thinking about moving to Denver... (apartments, rentals, homes)

[redtrek1]

HI!
I am a 45 yo woman, living in MD/DC area, and I hate it. I have only lived here a year and a half, and am already ready to get out! I can't stand the traffic, (that is one of my top complaints). My apt., which costs $1200 a month to rent, came equipped with mice and molding closets. The cost of living in general is astronomical here (food shopping, going out to dinner, movies, anything really.) I moved here from Dallas and just haven't taken a liking to this area. I am thinking of transfering within my company (I am a sign language interpreter) as they have an office in CO. The office used to be in a town called Cherry something, but I think it has relocated to the heart of Denver.

So, what can anyone tell me about different areas to live in in CO? I want to get out of the burbs and live in an area that has more life than here. Where would that be? I am not 21 anymore, so would like to live in an area that isn't all 21 yo. Although I wouldn't object to a mountain view tho! I also have 2 dogs. (Can you believe they charge pet rent here??!!) Do many apts or rentals accept pets? What is the average range of renting? How bad is the traffic in CO? What about public transportation? Is it worth it to use, or is it a pain to use? I want some honest and candid opinions about moving. I wish someone had given me a candid opinion about DC before I moved here. Just give me the low-down on if its worth it to move. I can barely make ends meet here, meeting new friends has proven to be not something that is not easy to do here, the weather sucks and the cost of living is terrible (especially for what you get for your money). I just want information!!!! Don't be shy about your opinons, either.

Thanks
Red

[Charles]

Renting or buying? Monthly budget or price range?
Single? Kids?

Based on what you wrote (and assuming the demand for your service is equivalent) then I think it would be a good move. The weather and housing prices are better in Colorado/Denver. Less traffic. But it is probably less cosmopolitan...not sure if that is a big deal.

[lolavanatta]

I feel your pain - I have a dog and live in Baltimore city, but worked in DC since I moved here a couple years ago. Planning to move to Colorado this year, but not sure where yet, either. I'm ready to get out of the city in the mts./woods and afford a better lifestyle with conveniences of the city nearby...good luck to you!

[Mike from back east]

We lived in Fairfax County, VA for 30 years. I know how she feels. The first day back to work after a long weekend, any weekend, is a bummer, and is probably why in the last hour we got 5 new people here in this forum all saying "get me outta here."

Every Sunday night I got the "Sunday night blues" at the thought of hitting that traffic and rat race on Monday morning, and there were many Monday mornings the wife got up sick to her stomach at the thought of work. I vowed often that one fine day we'd get in the car, head west, and never look back. One fine day eventually arrived....So here we are, loving life and living large in CO. Tain't perfect anywhere .... but .... You're Gonna Love Colorado.

Find the exact location of your company's office. If its near the light rail system, you'll have easy commuting. We have traffic, but having worked in DC/Arlington/Crystal City/etc, let me tell you, traffic here is much easier. See:
- The Regional Transportation District Home Page

IF office is on/near light rail, use our search tool here to find old threads by using keywords like RTD, rail, carfree, etc.

IF office is not on/near light rail, use our search tool here to find old threads by using keywords like name of the part of town where that office is sited.

There are tons of nice places in town, downtown, around town that are fine and safe and affordable with excellent amenities and are dog friendly too.

Best of luck to you!

s/mike

[redtrek1]

Thank you so much for the replys. I am not planning on moving until Oct. 08 so I have a little bit of time to plan. Please keep replying to my thread. I really appreciate it!
Red

[jonjj]

I have really good friends who did just that. They moved from Baltimore to Denver last year. They are happy out there but mentioned that the traffic was worse than here (they lived in the city here and bought in a burb out there). And... the cost of living was just as expensive (especially living expenses). Home buying shocked them out there because they had no idea it was as expensive as it was. Positives of Denver: their taxes are much less, love the mountains.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by jonjj

I have really good friends who did just that. They moved from Baltimore to Denver last year. They are happy out there but mentioned that the traffic was worse than here (they lived in the city here and bought in a burb out there). And... the cost of living was just as expensive (especially living expenses). Home buying shocked them out there because they had no idea it was as expensive as it was. Positives of Denver: their taxes are much less, love the mountains.

