Relocating to Colorado from Iowa HELP! (Denver, Colorado Springs: section 8, apartment complex, rentals)

[adrienep]

I am just starting the processes of planning on move to CO from Iowa.
I am original from Austin, TX and want something not in the middle of Iowa and TX.

I have two children and need good schools with family friendly actives but not over run with only overly religious families (single mom status) IDEAS???

Works a paralegal (currently working from home but want to get out of the house and back in the office)
Do you know if there is a good amount of work in this field?? (seems to be but largly in Denver)

As a single mother I dont want to stretch my budget to much. Looking to pay no more then $800 per month in housing... unrealistic?

Dont want to live in the city but looking in between CS and Denver...any ideas on where? Castle Rock looks great but also out of my price range?

PLEASE HELP! I am taking a good year to plan but want to get started!

[Mike from back east]

In today's Denver market, the $800 budget is almost impossible.

Look at padmaper.com for rentals in any good sized city.

Best bet may be COLO SPGS, but even here $800/mo is not much.

[davebarnes]

What are the ages of your children?

[adrienep]

Ages of kids are 1 and 6. Looking to rent for a year and then buy.
What are good towns around Colorado springs that would be cheaper rental markets?

[lurtsman]

Welcome Adrienep!

Last year I made the same trek (from Iowa to Colorado). You are going to love it here. The pay isn't exceptionally high, but it is dramatically better than Iowa and the cost of living (due mostly to taxes/housing prices) is lower. You can do 800/month for rent in the springs. In Denver it is harder, but there may be some areas around the outside that work just fine and there is a bigger job market. Check out both and see what is right for you -- and I realize that advice may seem hard but there is SO MUCH to explore. What is your minimum size apartment? You can do a 2 bed/1bath on that budget. There are some 2/2 that will fit within the budget, but they will usually be in fairly mediocre complexes. The rental market in CS is actually more attractive than the market in Iowa in my opinion. Denver is more expensive, but depending on the job market the wages might be higher there. If you use public transportation, Denver is the way to go. A car is required in CS. We do not do the "bus thing"

[adrienep]

Thank you Lurtsman, that was very helpful!
I am more interested in Colorado Springs but as you said bigger job market in Denver.
Does any know of good surrounding towns? Good Schools and lower rental prices?
Most important.....what part of town should I stay away from if I am living in the city?

[ELCO5280]

My wife is a paralegal and has no problem finding jobs in downtown Denver, DTC, Aurora, etc. has found a couple via CL even.

[highplainsrus]

hey josseppie from pueblo, here's another prospect for you to recruit to water-rich, slow-growth pueblo. at least, until you folks get acclimated to the CO altitude and sub-cultures.
the fields of water law and hemp law are pretty hot out here.

[lurtsman]

Originally Posted by adrienep

Thank you Lurtsman, that was very helpful!
I am more interested in Colorado Springs but as you said bigger job market in Denver.
Does any know of good surrounding towns? Good Schools and lower rental prices?
Most important.....what part of town should I stay away from if I am living in the city?

My knowledge of Denver's market was mostly limited to one day of searching. We knew we liked CS more, but if my wife had gotten a good offer in Denver and none in the Springs, we would've moved to Denver.

If you live in the Springs, you should consider getting a crime map and using it as one of many tools in determining where you want to live. There is often arguments about which areas are safe, or not safe. The majority of the area is safe. Personally, I would have my friends and family avoid areas around the streets "circle" and "monterey" because I've seen too many crime reports there. In my opinion, and others do feel differently, extra care should be given to renting/owning in places south of "airport rd".

Be advised that well south of town there is another town called "fountain". It seems like a nice area, but I don't know it well. When I say to be careful south of airport, I'm not refering to fountain, pueblo, or the state of texas. I'm only talking about that general area. There are still some nice sections around there, but I'd be more cautious. If you go North of Barnes, pretty much everything is nice.

When renting, as always, make sure you inspect the company thoroughly. My wife and I viewed 17 to 18 apartments when we were in the Springs while making a top 4 list. When we were ready to move, we called those places and worked on getting the best offers possible. Then we went through and ranked the appeal of each offer and took the best one. We ended up taking a 6 month lease with one month free and with the monthly payment being over a hundred bucks below the standard price. That put a very nice apartment complex within our budget when we were expecting it to be too pricy. Some of the complexes really shot themselves in the foot by trying to strong arm us as if we weren't going to shop around. Out of 17 to 18, there were only THREE that we were seriously considering. (despite our attempt to make a top 4 list).

"You get what you pay for" is not always true. It is rare to get far more than you pay for, but there are plenty of people that will happily take your money and deliver something less than you expected. The deal we got was vastly better than the other offers on the table.

Depending on your situation, you may choose to filter apartments by section 8 housing before visiting. We made a list of every apartment we could find that looked like a possibility and then filtered out ones that allowed section 8. That saves a great deal of time if you don't want to be part of that culture. I'd recommend using an apartment review site as well, and asking for input on any places you are considering. If you know the square feet and amenities you are seeking, that may help.

As one extra tip, visit your top contenders at night. That is when the office is closed and people are home from work. You'll want to know what the parking situation looks like when people are actually there. A few places lied to us about their parking situation.

D12 is considered the best district, but doing 800/month in d12 will be difficult with 3 people in the apartment. Some bargain hunters on here may know where you can find it. In my opinion, there are other school districts that are also very respectable and I would not be bothered by enrolling children there. Again, there are others on the forums who are far more knowledge about school districts.

Hope this helps, and I'm so happy for you The move may seem like an enormous challenge at times, but it is so worth it. We had a count down on our calendar that we started filling in when were about 155 days from the move. It reminded us to try our best to get things ready, and whatever happened, were getting closer to Colorado each day. Once you know it is happening, it makes it easier to push through. We didn't have to fear failing, the worst consequences were just not being completely prepared. If we had to toss out things we hadn't sold in time, so be it. We were not going to be stopped!