Best Area to look for aparts? New move... (Denver, Lakewood: rentals, crime)

[burltodenver]

My girlfriend and I are moving from Burlington, VT to Denver CO hopefully around Oct. 1st. Coming from Burlington, where the rental market is fairly small, to Denver, looks intimating. The range of neighborhoods both interest and confuse me. We have to do this on quite a tight budget, so less than $1200/month would be the goal. We are both environmental graduates and access to a good job would be another priority. We have two cars and two cats, which hopefully is not an issue living in the city. We are willing to settle for suburbs, urban, or rural, and we ski so access to the mountains would be nice. Again, we are very excited so any comments or stories would be very helpful.

[davebarnes]

0. Spend 4+ hours reading posts here.

1. Get jobs. First.
2. The rental market is very tight. landlords can be very fussy.
3. Start thinking $1200 and up. Parking and pet fees can $100s more.
4. Forget downtown.
5. Think Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Golden.
6. Get jobs first.

[burltodenver]

Thank you. I have been doing a lot of research here. Where would be good areas to live within this budget? I'm sure the pet costs go up, as Burlington's market has the same costs ect. I'm preparing to be excited, not really shocked. I'd like more information on neighborhoods than telling me to get jobs first. Are there other sites/realtors than Craigslist that are used more often in Denver?

[emm74]

The Denver metro area is pretty large geographically so that's why jobs matter. So for instance, if you end up working in the DTC (Denver Tech Center) which is on the south, you wouldn't want to rent a place that is on the north, or you'll have a very bad commute. And given your budget plus parking for 2 cars, more central areas will be too expensive, so you will need to prioritize one area over another. Once you have narrowed down the parameters, people will be able to give more specific suggestions or opinions about specific locations you are considering.

[burltodenver]

Thanks for the help!

[MissTerri]

Since you don't know where you are working, I would suggest staying as central as you possibly can. I think that it will be difficult to find a place in the more dense, urban neighborhoods due to the need to be able to park 2 cars. The budget may be difficult as well. I would check out Englewood (80110 and 80113) centered around Hampden and Broadway. I know that you can find a place in your budget in this area with parking. Englewood is between downtown and DTC, two major areas for employment.

Check out padmapper, postlets, hotpads and Zillow for rentals.

[burltodenver]

Originally Posted by MissTerri

Since you don't know where you are working, I would suggest staying as central as you possibly can. I think that it will be difficult to find a place in the more dense, urban neighborhoods due to the need to be able to park 2 cars. The budget may be difficult as well. I would check out Englewood (80110 and 80113) centered around Hampden and Broadway. I know that you can find a place in your budget in this area with parking. Englewood is between downtown and DTC, two major areas for employment.

Check out padmapper, postlets, hotpads and Zillow for rentals.

Thank you for the sites. I will certainly check out Englewood.

[JohnnyDenver]

There are several apt complexes in Englewood. Some good, some shaky. I would check with the Englewood PD for a crime report on the area you are considering renting. I know of one right near Hampden and Santa Fe which is very nice. There is also another complex at the south end of Englewood on Hampden that is excellent.

Also, Englewood has a great downtown area; good restaurants, The Gothic Theater and some neat shopping. It reminds me of the 1960's with some of the mom and pop stores on Broadway.

[burltodenver]

My largest employers would be any environmental/GIS/forestry firms. Would that help narrow down neighborhoods?

[MissTerri]

Originally Posted by burltodenver

My largest employers would be any environmental/GIS/forestry firms. Would that help narrow down neighborhoods?

If you're looking for work then you would know more then we do where the firms you are interested in happen to be. Tell us where they are and then we can suggest areas.