Kimberly Hills

When I was growing up both of my Grandmother's lived in Kimberly Hills. What I remember were nice neighbors who would often visit and would invite me over to spend time with them and would repay me with sweets or treats. They had a great clubhouse with a pool and there was always bingo or knitting classes going on. My one Grandma had a large corner lot with a strawberry patch out front. I can remember how she used to get mad at all the rabbits stealing her strawberries. I always just assumed it was a retirement community from the people living there.

As both of my Grandmas got older they left Kimberly Hills and moved closer to family. Just a few months ago I was near the neighborhood so I decided to stop by and look at the place that had some great childhood memories. I was saddened by what I saw. Many of the mobile homes are still taken care of, but there are some neglected ones in the mix. During my drive about I didn't see one rabbit and the place just looked kind of run down. The street in front of the neighborhood, 92nd Avenue has changed quite a bit as well. It used to be a thriving mix of restaurants and a 7-11 on the corner but now most of the signs are in Spanish and the crime rate has increased.

One great thing about the place is how close it is to the highway and Water World. When we went to Water World as a kids it was just two really tall slides. That has changed into one of the largest water parks in the world.

Kimberly Hills is a neighborhood of mobile homes, in other words, it is a trailer park. As far as trailer parks go, it is not too bad. I have lived in worse. The club house and surrounding park is mostly well maintained, and the pool is very clean and highly chlorinated for public safety. The only downside to the park is that the tennis courts frequently do not have nets. There are a variety of mobile homes in the park from single, to double, and triple wides; some with well kept yards and others left in disarray. As far as the residents are concerned, you can find good and bad people anywhere and in any neighborhood. You are going to have golden eggs next to sour apples. When I lived there they allowed large dogs, cats, and other pets, which was great since we had a german shepherd. In fact, we never had any real problems living there with either neighbors, stray animals, violence, or crime. We even went Christmas Caroling for several years.
I never went to the grade school that is next to or within Kimberly Hills, but my brother did not enjoy it very much. However, the middle school, Niver Creek Middle School, has some excellent teachers. As with any low income school it focuses more on crowd and drug control (mostly weed) than excelling scholastically, but there are many superb teachers there that care very much about their students. From there you can go to a myriad number of high schools, so you can pick and choose accordingly for your children.
I have to say, growing up there I was rather embarrassed about where I lived. However, as I learned when I reached 16, you definitely have a lot of conveniences at your fingertips! You are near myriad stores, malls, restaurants, excellent medical facilities, easy access to the highway, and other cities with different social strata. Besides, a little diversity builds character! I enjoyed spending my afternoons and weekends in nearby parks, non-profit businesses like the Butterfly Pavilion, going to awesome movie theaters, or trolling in downtown Denver settings such as the Art Museum and the Bluebird Theater (~20 minutes away).