Moving to Denver/Aurora

Queen of the Ryche · 08-10-2005, 01:18 PM

Start spreading the news...................I'm leaving today...........

Okay. Not until the end of 05/beginning of 06. But my family and I are finally getting out of this god-forsaken madhouse of smog and vanity. My boss has wisely decided to relocate to the Denver area, and has asked us to come. He will pay for us to go up for a week or so to find a house, pay moving expenses, help my hubby find a job, pay his salary until he does, help pay closing costs on a new house, his wife will watch our daughter until she's old enough for school...........how can we say no?
I have been dreaming of an opportunity like this for years.
So now I'd like to ask all of you CO Cellarites to point me in the right direction - we're looking at the Cherry Creek School District area - neighborhoods to look at? stay away from? Where to go for fun? Any other tips?

Clodfobble · 08-10-2005, 01:21 PM

Holy crap! That's a hell of a nice employer! What exactly do you do that's so amazing?

lookout123 · 08-10-2005, 01:43 PM

crap! i mean congratulations! you said earlier that i sounded like a decent FA to work for... damn, you must be one hell of an FA's assistant to justify that relo package.

good on you.

Queen of the Ryche · 08-10-2005, 01:44 PM

We've been together for ten years - he makes very good money, so it won't hurt him financially to ensure that he's still got me on his team. And we are more than employer/employee - we are family. I consider he and his wife my big brother/sister in law. And they consider my husband and daughter and I family too. They are amazing people with enormous hearts.
I cried when he told me that he had asked a couple of his clients hypothetically if they'd be okay with him relocating, and their first question was if I was going too.

lookout123 · 08-10-2005, 01:56 PM

good for you.

my clients ask if my assistant will be going too. i think they mean something different though.

Queen of the Ryche · 08-10-2005, 02:16 PM

Can anyone recommend where to stay when we go visit/house shop?

mrnoodle · 08-10-2005, 02:47 PM

Oh great, another Californian.

i'm kidding. very hearty congrats on your move to civilization.

I don't think there are any "bad" neighborhoods (in the Los Angeles sense of the word) in that part of Denver. Very suburban and upscale, for the most part (it's sort of the Englewood/Highlands Ranch area?)

I don't know what kind of money you're looking to spend, but you can go from $200k to a couple of million. As far as commute times, you're right next to the Tech Center, which is where many of the corporate-types in south Denver have offices. Downtown is 15-20 minutes away (30+ in peak rush hour, but nothing compared with LA). Pro baseball/football/basketball/hockey arenas are sort of clustered in the same neck of the woods, as are most of the happening restaurants and nightclubs (LoDo). However, south Denver has started to come into its own and is getting some pretty nice places itself.

Let us know when you move -- my brother lives in that area and I see him a couple times a month. I'll bring you guys a fruit basket and some religious tracts.

jeez. kidding.

lookout123 · 08-10-2005, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Pro baseball/football/basketball/hockey

oh? did you guys finally get a professional baseball team there?

Quote:

fruit basket and some religious tracts.

that is, by far, the funniest thing you've ever said.

mrnoodle · 08-10-2005, 02:58 PM

oh, sorry QR, didn't read your last post.

From the airport, take E-470 south to I-25 (we have a retarded highway system from the airport, just trust me on this one). Exit north. Everything you see for the next several miles will be your new stomping grounds. Take County Line Road, Arapahoe, Dry Creek Road, or any of the next 5 or so exits to see the neighborhoods and get a feel for the place. Hotels abound. Arapahoe Rd. is your best bet for lodging in the immediate area, I'd say. There may well be others, but that Maiden concert I went to last night was right there, and I remember seeing tons of hotels.

You can't throw a rock without hitting a restaurant down there. Family restaurants to brewpubs on every corner. Nothing particularly eclectic, but nothing dangerous either.

Queen of the Ryche · 08-10-2005, 03:03 PM

Yeah - I know - when people ask where I moved from I'll have to come up with something exotic. Or apologize.
I'll be working at the Tech Cener, hence the choice of neighborhoods (that, and the school district.)
We'll also have dibs on the bosses condo in Breckenridge when we want to ski/snowboard/get "out of town" for a few. Damn, I'm spoiled.
And Maiden plays there? Why haven't I moved yet? (How did Bruce sound? And is Nicko still just as insane?)

