Shared apartment or studio, and more ^_^ (Highlands Ranch, Littleton: extended stay, apartments, renter)

[Javichu]

Hi everyone


I just moved to this amazing city last Saturday. A short intro in order to understand my situation:

I've been working one year in Nevada, in a Solar Plant in the middle of nowhere, so I saved some good money for this transition. I'm going to get my flight instructor certificates, and hopefully working in a flight school in around 3 months.

The thing is that right now I'm in an extended stay, and since I'm studying/working in Centennial Airport, a friend of mine advised me to find my place in Centennial, Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, Littleton and Parker, just as a general idea of course. I'm driving around these days, to know the neighbourhoods and I prety much like all of them. My idea was to rent a room in a shared apartment or something similar. But looking at the prices for a "good" sized room, in a nice place, we're talking about 600-800 dollars, all included in most of the places. My dilema is that you can also find studio apartments for 850-950, but utilities apart of course.

One of the things that I ask myself is, what would be a good estimate about the real difference between both options?. Basically what could I expect to pay for the utilities. I would sleep at home, because the rest of the day I'll be or in the library or flying. I hate heating, so minimum use....I love showers though

Once I find a place to rent, my first month will be as a full time student in the library to refresh all the aeronautical stuff, so no income for 4-5 weeks. And then I should expect like 2 months of flight schools while getting rated, but I should be able to work full or almost full time, and since I'm from Spain maybe I'm able to find a good job as a spanish tutor for example.

So basically I'm concerned about money as you can all imagine. Right now my credit score is around 730, I'm paying my truck and my credit cards on time, and I want to be responsible with my decissions.

I hope someone can find a few minutes to offer some wise advise based on experience





Thanks for reading me. Saludos!

[Javichu]

anyone?

[Pequeño_Bonsai]

Buenos dias, Javichu.

I went ahead a did a quick search... You can get yourself a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment for around $900 a month. (I took a look around at apartments near Centennial Airport and there's one called Acadia at Cornerstar.) The link is Acadia at Cornerstar Apartment Rentals. This one appears to be more upscale so you might even be able to find a 1br/1ba cheaper elsewhere.

In terms of rent, when I had a 1 br apartment I was paying around $100/month for cable and Internet and budgeted around $150 a month for trash, common area charges (pool, fitness center, etc), electric/gas, and water. Utilities really depend on what city/town you are living in, how much you consume, and the season. When you head over to an apartment's front office you can ask what the typical renter pays for that type of space - I've always had people who have been willing to give me a rough idea. (I was moving almost yearly to a new state for awhile so this was one of my standard questions.)

All of the places you listed above are nice areas so you really can't go wrong. Try the commute one day to ensure you're not going to hate it.

Also, budget in renter's insurance (mandatory in the places I used to live in) and the typical deposit they'll ask for when signing a lease. My renter's was about $100/year and deposits can range from 1 - 2 months rent.

I hope this information is useful!

[Javichu]

thanks for your help

I keep searching but it seems like no matter wich option I choose, the difference will be between 400 and 600 dollars, and if I think about it, that's my monthly payment for the truck lol. I've sharing the last 5-6 years, and I'd really love to have my place, but I guess money is money after all.

The huge problem with sharing is that you can be lucky and find wonderfull flatmates, or just have the worst experience of your life hahhaha, as I already did twice.