I read thru this forum and this topic seems to be a popular one. Although none of the threads address my specific questions so here goes!
I have scoured Realtor.com for housing but not being familar with the area its very difficult. Can anyone tell me of some nice areas in and around Denver that are safe, "nice", family communities? (also, I prefer older homes - front porches, charm and character!)
Secondly, what kind of salary can i expect being a new RN? In the NYC area where i am from its around $60,000/year.
Hope this info is not too late for you. I live in Castle Rock and have lived in lots of Denver metro area towns. Here are my opinions of several towns:
Castle Rock: Great family area, little crime, somewhat isolated from Denver, developing rapidly. Very few older homes, brand new ones are usually the ones with front porches, trees aren't very mature, nice historic downtown castle rock section. Lower priced than other areas
Littleton: Nice family area, lots of conveniences, homes built from 1970's - present, trees are mature, downtown Littleton beautiful during winter holidays - all lit up
Roxborough Village: beautiful red rock formations, nestled right against the foothills, not very many conveniences, mostly newer homes, trees not very mature, lower priced than other areas
Boulder: pricey, college town, very pretty, older homes, mature trees, great shopping
Cherry creek: same as Boulder except omit college town, unless you count DU that is pretty close.
Aurora/Parker: wide range of homes, more towards the east (the plains), wide range of tree maturity, lots of conveniences
Golden: very pretty, in the foothills, plenty of conveniences, some older homes
Highlands Ranch: mostly newer homes, family community, lots of conveniences
Good luck on your search. My husband is from Maine and has found the lack of trees (as compared to the east coast) here in Colorado the biggest adjustment. If you think you might find this to be an issue I would stay away from the newer developments and go with older homes in Denver (wash park), Cherry creek or Littleton, perhaps Golden. They are going to be more expensive though. Sorry - don't know much about towns north of Denver. Erie has some old and new homes and is pretty isolated.
Hi, I live in Castle Rock. It's a nice, family orient suburb of Denver. Mostly all newer nationwide builder communities. Look in http://www.recolorado.com . Seach in communities for Founder's village, Meadows, Castlewood Canyon or Meadows. 2 story homes avg 210-250k. There is a couple older areas to Castle Rock but they are declining neighborhoods. Schools here are some of the best in CO. We like it but miss the charm of older neighborhoods. The downtown is quaint and small townish. The worst part is my commute. If you live here you have to work in South Denver hospitals. Two new one's are Parker Adventist and Sky Ridge Medical Center both opened within the past year and are only a 10- 15 min. commute. Littleton Adventist is about 25 min and Swedish is pushing it at 35 min and a lot more traffic. You can also, go south on the highway to CO Springs, I'm not familiar with their hospitals but a commute would be about 30 min at least. I work near downtown Denver at Presb St. Lukes, PSL, I like the hospital but it's 45 min to 1.5 hrs away and lot's of traffic. I have a contract. If you can afford more I'd look in more central Denver that way you're not limited like me and you can look for older neighborhoods. Washington Park, Bonnie Brea, Park hill are all beautiful but plan on spending at least 300k for a bungalow that needs work and private schools. Hope this helps, feel free to reply with more questions. J.
Husker-nurse,
What's the deal with Cherry Creek?? I see many advertisements for apts. there. I am totally unfamiliar with the area too.
Hi, I live in Castle Rock. It's a nice, family orient suburb of Denver. Mostly all newer nationwide builder communities. Look in www.recolorado.com . Seach in communities for Founder's village, Meadows, Castlewood Canyon or Meadows. 2 story homes avg 210-250k. There is a couple older areas to Castle Rock but they are declining neighborhoods. Schools here are some of the best in CO. We like it but miss the charm of older neighborhoods. The downtown is quaint and small townish. The worst part is my commute. If you live here you have to work in South Denver hospitals. Two new one's are Parker Adventist and Sky Ridge Medical Center both opened within the past year and are only a 10- 15 min. commute. Littleton Adventist is about 25 min and Swedish is pushing it at 35 min and a lot more traffic. You can also, go south on the highway to CO Springs, I'm not familiar with their hospitals but a commute would be about 30 min at least. I work near downtown Denver at Presb St. Lukes, PSL, I like the hospital but it's 45 min to 1.5 hrs away and lot's of traffic. I have a contract. If you can afford more I'd look in more central Denver that way you're not limited like me and you can look for older neighborhoods. Washington Park, Bonnie Brea, Park hill are all beautiful but plan on spending at least 300k for a bungalow that needs work and private schools. Hope this helps, feel free to reply with more questions. J.
