Boulder 1-BR with 2 kids? (Denver, Longmont: apartments, lease, houses)

[jtindall]

My husband and I, our 9yo and 6yo are planning a move to CO from MN this summer. We plan to rent for a while, and are really drawn to the city of Boulder, obviously our most expensive option in the area!

But we are a minimalist-sort of family, love to bike/walk for transportation. My husband and daughter are enthusiastic rock climbers, and the thought of hopping on bikes to pick up a trailhead, or walking to the local farmers' market or coffee shop or local library - all from the same apartment! - simply thrills us.

We are currently looking at 1-BR apartments in central Boulder (walking distance to Pearl St. Mall), anything in the Whittier school district looks great (I am impressed with that particular school, but maybe you have other school suggestions?). We're not comfortable paying over $1250 per month for rent plus utilities.

My question - does this sound at all feasible to anyone with Boulder culture experience? I know our family can handle the small space, but I'm wondering how other people would see it. Will landlords even be open to a family of four living in a 1-BR apt? And are there other families around this area, or will we be mostly surrounded by college students and young professionals? (I have no problem with that, but maybe they'd have a problem with us? And it would be nice for our kids to have other kids around.)

Or do you have other neighborhood suggestions for us? Or even other towns? (Golden looks like the only other possibility for both mountain & urban proximity, but it's a bit small for my taste.)

Thank you!

[Meowen]

$1250 with utilities in central boulder or anywhere in Boulder not-on-the-very-furthest-outskirts is going to be tough to find. Doing a quick look at padmapper.com there is hardly anything in central boulder for $1100 or less. The one i looked at for $1050 was a 450sq ft apartment on 17th and Canyon. I recommend perusing padmapper.com and see what you can find to give you an idea.

I also think its a terribly bad idea to cram your whole family into an apartment that small and more than likely you will be looked down upon for it. But hey, thats your choice.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

I can't imagine cramming that many people into a one bedroom (and it might not even fly with landlords anyway) just to be able to live downtown Boulder.

The reality is, while all those things sound wonderful, when you actually get here and just start living day to day life, it's not like you'll be doing those things every day.

Personally, for that kind of monthly rent, I'd rather live in a bigger place and go do those things on the weekend, etc. Your rent for a 1 bedroom in Boulder is what we pay for our house in Longmont with a back yard, next to a park, near a farmer's market, etc.

Just my personal opinion.....

[jtindall]

Thanks for your thoughts, Meowen and jkcoop. I have been looking on padmapper after seeing it recommended elsewhere on this forum. And I should clarify that we wouldn't plan to do the 1-BR thing longer than a year (sort-of a glorified vacation in a special community). But it's helpful to hear from at least one Boulderite how this could be viewed by others.

Longmont is definitely in the running (it was my first choice when we first decided to make the move), and I'm still looking at properties there too. I've seen some houses in old town Longmont for rent in our price range (which would be nice since we play music and therefore couldn't disturb neighbors as easily). And jkcoop, that's a great reminder that esp. once school starts and the weather shifts, we won't be heading out to the trails every day anyway.

We're planning a scouting trip the first week of April and I want to see what Longmont's downtown is like. Any other suggestions for towns with actual old-building downtowns to check out, not too far from the mountains, with public transportation options to Boulder and Denver?

Thanks so much. I have really appreciated using this forum as we make our plans.

[Neditate]

I lived in the Whittier neighborhood for many years and loved it. It is not a student area, it is family-oriented and the school is wonderful. It is ideal in many ways but as Meowen stated, finding an apartment in central Boulder for that rent will be difficult. As for a family of 4 living in a small apartment... I don't know the legality of it, you'd have to ask the landlords.
Aside from Longmont have you considered Louisville?

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

My only other suggestion would be to keep in mind that if it's only for a year, and then you have to move again, you might not want to be switching schools, etc after they have made friends. I'm sure the first move will be hard enough.

Just something to consider in the scheme of things. When we moved here 14 years ago we knew we didn't want to move our son again (he was in kindergarten at the time) and it worked out well that he was with the same group of kids (for the most part) from kindergarten through graduation.

Neditate's suggestion to check out Louisville is a good one.

[lovethehighcountry]

I currently rent ~800sq ft 1 bedroom apartment in Gunbarrel (Boulder suburb). We were told it would NOT be legal to even have a baby in this 1 bedroom apt.

[sprint100]

Originally Posted by lovethehighcountry

I currently rent ~800sq ft 1 bedroom apartment in Gunbarrel (Boulder suburb). We were told it would NOT be legal to even have a baby in this 1 bedroom apt.

Every lease I've signed limited the inhabitants to 2 people per bedroom.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Neditate

I lived in the Whittier neighborhood for many years and loved it. It is not a student area, it is family-oriented and the school is wonderful. It is ideal in many ways but as Meowen stated, finding an apartment in central Boulder for that rent will be difficult. As for a family of 4 living in a small apartment... I don't know the legality of it, you'd have to ask the landlords.
Aside from Longmont have you considered Louisville?

Louisville has a lot of old houses downtown, probably some of which are subdivided into apts. There are also some newer houses, apts, and duplexes near downtown, ie, within walking distance.

Lafayette also has some older homes in its "Old Town" area.

[jtindall]

Thanks for all these responses - we are definitely giving up the 1-BR apt. idea. And excited about our upcoming road trip to CO (first week of April) when we plan to scout out many or all of these towns you have suggested.