Moving from NYC (Denver, Aurora, Lakewood: apartment, for rent, insurance)

[alexh1005]

Hi guys, newbie here

So I'm a recent college grad from a state university here in New York. I work in the insurance industry for an underwriter. Given the lack of space here in New York City, I'm not desperately trying to move to Denver but it does seem like a great place to live and work. Some quick things about me: I love beer (my good ol' college days ended 18 months ago), outdoor activities like hiking, camping, fishing, I've been snowboarding since I was 7, not a big partier but would love to have meet up and just chill with friends at a bar and a big sports enthusiast (no offense to Denver teams but they're not very exciting). With that being said, would Denver be a good city for me to move to?

I've lived in the borough of Queens my whole life and commute from a semiurban town to Manhattan for work. I'm sick of the inconsistent transportation where every time someone sneezes, the subway needs to be stopped. I don't mind owning a car when/if I move to Denver but how is the public transportation here? I know it might not be everywhere like here in NYC but would I be able to get to from say a town a few miles away from downtown in a matter of under 45 minutes? Would I be able to find parking in the 'downtown' area if I drive to work?

What is a liveable salary in Denver where I can own a car, own a condo within 2 years of moving here and possibly have more than 50% of post-tax income leftover? And how much can I expect to pay to rent a 1 bedroom apartment (700+ sq ft) in a decent part of town (preferably near a park)?

Oh, what's the Asian community like here? I'll definitely miss my mom's Chinese recipes and eat 'authentic Chinese' food for the first time. Thai, Chinese and Indian food? Pizza? Overall food scene? I heard Denver has pretty good Mexican food so I can't complain. My typical meal would be some sort of protein with sides cooked to its traditionally way without going crazy on sauces. I hate fine dining and find it disgraceful to humankind to charge high double digits for a...I shall say no more.

Staying on the topic of food, are groceries expensive here? Organics/non-GMO, all-natural, gluten free...I don't follow. I rarely buy food packaged and prefer to buy meat from the butcher section of the grocery store, fruits and vegetables from the nonpackaged sections. I like cook during the week partly because I'm quite good (lol s/o to my mom) and ofc health reasons. Typical things I buy are fruit ($1/pound on average for fruits, $2/pound for berries etc.), chicken ($3/lb for breast, cheaper for thighs), steak (~8/lbs for NY strip and little more for ribeyes), rice, potatoes, and various vegetables (roughly $1-2 for 2-3 servings).

Thanks for any advice!

[2bindenver]

plan a visit and surf the job boards.

[davebarnes]

Chinese? Thai? [Dot] Indian?
Denver is overwhelmingly Anglos + Hispanics. We are the 89%.

See Post #2.

You will hate the pizza.

[NorthDenverGirl]

Public transport is not perfect here but it is improving. You can find places to live outside of Denver along the train line that will get you into Denver quite easily. Right now the option for that is South or West, North are in the process of building the train but have been told there are more delays.

I have one favorite Thai restaurant here in the north suburbs. They actually do a really good job. I am from Australia where we always had lots of Thai choices so I am pretty fussy about my Asian food. Good places can be found. As for an Asian community, I am not sure on that one. We do have a big marketplace in Broomfield that carries a lot of Asian specialty foods.

Food prices are going to be cheaper than NYC I know that from visiting New York several times. I use Amazon Fresh and have my groceries delivered it allows me to choose from all kinds of foods and the prices on organics and local meats are pretty good. The Sprouts supermarkets here are reasonable too.

As for rents it depends on where you live, living in downtown Denver or surrounds is going to cost you more. Out in the burbs you can get a 1 bedroom for around $1200+ in the city that goes up to about $1800+.

[daprara]

Asian community
best thing came out of the vietNam war was an above average Asian population re located to denver. Now a rough neighborhood Federal & Alameda Denver and that population since moved to close by more affluent burbs. Way back when rock was dirt Colorado expressed tolerance and acceptance; for example the new Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center building. Local asian big box food stores could be H Mart, Pacific Ocean Mart. They are going to be located near Asian neighborhoods more than likely. If you dont know exactly what you are doing Aurora is un-safe.

