There are far worse neighborhoods in Denver than Aurora, but that's not really all that much of a recommendation. It was a nice working-class neighborhood back when you could have a nice life on working-class wages, when you could work a factory job and be able to afford a house, even if things were a little tight. It's crumbling in places. The streets are pocked with potholes that take years to get fixed (prompting more than a few residents to do their own repairs with sacks of asphalt and gravel road patch).
Major arteries are lined with strip malls full of nail salons, fast food restaurants, and small independent convenience stores. The homes around them are taken care of fairly well, the yards neatly tended, older sedans in the driveways. Get away from the heavily-traveled streets, and the decay is a little more obvious. Back yard wooden fences lean precariously, planks missing, decorated with rather good graffiti projects done by artists who know the police won't be along any time soon.
