Where to live in/near Boulder (Denver, Colorado Springs: real estate, 2014, apartment)

[edailey8807]

I am a St. Louis, MO native, looking into moving to Boulder, CO with my boyfriend sometime in 2014. I am really only wanting serious replies to this thread. I have tried getting advice on this in the past and was bombarded with judgmental responses as to why I should not be relocating, why I'm too young, why it's a bad idea, etc. Never any actual advice I can use. So serious replies only please.

I am 24 and will be turning 25 in December 2013. My boyfriend will be 28 in a few weeks. We have been together for a couple of years and I have been wanting to move out west of Missouri for a long time now. He is finally on board with me and we have agreed Boulder would be a great place to start our lives.

Right now, we are in the BEGINNING phases of the relocation. We literally just started discussing our options. We have not applied for jobs or anything. Our main concern and ironically our main disagreement is what type of property we want. He wants to purchase a home and I would prefer to rent a house or apartment until we can find something permanent. I have been looking at real estate and finding a home for purchase IN BOULDER is ridiculous. Right now in STL, we are both only making around 30k. The homes are COMPLETELY out of our price range, which I have told him. But he is still adamant. Since I do not know the area at all, are their nearby cities/counties with the same appeal as Boulder that offer homes for around 100-125k? I am excited to move to Boulder for the hiking, rock climbing, culture and scenery. I want to still be very close to that and downtown Boulder (within 20 minutes max) but be able to afford our lifestyle. This may be a stretch, but I would also like to be able to see the mountains from wherever we will be living. Also, one of the main things that attracts me to Boulder is the weather. I know other parts of CO get a lot more snow than Boulder. I would like to stay as close to Boulder as possible so I can experience the same weather.

In addition, after doing some research, the average income per person is higher in Boulder than STL. Depending on where we end up getting hired on, we could potentially afford a bigger budget. Right now, I am being realistic and aiming lower until we are confident about what our incomes will be. Any info at all about where to live is greatly appreciated.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by edailey8807

I have tried getting advice on this in the past and was bombarded with judgmental responses...we are both only making around 30k

1. This is your first post. So, obviously you did not post here before.
2. I presume $30K each. That would mean a house costing no more than $180K. Surf to Zillow and enter Boulder and use the filters to set a max house price. You said max of $120K. That gets you a not-so-nice 750 sqft condo.
3. Use PadMapper.com (and its filters) to look at rentals. Pets complicate rentals.
4. We all love Boulder, but not many of us can afford it. Think Broomfield, Louisville, Westminster.
5. This Denver average and median listing prices - Trulia.com will not make you happy and this Boulder average and median listing prices - Trulia.com will make you swoon.

And, as per the forum rules for old farts similar to me--get a job first!

[chilaili]

You should rent first, if only to get to know the area and figure out where you really want to and can live. Yes, Boulder is expensive so on your budget it would make more sense to look outside of town first. I would also suggest Longmont and possibly Erie. And you should definitely try and get work first - income might be higher here but so is the cost of living. Padmapper and Zillow are very useful tools.

[delta07]

I'm not sure what kind of home your boyfriend is wanting to purchase, but most people that say home mean a single family, detached dwelling. If that's the case, you absolutely won't be able to find anything within your budget anywhere in Boulder, and probably not within 20 minutes of Boulder, as you've stated the farthest you would want to be. I don't mean to be negative at all, it's just really not possible. Heck, it's almost impossible to find a single family, detached home in Boulder for under $350K.

I would definitely advise that you rent first before committing to a purchase. Not only is it more reasonable given your potential income, but it also makes sense because it will help you to get to know the area and decide what is most important to you based on your list of wants/needs. Finding a house, for under $125K, with mountain views, and within 20 minutes of Boulder is a pretty tall order. You'll have to give up one or more of your desires. I will also say that with a mortgage, you are definitely more committed to staying in that home for the long term, at least longer than a typical year lease. If you end up hating where you live, can't find jobs, and/or any other possible scenarios that would force you to move, you'd be out a whole lot more money than what a rental would cost you. Just something to consider.

