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I can't really find anything that matches what I want apartment-wise that's in a city neighborhood. Plus, although I definitely want the access to the city I honestly don't know that I'm cut out for living right in it. The apartments are either way, way out of my budget or are incredibly tiny (I cannot imagine how one lives in a 480 sq. ft apartment?!) with 0 amenities and poor reviews...as far as actual apartments that I want, I seem to have found some decent places in the westminster/thorton area that are also a much better commute to my work. Many of the affordable apartments in some of the closer yet "less urban" areas (congress park, etc.) had tons of people saying there was partying and noise in the courtyard at all hours of the night every week night too- although I love going out on weekends as much as the next person, I do have a professional job that requires me to be up very early during the week. However, of course I don't want to be in a really nice apartment but stuck with nothing to do! I know in my current area, I am not that far from the limited "nightlife" options that we have, but since I am in the opposite direction, cabs literally will not drive to my area because they know no one in my neighborhood will be out requesting a ride back that late at night. I am moving without really knowing anyone so I was checking out some of the meet up groups and saw tons of bar hopping planned, etc.- which sounds awesome, but I don't want to be stranded with no way to go home. Not that I have to drink to have fun, but personally, if I'm going to be sober I don't want to hang out in a bar with drunk people. The whole "just go and hang out and then drive home" just does not appeal to me whatsoever. I absolutely don't mind paying for the cab- it seems I could take a bus there and cab back, I just want to make sure a cab would actually be available/willing to go where I live. If not westminster area, would arvada or aurora be any better? The southern suburbs are too far away from work. I looked into stapleton/lowry which also seemed to be closer but the only stapleton complex within my budget looked AWFUL and there was nothing within my budget in Lowry. Thanks!
Maybe you could live where the cabbies live... literally. Without exaggeration, pretty much all the cab drivers in Denver live in a few square mile area in southeast Denver/ Aurora/ unincorporated Arapahoe County island, in the area roughly bounded by Tamarac/Quebec, Mississippi, Havana, and Hampden. Mainly because the ethnic groups that represent the cab driving profession tend to live in this area. Just be really selective when it comes to the specific apartment complex-- there are some really nice ones, but the cheap ones tend to be cheap for a reason.
I can't really find anything that matches what I want apartment-wise that's in a city neighborhood. Plus, although I definitely want the access to the city I honestly don't know that I'm cut out for living right in it. The apartments are either way, way out of my budget or are incredibly tiny (I cannot imagine how one lives in a 480 sq. ft apartment?!) with 0 amenities and poor reviews...as far as actual apartments that I want, I seem to have found some decent places in the westminster/thorton area that are also a much better commute to my work. Many of the affordable apartments in some of the closer yet "less urban" areas (congress park, etc.) had tons of people saying there was partying and noise in the courtyard at all hours of the night every week night too- although I love going out on weekends as much as the next person, I do have a professional job that requires me to be up very early during the week. However, of course I don't want to be in a really nice apartment but stuck with nothing to do! I know in my current area, I am not that far from the limited "nightlife" options that we have, but since I am in the opposite direction, cabs literally will not drive to my area because they know no one in my neighborhood will be out requesting a ride back that late at night. I am moving without really knowing anyone so I was checking out some of the meet up groups and saw tons of bar hopping planned, etc.- which sounds awesome, but I don't want to be stranded with no way to go home. Not that I have to drink to have fun, but personally, if I'm going to be sober I don't want to hang out in a bar with drunk people. The whole "just go and hang out and then drive home" just does not appeal to me whatsoever. I absolutely don't mind paying for the cab- it seems I could take a bus there and cab back, I just want to make sure a cab would actually be available/willing to go where I live. If not westminster area, would arvada or aurora be any better? The southern suburbs are too far away from work. I looked into stapleton/lowry which also seemed to be closer but the only stapleton complex within my budget looked AWFUL and there was nothing within my budget in Lowry. Thanks!
To the best of my knowledge Denver taxi cabs go pretty much everywhere. What I find more interesting is that you are concerned that you can't afford a decent apartment in the city. But you don't seem to think you will have a problem paying for the $50 cab rides from the city out to the suburbs.
To the best of my knowledge Denver taxi cabs go pretty much everywhere. What I find more interesting is that you are concerned that you can't afford a decent apartment in the city. But you don't seem to think you will have a problem paying for the $50 cab rides from the city out to the suburbs.
