Just a heads up, the constant zooming in and out is unpleasant.

You are spot on! I lived in Highlands Ranch for about 20 years. Moved there from central Denver when I found out I was pregnant and finally moved out when my son graduated from one of the 4 great high schools. Highlands Ranch is a planned community for families with children. Although I didn't like certain parts because it IS such a huge HOA, it WAS great for families.

The Westminster mall closed. The picture you used is from The Westminster Mall in California. Out on I25 there’s The Orchard and the outlet stores though. 🙌

Moved to Erie a year ago. Haven't really gotten to know Denver much, yet. I like your thoughtful commentary. It made me interested to get out to the places I haven't seen, and I'll definitely watch some of your city of Denver videos for ideas. I found the frequent zoom in, zoom out editing style to be a bit distracting, but you're the guy who knows how to make effective videos, not me!

Ha ha, shout out to Elizabeth! That’s my hometown but don’t live there anymore

I love HR and Parker!! We lived in HR when we moved here but for the homes you got (needed updates), it was expensive. There is a lot there and all the rec centers… you’re right not much character but a lot to do.

Grew up in Centennial. Have lived in Reunion, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Westminster, and now Castle Rock. This entire video is pretty damn accurate

I grew up in Westminster. Loved it!

Pro for Littleton: the Crabapple Route. Very charming during the spring blossoms

I was hoping you'd comment on Superior and Erie. Personally not a fan of either, but I'd love to see your take on the 'burbs north of Northglenn! There are some great ones, like Lafayette, Longmont, Firestone, Dacono, etc. Hard to say they aren't Denver Metro since you can be in the heart of the city in 30 minutes assuming it isn't rush-hour traffic.

Littleton is nice but if you have to commute good luck

After living in the Broomfield/Superior area for the last few years, the Denver area is so over rated. If you’re not desperate enough to make it up the I-70 slog for activities, there are so many better places to live with better climate, activities and cheaper too. Like 15 years ago Denver got lucky with pot, low interest rates, and millennials. Now, pot’s legal in many states. Interest are higher than the mortgages are worth here. I love to ski but I-70 is not worth it. I’m going to look at Morrison or Golden but I’ll probably end up in Salt Lake City area.

So I've lived in Colorado since 1988 also practiced real estate for 27 years--now retired from that field. I can tell you this is one of the best assessments I've heard and very interesting. Great job Sam on the segment. Your assessment in North Glenn is spot on. Something I would add about Northglenn is a lot of the homes are built by Pearl Mack and they're really well-built. But a lot of them do have Federal Pacific panels as far as electrical so it's something to watch out for if you buy in there.

FYI .. Highlands Ranch is not technically a city. Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado.

Love HR...

I am with you on Highlands Ranch and Commerce City. If you really want a suburban cocoon and easy access to chain stores Highlands Ranch is a great location. The houses in there seem to be old enough to be out of date but not old enough for someone to have invest in a nice renovation. When I say these things, I always worry that I am going to eat my words and wind up buying a house there. :-) If I found a nice house with a nice view on the westside or one to the south with easy access to trails I would consider it. You can get nicer and new homes for a lot less money in Parker or some of the outlying Aurora neighborhoods. Commerce City is a sad story. No one should have to live with the pollution that area deals with. The air pollution from the refinery, the highways and the other industries is bad!

The correct answer for any kind of which suburb is best list is… “they’re all the worst”. Suburbs are subsidized by cities and the infrastructure for suburbs cannot be supported by the taxes they pay. Every mile of additional sprawl is tightening the fiscal chokehold that will eventually come due. Denver needs to prioritize density and public transit. Cities are not noisy by nature. Cities are noisy because people in suburbs bring their cars into the city and expect fast roads, free parking, and for everyone else to accommodate their private property.

Hi Sam, What do you think of Arvada in terms of safety and ease of getting to the mountains?

I was born in Denver. Lived there many decades, so I know Denver area. This video is very accurate. I'm kind of weird, I like industrial areas, so I like the old Commerce City area. I did live for a few years just off Colfax in Aurora, so I know exactly what Sam is saying there. But as he pointed out, Aurora a huge city in population and area and actually some areas of Aurora very upscale. But along Colfax and near the Anschutz Medical Campus is pretty crappy. I don't know the political correct terms for ghetto or slums, but, yeah, pretty crappy. It kind of wore me down living there for a few years. So, happy to be out of there. Actually happy I'm outside the whole metro area now!! My advice, Denver much better than suburbs, so look there. Walkablilty much better. Traffic in Denver metro area horrible, so if you live in whatever suburb, plan to spend hours in traffic jams every week.

I'd agree with most of your assessment of HR. I have a lot of friends (and businesses) that are in the Highlands Ranch circle, but all have a Littleton address. It's tough to say you love one but not the other when there's a large overlap there.

What is this 'Boulder" you speak of?

The good food places in aurora clears

Grew up in littlefun...

Northglenn is terrible! Avoid at all costs. (Side note: not really, I'm just trying to slow the traffic growth until the highway system catches up to where it should have been 20 years ago).

Littleton is the best!

All suburbs suffer when Sam doesn't come to training....

Lakewood for sure.

Lakewood is Bipolar, definitely hit or miss. NW side of Lakewood, Green Mountain area, is nice. Closer you get to Denver, worse it gets. And TBH, lots of the residential areas close to Denver actually aren't bad, it is just all the run down retail on the major roads bringing in homelessness and crime. More and more is migrating to this area from Denver. Just saw two homes in Green Mountain go for 100k over asking. Over asking just keeps happening, pretty nuts.There simply isn't enough inventory for sale in the Green Mountain area. 1152 S Vivian St 13366 W Warren Circle 1771 S Youngfield Court 660 S Arbutus Street Green Mountain is definitely a sought after suburb. You can't beat the location, quick access to DT Denver and the mountains, plus it has the W line. The 6 is a hidden gem, makes access to DT Denver easy.

I'm going to guess that you are a Libra.

The constant zooming in and out is nauseating

Lmao did you just recommend the (extinct) Westminster Mall and then show pictures of the one in California? Why are these transplants making channels about our city? 💀

Hating on Aurora 🙄 shocking. I’ve lived in Aurora since 2008. It’s literally my favorite part of the metro area cause people here are real. They’re not fake wanna be yuppies like the rest of the metro minus Lakewood.

By the way, if you want to live with the most annoying Karen like people on the state, move to Parker. I’d rather live in the Springs and the ppl there are pretty horrible in their own right