Emmamack

Morning all,

My husband is looking to move to us (me and our 8 & 6 year old) to Denver Colorado.

I was wondering if someone could offer advice about housing and schools?! I have no clue which areas to even look at. I'm not a city girl and like the quiet of the country.

I would also like a British Curriculum school if possible but am open to the American system, obviously.

The job my husband is going for is based in Henderson.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

mikelincs

Welcome to BE. The first thing to worry about is whether your husband will find a sponsor willing to pay out for, and wait for him to get a visa, unless he is already a US citizen.
Most US companies file applications for jobs from outside the US into that round file that sits at the side of their desk marked 'trash' as it coast so much money and time to get someone a visa. A non US applicant would have to have specific skills that people not in the US will have

scrubbedexpat099

Henderson I think of Fedex, trying to remember what else is around there.

Is this an internal job move, Henderson is north east of Denver, not in it. Henderson itself is not a particularly attractive area.

Emmamack

We are both British, it is an internal move of sorts. He works for the same company here and the Denver, Henderson depot want him there - we think!!

He has already done 2 stages of interview and they now want to fly him out there to meet him in person.

scrubbedexpat099

Lots of nice places to live withing a reasonable commute and handy for the airport.

Never heard of a British School in Denver, would that be part of the relocation package?

joto

We used to live the opposite side of Denver in a good school district, but it would be a heck of a commute from Henderson. Denver itself is a nice size city, with most things you might need.

Emmamack

No, we would probably have to pay for our own schooling. I want to try and make this move as easy as I can for my kids!

What sort of areas would you recommend for family living? We looked at a couple of places in Conifer on a website we found.

Emmamack

@Joto

I can't live in the city. I have social anxiety issues and can't be in a highly populater area for long periods of time! (I always like to make life a little easier!! Lmao)

scrubbedexpat099

Conifer would not be a nice commute.

Not much east of Denver, you can drive for hours and not see much.

But then not much in the way of schools either.

Rose tea

With respect, you might find that your concept of a "city" isn't what you'd find in Denver proper. It's a very sprawling place. If you hate lots of traffic, well, that's unavoidable anywhere in the Denver suburbs, but if you need a quiet neighbourhood and slower paced area, you'd be surprised how much the city of Denver can reflect that need. I live in a city of 500,000 people and I can never find most of them anywhere.

If anything, I find the isolation of the suburbs increases my anxiety.

Cardienscarf

You might like to take a look at the Old Highlands area and Louisville. Both are very family friendly and have a lot going on.

Emmamack

What other areas are family friendly and what schools would everyone recommend? My kids are 8 and 6.

You guys are brilliant so any advice is greatly appreciated!

scrubbedexpat099

Broomfield, Boulder, Longmont Firestone etc etc

Mrs Danvers

There is this British school in Denver......

Stanley British Primary School Profile | Denver, Colorado (CO)

I know nothing about it.

My daughter went through the Boulder Valley School District which as far as public schools go were fine. Of course that's a long commute from Henderson and not very practical.

There are a lot of new neighborhoods out in Henderson, also off of Highway 7 between Thornton and Brighton (look up on google maps) which might suit you due to the country feel.

Driving in that area is easy but be warned, in winter you will not want a long drive to drop your children off at school. Public schools here don't do snow days unless the snow is severe. You may be driving them to school with 18" of snow on the ground.

I have lived in Boulder, Louisville and Broomfield which I would say would be a little far out from your husbands prospective job, but they are all great cities with lots of things for your children to do. There are also no real bad areas of those cities.

windsong

Denver is mostly city, even some of the suburbs. There is also a housing shortage here; hence, SO many high rises. Rent costs an arm and a leg. Not sure about property prices but I think they are high, too.

Price of food is generally high here.

Consider the roads untreated in winter. They put something called magnesium chloride on the roads. You can't see it and it is useless.

Stay away from mountain areas. While they can be pretty for a day's outing some of them can be treacherous if you are not used to driving here.

In the summer from about the beginning of June until September the sun is so brilliant you can hardly stand it and there is little shade from it. Mostly in the late 80s and 90s in summer.

There is no humidity - and I mean zero humidity so expect your skin to look like a prune in a very short time. Your hair will dry out, too.

Carry sunscreen with you everywhere.

In the mountain areas it is a treat to see a large family of elk or deer. They are precious. However, if you live in a mountainous region or even in the foothills beware of mountain lions and large birds. It is a known fact that they take dogs from gardens etc. and they are never seen again so never let them off their leash even outside in the garden if you are in or close to the mountains. I know a few people who lost their dogs or cats this way.

The people are quite friendly here, considering it is the USA anyway.

Boulder, a university town is very nice but I think that's considered the foothills.

Cherry Hills, Greenwood Village and Centennial are the newer and more desirable parts to live in but the traffic is horrendous. They are close to a major, but very nice, industrial center, I.e. Office buildings. South Littleton is very nice. If you drive about 45 minutes south into the more deserted areas Castle Rock is very nice and quite a few drive from there to Denver to work.

When I first came here a year ago I got repeated vertigo and, believe me, that's something you never want to have. It was because this city is a mile high - one mile above sea level. That's the reason for the very intense sun.

It takes your body two years to make the adjustment for the altitude and even if you were to leave the altitude of Denver, your body never goes back to the way it was. All your internal organs have to adjust. Two doctors told me this - two Denver doctors.

No way would I leave the UK for Denver.