I don't understand what was written in this post (The "here"s and "there"s are confusing). Is the traffic worse in Baltimore or Denver? Which place had more expensive homes, Denver or Baltimore? I would think the traffic was worse in Baltimore and that the housing was more expensive in Baltimore.

[tfox]

Your office is probably located in Cherry Creek, which is in Central Denver (which is not the same as Downtown Denver). It's around 1st Ave near University, and it's in the heart of Denver's "old money" neighborhoods.

Unless you have lots of money, you won't be living in Cherry Creek, though you could probably live within about 10-15 blocks of it. Denver has literally dozens of individual neighborhoods, all within their own quirks.

Cost of living here in Denver is just about U.S. average -- meaning it is cheaper than high-priced coastal areas like DC but definitely more expensive than low-cost areas like Texas. Apartments tend to be a bit cheaper in rent, I think, relative to what single family homes tend to cost.

It's hard to answer your question on where to live because we don't know if you're looking for urban, suburban, or rural lifestyle. If you're looking for more of an urban environment, then you're going to be living in Denver proper. Our area is pretty suburbanized, so anywhere else is going to be suburbs, and of course some people choose to live in rural areas and commute, not something I recommend however.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by redtrek1

HI!
I am a 45 yo woman, living in MD/DC area, and I hate it. I have only lived here a year and a half, and am already ready to get out! I can't stand the traffic, (that is one of my top complaints). My apt., which costs $1200 a month to rent, came equipped with mice and molding closets. The cost of living in general is astronomical here (food shopping, going out to dinner, movies, anything really.) I moved here from Dallas and just haven't taken a liking to this area. I am thinking of transfering within my company (I am a sign language interpreter) as they have an office in CO. The office used to be in a town called Cherry something, but I think it has relocated to the heart of Denver.

So, what can anyone tell me about different areas to live in in CO? I want to get out of the burbs and live in an area that has more life than here. Where would that be? I am not 21 anymore, so would like to live in an area that isn't all 21 yo. Although I wouldn't object to a mountain view tho! I also have 2 dogs. (Can you believe they charge pet rent here??!!) Do many apts or rentals accept pets? What is the average range of renting? How bad is the traffic in CO? What about public transportation? Is it worth it to use, or is it a pain to use? I want some honest and candid opinions about moving. I wish someone had given me a candid opinion about DC before I moved here. Just give me the low-down on if its worth it to move. I can barely make ends meet here, meeting new friends has proven to be not something that is not easy to do here, the weather sucks and the cost of living is terrible (especially for what you get for your money). I just want information!!!! Don't be shy about your opinons, either.

Thanks
Red

I moved here from Dallas about 30 years ago. I also lived in Maryland near Baltimore. I grew up in New York.

The difference between these areas that I think are important is that they have more trees because they have more moisture. You must realize that Denver is not in the mountains--it is on the Great Plains. This is a semi-arid region with little moisture, so consequently there is less trees, bushes, undergrowth etc. That also applies to the mountains--these are dry mountains with not the lush growth that you would see in other areas.

There are very few natural lakes, mostly reservoirs so you will not have the waterways and the aquatic lifestyle that you could have in other areas.

Of course with less moisture comes less humidity which is good but some people find it too dry. It does cause problems for some people with their skin and nose.

I like it here because of the low humidity but initially I missed rainy days. However, I got severe arthritis and this low humidity is better. In addition it is lot smaller area then DFW and DC and that makes it more manageable.

I am a big advocate of not driving and using Public Transportation. I think Denver has a great transportation system and it will get much better with the completion of Fastracks, which is the largest built out of mass transit in the nation.FasTracks Home

I started a thread on this subject http://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...hlight=Carfree
My idea is that you can make a choice to avoid the headache of driving by choosing wisely where you live and work. Denver Metro has many areas to live where you can have a carfree or carless lifestyle.

Livecontent

[Eda DiPasquale]

We have a 7 year old daughter and an 11 year old son. We would like to live in a community similar to where we are now where we can walk to a quaint old town w/ a pharmacy, retail and eateries. Where is that found in Denver?