Researching Denver Area (Colorado Springs, Littleton, Greenwood Village: best neighborhood, affordable apartments, rentals)

[Becca8377]

I currently live in the Syracuse NY area and there is a SLIGHT possibility that I may have a job opportunity in the Denver area, so I am just trying to do some research. I previously fell in love with Colorado when visiting COS and have sort of always been keeping my eyes peeled for something in COS/DEN to pop up. The job would be in the Centennial area.

Just info about myself and current situation - I am mid/late 20's, single, no kids. I do have 3 small dogs so I know that poses difficulties in trying to find a place. I currently pay less than $700 in rent for a 2 bedroom flat in a walkable village area. It takes me about 10/15min to get to work (longer if we have massive snow storms).

In doing research, it seems that most apartments in the Centennial area are complexes - is that the norm for the suburbs or south city side? I prefer flats, but if those are not options, than that is something I would have to be willing to deal with.

I checked out COL and I would need less than $10K increase in salary to be comparable in DEN to what I currently make in Syracuse. Although, it does seem that rents are significantly more expensive - upwards of $1000 for a 2BR comparable to what I currently have.

I love having walkability. Before Syracuse, I lived in Hawaii, and the biggest thing I miss is being able to walk everywhere. So I have compromised and live in a walkable village which has some amenities. I prefer suburban walkability to urban, but if it's urban and has green space and/or parks, that works too (gotta keep the dogs happy!)

I do enjoy pretty much any and all outside activities - hiking, walking, biking, water activities, etc. I am currently on an adult sports league with my friends. We also like to go out for nights on the town, have bbqs/potlucks, go on day trips to various locations, etc. Don't need the bar scene right next door, but enjoy going out for a few every now and again.

Anyway, sorry if this is rambling or unorganized - just trying to get my thoughts down while I'm thinking it So, given all this information, is there any specific area I should be looking? Ideally, it would be within a 30min commute of Centennial. I would likely be visiting Colorado Springs frequently as I have close friends down there, but it looks like it's pretty easy to hop on I-25 no matter where you are in the area.

I have looked through numerous threads here, but it's sometimes hard to pinpoint when you've got differing information. If you have specific threads to send my way, that works too! I will continue to do some searching of my own to see what I can gather.

Thanks so much for any thoughts!

[Tekkie]

Rent will be the biggest increase you'll probably see. The vacancy rate in Denver Metro is around 2.0%. Rents have sky rocketed in the past couple years. You are not going to find much for under $700/month here. I was looking at apartments yesterday. For a 550 sq foot apartment in an average part of town, they were asking for $791/month plus utilities, pet rent per pet, etc. It would have easily cost over $900/month.

I don't mean to be negative nelly on here, I am just setting a realistic expectation for you. Everyone who has visited CO has fallen in love with it and they have just about all moved here over the past four years. The city is becoming congested and pricey (in terms of rents mostly). Gas is still cheaper than the national average and food stuffs seem relatively close to most other places I've been to. Taxes are a little on the high side here, but that is because of all the amenities the city has to offer.

As far as Centennial goes, it's the "burbs". I work here (that's where I'm at now). Yes, it will mostly be big apartment complexes that you'll find here. The demographic is mostly older as well, as you might imagine with most suburbs. Otherwise, it's safe and quiet if that's what you're looking for. I imagine the rents will be a little higher here as well, too, since this area is near the Denver Tech Center and most people living here are upper middle class professionals and families.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by Tekkie

Rent will be the biggest increase you'll probably see. The vacancy rate in Denver Metro is around 2.0%. Rents have sky rocketed in the past couple years. You are not going to find much for under $700/month here. I was looking at apartments yesterday. For a 550 sq foot apartment in an average part of town, they were asking for $791/month plus utilities, pet rent per pet, etc. It would have easily cost over $900/month.

I don't mean to be negative nelly on here, I am just setting a realistic expectation for you. Everyone who has visited CO has fallen in love with it and they have just about all moved here over the past four years. The city is becoming congested and pricey (in terms of rents mostly). Gas is still cheaper than the national average and food stuffs seem relatively close to most other places I've been to. Taxes are a little on the high side here, but that is because of all the amenities the city has to offer.

As far as Centennial goes, it's the "burbs". I work here (that's where I'm at now). Yes, it will mostly be big apartment complexes that you'll find here. The demographic is mostly older as well, as you might imagine with most suburbs. Otherwise, it's safe and quiet if that's what you're looking for. I imagine the rents will be a little higher here as well, too, since this area is near the Denver Tech Center and most people living here are upper middle class professionals and families.

Thanks so much for all the info!!

I gave info regarding my situation now just for comparison purposes. Just in my initial searches, I can see that rent is going to be much much different than what I'm used to.

And no worries about being negative - I'm just in the data collection stage right now This possibility isn't even really a blip on my horizon yet, just figured I would look into it if it became more of a reality so that I would be prepared (especially if negotiating salary came into play).