Thanks! I'm looking at Denver Health and St. Joes. I know there is a new hospital opening in Lafayette...Good Samaritan?? How long of a drive would you anticipate from castle rock to any of these hospitals??
Nekhis' mom, Denver Health, or DG as it's known around here and St. Joes would be about the same as my commute 45 min, no traffic and 1hr 15min with traffic, that's each way. St. Joes's is literally across the street from me at PSL. I may have seen your post on another thread. Are you looking for L&D? I work in L&D at PSL, we hire into the dept frequently, as opposed to what the nurse recruiter says. We have an excellent didactic learning opportunity and a lenghty one on one preceptorship, if you're new to the specialty. Have you applied here? I was offered a position at St. Joes but for less money and I didn't like the atmosphere. There's lot of residents, which some nurses like but, I felt it took away a lot of the nursing autonomy and skills are harder to develop. It's a newly designed unit, which I didn't really care for either. It's hard to monitor you're pts. DG offers the best pay but there's the trade off of a very economically deprived clientel, little or no PNC, lots of spanish speaking only and an old, cold environment. Lafayette would be very far from Castle Rock. My husband is currently commuting to Boulder, which is near there and he can't wait until he doesn't have to go up there 4x a week. It's tons of traffic and at least 1.5 hrs each way. Hope this helps your decision, J.
What's the deal with Cherry Creek?? I see many advertisements for apts. there. I am totally unfamiliar with the area too.
Do you know anything about the Castle Rock area??
Cherry Creek has excellent schools, so the housing is relatively expensive. Douglas County has excellent schools as well (that's where I live). Castle Rock is booming. In Colorado, the houses are pretty squished together, which feels weird when you come from the east coast. It's also mostly shiney and new in Castle Rock and Highlands Ranch (another nice family community). There are older homes in a few areas in Castle Rock. Littleton also has some nice neighborhoods with older homes, bigger yards, and close to the hospitals. I LOVE Parker Colorado, but it's too much of a commute for my husband. Parker has the good schools, good shopping, but also a nice variety of neighborhoods with larger lots and good views of the mountains in the distance. There is a new hospital in Parker. We came from the east coast, moving first to Highlands Ranch. We felt squished in there, so move to 5 acres in the foothills. We sacrificed convenience for space, but it's really pretty here. Commuting on snowy days (like today) should be a consideration if you move to Colorado. If you're looking for an apartment, try Parker or Castle Rock. Hope this helps! You can email me with more questions if you have any! I know it's a buyer's housing market here now, so it is a good time to find a deal.
Specializes in Triage, MedSurg, MomBaby, Peds, HH.
I just moved back here 11 months ago after 9 years in Florida. The traffic is heavy but usually moves pretty quickly.
The advice above still stands for the most part. Boulder is EXTREMELY expensive and smaller towns within Boulder county have lower housing starts but higher county taxes than elsewhere along the Front Range.
As far as Denver goes, I think it bears saying that "Cherry Creek" is a name used all over the Metro area and not a suburb itself, so don't avoid a specific development, condo or apt complex, etc. because it has Cherry Creek in its name. If you have specific questions about the Denver metro area.
Castle Rock has grown exponentially so the commutes to Denver are probably significantly longer than those mentioned above from 3 years ago. However, Sky Ridge hospital is very commutable from CR and is a great place to work according to everyone I've spoken to. SR is also commutable from Centennial, Littleton, Englewood, and really all but the Northern and NW suburbs like Westminster, Arvada, etc.
Feel free to PM me and pick my brain. I LOVE Colorado and although I also love FL am so glad to be back home.
nekhismom
1,104 Posts
Thanks!! I'll put this info to good use!