Queen of the Ryche · 08-10-2005, 03:04 PM

Oh, and Thank You Noodle. Much appreciated.

08-10-2005, 03:21 PM

The Cherry Creek area is a very nice and mostly upscale neighborhood if you want to live close to the heart of the city. Its near to the beautiful Denver Botanic Gardens, as well as the state capitol building downtown, the Fine Arts Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the Denver Zoo. The schools in Cherry Creek have an excellent reputation. As Mr. Noodle said, if you want a more rural setting (although to someone from LA, probably downtown Denver is rural!), the newer neighborhoods to the south Of Denver have good schools and safe neighborhoods. Highlands Ranch, and the towns of Parker and Castle Rock are worth looking into. Coming from LA, you'll probably discover that Denver real estate is a bargain by comparison and be able to move into a more upscale neighborhood than what you may now be able to afford in the LA region. As far as culture goes, Denver has a pretty good symphony, a lively theater scene, and plenty of music venues for acts both national and neighborhood. Used to be some nice jazz clubs in Cherry Creek when I lived there. Naturally, it ain't LA, but its not just some overgrown cow town anymore, either. Its still fun to go check out the National Stockman's Show that takes place in Denver every January, though.

We do get this stuff called snow here, so be prepared! Denver gets some really good snow storms with with plenty of accumulation every winter, but the good news is that the stuff melts off pretty fast and doesn't lay around for weeks and months, getting all grey and dirty like it does in some places back East.

The mountains to the west of Denver are filled with amazing things to see and places to go. Aspen is maybe what - a 3 hour hour drive, Mr. Noodle? Vail is closer than that. You can go gambling in BlackHawk or pan for gold outside of Leadville. Rocky Mountain National Park is less than a two hour drive and truely magnificent in the summer.

Just don't mention to anyone that you're from California and you should do fine!

mrnoodle · 08-10-2005, 04:10 PM

marichiko hit the important points. BTW, our weather is funny. The south part of Denver tends to get hammered by snow when anything blows through, and the north part of the city up to Ft. Collins can be snow-free, all during the same storm.

Parker.... I'd really recommend that town over anything in Denver proper. Ten years ago it was nothing more than a prairie dog colony and maybe some scrubby grass. Now it has lots of decent neighborhoods, and it's more affordable than points west. My brother moved to Highlands Ranch from there, and they've regretted it since. HR has name recognition for the local snobs (lots of expensive houses), but the same midrange house in Parker is 50k less. And the property taxes are less. Pay real close attention to things like property tax, etc. There are significant differences depending on where you live.

mrnoodle · 08-10-2005, 04:17 PM

Bruce sang better than I've ever heard him, and Steve Harris was a bass god, as usual. I can't believe the amount of energy and physical fitness these guys display at 50+. I got tired standing there for 2 hours, but they wore themselves out. They could've kicked the ass of any 25-year-old in the place.

Nicko was the exception, fitness-wise. A pot belly over the top of skin tight shorts was pretty disquieting.

We got one of the only full-length shows in North America -- they've been on Ozzfest, mainly, and only get 45 minutes or an hour. I wish the crowd hadn't been lame. They didn't do a second encore because of the quietness of the (sold-out) crowd. We didn't deserve it. One of the problems was that they only played songs off of the first 4 albums -- only true fans would know most of the tunes. There were a couple standards, though. I kind of liked the retro feel of it, myself. It was probably remarkably similar to the set that they played in 82 that Hobbs went to.

Elspode · 08-10-2005, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Queen of the Ryche

My boss has wisely decided to relocate to the Denver area, and has asked us to come.

You realize, of course, that this puts you into reasonable proximity for an eventual Cellar Midwest gathering?