So would you recommend Centennial as the best place to live? Or would areas more into the city be better for the sort of things I'm looking for? I don't mind not living where I work, I just hate long commute times so would want to keep it under 30min. I would LOVE to live in COS, but there is no way in heck I'm commuting an hour each direction

[kevin_in_Denver]

Here's the standard reply for the question about neighborhoods and apartment/house search, which is also buried deep in the sticky thread above (sorry, making hotlinks is time consuming, but just highlight and right click, or cut & paste):

Internet Rental Search is still changing, so any post older than 6 months can't be trusted.

To browse actual available rentals, Craigslist has a great selection. It can be difficult to search against location, so use padmapper.com which searches the CL database plus many others.

Apartmentlist.com is best for those large overpriced complexes that always have a vacancy. These places can be trusted for you out of towners who must secure a place sight unseen. These units are always newish, clean, large and in unwalkable locations.

Speaking of renting sight-unseen, there are two management companies that have a huge market share in Capitol Hill and aren't overpriced. cornerstoneapartments.com and wheelhouseapts.com . Boutiqueapartments.com can be pricier, but all their buildings are awesome. Capitol Hill is hands down the best neighborhood for sheer quantity of affordable apartments. It's trendy, safe and walkable to boot.

(NOTE: Craigslist is threatening to shut down padmapper's use of their database, so if you are an independent landlord, please start using it ASAP, and maybe we can save it. To post a listing, use padlister.com You will LOVE it. But don't forget to use their utility that cross-posts automatically to CL, cause that's still where all the action starts.)

For general neighborhood info the sticky thread is: Guide to Denver Neighborhoods

For rental search the sticky thread is: Best place for rental listings

When using sticky threads, always use the most recent information first.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

Thanks so much for all the info!!

I gave info regarding my situation now just for comparison purposes. Just in my initial searches, I can see that rent is going to be much much different than what I'm used to.

And no worries about being negative - I'm just in the data collection stage right now This possibility isn't even really a blip on my horizon yet, just figured I would look into it if it became more of a reality so that I would be prepared (especially if negotiating salary came into play).

So would you recommend Centennial as the best place to live? Or would areas more into the city be better for the sort of things I'm looking for? I don't mind not living where I work, I just hate long commute times so would want to keep it under 30min. I would LOVE to live in COS, but there is no way in heck I'm commuting an hour each direction

Where would you be working? Centennial?

If it's not too far, the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Congress Park are really nice. A lot of younger people live in those neighborhoods. But again, expect ridiculous rent prices in that area, especially for what you'd be getting (outdated apartment but good location). Littleton is pretty nice, too. Areas like Belmar might be more up your alley. That's off of Wadsworth and Alameda (Google Map for location). There's a younger crowd in that area as well. I'd imagine rent is really steep over there though since the apartments are brand new.

Good luck! I know a lot of people are looking to move here soon. If rents don't ease up a bit, I think a lot of folks, including myself, will be considering other places to live.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by Tekkie

Where would you be working? Centennial?

If it's not too far, the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Congress Park are really nice. A lot of younger people live in those neighborhoods. But again, expect ridiculous rent prices in that area, especially for what you'd be getting (outdated apartment but good location). Littleton is pretty nice, too. Areas like Belmar might be more up your alley. That's off of Wadsworth and Alameda (Google Map for location). There's a younger crowd in that area as well. I'd imagine rent is really steep over there though since the apartments are brand new.

Good luck! I know a lot of people are looking to move here soon. If rents don't ease up a bit, I think a lot of folks, including myself, will be considering other places to live.

Yes, the job would be in Centennial.

Thanks! I will check those areas out. I've already been doing some research on Capitol Hill, but it may be a little *too* urban for my tastes. But hey I'm just looking at this point, so ya never know! If this were to pan out and I by chance did get this job, it would take a decent salary increase for me to head out that way. Making there what I make now, there's no way I could afford the rents there. Just want to be prepared is all. I'm not actively looking for a job elsewhere, it's just that I heard about this opportunity through the grapevine from a friend and I thought I might as well let them know I'm interested since it's in Denver!

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

Yes, the job would be in Centennial.

Address please. Centennial is huge in the east-west direction.
http://www.centennialcolorado.com/Do...nter/View/9939

Broadway on the west to Tibet in east. Almost separate time zones.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Address please. Centennial is huge in the east-west direction.
http://www.centennialcolorado.com/Do...nter/View/9939

Broadway on the west to Tibet in east. Almost separate time zones.

It would be in the Denver Tech Center, so it's technically north of Centennial but from what people tell me, it's still generally considered the Centennial area?

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

It would be in the Denver Tech Center, so it's technically north of Centennial but from what people tell me, it's still generally considered the Centennial area?

Centennial/DTC/Greenwood Village. It's all the same area to me. I honestly don't know where one ends and where the other begins. I'm going to guess that the place is off or near Belleview.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

It would be in the Denver Tech Center, so it's technically north of Centennial but from what people tell me, it's still generally considered the Centennial area?

The Tech Center north of Belleview Ave is in the City & County of Denver.
South of Belleview is in Greenwood Village (love them tax revenues without people demanding services).

Centennial is south of Arapahoe Road.

My advice is look north. The DU neighborhood is close from a commuting perspective.