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Old 01-11-2008, 02:15 AM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
45 posts, read 169,737 times
Reputation: 20

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Long story short... I think CO was always in my subconscious and has finally emerged... I am moving to CO in June from Scottsdale, AZ. I have done a lot of hm work on moving to CO, and I think I am dead set on Boulder... I love a small town feel, the outdoors, and of course mountains, lakes, scenery... everything I read about Boulder, OMG sounds and looks great! I kinda miss seasons, tired of the extreme heat of the AZ desert...

So, I need advise... I am a 35 yr old female, and have a 14 yr old daughter who I must put in a good public school... I was looking into Fairview High... I, on the other hand need to look for work, but not sure if people residing in Boulder have a tough time commuting to say Denver... I am an account manager in the relocation industry, but can work in any business setting and almost any industry... any advice on jobs in Boulder area.

PS. Am I crazy to think I can find a decent job, live in Boulder in a fairly nice place and area of Boulder where I rent a 2 bdrm for ~900-1000/mo?

Also, how's the singles scene in Boulder for the 30 somethings?

Thanks,
Dolly
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Old 01-11-2008, 08:42 AM
 
303 posts, read 1,556,369 times
Reputation: 185
2BR can be found in the 900-1000 range, although that is the lower end of the price scale for 2BR - don't expect bamboo floors and granite countertops. I would avoid the Hill area if I were you because of the high undergrad population. Boulder doesn't have any 'bad' areas imo.

Traffic to and from Denver can be a bit slow, but there are options like the bus ('B' or 'BX' buses to downtown).
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Old 01-11-2008, 08:47 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,159,120 times
Reputation: 35920
My DD has a 2 BR apt in Boulder for $900/m. It is in a large complex of primarily undergraduates. There are no doors on the closets, virtually no kitchen counter space, and the rooms are small. It is located in another prime student area near 30th and Baseline. I would say go up a little and you might get a much nicer place.
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Old 01-11-2008, 09:44 AM
 
303 posts, read 1,556,369 times
Reputation: 185
If you avoid the student areas, you can find a decent place - try 30th up near Valmont/Iris, south Boulder (Table Mesa) or east Boulder (Manhattan). I pay 950 for a 2B/2Ba which has a carport, numerous closets (with doors), D/D, porch, pool, partial utilities included, and fireplace; the kitchen is smallish and has a 70s color thing going on, but lots of cabinets and reasonable counter space. There are no undergrads in the complex, which is a mix of people from grad students to retirees, including several families with children.

I will note that you might want to take particular notice of the laundry situation - there aren't many laundromats, at least not away from the Hill. In the lower price range, some places have a laundry room with coinop, others have hookups but no machines, and some have nothing. When I was looking for a place, I don't remember seeing much in the lower price range that had in-unit machines.

I should note, however, that I previously lived in an area where rooms were very small (10x10 was a 'good' sized bedroom), had no closets whatsoever, kitchens had no D/D, no cabinets (really, none!) and about 1 linear foot of countertop, and offstreet parking was rare and usually in-line and shared with multiple units (musical cars), so my standards may be a little....different.
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Old 01-11-2008, 10:30 AM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
45 posts, read 169,737 times
Reputation: 20
Ok, is it really this bad, holy cow!!! I keep reading about Boulder, and grant it, I know everyone and their mother wants to live there, but geez... why can't they have nice apts??

Do you know of any Realtors or Apt finder agents that can take me to see apts when I am ready to rent? I don't want to have to pay them a fee to show me around, hopefully they'll bank on commission or something.

So you don't think It'll be bad if I found a job in Denver area, but lived in Boulder and commuted daily? Bus sounds great!! I can do reading, sleeping, and save gas money!!!
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Old 01-11-2008, 10:40 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,159,120 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moving2CO View Post
Ok, is it really this bad, holy cow!!! I keep reading about Boulder, and grant it, I know everyone and their mother wants to live there, but geez... why can't they have nice apts??

Do you know of any Realtors or Apt finder agents that can take me to see apts when I am ready to rent? I don't want to have to pay them a fee to show me around, hopefully they'll bank on commission or something.

So you don't think It'll be bad if I found a job in Denver area, but lived in Boulder and commuted daily? Bus sounds great!! I can do reading, sleeping, and save gas money!!!
Yes, it's really *this bad*. We don't see it as so bad b/c we live here. There are nice apts in Boulder, just not so much in the student areas. OTOH, there are students all over town, but there is a higher concentration of them near the University. I don't know about apt finder agents. My DD's roommate used some service called "Housing Helpers" to find their place described above, but I don't know anything about it.

Many people commute from Boulder to Denver and vice versa.
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Old 01-11-2008, 10:49 AM
 
Location: Colorado
4,306 posts, read 13,423,327 times
Reputation: 4476
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moving2CO View Post
Ok, is it really this bad, holy cow!!! I keep reading about Boulder, and grant it, I know everyone and their mother wants to live there, but geez... why can't they have nice apts??

Do you know of any Realtors or Apt finder agents that can take me to see apts when I am ready to rent? I don't want to have to pay them a fee to show me around, hopefully they'll bank on commission or something.

So you don't think It'll be bad if I found a job in Denver area, but lived in Boulder and commuted daily? Bus sounds great!! I can do reading, sleeping, and save gas money!!!
You could check some of the websites such as forrent.com or allapartments.com. Then check the neighbourhoods the apartments are located in. Craigslist is also an option. There are some nice apartments out in Gunbarrel which is kind of a suburb of Boulder. It's about 10-15 minutes drive from downtown but there is a bus that goes directly from Gunbarrel into the Boulder bus station - very handy. I don't know if ApartmentFinder.com has an office in Boulder, but I think they do in Denver.
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Old 01-11-2008, 10:49 AM
 
303 posts, read 1,556,369 times
Reputation: 185
What specific amenities are you looking for? There are lots of listings on craigslist for you to get an idea of what is available. I don't know if the realtors/services charge tenants, but there aren't 'fee' apartments (like is common in New England).

Really, the apartment quality overall is much, much higher here than where I previously lived (Boston). My 950/mo unit in Boulder would probably be at least 1800/mo if not more in the Boston area (hard to say exactly as there aren't similar apartment complexes in that area).

re: bus - some employers will give you a pass which works on the RTD (bus) service; or sometimes neighborhoods will pool to buy a set of passes at discounted rate. The bus service is a bit on the spendy side (regular fare iirc is 1.75, longer routes are more).
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Old 01-11-2008, 10:50 AM
 
106 posts, read 430,616 times
Reputation: 38
PERSONAL OPPINION ALERT!

Don't move into Boulder. You will be paying too much for things like Rent, Taxes, Vehicle Registration, and just the "it's cool to live in Boulder tax" that everything is a little more expensive.

/end alert

Last edited by Mike from back east; 01-11-2008 at 11:02 AM.. Reason: Commercial links and realtor referrals not allowed by the TOS.
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Old 01-11-2008, 10:54 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,159,120 times
Reputation: 35920
Vehicle registration costs are the same statewide. Taxes are similar in Boulder/Boulder Co. to the rest of Colorado. Housing is more expensive there.
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