High School Grad wants to move to Boulder (Craig: apartments, rental)

[Yvon0622]

Hi,

My daughter graduated from high school in May and is dying to move to Boulder. She isn't attending college at this time as she wants to obtain residency and doesn't have a job. I understand the housing/apartment rental situation there is expensive and want her to be prepared both emotionally and financially.

Can anyone provide any objective advice as to where to begin looking for apartment management firms, so she can attempt to calculate living costs BEFORE moving there?

Any accurate info is appreciated.
Thanks. Yvonne

[Meowen]

Try Housing Helpers for assistance finding a place. Or do it yourself using Apartments for Rent - PadMapper Apartment Search for Oodle, Apartments.com, Rent.com, Kijiji, and Craigslist Apartments. I found housing helpers to be pretty worthless if you aren't a college student. They kept trying to throw me in with all the students ugh...expect to pay $1000+ for a 1 room apartment, but maybe she can find a studio slightly cheaper, Or a roommate situation.

[Yvon0622]

Thanks for your prompt reply. I'm also wondering if you know what the job climate is like for high school grads as well as pay in Boulder. Can you suggest some websites that offer an overall depiction of cost of living, jobs, bus transportation, establishing residency?

Thanks again for your assistance

[Meowen]

Originally Posted by Yvon0622

Thanks for your prompt reply. I'm also wondering if you know what the job climate is like for high school grads as well as pay in Boulder. Can you suggest some websites that offer an overall depiction of cost of living, jobs, bus transportation, establishing residency?

Thanks again for your assistance

Where is she moving from? Coming from California I found that the pay rate for entry-level or jobs a high school Grad could secure without experience is fairly low. It could also take awhile to secure a job if one is a bit picky and not willing to settle for retail or food service while looking elsewhere. I transferred here with my company so it wasnt an issue for me, but my partner took 6 months to secure a job in his field. The job market does seem to be improving lately though...What sorts of jobs will she be looking for? If she works at a retail shop she's probably only going to make something like $9-$10 an hour I think. I could be wrong though.

Right here on city-data.com outside of the forum you can look up profiles for cities and/or specific zip codes. The cost of living in Boulder is moderately high compared to most places in the midwest/south but lower than most coastal cities. I guess it depends on your perspective, like I said I moved here from California so Boulder doesn't seem all that costly to me.

Bus transportation is very good/frequent and fairly cheap, I believe $89 per month for an unlimited bus pass.
More info at RTD

The only really noticeably expensive thing about Boulder is the housing in my opinion. The cost of housing drops dramatically once just a few miles outside Boulder, but i would suck it up and stay in Boulder, especially without a vehicle and relying on public transit.

From Colorado Department of Higher Education By law, an "in-state" student, or student's parents, must be domiciled in Colorado for 12 or more continuous months immediately preceding the first day of classes.

Hope this helps!