08-10-2005, 01:18 PM	#1
Queen of the Ryche is fleeing the scene Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Beautiful CO Posts: 1,510	Moving to Denver/Aurora Start spreading the news...................I'm leaving today........... Okay. Not until the end of 05/beginning of 06. But my family and I are finally getting out of this god-forsaken madhouse of smog and vanity. My boss has wisely decided to relocate to the Denver area, and has asked us to come. He will pay for us to go up for a week or so to find a house, pay moving expenses, help my hubby find a job, pay his salary until he does, help pay closing costs on a new house, his wife will watch our daughter until she's old enough for school...........how can we say no? I have been dreaming of an opportunity like this for years. So now I'd like to ask all of you CO Cellarites to point me in the right direction - we're looking at the Cherry Creek School District area - neighborhoods to look at? stay away from? Where to go for fun? Any other tips? __________________ Once, in an interview, Chuck Norris admitted that he was not the most awesome thing ever. He declined to elaborate; but I believe we all know that he was referring to the existence of chocolate covered bacon. I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.

08-10-2005, 01:43 PM	#3
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	crap! i mean congratulations! you said earlier that i sounded like a decent FA to work for... damn, you must be one hell of an FA's assistant to justify that relo package. good on you. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

08-10-2005, 01:44 PM	#4
Queen of the Ryche is fleeing the scene Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Beautiful CO Posts: 1,510	We've been together for ten years - he makes very good money, so it won't hurt him financially to ensure that he's still got me on his team. And we are more than employer/employee - we are family. I consider he and his wife my big brother/sister in law. And they consider my husband and daughter and I family too. They are amazing people with enormous hearts. I cried when he told me that he had asked a couple of his clients hypothetically if they'd be okay with him relocating, and their first question was if I was going too. __________________ Once, in an interview, Chuck Norris admitted that he was not the most awesome thing ever. He declined to elaborate; but I believe we all know that he was referring to the existence of chocolate covered bacon. I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.

08-10-2005, 01:56 PM	#5
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	good for you. my clients ask if my assistant will be going too. i think they mean something different though. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

08-10-2005, 02:16 PM	#6
Queen of the Ryche is fleeing the scene Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Beautiful CO Posts: 1,510	Can anyone recommend where to stay when we go visit/house shop? __________________ Once, in an interview, Chuck Norris admitted that he was not the most awesome thing ever. He declined to elaborate; but I believe we all know that he was referring to the existence of chocolate covered bacon. I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.

08-10-2005, 01:21 PM	#2
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Holy crap! That's a hell of a nice employer! What exactly do you do that's so amazing?

08-10-2005, 02:47 PM	#7
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	Oh great, another Californian. i'm kidding. very hearty congrats on your move to civilization. I don't think there are any "bad" neighborhoods (in the Los Angeles sense of the word) in that part of Denver. Very suburban and upscale, for the most part (it's sort of the Englewood/Highlands Ranch area?) I don't know what kind of money you're looking to spend, but you can go from $200k to a couple of million. As far as commute times, you're right next to the Tech Center, which is where many of the corporate-types in south Denver have offices. Downtown is 15-20 minutes away (30+ in peak rush hour, but nothing compared with LA). Pro baseball/football/basketball/hockey arenas are sort of clustered in the same neck of the woods, as are most of the happening restaurants and nightclubs (LoDo). However, south Denver has started to come into its own and is getting some pretty nice places itself. Let us know when you move -- my brother lives in that area and I see him a couple times a month. I'll bring you guys a fruit basket and some religious tracts. jeez. kidding.

08-10-2005, 02:58 PM	#9
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	oh, sorry QR, didn't read your last post. From the airport, take E-470 south to I-25 (we have a retarded highway system from the airport, just trust me on this one). Exit north. Everything you see for the next several miles will be your new stomping grounds. Take County Line Road, Arapahoe, Dry Creek Road, or any of the next 5 or so exits to see the neighborhoods and get a feel for the place. Hotels abound. Arapahoe Rd. is your best bet for lodging in the immediate area, I'd say. There may well be others, but that Maiden concert I went to last night was right there, and I remember seeing tons of hotels. You can't throw a rock without hitting a restaurant down there. Family restaurants to brewpubs on every corner. Nothing particularly eclectic, but nothing dangerous either. Last edited by mrnoodle; 08-10-2005 at 03:00 PM.

