Hampden

Hampden neighborhood is a settled older suburb. The people who live here seem to be happy with this neighborhood, although it's pretty far removed from downtown. This area has a mix of rentals and single-family homes. Costs are steady and fairly low here. The residential areas are clean, quiet and tidy. The strip of Havana and Hampden is a major commercial strip, so shops and restaurants are nearby.

Although the commercial area is handy, it's anything but pleasant. This strip is a major traffic corridor, and it's all chain stores and restaurants. As far as commuting from this neighborhood, the Tech Center is nearest. Hampden is a fair distance from downtown--30 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. The biggest plus to this area is the accessibility of park spaces. There are several smaller parks, and Cherry Creek state park is nearby. There are two golf courses, and lots of biking and running trails.

Families who prefer an older to a newer suburb might find this area attractive. I am not fond of being this far from central neighborhoods. I also cannot get excited about the 70s architecture and the bland retail options. However, this is a good safe neighborhood, and many people who don't want to be in the middle of the city can find rentals or home ownership options very affordable, clean, and safe.

In Hampden, the familiar Denver grid system gives way to curving streets that dead-end in cul-de-sacs backed by cottonwood trees and lined with grassy yards. This is a stalwart middle-of-the road suburban neighborhood, with a mix of large apartment towers, smaller complexes, and many single-family homes from the 1960s and 1970s. For the most part, people take pride in their homes, which are well-maintained. The neighborhood is popular for families, especially if a parent has a job in the Tech Center, which is close by.

Hampden is bounded by Hampden Avenue and South Havana Street. Everything inside of these boundaries is residential, often quiet, with several large parks including Babi Yar, Hampden Heights, Hentzel, and Bible Parks. (Note that despite the odd name, Bible Park is not a Christian Disney World but a regular park with trees, trails, and athletic fields, very popular among locals.) The fringes of the neighborhood, however, bustle with commerce and traffic. Hampden is thickly lined with shopping plazas: grocery stores, chain restaurants, a gigantic Whole Foods, clothing shops, and blocky office buildings. There are also some hidden gems of hole-in-the-wall ethnic eateries, especially Vietnamese and Indian. South Havana is marked by a large cluster of car dealerships.

The drawback is that since you’d need to face the roaring roads and pedestrian-unfriendly shopping plazas to get there, running errands or going out on the town in Hampden can be draining. Hampden Avenue’s intense rush-hour traffic and big-box feel don’t really lend themselves to pleasant strolling and urban exploration, either. The high degree of commercial development is convenient, though, and means that it’s possible to live, work, play, and shop without ever leaving this large neighborhood.