Denver not NYC
tho definitely urban - things are small slower. Go 2 blocks off the The dreaded Colfax Ave and things are functional residential. You can still find consistent pay parking down town. Free if you know where to look. Most peeps have not bothered to figure alternate transportation and can drive in their land boats with success but significant new clean park-en-ride lite rail exists. Bus service too. Locate next to a lite rail station and or bus service and you might not immediately need a car except if you must ski snow bd. Like NYC street parking is rough, if that is your thing get a 5th gen Honda civic.


-It is less expensive than NYC for sure but does it represent more VALUE to you?
-Denver the city is currently land locked by suburban towns. Every day more goodness spreads outward but Denver is still an island.
-generally a younger population but things are diverse assimilated so have to find a sit you can coexist.
-stay away from the beer, it will make you fat in just a few months.
-sports are better if you are physically out there playing
-it is an easy NYC style winter here despite what the natives say
-it will be different as this is a dry high land desert climate so there is NO water here but rather 222.22days/yr of sunshine or something.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by daprara

Asian community
best thing came out of the vietNam war was an above average Asian population re located to denver. Now a rough neighborhood Federal & Alameda Denver and that population since moved to close by more affluent burbs. Way back when rock was dirt Colorado expressed tolerance and acceptance; for example the new Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center building. Local asian big box food stores could be H Mart, Pacific Ocean Mart. They are going to be located near Asian neighborhoods more than likely. If you dont know exactly what you are doing Aurora is un-safe.

Denver not NYC
tho definitely urban - things are small slower. Go 2 blocks off the The dreaded Colfax Ave and things are functional residential. You can still find consistent pay parking down town. Free if you know where to look. Most peeps have not bothered to figure alternate transportation and can drive in their land boats with success but significant new clean park-en-ride lite rail exists. Bus service too. Locate next to a lite rail station and or bus service and you might not immediately need a car except if you must ski snow bd. Like NYC street parking is rough, if that is your thing get a 5th gen Honda civic.


-It is less expensive than NYC for sure but does it represent more VALUE to you?
-Denver the city is currently land locked by suburban towns. Every day more goodness spreads outward but Denver is still an island.
-generally a younger population but things are diverse assimilated so have to find a sit you can coexist.
-stay away from the beer, it will make you fat in just a few months.
-sports are better if you are physically out there playing
-it is an easy NYC style winter here despite what the natives say
-it will be different as this is a dry high land desert climate so there is NO water here but rather 222.22days/yr of sunshine or something.

Beer will make you fat if you only drink beer and not exercise.

[daprara]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

Beer will make you fat if you only drink beer and not exercise.

ok likely not going to the gym because expecting a friday pm at the bar

[Cfella]

I moved to Lakewood, CO last year after living the first 30 years of my life in the Bronx. I commuted to NYC everyday like you for work. I can honestly say, the MTA probably had the biggest influence on me looking for someplace else to live. I would take the 6 train from the first stop in the Bronx, then transfer to another train at 59th street, and then have to walk a few blocks to work.

I was planning to move to Denver when I was originally looking at Colorado, but just outside of Denver seemed a better fit. I would recommend looking at the surround suburbs of Denver and then try to get a job there. Your commute would be alot better if you weren't going into the City. My commute now is 12 minutes each way compared to the hour and half it used to take me each way (if the trains were on time). I still read the NY news, and somehow the trains have gotten worse since I left. I didn't think it was possible. The change in commuting was worth the move, everything else is extra.

Let me know if you have any other questions

[alexh1005]

Well thanks for the response y'all! I'm very active and will be eager to explore the Rocky Mountaisn once I'm there so I won't be worrying about all the craft beer I've heard about.

Are there any neighborhoods to avoid? What is the rent range for a 1 bedroom? Are affordable homes hard to find near public transportation?

Got some amazing responses so far!

[ritapriati]

Originally Posted by daprara

Go 2 blocks off the The dreaded Colfax Ave and things are functional residential.

The residential streets between 14th and Colfax and 16th and Colfax are full of gorgeous homes, especially from Colorado to Quebec. My colleague bought a million dollar house just a few houses from Colfax, at Monaco, in what is clearly one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city.

You don't need to go 2 blocks off of Colfax.