So, this past weekend I travelled with my mom and dad to Denver to locate an apartment for my impending move to Denver. For those who don't know (I don't think there is anyone left in the Dallas area I haven't told by now that I'm headed to Denver but oh well), I'm moving to Denver in early March to start work March 10 in Downtown Denver at Accenture, doing entry-level technology consulting. Accenture is a great company, and the opportunity to work with them was #1 on my list throughout my job search last fall.
I digress. My family arrived in Denver safely on Thursday afternoon and drove into the city from the airport (which is out in the middle of nowhere North and East of Denver). Interestingly enough, the northbound portion of I-25 just north of downtown had collapsed earlier Thursday due to a water main they had (foolishly it appears) placed directly underneath the northbound lanes. It created a sinkhole some 16 feet deep and at least 30 feet wide in all directions, shutting down the northbound side of I-25 for about a day (only a couple lanes were unaffected enough to resume traffic flow after a day). This did not affect our trip in, but I-25 is the main route home for me from my new apartment (unless I take the bus) so I hope they've made some headway on repairs by the time I move in next month.
Thursday was nice and quiet except for a nice dinner at Maggiano's (as you can see, we initially failed to locate anything we couldn't get in Dallas, but it sure was GOOD, so no complaints).
Friday morning was a very fortuitous day for us. I had selected around 10 different places to look for apartments. I had narrowed that list down to about 8 locations. Anyone who has been apartment hunting will tell you (and I especially know the feeling since this is my 6th place to call home, not including my summer in Bridge City, since I graduated high school in May 2003) that going to see 8 apartment complexes in a single day is suicide. Absolutely insane. But when you're only in town for basically 2 full days, you do things a little differently.
Well, we started outside the city at Camden Arbors. Nice place, but a little old and too much like my current apartment for me. What was fortuitous about the day was that Camden Arbors is directly across the street from the apartments I ended up renting. Why? Because I had never heard of the Estates at Tanglewood in all of my online searching. I decided to take a look at the Estates (because they looked brand-new), and I am glad I did (More on that later).
After that, we drove around Westminster (10 miles straight north of Denver) in our hatchback Mazda 5 rental car. Westminster looks like Southlake did 5-10 years ago in some respects. It is growing like crazy, it is a pretty nice area, and the amount of fairly nice retail there (or being built) is impressive.
I decided to skip my other stop north of Denver because I knew I wouldn't pick anywhere else than the Estates if I wanted to live north of the city.
On the immediate north side of downtown, we checked out The Manhattan. The baseball fanatic in me went crazy over this place. It was so close to Coors Field that you could see all of the outfield from the top of the high-rise. Plus, the rooms were nice and the amenities even nicer. The back patio area, lap pool and hot tub were very nice. The biggest downside to this apartment was the price and the reality that the studio in my price range was basically one open room divided into a kitchen and bedroom/living room. But it was very nice and even included a Murphy bed lol.
I won't relate all the stories of places we visited because I would be here all night long typing. But visiting the Retreat at the Park (so named because it sat just a block from City Park, which is kinda like Central Park in New York plus a municipal golf course) was an adventure. Retreat was in a very sketchy part of town. It was mathematically eliminated from contention before I even stepped into the leasing office. The property was VERY nice. I was impressed with the layouts of the apartments, the amenities, and the proximity to the park. But, in the end, it just wasn't worth it to live in a slummy part of town near auto body shops and adult video stores.
The only other really notable stop we made was at 1600 Glenarm Place. I could go on and on and on about this place. The water bottles labeled "1600 Glenarm Place." Concierge service. Complimentary Valet Parking whenever you arrive home at your apartment. Dry Cleaning and Packages brought just inside your door. Across the street from a massive AMC theater and tons of restaurants and shops (including the Maggiano's we ate at Thursday night). Walking distance to my office. Like I said, I could go on.
I blame Accenture for making me choose elsewhere to live. Parking at 1600 Glenarm Place is 200 a month, so if Accenture had parking I could have saved 200 bucks a month. But they don't, so I decided to live elsewhere.
That really isn't the only reason I chose to live elsewhere though. When it comes down to it, I'm not a city boy. I'm going to be spending most of my worktime downtown (including my nights in downtown hotels while working in other cities), so I will probably want to live somewhere outside of town just for a change of pace. I'd feel too claustrophobic if I had nowhere to retreat to outside the city. I love the outdoors, contrary to what people probably think since I don't get outside enough.
By Saturday morning, I had made my choice: I will live for the foreseeable future at the Estates at Tanglewood in Westminster, CO.
See Part 2 for the rest of the story.
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