08-10-2005, 03:03 PM	#10
Queen of the Ryche is fleeing the scene Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Beautiful CO Posts: 1,510	Yeah - I know - when people ask where I moved from I'll have to come up with something exotic. Or apologize. I'll be working at the Tech Cener, hence the choice of neighborhoods (that, and the school district.) We'll also have dibs on the bosses condo in Breckenridge when we want to ski/snowboard/get "out of town" for a few. Damn, I'm spoiled. And Maiden plays there? Why haven't I moved yet? (How did Bruce sound? And is Nicko still just as insane?) __________________ Once, in an interview, Chuck Norris admitted that he was not the most awesome thing ever. He declined to elaborate; but I believe we all know that he was referring to the existence of chocolate covered bacon. I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.

08-10-2005, 03:04 PM	#11
Queen of the Ryche is fleeing the scene Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Beautiful CO Posts: 1,510	Oh, and Thank You Noodle. Much appreciated. __________________ Once, in an interview, Chuck Norris admitted that he was not the most awesome thing ever. He declined to elaborate; but I believe we all know that he was referring to the existence of chocolate covered bacon. I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six.

08-10-2005, 03:21 PM	#12
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	The Cherry Creek area is a very nice and mostly upscale neighborhood if you want to live close to the heart of the city. Its near to the beautiful Denver Botanic Gardens, as well as the state capitol building downtown, the Fine Arts Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the Denver Zoo. The schools in Cherry Creek have an excellent reputation. As Mr. Noodle said, if you want a more rural setting (although to someone from LA, probably downtown Denver is rural!), the newer neighborhoods to the south Of Denver have good schools and safe neighborhoods. Highlands Ranch, and the towns of Parker and Castle Rock are worth looking into. Coming from LA, you'll probably discover that Denver real estate is a bargain by comparison and be able to move into a more upscale neighborhood than what you may now be able to afford in the LA region. As far as culture goes, Denver has a pretty good symphony, a lively theater scene, and plenty of music venues for acts both national and neighborhood. Used to be some nice jazz clubs in Cherry Creek when I lived there. Naturally, it ain't LA, but its not just some overgrown cow town anymore, either. Its still fun to go check out the National Stockman's Show that takes place in Denver every January, though. We do get this stuff called snow here, so be prepared! Denver gets some really good snow storms with with plenty of accumulation every winter, but the good news is that the stuff melts off pretty fast and doesn't lay around for weeks and months, getting all grey and dirty like it does in some places back East. The mountains to the west of Denver are filled with amazing things to see and places to go. Aspen is maybe what - a 3 hour hour drive, Mr. Noodle? Vail is closer than that. You can go gambling in BlackHawk or pan for gold outside of Leadville. Rocky Mountain National Park is less than a two hour drive and truely magnificent in the summer. Just don't mention to anyone that you're from California and you should do fine! Last edited by marichiko; 08-10-2005 at 03:42 PM. Reason: man, its hard to get the link to point to a specific post!

08-10-2005, 04:10 PM	#13
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	marichiko hit the important points. BTW, our weather is funny. The south part of Denver tends to get hammered by snow when anything blows through, and the north part of the city up to Ft. Collins can be snow-free, all during the same storm. Parker.... I'd really recommend that town over anything in Denver proper. Ten years ago it was nothing more than a prairie dog colony and maybe some scrubby grass. Now it has lots of decent neighborhoods, and it's more affordable than points west. My brother moved to Highlands Ranch from there, and they've regretted it since. HR has name recognition for the local snobs (lots of expensive houses), but the same midrange house in Parker is 50k less. And the property taxes are less. Pay real close attention to things like property tax, etc. There are significant differences depending on where you live.

08-10-2005, 04:17 PM	#14
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	Bruce sang better than I've ever heard him, and Steve Harris was a bass god, as usual. I can't believe the amount of energy and physical fitness these guys display at 50+. I got tired standing there for 2 hours, but they wore themselves out. They could've kicked the ass of any 25-year-old in the place. Nicko was the exception, fitness-wise. A pot belly over the top of skin tight shorts was pretty disquieting. We got one of the only full-length shows in North America -- they've been on Ozzfest, mainly, and only get 45 minutes or an hour. I wish the crowd hadn't been lame. They didn't do a second encore because of the quietness of the (sold-out) crowd. We didn't deserve it. One of the problems was that they only played songs off of the first 4 albums -- only true fans would know most of the tunes. There were a couple standards, though. I kind of liked the retro feel of it, myself. It was probably remarkably similar to the set that they played in 82 that Hobbs went to.

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