Moving to Denver: Where should I live? (Craig, Sheridan: apartments, rentals)

[austintx1980]

I'm moving to Denver soon and need some assistance on where to look for a place. I'm not familiar with the city at all so I need a lot of help! My boyfriend will be attending grad school there so we need something somewhat close to campus. A quick rundown on us...we're in our late 20s and are a couple of art, film, and nature lovers. Definitely more of the coffee shop, art gallery, dive bar, bike trail type people than the hip and trendy club scene, fancy-shmancy restaurant type people. We have no kids but we do have a couple of dogs so living near a park would be awesome. Also, I will be working in Larimer Square so being somewhat close to that would be nice. I know that's quite a bit of criteria so I really appreciate anyone who is willing to give me some help!

Thanks!

[tfox]

I'm assuming you're attending grad school at the Auraria Campus? If so, combine that with working at Larimer Square and it sounds like you're looking for something fairly close to downtown.

There's a number of neighborhoods that would fit the bill; if you continue to browse some of the older posts you'll see lots of info. I'll highlight a few that seem to fit you.

You also didn't mention your price range at all. Denver's city center neighborhoods are going up quickly in price these days. I will say that if you're looking for a single family home, you're probably going to have to shell out a minimum of 350k for something, probably more if you want something larger and/or updated. Townhomes and condos are other options will be somewhat cheaper but will vary a lot depending on what kind of property you're looking at. If you're right downtown, count on everything costing more than the neighborhoods, as you would expect.

First, you can consider the Highlands area, which is west of I-25, across from LoDo, roughly between 20th Ave and 38th Ave going west all the way to Sheridan (the border of Denver). Given your need for proximity to the Auraria campus and Larimer Square, this seems like a decent fit for you. From the eastern part of Highlands, you could potentially walk to both places over a new pedestrian bridge, although you may prefer to take the bus or bike instead. The closest park to Highlands is Sloan's Lake park, which, as the name implies, features a large-size lake with trails around it. If you're driving around that area, you can start at neighborhood centers at 32nd/Tejon, 32nd/Zuni, 32nd/Lowell, and 44th/Tennyson.

Another option I'd look at is Cheeseman Park. This area is on the east side of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which has a very lively night scene, though the Cheeseman side is considerably quieter. Cheeseman is probably not walkable to Larimer Square or Auraria, but would be bikeable and/or bus-able (if that's a word). Cheeseman is a very nice park, and there's some beautiful homes around the park. You'd also be in striking distance of some other nice parks: City Park and Congress Park, as well as the Botanical Gardens.

I'd also look at Washington Park and nearby neighborhoods. The namesake park is one of finest Denver has to offer, and the neighborhood is awesome. It's a little less urban than Cheeseman and the eastern part of Highlands, and possibly a bit more expensive than either (though I haven't checked the price lately). The eastern portion of Wash Park is going to be more expensive and nicer than the western, just so you know. The only downside I see to this neighborhood for you is that it's fairly distant from Auraria and Larimer Square, meaning that you might have to resort to driving to work.

A final option would be to live right downtown, probably in a condo or loft, in LoDo (Lower Downtown), the CBD, or Riverfront Park (a new cluster of buildings near the river). You're generally going to pay more for living downtown than elsewhere, but you might like the lifestyle. The closest parks to downtown would be the Commons Park area by the river, in which there are current plans to build a dog park, which will be nice -- Riverfront Park would be the closest to these. The problem with downtown living is that it's extremely expensive, and you're affected by problems from nighttime noise from bars, that sort of thing. If you do opt for this, you may want to try finding a place a few blocks off the main corridors like 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th. If you like the idea of living in an urban setting but simply can't afford downtown, Capitol Hill neighborhood is equally urban but far cheaper, and definitely has its own scene, though it's largely condos and apartments and you may have a tough time finding a place for your dog.

As you can tell, there's lots of good options for you within a 2-3 mile radius of your work and school. I'd urge you to explore the area both on foot and on the web.

[austintx1980]

Wow, Thank you so much! That is really helpful information! I'm definitely looking to rent rather than buy, and I'd like to find something under $1500 a month for sure. I doubt that's possible in the downtown area ( it isn't here in Austin). What's the story on the cherry creek area? I've found a few condos on the internet that are in that area. The Wash. Park/Cheesman Park areas sound really cool. How close are those areas to downtown?

Thanks again for the help!

[tfox]

Wash Park is the furthest area I mentioned from Larimer Square-- maybe 5-6 miles away. Cheesman Park is more like 2-3 miles. Highlands would range from 1-3 miles from Larimer Square (Highlands is a pretty big area).

Cherry Creek is going to be more expensive of the areas I mentioned, but it's a VERY posh area nonetheless. Cherry Creek North is the areas snazziest shopping district, and that area is a bit more "old money" than any of the areas I've mentioned so far.

I have some good news for you -- you should be able to find an apt for $1500 or less fairly easily in all areas I mentioned, even downtown. You certainly CAN pay upwards of 3k-4k for a rental downtown, but if you aren't looking for luxury or a large place there are many options in your range. Studios in Capitol Hill, on one hand, could be had for as little as $500.00/month (probably not the nicest or newest place in the world). Check Craigslist for rentals -- probably the best resource you can find for those.

Oh, another option you might look at it a place over by Lincoln Park -- this is right near the developing Santa Fe Arts District, lots of galleries there on Santa Fe Dr on the strip between 6th and 14th Aves. Lots of artists live there. It would be quite close to Auraria on its south side, and lots of student rentals around there as well -- but it's a bit of a rougher neighborhood than some of the others (mostly rentals) -- not ghetto, but a little more run down than the others.