Will I regret living in South Aurora?

[2bindenver]

In your price range with an easy commute to work.

I cannot report on any social dynamic. A community is an individual participation sport.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by schmidns

Hello,
I'm a 26 year old single male being assigned to Buckley AFB next month and I'm in the process of looking for a place to live. I was hoping to buy a house this time around but have found that all the houses in the "trendy" areas are well out of my price range or too long of a drive to Buckley. I can however, afford a nice place in the S Aurora/Centennial area for my ~$1400/month. My only concern is tha I may regret being so far from down town. My current duty location is a dust bowl in southern New Mexico and I'm from a small town in Minnesota so this will be my first large city experience. I wouldn't consider myself "hip or artsy" but I do want to be able to meet people and make some friends, expecially women, as Alamogordo NM has a ratio that makes what many of you describe as "Menver" seem like a veritable promised land. The house I'm looking at now is about 4 miles from the 9 Mile light rail station so I was thinking that might be a good way to reap some of the benefits of city life without actually living downtown. I'm open to other suggestions but I need >1000 ft^2 with at least 2-3 bedrooms. I'm also big into outdoor activities and have a lot of stuff to store and the ability to butcher an elk where I live would be a big benefit. Thanks for your help in advance! I'm looking forward to experiencing your great city!

I have several general thoughts on the subject here:

1. It seems to me you never really know an area until you've been there for a year or so. What sounds good in theory often doesn't work out in practice becuase it's hard to know all the factors in advance. For that reason, I think it's a better idea to rent.

2. If you've never lived in a large metro area before, you have to realize one of the things you give up is space. I honestly really don't get why a 26 year old single person with no kids "needs" a 3BR detached house . It just doesn't compute for me.

I get that there are a lot of cheaply built apartment complexes out there, but surely you can find something decent for less than $1400 a month. And if/when you do, you won't feel like you are "throwing away" money on rent, becuase the rent as a % of your income will be much more reasonable. It'll feell like you're paying to have a roof over your head instead. Renters always seem to forget that homeowners "throw away" money on property taxes, interest, repairs, closing costs, and commissions, with no assurance that property values will rise, esp. in a few years' time.

[schmidns]

mysticaltyger,
1. Thats a good point and reason why I'm so nervous about committing to a house.
2. I don't need a 3BR house but one of my primary critieria is resalability since I'll only be here for 4 years or so. I figured its best to have a house that a family could live in since that is the majority of home buyers. I do definitely need 2BRs though as I'm hoping to have a lot of friends and family visit me here.
3. Again a good point about % of income towards housing. Coming from an inexpensive area to live I'm sure my budget for fun and living will have to increase which is part of the reason why I was trying to keep my house budget lower and not be "house poor". You're also right on the extra expenses of home ownership but there is a significant tax benefit as well. As a single getting up there in the tax brackets any decrease in income tax helps.

Thanks for all of the inputs and keep it coming! I haven't decided for sure either way yet but I did identify a house in SE Aurora that I'd be willing to put an offer in on if I decide to go that way.