The other thing to consider about Boulder and Fort Collins (which is a possible alternative but still pricey for your budget and farther than your wants) is that they are both university towns. Many retail/service and entry level jobs are hard to find and pay is generally very low. It might help us to know what kind of work you both do, so we can better gauge whether you could afford Boulder.

If you are wanting a community that is more affordable that offers the same recreation opportunities than Boulder offers, I would suggest looking towards Colorado Springs. While it's a much more conservative area, you certainly get more for you money and still have beautiful scenery, easy access to trails, and there are pockets of a more liberal culture within the conservative sea. It's certainly not Boulder, but would be worth a look. I'd suggest you use the search tool in the Colorado Springs sub-forum if you want some more info. about it.

[brown_dog_us]

Here are my random thoughts....

- Have you ever been to Boulder?

- Buying a house: This town is crazy expensive for real estate. If you pick Boulder you will get the amenities you desire within walking distance, but your residence will be crappy. Most people in Boulder are fine with this.

- Jobs: What is your fields? The tech and professional jobs pay fairly well, but the service and support jobs don't.

- Areas outside Boulder that are cheaper: Golden (slightly), Broomfield, Longmont, and Superior.

- Colorado Springs sounds like a great place for you. I think there are some liberal enclaves if that is your thing.

[smtcpa]

As a financial planner, I would suggest renting a home/apt before buying. Get good, stable jobs first. Look around so you know the area, save some money for a down payment but most of all make sure you want to stay in CO and that you have jobs that can help you afford the mortgage. You don't want to tie yourselves to a mortgage until you know you have jobs that can support the payments. Besides, you will need jobs before anyone will loan you money.

We are relocating to the area and found Boulder is extremely expensive, and as others have suggested, try Louisville, Broomfield, etc.

[edailey8807]

Thanks for all of the replies! We are not moving until we find jobs and we are both content with the salaries. Once the jobs are set in stone, then we will look for something. We both have very high credit scores, so I do not think getting a loan will be an issue. It's just a matter of finding something we can afford each month! Also, we are first time home-buyers. I am going to research some first-time home buyer programs in CO as well. I haven't looked too far into it, but I do know they are available options for us. But I will definitely take all of the suggestions to heart and keep looking.

[coloradoalimony]

You have the dream that tens of thousands of people have each year, but only a very few get to realize.

Jobs are very tough to get here, and despite what survey you might be reading, entry level jobs pay no more than St. Louis, in fact, entry level positions near Boulder are probably the lowest paying in relation to cost of living of anywhere in the US, outside of perhaps NYC or Boston. It is even tougher to get a job here if you are searching from elsewhere.

Most people with jobs paying under $100K in Boulder live outside of Boulder, often *far* outside. The inbound traffic into Boulder in the morning is brutal, and outbound in the afternoon is even worse. If you do manage to make over $100K combined, the only housing you can buy in Boulder with that income are condos or extremely small ranch houses built in the 1950's. You'll pay around $400K for a low end example if it is within two miles of downtown. A friend of mine recently sold his 1000 sq ft. ranch with no basement or garage on the north side for $480K in three days. They buyer is going to scrape the house and start over. Rent for a decent two bedroom apartment starts around $1100 and goes way up from there.

If you have no particular reason to move to Boulder, with your projected incomes you are much better off moving to Ft. Collins/Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Grand Junction, or one of the other smaller towns. The problem then is that the smaller towns pay even less, and jobs are even more difficult to find.

Colorado is a massive Catch-22 at this point. Everyone seems to want to move here, but jobs are tough, and don't come close to matching the cost of living in most areas. Boulder is the worst case scenario for this, with the possible exception of Aspen, where almost no one really lives anyway.

[edailey8807]

I currently work at one of the largest companies in the country, but will be making a complete career change. So I am unsure about where I will be working. He works in the health care field though, so he should have no issue finding a job. He is also a soccer coach but I am not sure how big soccer is in CO. lol

[coloradoalimony]

Originally Posted by edailey8807

I currently work at one of the largest companies in the country, but will be making a complete career change. So I am unsure about where I will be working. He works in the health care field though, so he should have no issue finding a job. He is also a soccer coach but I am not sure how big soccer is in CO. lol

Depending on what he does in health care you may be surprised how difficult it is to find a job here. There are a lot of threads from nurses, you should look at them.