Cheapest Areas of Denver Metro

[davidv]

You need to look beyond the cost of rent to figure out the cheapest areas. Say that the cheapest rent you find is in a rougher area up in the northeastern part of the metro area:

1. Where are you working? If you job is far away, you have to include commuting into the cost of living.
1a. How much will you drive to get to places you want to be for entertainment, hobbies, etc.
2. What will your insurance rates be? Rougher areas have higher auto/home/renter's insurance.
3. Will you have to pay utility deposits? Often times utilities will target an area with high non-payment rates and make people signing up for new service pay a deposit.
4. What is the price of food and gas? The price of food and gas tend to be higher in the rougher areas of town because gas stations must pay for increased security, and supermarkets tend not to locate in these areas. This leaves only smaller independent stores that cost more.

If you were a business that wanted to build a production facility, you would not look for the cheapest location without factoring in access to markets, transportation cost, etc.

The optimal location for a person to live economically is one that minimizes all the costs, not just one.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by leavingIL

damn this padmapper thing is completely awesome. thank you for real. this is exactly what i wanted

TONS of scammers on Craigslist rentals, read and heed the warnings; if an ad sounds too good to be true, then it's probably a scam.

[Count David]

Can't say I agree with everything ITT, but best values are easily found in Aurora or Thornton. Something reasonably priced can be found near every nook/cranny of the metro, however.