For a little under 1000 a month, in the city, I could get:
-an apartment under 500 sq. feet, heat controlled by the building (many reviewers were saying that they literally had to turn ovens on to get some sort of heat in the apartment), no amenities whatsoever, no parking, 20 minute commute to work with tons of traffic (so probably even longer)
In the suburb, for about 100 LESS a month, I could get:
-an apartment around 750-800 sq feet, with a pool, a gym, washer/dryer in my apartment, a fireplace, a patio, and my own personal garage which makes a huge difference with the long winters, and about a 10 minute commute to work
To get something in the city with the same type of amenities, I have not found anything even close to under 1000 a month. Even if I wanted to spend more, due to the requirements of income being 3x the rent they wouldn't let me get it- I wouldn't qualify for anything over 1000. If the cab ride is literally 50 dollars...taking that once a week would equal 200 extra dollars a month. That's only 100 dollars more expensive than the total cost of an apartment in the city (since the rent is already 100 higher in the city). Also, if I were in the "city" I'd be somewhere more like city park or congress park area, meaning I'd still have to take a cab if I wanted to go to Lodo or something. I assume it would be a cheaper fare, but I'd still be paying something. Add in the extra cost of gas for a longer commute each day, an estimated 30-50 a month for my own gym membership, the higher rent, and paying for my own laundry and I'm paying way more to live in the city in a much crappier apartment. I understand the allure of "walkability" and why people pay so much for locations like that, but I've lived in car neighborhoods my entire life and wouldn't be bothered by that. As long as I have some transportation to use as necessary, I don't care about being able to walk to places. Like I said, I'm not sure I'd even like living directly in the city other than the guaranteed access to fun things to do. Like I said, I want the access to the city for when I'm in the mood for it, but I also would like to be able to get away from the constant noise, crowds, traffic, etc. when I want to and I can't be living somewhere with nonstop partying outside my door at all hours as I have to be up at 6 am and working all day during the week.
One of my local friends was talking the other night about how when she first moved here she went to a concert about 4-5 miles away. There were cabs lined up all over outside waiting at the end of the concert, but they flat out refused to take her home because she lived in the opposite direction (a more "suburban" neighborhood). She literally had to walk home in the middle of the night by herself in freezing cold temperatures because no one would take her and she didn't know anyone well enough yet to call in the middle of the night for a ride. I hear stories like this all the time. My friends and I don't even try to get cabs as we know they won't go out where we live. If they're really willing to go anywhere in Denver, I have no problems. I thought I saw on another thread that they didn't go out to the suburbs b/c they'd be wasting money driving back to the city (since of course no one in the suburbs is waiting trying to get back to the city at 2 am), but I've read so many threads I couldn't pinpoint where it was.
Last edited by harrison21; 06-17-2012 at 02:53 AM..
there are some really nice ones, but the cheap ones tend to be cheap for a reason.
I have definitely found that to be true! I don't really have any problems with the aurora area, but as far as looking for specific apartments I haven't had much luck. I found some that did seem to be higher-end places but the reviews were so awful that they scared me off! I know to take them with a grain of salt and tend to ignore ones about rude management and things like that, but it seemed all of them had complaints about mice, roaches, bedbugs, safety, etc. which are things I take more seriously.
2-3 hours to get a taxi out of littleton on a friday night. Littleton is inside the loop, Expect no service at all or a 5 hour wait time if you live outside loop.
Well, I was afraid of that. I am leaning towards just getting the apartment I want in Westminster and just hoping I meet people to carpool with. I figure when it comes down to it, having to :
-get up 20 minutes early every day in the winter to defrost/de-snow my car with no covered parking
-be constantly uncomfortable due to not being able to adjust the temperature in my own apartment, or not having a/c
-drive further in hectic traffic day after day
-worry about safety or auto thefts (which seem to be scarily common in denver?)
-find some way to live in a shoebox sized apartment
-listen to constant noise
-lug my laundry around to do it somewhere else (I hate, hate, hate doing this!)
-pay more
all so I can easily go out one night a week just does not seem worth it in the long run. I find it sad that a relatively large area doesn't offer both options. If I were a student or someone working more sporadic hours and could go out several nights a week, I would see the value of picking that option over apartment comforts, but I guess you have to grow up sometime right? If I find out I made a terrible mistake, I can always move next year, and use the experience to advise other people on here! Or maybe I can save up/find a way to make some extra money so that I could afford a nicer place near the city for my next rental.
Harrison, I agree with your thinking. Unless if you're going to cough up well over $1,000 a month for a nice apartment in a modern building in the central Denver area, I'd move into the better, more comfortable apartment in Westminster (or something similar to that). I personally would NOT rent an apartment that doesn't have in-unit washer & dryer, A/C, individually climate controlled units. Been there, done that. You are correct that that stuff will be a major P.I.T.A. on a day to day basis. Heck, if you have garaged parking you will be really lucky, I wish I had that. If it's just "covered" but not a garage, still expect to spend time scraping your car, also on snow days you may have to dig out a path just to get to your car and back up. Apartments usually plow a path through the middle of the parking lot, but they usually don't plow the individual spaces.
I still think renting a room in a private house would be better than any apartment, but you clearly stated before you don't want that so the Westminster idea seems like a good compromise.
I pay $800/mo for a 2/2/900 w/d in unit with no covered parking just north of the DTC. I don't have A/C (:crying), but we're on our third summer living without it. We have heat, it works fine. We scrape snow, not a big deal because we don't have to shovel it. A friend of mine called for a cab to my place from Monaco/Leetsdale just last week. Down here, we can get trashed downtown and take the light rail (assuming we make the last train: just plan for it)
I know Denver area rentals are scarce right now, but there has to be something acceptable (with a few trade-offs) for $1K/mo.
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