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Old 01-12-2014, 12:14 PM
 
13 posts, read 51,636 times
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My boyfriend and I will possibly be moving to Boulder this summer as grad students at UC Boulder, so I have been taking a (very) preliminary look at apartments in the area. Based on our budget, we would really like to put a $800 cap on rent (~one week's income). I'd like to get an idea of whether or not this budget is feasible. A quick look at craigslist and trulia has dampened my hope of finding something (haha). Is it possible to find a decent (ie. safe) place in Boulder for something near our budget?

I think our biggest priority is safety. In terms of commute, I would be willing to do around 45 minutes, but honestly I am happy to consider a longer commute for a more reasonable rent. Additionally, I would really like to find a place that will at least allow cats as both of us are really craving animal companionship after the restrictions of dorm life (bleh). In terms of neighborhoods it would be nice to live in a place with other grad students or young professionals but it would be most important to not live in an area that is heavy with undergrads.

If our budget isn't feasible, what is more reasonable? What percentage of income do Boulder residents spend on rent? It would also be great to know of good resources to find apartments and possibly neighborhoods for us to consider.

I really appreciate any advice you guys have!
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Old 01-12-2014, 01:03 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,714 posts, read 29,853,881 times
Reputation: 33311
Fall Pre Lease - incl. most utilities
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Old 01-12-2014, 03:04 PM
 
Location: Ned CO @ 8300'
2,075 posts, read 5,125,992 times
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$800 in Boulder is difficult to find. Pets make it even harder.
Check padmapper.com. Apartments for Rent - PadMapper Apartment Search for Oodle, Apartments.com, Rent.com, Kijiji, and Craigslist Apartments

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Old 01-12-2014, 06:46 PM
 
4 posts, read 6,234 times
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Kaquel - I have lived in Boulder for the past 8 years. When I first moved here, you could get a great place for about 600 per month. As is typical, rental prices went up, and finding something less than 900 was a challenge this time last year. Post Sept 2013 flooding in Boulder, it is extremely rare to find any available properties for rent in any price range below 1,400. You could aim for studios or 1 bedrooms in Boulder for less than 1,100 but it is tough, especially to find ones that will take pets. What properties you do find, keep in mind the demand is really high. I don't want to discourage you, but I do want to give you a picture of how tough the market is right now. I have a friend at a property management company and he told me I should expect at least 70 or more people trying to apply for it within hours of the property becoming available. A lot of rental property was damaged by flooding and the amount of people needing rental housing in Boulder County increased significantly. Commuting to Boulder in the summer months from any of the communities along highway 36 (Superior, Lousiville, Broomfield, Westminster) is not bad. Same for Longmont. In the Fall and Spring, the commute can get heavy going into Boulder in the morning from about 7-9am and leaving town from 4-6pm. If you plan a commute and schedule that avoids those times, you can easily have only a 20-30 minute commute from outside cities. One factor to keep in mind in is that parking in Boulder stinks, like many college towns. One thing a lot of my friends do is drive to the RTD park in rides along highway 36 or from Longmont, and then take the relatively comfy express buses into Boulder that have many stops along campus, and then take it back home. Even professors do this quite a bit. If you are looking for a place in Boulder city limits, just about anywhere is pretty safe. There really are not any neighborhoods that are more unsafe than others. I would suggest avoiding "the hill" (west of Broadway and between Baseline and Araphahoe) and the Goss/Grove area unless you like being surrounded by parties and drunk undergrads. Anywhere east of campus, South Boulder, North Boulder are all great places for serious students to live and there is a lot of public transit and walkable/bikeable pathways to campus. In Longmont, the only really sketchy part of town is some places along main street north of 5th and south of highway 66. Otherwise there are some great neighborhoods in Longmont where you can find a rental for $800-900. Most students I know pay a considerable amount of their income towards housing. It is a stunningly beautiful place to live and experience, but it's also nice to be able to eat. I for one am headed out of Boulder due to the skyrocketing rental rates here but there are lots of great places to live and commute to CU Boulder from.
Good luck with the search!
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Old 01-12-2014, 07:32 PM
 
