Moving to Colorado - Thoughts on SO - Aurora Area???

I live in "The Farm", which is a large neigborhood with great schools. It's wonderful community and there are lots of things (shopping, entertainment, rec centers), etc., very near by. SE Aurora is terrific!

Hi K., I actually live in northern Commerce City for almost 4 years now. There is a "historic" part of the city which is just north of Denver. Northern Commerce City is located 15 mins NE of Denver & 15 mins from the airport. It is a nice newer area and there are a LOT of young families here. There is also a HUGE planned community know as Reunion http://www.reunionco.com/ My daughter is still too young for school, but I know they have built several new schools and are planning on opening/expanding more schools. Hope this helps and good luck on your move.

Hi- I live in Aurora South (Saddle Rock Golf CLub Community) LOVE IT!!!!

The School District is Cherry Creek; the best public schools in the State of CO. A great reference to use is www.recolorado.com. It allows you to put in specific info on what/where you want to settle down. It is booming out here with growth, great food, activities and shopping.

Another consideration is a group called Moms Club of Auora South. It is a nationwide chapter. No matter where you settle down, you can go to www.momsclub.org to get more info. I did when I moved here and have made the most amazing contacts/freinds!

Good luck with your search and if you have any other questions-you can contact me at ____@____.com. J. M.

I agree with some of the comments I have seen. Aurora is surprisingly a pretty big city. So you can get a mixture of good versus bad neighborhoods. The Cherry Creek School District is a must. I love the schools and so do my children. SE Aurora is definitely the area you want to look into! There are some great neighborhoods, schools, parks and recreational centers. Good luck!

I've lived in the Denver metro area for twelve years (north, central, west and south). There is a lot of new development in South Aurora; so, the housing is more affordable there than in other areas. But, since you asked...if I were you I would avoid Aurora. It's a part of the metro area that developed a lot in the 80s and has since gone downhill. The local news commonly reports crime from Aurora. My thoughts are that even though the newer developments in South Aurora are safer, it's still Aurora. On the plus-side...you'd be near Parker, which used to be a very small town that has experienced a boom in the last decade or so. Parker is new & safe. One more thought: depending on where your husband is being re-located to, South Aurora is so very far away from the rest of the city. Maybe that's not your main concern. Other areas to consider on the south metropolitan side would be Castle Rock (not considered Denver metro), Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Centennial. We live in the Englewood/Centennial/Lone Tree area. Good Luck! Colorado Welcomes Kansans!!!

I would really disagree with Sara, who said you should avoid Aurora. She doesn't live here. It's not far away from the city. Castle Rock and Highlands Ranch are going to be at least 20 minutes or more away from downtown too and housing is much more expensive. It's true that northern Aurora is not in the best area, but in no way would I say that Aurora is going "downhill". I live in southern Aurora though which is in the Cherry Creek School District. This district is the most desirable and the best in the area. Aurora is an ethnically diverse area. I live on a cul-de-sac and have neighbors who are black, white and hispanic. Southern Aurora bleeds into Centennial which is also a nice area. Coming from Kansas City (we moved from Springfield, MO 5 years ago) you will find housing prices are a bit higher than in MO. Aurora is an affordable area. It has nice parks that have recently been upgraded, biking/walking trails, new shopping centers (Southlands at Smokey Hill and E-470 is brand new and houses are popping up around it). Don't count Aurora out. My advice would be to make a trip out here and visit some neighborhoods to see which you like the feel of. You will also be able to see how far a commute your husband will have from home. GL!

So long as you are in the Cherry Creek school district, Aurora is a good choice as far as schools go. Make sure you are not in the Aurora Public School district, it has a very poor record. I grew up in Aurora, and my mother lives out there still. It really depends on the area but S.E. Aurora has some great neighborhoods. Good luck!

Hi there,
I am in south Aurora/Centennial right now and we really like it! The schools are excellent, ( Cherry Creek) and the district just passes a bond yesterday when many others in the metro area failed ( including Douglas county which is supposed to be one of the wealthiest in the state). If you want a newer (90's and up) home with that kind of architecture than this area is great, more sf for your money than in Littleton or Highland's Ranch. This area also has some diversity which I also like. Our neighborhood has a community pool which we love, we can walk there, lots of walking paths and parks, very family oriented.

K.,

I am from the rural midwest and love my SE Aurora neighborhood. My neighbors are great and we've had no crime other than maybe a little teen vandalism and an unlicensed solicitor. My car got hit and run a few miles from our house, but the cops were able to catch him. Most of the crime I hear about is north of Iliff ave. I often leave my garage open accidentally and no one's ever touched anything ... although, I don't recommend this.

We are also part of Cherry Creek so the schools are reputedly great, but I think all schools suffer from the "No Child Left Behind" failures these days, so you'll want to check out the individual schools closely yourself.

What type of family activities are you used to doing? We do things with our church, but our kids are much smaller than yours. There are tons of museums and several have free days. Check out www.coloradoparent.com for more information (printed copies can be picked up at most public libraries).

There are lots of trails and open space, but if this is something you want to be close to, make sure your realtor uses this as part of your criteria. I also wish we lived a little more south than we do, because they opened a new rec center at Buckley and Orchard and we are one subdivision too far north to be considered "in-district" but there are several city ones close to us ... they just don't have a pool... sigh. :)

We just recently moved from California to Colorado (specifically Parker/Castle Rock.) When I was researching schools, I found www.greatschools.net to be really helpful. Start with the 'Research and Compare' tab, and you'll have access to area schools, ratings, reviews, testing results and more. Once I found some schools that seemed promising, we actually narrowed our home search based on those results. Good luck!

Absolutely make sure you are in the Cherry Creek School District and not Aurora Public Schools, but also compare the Cherry Creek schools against each other on their website (http://www.ccsd.k12.co.us/). I have lived in Aurora for the past 14 years in various parts of town. You do want SE Aurora.

Best of luck with the move!