Summer Valley

We have friends who live in Summer Valley and I've always thought it's a nice, family type of neighborhood. The street they live on actually has several police officers that live on it, so in that part of the neighborhood it seems pretty safe to me, although I can't vouch for the entire neighborhood. There are a couple of parks here that have nice playgrounds for the kids, and most of the schools in the area get good reviews from both parents of students and the state, based on testing scores.

The homes are good sized, single family homes of which many have some older trees that are big and provide good shade. The backyards are fair sized as well and many people in the neighborhood have dogs. One drawback to the neighborhood is that I think the city doesn't do a very good job of clearing the roads after a snow storm here. There are roads that are packed with snow for days on end it seems. As some of the roads are hilly, this can cause a problem when driving down them when they are slick.

Within the border of this neighborhood there isn't much in the way of shopping or dining, but just outside the borders lies both. There are several fast food and sit down restaurants just across Hampden Avenue and also down Tower Road. There is a King Soopers across the street as well and numerous shops and auto repair places. Catty corner to the neighborhood is the Aurora Movie Tavern, which is a nice place to get a bite to eat and see a movie. Within about a 10 minute drive is an outdoor mall with many shopping options.

As for public transportation, there are numerous bus stops along the border streets, all which are within walking distance. From this neighborhood there is pretty easy access to the tollway, although Hampden itself doesn't have an on/off ramp. You need to travel to Jewell or Quincy Road to get on.

For anyone looking to move to this area, it's hard to put a price on the homes. There are many foreclosures in the area (as with most of the U.S. right now), so you can find some incredible bargains. Typically, a home here would probably go for around the mid $200,000 range, but with the market being so bad right now that's not easy to get. There are some remarkable foreclosures to be had for just over the $100,000 mark.

Overall I would give this area the thumb's up for families. Good schools, close proximity to shopping and dining, and decent home prices make this a good choice for neighborhoods.