Moving to Denver - I know nothing about the city (Boulder: fit in, apartments)

[surftb15]

Hello everyone,

I recently finished my M.S. and will be working at a hospital in Denver. The starting salary is much lower then Pittsburgh, but I have always fell in love with the city. I do have some money saved, so I want to move to Denver BEFORE I accept the job. I know this may sound irresponsible, but I want to see if there is anything else out there first. I know the jobs aren't the best, but its worth a shot.

So here's what I am looking for, I want close proximatey to shopping, waking, and parks. I will be moving from Pittsburgh and live in Shadyside now. I can walk to two dog parks and one major city park, but can also walk to shopping. I kind of want the same, and Cherry Creek sounds to fit the bill.

With that being said, I have two Aussies. Right now, my rent is $1100 and I have a 2 bedroom. I want to pay anywhere from $1500-$1700. I hate apartment buildings, so The Seasons is really not an option.

Does anyone have any reccomendations as far as landlords are concerned? Any other neighborhoods I should look into?

The job offer I have now won't start until may, so I do have time here.

[woob]

denver has a very poor supply of dog parks compared to other cities. I'm sure your aussies would love cherry creek state park off leash area but that is about a 20 minute drive. cherry creek neighborhood doesn't have any large parks except for the green space along the river. other neighborhoods to consider that are close to parks and shopping- north of sloans lake which is close to 32nd ave, west wash park with shopping on broadway and uptown close to city park. downtown and the central platte valley have really nice parks along the river and a new dog park, but it is mostly apartments. for your budget you should have lots of options. craigslist is the best resource for houses rather than apartments, but be careful of scammers. hope this helps.

[surftb15]

I don't mind driving at all. As long as there is place to play Frisbee and run with other dogs, that would be ideal. I kind of want a nice big park to run too.

Is "north of sloan lake" downtown? What area would I search for on craigslist?

Any suggestions for landlords? I would not want to do corporate, had my fair share of them not fixing problems in pittsburgh.

[woob]

denver has strict leash laws. lots of people do take a chance, but if the white animal control van catches you playing frisbee it is an $80 fine unless you are in a designated off leash area. sloans lake is across the highway from downtown, you can search either "sloans lake" or "highlands" as the neighborhood. i don't know of any specific landlords, I got lucky finding an independent owner on craigslist.

[surftb15]

Wow, thats pretty high for a fine.
I was looking up highlands and I don't know how I feel about it.
How is Washington Park?

[surftb15]

Well I think I will start my search with:

1) Cherry Creek
2) Highlands
3) Littleton
4) Washington Park
5) Capitol hill???

What does the community feel about these neighborhoods? Please be completely honest. And also suggest some. I would like to narrow down to 3 in the future. I may consider Boulder as well, that seems nice as I am a recent grad and 20 miles is not too bad of a commute for me. Plus, I will be working nights in teh hospital so that doesn't seem too bad.

[blobbin]

You have not mentioned where you will be working, which should be a major factor in any decision.

Cherry Creek is not going to have the parks you are looking for, it does have some expensive boutique shopping.

The Highlands might have some of the parks you are looking for depending on where you are but access to downtown is a bit harder than areas on the east side of I-25.

Littleton is way out in the county and outside of a few blocks probably not what you are thinking it is.

Washington Park is the area around, well Washington Park. There is not much you can walk to unless you are in what is now called west washington park which is not close to the park but is close to Broadway.

Capitol Hill is a younger demographic, not much parking but very walkable.

Ideally I would look between 20th and 10th from about High Street to Colorado Blvd. You have two parks nearby, Cheeseman and City Park, a dog park that is going in by East High School and walk ability to shopping, bars, great restaurants etc. These are the Cheeseman and Conngress Park neighborhoods as well as City Park and Uptown neighborhoods.

The areas around the Platte in downtown proper will also have places you can sneak off to with your dogs.

[surftb15]

I will not be working at one specific hospital. I will rotate hospitals depending on the day; so the proximity to downtown is not a major factor.

Based on those streets, I will search for those neighborhoods. They all seem perfect, which gets me excited. Keep in mind, I was just extended this offer yesterday , so I am not too familiar with the area yet. I have been to Denver many A times for ski holiday, but have never even considered moving until now. Really excited and can't wait. Like I said, I will look to move in April, and see what other opportunites are available before signing the job offer.

I think your neighborhoods would be my number 1 choice, followed by Boulder, then Cherry Creek. Each seem to be perfect for dogs, but Cherry Creek is over the top pricey.

[Katarina Witt]

I disagree that Littleton is "way out in the country". It is, in fact, about two miles south of the Denver city limits, and is in no way "country". That doesn't start for dozens of miles farther south.

[COAgapeLove]

Some areas of Littleton are in the "country" whereas some areas are very suburban...it just depends on the specific location.

Boulder isn't everyone's cup of tea. I used to work there and disliked a lot of aspects of Boulder. I'm not big on stereotypes, but Boulder's nickname of the "PRB" (People's Republic of Boulder) is well-deserved IMHO. Basically you're treated / viewed as an outsider if you don't "fit in." From a very practical standpoint, the drive can be a hassle and quite lengthy regardless of the time of day, especially this time of year when inclement weather turns US-36 into an accident filled parking lot. In all honesty US-36 is an accident prone parking lot in the middle of summer on a sunny day. The main problem is that US-36 is the only main highway / road that connects Boulder to any location to the south, hence the traffic volume.

Cherry Creek is very nice, has a central location for your hospital rotations, but may be a little pricey in a lot of the areas. I truly agree with the locales that blobbin mentioned.