variety of city life.

You've gotten some good suggestions on neighborhoods, especially the comments re Boulder, Cherry Creek, Park Hill, Capitol Hill, Wash Park. Keep in mind that, even with these city neighborhoods, you still won't be able to walk to everything or even most things. Unlike NYC or Chicago, you'll (almost?) always have to drive to the grocery store, etc.

Re diversity, compared to a big city, there isn't much in any neighborhood. But I don't notice much discrimination, and people are definitely welcoming and open (I'm a WASP, but the rest of my family are minorities, so we're helping to color "white-bread" Colorado). Yes, we make comments about the Texans (those who vacation here) and Californians (those who move here), but that's a general thing, like New Yorkers (I'm guessing) disparage people in New Jersey. Because the Denver area has had so much growth over the last 30 years or so, it's more common to learn that people are from somewhere else than that they're natives.

We spend a lot of time in the mountains doing outdoor sorts of things. So when it comes to vacation time, we head for the cities (San Francisco & Chicago; Santa Fe is a 5-hour drive away as well). That's when we get our fix of ethnic & fine food, racial (and other) diversity & culture.

Syd, Lowery and Stapleton are pretty close to each other and both have easy access to Downtown. Lowery is nice, though a pretty standard new devolvement with as Flopmeister said young families. Stapleton is more diverse they offer more choices of housing, flats, condos, single family homes. They also did a great job in making in not look cookie cutter. They tried hard to make it fit in with the existing older neighborhood. There is not the same house after house after house. To get to Lowery from Stapleton go south on Quebec. One thing though Lowery has been in the news lately as they have discovered asbestos in some of the dirt.

A site that has some good information is
http://www.denvercityscape.50megs.com/custom3.html

Stapleton is pretty cookie cutter, Coskier. It may not be identical homes, but the density is much greater than lowry. And as for asbestos, luckily this was confined to a few lots, and was mainly tile left over from a hostpial demolition in the 70's.

That is what I meant by not being "Cookie Cutter" it will have greater density, as it was intended to be. Stapleton tries to be apart of the exisitng area, while Lowry is more of a traditional development. Lowry could easily fit in the suburbs, while Stapleton would IMO look out of place.

Once again, this is really great! I'm printing out the thread as we speak so that my husband and baby and I will have a packed itinerary when we come visit very soon.
Thanks everyone!!!

Make sure you tell us your impressions when you return!

Everyone that replied hit the nail on the head. I haven't checked out Lowry but we did see Stapleton last month. Although it is still cookie cutter, I also agree that they did something in this community that they have not done in a lot of other suburbs. There are lofts, flats, townhomes, homes, patio homes and they all have very unique and interesting designs. I have never lived back East but it reminds me of something you would see there. I also got the impression that more people would get to know there neighbors there. It just seems like the kind of place where people would be outside a lot.

Flopmeister, yeah you are pretty correct about Wash Park and Cherry Creek actually. I meant to say Capitol Hill instead of Wash Park. I had some friends that lived in an old mansion there and previously they lived off Colfax near The Bluebird. I personally don't know that I would live in either of those areas but they deffinitly have a lot of diversity and some really great old homes (just some unsavory people are also near there). You are also right about LoDo being expensive. You can have a home with a yard and still be paying less than you would with a loft.

imho Lowry has a slight edge to stapleton (we considered both and chose lowry) and i'll tell you why: stapleton bills itself as "new urbanism" but has placed hundreds and hundreds of suburban style homes in a densely packed area right off a street (Quebec) that city officials have steadfastly refused to expand. It's easy to get to I-70, it is impossible in rush hour to get anywhere south. So Syd1 not sure where you'll be working but I hope it is downtown and not the Tech Center (south). Lowry, by contrast, is a much smaller redevelopment (brobably 1/5th the size of Stapleton. The area immediately surrounding Lowry (at least to the south and west) consists of older, established, upper middle class neighborhood and Lowry has better access to downtown. Stapleton will in 10 years have a light rail link to the airport and downtown, so that is a plus. Also, right next to Stapleton they've developed a huge assortment of "Big Box" stores like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc., which is great for some folks, but for others just makes it look like any other place you've ever been. Lowry has a small town center which really has a feel of being a town within a town.

anyway, you're welcome to email me any further quesions and i'd be happy to send you more info. ([email protected])


A second, and i think equally good choice for you and your family would be Cheesman Park. Many of the older homes are beautiful (the architecture is called "Denver Square"), with big old trees, close access to downtown, and a real neighborhood feel. i lived there with my fiance for a few years before we tied the knot, had a kid, and felt the need for a bigger home.

