[AXOmom]

I lived in Denver (well- Metro Denver) from age 7 to 18 and still have friends there, but I am middle aged now, and haven't been back in awhile, so please take this info with a grain of salt and realize it might be dated.

When I lived there, and I think this is still the case, the best neighborhoods were in the far south/southeast end of town. This would be Cherry Creek, Aurora, Littleton (south/southwest), and southern/southwestern Jefferson County (which includes part of Littleton). That territory now stretches down to Castle Rock almost to Colorado Springs.

I am not as familiar with the north side, but when I lived there, Arvada, Thorton, and Broomfield were pretty decent as well (this are pushing up near Boulder which is BEAUTIFUL, expensive, and where CU is located).

Generally, we avoided Denver city schools like the plague (although I had friends who went to them and survived just fine), but this may have changed, and there was an old money area in Denver near South High School, that was quite nice. The name escapes me. Things may have changed. At the time I was there if you were going to live in Denver proper, and you had kids, Bear Creek which is partially in Denver and partially in Lakewood were your best bet.

If he/she wants to live in the city, LoDo and 5 Points have been radically revamped since I lived there, and are supposedly very "urban trendy". This is a 180 shift from my days.

Hope that helps. Maybe someone is lurking around who lives there now or more recently than me and can give you some updated advice.