26 yo relocating from Midwest (Denver: loft, condo, neighborhoods)

[Katarina Witt]

It's not that far from the DTC to some of the Denver neighborhoods in the south part of town. Some examples are: University, University Hills, University Park (all near the U of Denver, d'oh!); even Washington Park and Washington Park West are within a reasonalbe drive and very popular with 20 somethings right now.
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[JD401]

Originally Posted by wideworld

I'll echo the first part.

I'm much more partial to city living and liveliness, so I chose a longer commute in order to live downtown. DTC-living is better suited for families. You'll have to make a decent drive to have a nightlife. Sub-$1,000 rent probably won't be happening anywhere unless you get a roommate.

IMO, living in DTC with a short commute just gets you faster to nowhere.

We initially were pointed to the DTC area when we first started looking. Grand Quincy was under $1000. I believe a complex called Parliament was as well. We didn't really look too in depth into them though, as we quickly realized we wanted to be closer in but I remember those from our initial list.

It's all about personal preference. If you don't mind commuting, move closer in to get what you're looking for. Would it really be all that bad just commuting from say LoDo to DTC? It's only 10 miles or so. BUT, you'll have a hard time finding rentals near the wanted activities for under a $1000 unless you're willing to do a studio. And even then, thats still a difficult price point. We did notice though several loft options for 1100-1200 in and around downtown.

[Bankcy]

I'm definitely interested in living downtown. My hesitation is price and commute time to DTC. Since I've only been to Denver once before (to interview) I'm still not familiar with everything and think it might be easiest to find a place close to work for the first year while I get used to everything... Can someone explain using the light rail to get from downtown to the tech center? Can I take a bike on the rail? Thanks in advance.

[Bankcy]

Also after getting online and getting a feel for prices I think anything under 1,000-1,100 is probably not in the most desirable of places and/or not well maintained. Would this be a fair assessment? Later today I'll list the places I'm going to be touring to see if you guys have any feedback. I've been concentrating on cherry creek, Hampden south, and a couple places south of DTC and Englewood/Stapleton. Thanks.

[wideworld]

Originally Posted by JD401

We initially were pointed to the DTC area when we first started looking. Grand Quincy was under $1000. I believe a complex called Parliament was as well. We didn't really look too in depth into them though, as we quickly realized we wanted to be closer in but I remember those from our initial list.

It's all about personal preference. If you don't mind commuting, move closer in to get what you're looking for. Would it really be all that bad just commuting from say LoDo to DTC? It's only 10 miles or so. BUT, you'll have a hard time finding rentals near the wanted activities for under a $1000 unless you're willing to do a studio. And even then, thats still a difficult price point. We did notice though several loft options for 1100-1200 in and around downtown.

Some days are fantastic, others aren't. The part of I25 which borders downtown is under construction, and that routinely backs up to University or Colorado.

Also, please tell me where you're finding lofts for that price downtown. The only thing that hits that are the Banks and Boston lofts, and those have lovely reviews...

Originally Posted by Bankcy

I'm definitely interested in living downtown. My hesitation is price and commute time to DTC. Since I've only been to Denver once before (to interview) I'm still not familiar with everything and think it might be easiest to find a place close to work for the first year while I get used to everything... Can someone explain using the light rail to get from downtown to the tech center? Can I take a bike on the rail? Thanks in advance.

That depends a lot on where you'll be working. "Tech Center" is a very relative term. You can also use Google maps and just click the public transit icon instead of drive/walk, or just go to the RTD website and play around with their tool.

And yes on bikes.

Originally Posted by Bankcy

Also after getting online and getting a feel for prices I think anything under 1,000-1,100 is probably not in the most desirable of places and/or not well maintained. Would this be a fair assessment? Later today I'll list the places I'm going to be touring to see if you guys have any feedback. I've been concentrating on cherry creek, Hampden south, and a couple places south of DTC and Englewood/Stapleton. Thanks.

Precisely -- unless you have roommates or just rent a room in a house.



All of that said, you couldn't pay me enough money to live in the Tech Center. I'd much rather commute and live somewhere nice and exciting.

[wideworld]

One more thing -- on the days when you don't bike, there are RTD shuttles which go from the station and loop around to various corporations. I believe you have to pay extra for them and schedule in advance, but at least it's an option.

[Bankcy]

I'm in the "heart" of DTC on s. valentia way. Using 16th st as my start and s. valentia as my end google maps says its a 55 min travel using the rail. Sound about right? 25 min or 1.3 miles of that is walking so I could cut that down using a bike obviously.

[wideworld]

So you would go to Belleview, right? That should be correct. I'm not sure how much a bike will speed you up, as some of the traffic lights down there can suck, but it should shave off half... Being optimistic

The overall travel time agrees with what's true (and why the light rail system baffles me); when you add up door-to-door travel, driving is faster and cheaper. It was definitely my preference, until I found those two factors out.

[mic111]

Hmmm...such an interesting thread. I moved here at age 27 and lived in the Denver tech. center in a rental where I could walk to work until I bought a house in the DTC where I could still walk to work. I put an offer in to buy a house in the area behind Tiffany Square but didn't get it. However I did all the research and found it acceptable because it had good restaurants, a grocery store and I could bike to work. My single friends lived anywhere from Cherry Creek to Castle Rock.

I never felt I didn't have a social life but then maybe my after work activities which were hiking, biking, swimming, and going to the gym aren't the same as other posters. I often had 2 to 3 dates a weekend and that is when I went downtown to restaurants or dancing. More often than not my dates were things like 4-wheeling, hiking, trips to the mountain towns (lots of people own condos), flying in a biplane or other outdoor related activities.

My advice to the OP is to make sure you consider the cost of commuting vs. the enjoyment of biking or walking as well as a realistic view of how often you will be out and about socializing on week nights vs. getting in your physical fitness activities. Also if drinking is a main after work activity then that dictates one type of neighborhood or if following trends and being in the neighborhood with the trendiest reputation that dictates another type and of course you will meet others with similar values in those type of places so that may provide value in itself.

I also found being so close to work helped alot when I got my first dog since I could go home for lunch and it was easy to go home and feed him before going out in the evening.

[Bankcy]

It's actually having me get off at orchard station and walking .7mi to my office. So driving takes less time than the rail?