locale of your work will decide most everything.getting around denver has become a huge pita traffic wise in the last five years or so.
south east has centennial south aurora area, centennial is on the higher $ scale.
straight south is littleton and englewood. littleton i hear is good, and i loved living in englewood a decade ago, but due to outrageous traffic, i won't even visit those areas because traffic in englewood sucks soo bad.
southwest/west has golden, lakewood. both resonable from what i've heard. i wouldn't mind living in golden.
northwest has boulder (the republik...most hate the place). louisville broomfield are is ok
north has where i live (poor, hispanic but no sucky hoas), henderson/brighton which is farming communities growing quickly.
east is aurora, the north and central areas are ghetto with some nice areas mixed in. i won't live in aurora again. too much crime/not enough police
central is cherry creek/denver and stupid high dollar