My husband and I might be moving to Denver too. We're mid-30s, don't have kids (don't plan too). I would prefer not to live in a cookie cutter community and don't mind an older home. I would prefer to not spend more than $300k. What about a city like Littleton or anything like that? Wash Park and the like seem very pricey. I wouldn't want too much of a commute from downtown but don't mind a half hour or so.
Any suggestions on safe areas that have character?
We'd be leaving S. Calif. Housing prices here are just outrageous and we want a change.

penaddict, we have much in common, no kids/no plans moved here from SoCal in '91. Littleton is a suburb..heavy traffic to and from Downtown so more than 30 min. I personally would not live there, but then I do not care for the suburbs. 300K does not get you allot in Denver proper, you can find it yes but will take some looking.

Ps re Any suggestions on safe areas that have character? Again my neighborhood Park Hill, bias I am but we love it here. Lots of ppl your age, both with kids and without! @300k your looking at a traditional denver bungalow about 1200 sq feet, but most have basements that add to the living space. If you want I know a great realtor e-mail me @ [email protected] if you want it

Thanks for the info. I sent you an e-mail. We're used to living in a city, but a change of pace would be nice too.
Just don't know the difference between traffic in Denver vs. LA traffic. :)

penaddict,

I grew up in Littleton and my parents still own the same home. For a suburb, I love this area. If you don't mind a house that may need a little work, you can find one for around 300k in that area. More than likely it will be a little older but there are a lot of very nice neighborhoods with older homes. If you aren't looking for a very large home you may be able to find some newer homes in that range as well. One thing I like about this area is that it is nothing like Highlands Ranch as far as cookie cutter style, most of the homes do have some character and they don't all look exactly alike aside from color.
On a good night, it would take me about 20 minutes to get downtown but Coskier is right that if you work in downtown denver it will definitly take longer in rush hour traffic. They do have lightrail though which alleviates some of the stress of driving. Also, not sure what you do but there is the tech center and other areas where you may find a job that would be a little closer as well.

I also know a good realtor that knows Littleton and the surrounding areas very well and is good at finding what people are interested in. If you want his name you can email me at [email protected]

P.S. Traffic in Denver is not great but I still have to say that we witnessed some horrible driving in LA that I haven't seen in Denver so I think it will be a little better than you are used to.

penaddict, one area that I tend to forget about is Lakewood. We have 2 friends that live in Lakewood, one in an older 70's house that I love. It has been redone, you know granite counters, hardwood floors, sits on a hill that has great views of the mountains. The other in a newer 90's home that is more traditional. Had dinner with one of my friends that works downtown says it rarely takes her 30 min to get to work. You can certainly find allot of house in the 300K range. Maybe some one more familiar with area can give input too.

ttt for Triskele

We have lived in Denver since 1979 and love it here. But, the job market is really tight and housing is really expensive. Having said that, if you're prepared for those two factors, Colorado is a great place to live. The weather is much milder than most people think and the mountains are such a short drive away (although the roads can get really jammed). We live in historic Denver, which we prefer to suburbia (where it feels like Anytown, USA). There are still some beautiful old Victorian homes to be purchased and refurbished, but even they aren't cheap because they're close to downtown. The southern part of Denver is all new, chain stores, etc. Yech. It's cheaper to buy houses there, but you get what you pay for. And, while Genesee and Evergreen are pretty, the daily commute would be a killer if you're working in the city. Boulder is beautiful, but very much a college town and quite expensive housing. You might take a look at central Denver neighborhoods for diversity-- Mayfair, Montclair, Crestmoor, Park Hill (has a lot of great fixer-uppers), Capitol Hill (can be iffy).
We live near Lowry and have watched both it and Stapleton transform themselves. We prefer Lowry for its better location and nicer looking homes and lofts. Some old buildings have been re-modeled, too, whereas Stapleton is all brand new and lots of chain stores with Wal-Mart, etc. Lowry has a nice outdoor shopping area, with non-chain type restaurants and shops, too. It's probably pricier than Stapleton. (There's are good schools in all neighborhoods I've mentioned.)