Highlands Ranch, Littleton (I personally like the western stretches of Littleton the most), Morrison (which is very tiny but cute), Lakewood (parts of which aren t that great.) Wheat Ridge, and my personal favorite- Golden. There s Stapleton (which is kind of up and coming) and then there s Aurora (again, parts of it are really scary but not all of it is bad.) Broomfield and Brighton which are nice, but commuting on that stretch of I-25 is insane and I wouldn t be able to stand it on a daily basis. So in conclusion, Golden is my favorite, but I also really like western areas of Littleton, and Highlands Ranch isn t bad (a bit yuppy) but nice for families.
Lakewood, Arvada are west of downtown,, has nice neighborhoods and schools. I work for Jefferson county schools. I live in Castle Rock about 30 min. south of Denver. A family friendly town with great schools. Douglas County. Light rail is being built right now from Lakewood to Denver. Light rail station is about 10 min. from Castle Rock to downtown. http://www.townofcastlerock.org
We publish the Denver Colorado City Guide. The best family neighborhoods and schools in descending order:1. Washington Park2. Cherry Creek3. Westminster
If you wan to live in the city, in exciting vibrant neighborhoods with a bit of history, look at Park Hill, Congress Park, Washington Park and Highlands. If you want cookie-cutter suburbs, read the above two answers.