Relocation Advice... Denver, CO!!

Northwest Denver and the Sloan's Lake Area are great neighborhoods but might be kind of pricey for rentals. Although, if you look hard enough you might find something cute and affordable. Public transportation runs just about everywhere in the city but North Denver is very close to downtown and it's easy to get anywhere from there. If you are low income, you might qualify for CCAP (state childcare assitance program) and they pay a good portion of the daycare expenses. You are only charged a low monthly fee. Under this program you can send your child to any day care center or in-home daycare provider that is licensed with the state. More info here: http://www.denverccap.org. And here: http://www.colorado.gov/apps/cdhs/childcare/lookup/index.jsf.

I have a 3 year old son who goes to preschool at A+ Kids in North Denver. They have a toddler room, preschool, and school aged classrooms. He loves it and so do I! My daughter is 7 months old and she goes to an in-home day care. I am actually on the waitlist for CCAP so I am paying full price right now but the care my children receive is definitely worth it. Anyway, good luck! Send me a message if you need any more info or would just like to chat :)

I've used in-home and public daycares and have had good and not-so-good experiences with both. It just depends on your preference and gut feeling of the place! You've had several good suggestions as to where to start to find daycare. Another website is www.qualistar.org, it's a non-profit organization that helps connect you with in-home and public, licensed daycares. You can search by zip code or area and they'll provide you with a list of contacts. You can also look up whether or not anyone on the list has had complaints or Child Protective Services check on them. You have to do your due-diligence and might have to hold several interviews with providers before you can make an informed decision.

We live in the Thornton area (north of Denver) and like it. We don't have the Light Rail system up here, but of course, the buses run everywhere. The schools (Adams 12) in this area have a good reputation also!

Good luck making your decisions and your move!!

You should contact Carisa for child care. I don't have her phone number handy, but her e-mail address is ____@____.com is trustworthy and would take great care of your child. Good luck!

welcome to Denver! I live in Denver and I'd suggest a couple of things. First, we have some good light rail lines that run from downtown to both southeast and southwest suburbs. I would look for housing near those trains, but you should know that the train does not run all over the metro area and you'd have to take buses anywhere else.
To find licensed childcare, try www.corra.org . It is a website for childcare resources and referrals in Colorado. We used our local YMCA for childcare and it was great - goes to age 5.
good luck!

Hi -

I suggest you look in older areas of Lakewood. We are near the Meadowlark neighborhood. There is also a townhome development right on BelMar park (this is NOT the BelMar Development in the "city center" - THAT is crazy expensive but there are some apartments and townhomes NEAR there that are worth a look)

This is in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County is "open enrollment" and has decent public schools which will matter to you soon enough!

From Meadowlark or the BelMar area townhomes, you can walk to the library and shopping and a big park as well as the main bus depot. The #1 will take you into the city if that's where you find work.

Property values are pretty stable and there are apartments, duplexes, and townhomes as well as houses in the Meadowlark neighborhood.

Our kids have attended PDO and Preschool at the Lakewood United Methodist Church. Prices are good and we love both programs. It's only 9-1 though.

Best of luck to you!

By the way, Aurora may be cheaper for rent, but the public schools don't have a good reputation. That's where my husband went to school and I swear he's missing a lot of basic middleschool & HS general knowledge, despite also having attended college.

p.s. I don't know how old a child needs to be for Head Start but that used to be in my church and seemed like a really nice preschool program.