13 posts, read 51,636 times
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Thanks guys! It is very helpful to know about how the recent flooding has affected finding a rental. I would be fine with living outside of the city as long as the commute was not insane - and it sounds like it would be reasonable. We would have at least one car and would be traveling to the same campus which helps. Once we know where if we are accepted we will have to do some more research for housing outside the city.
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Old 01-13-2014, 07:58 AM
 
Location: Denver
4,564 posts, read 10,960,237 times
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I think that price will be hard to find or non existent in Boulder. I looked on padmapper for that range and most were rooms in a house.

Our son lives here at home and commutes. We live on the sw side of Longmont. But I'm not sure there is even anything in that price range here in Longmont. At least not on this side of town.
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Old 01-13-2014, 11:01 AM
 
1,260 posts, read 2,045,769 times
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This one is in Lafayette - Beautiful home available right away, $775, pets allowed.

Lafayette is to the east of Boulder, and is an easy commute, especially, if you can avoid rush hours. Depending on the specific location in Lafayette, it's about 20-25 minutes without traffic, or up to 40 min during rush hour on a day after snowfall.
I'd say you can find 1 bd in Lafayette for $800 and under, but you need to be looking hard.
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Old 01-13-2014, 11:08 AM
 
1,260 posts, read 2,045,769 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post
This is on The Hill - exactly where OP DOESN'T want to be.
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Old 01-13-2014, 11:38 AM
 
26,229 posts, read 49,085,600 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OhioToCO View Post
This one is in Lafayette - Beautiful home available right away, $775, pets allowed.

Lafayette is to the east of Boulder, and is an easy commute, especially, if you can avoid rush hours. Depending on the specific location in Lafayette, it's about 20-25 minutes without traffic, or up to 40 min during rush hour on a day after snowfall.
I'd say you can find 1 bd in Lafayette for $800 and under, but you need to be looking hard.
I'm leery of anything on craigslist that seems an awesome deal. The language on this one worries me too, using the words "beautiful home" to describe an apartment; that wording seems like the writer is a scammer from Africa who isn't familiar with how we speak here. Just a guess. I've never seen a 1-BR apartment with a 2-car garage; my BS alarm is sounding! If this "landlord" wants a cash deposit wired to them or wants you to fill out a form with LOTS of personal info / credit card data, that'll be the dead giveaway that it's a scam which is usually a tale about them being overseas in some missionary work and blah blah. Anyone looking at rentals on CL really needs to read and heed the warnings on that site.
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Old 01-13-2014, 01:41 PM
 
Location: Denver
4,564 posts, read 10,960,237 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike from back east View Post
I'm leery of anything on craigslist that seems an awesome deal. The language on this one worries me too, using the words "beautiful home" to describe an apartment; that wording seems like the writer is a scammer from Africa who isn't familiar with how we speak here. Just a guess. I've never seen a 1-BR apartment with a 2-car garage; my BS alarm is sounding! If this "landlord" wants a cash deposit wired to them or wants you to fill out a form with LOTS of personal info / credit card data, that'll be the dead giveaway that it's a scam which is usually a tale about them being overseas in some missionary work and blah blah. Anyone looking at rentals on CL really needs to read and heed the warnings on that site.
Agreed! Alarm bells went off for me right away as well. Given the rental situation here, I would wonder why they are renting such a wonder place for so cheap and so willing at that price to allow dogs and cats. Plus it also said it was listed a month ago. Either it's long gone if it is for real or there is something very fishy.

Not to mention, it says practically new stainless steel appliances - yet - look at the picture! And there are little signs all over the place in the pictures. I think someone went and looked at a model, took pictures, then posted a bogus listing on craigslist. Why would you need reserved off street parking if it has a two car garage?
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