PhD in Denver

I was awarded with a scholarship to do a PhD at University of Denver. Is it possible to live in Denver with a budget of U$1300/month (value of the scholarship) ?

Very possible, just depends on the lifestyle you want to live. You can get a studio apartment for about 500 bucks right outside the city, then just manage your money after that.

What're you studying?
A quick CL search turns up plentiful apartments in the 550-600/mo range, you can probably go way cheaper if you're willing to live in a house with people. After that, how much pocket cash you end up with has a lot to do with what you eat/how much your phone bill is/whether you have a car payment etc.

I'd say you should be fine with that income.

Having said that, I'm speaking mostly from experience elsewhere, and have no real first hand experience with denver, but know folks who have spent much of their lives living there on significantly less than 1300/mo.

It's a little tight, but you can certainly do it. In my humble opinion, Denver is one of the best cities in the nation.

live with others, ride public transit, eat in, and very little superfluous spending. It can be done. With care.

Sorry to sound negative, but you're going to feel pretty darn poor on $1300/month

Just some estimates:
Rent 500-600
auto ins. 70-100
Phone 50-70
Internet 30-50
Groceries (15$/day) 450
Gas 100-200
Utilities 50-150

Totals:
$1250-1620

Doesn't leave a whole lot left for climbing gear, taking the girlfriend out for dinner, car payments, health care, clothing, travel, etc.
Good luck, I'd ask for more or get student loans to float the rest.
TB

Tevis Blom wrote:Sorry to sound negative, but you're going to feel pretty darn poor on $1300/month

Well yes, but stating that you will be poor as a graduate student is redundant :)

Try living on $1300 in California or somewhere on the East Coast (a stipend of $1300-1600 is pretty average...I managed). It is definitely doable Adriano, but to be honest, consider (as Tevis stated) the possibility that you will go into a little bit of debt in order to make your life enjoyable. I'm not talking huge debt, but $5000-10000 in loans for 5-6 years of grad school ain't so bad. The thing that you have to consider is that hating your life for 6 years because you can't afford to climb/get an occasional drink etc., is a long time to be miserable. Just make sure that you take a student loan and don't let yourself get suckered into credit card debt. Get the loan before you need the money or the f*cking credit card companies and their loan shark rates will eat you alive.

Good luck.

As noted above, financials should be expected to be somewhat tight, but that is par for the course if you are going to grad school. The monthly budget that you listed should be plenty in Denver support the standard grad student lifestyle (i.e. pretty spartan). Cost of living around here is generally reasonable: not the cheapest, but very cheap compared to California, Boston, Seattle, and various other places one could end up for grad school.

Definitely possible, Ive been dirt bagging in denver for a while now.

I lived on $12,000 / year during my two years of graduate school in a city with a cost of living very comparable to Denver. You can do it, but it requires discipline and planning. The good thing is that you will be surrounded by people in the same boat as you (other students) and people who have been there (profs). I got a lot of great ideas on how to live on the cheap from my classmates and lots of free meals and stuff from my profs. YMMV, but I think that $1300 as a month is totally doable.

Yes.
As to the estimate above, don't buy a car, get a cheap phone, and live with roommates (I did in grad school, and had no car).
Revised estimates:
Rent 500-600
Phone 30
Internet 15
Groceries (15$/day) 450
Gas 50
Utilities 50 - 75

For a total of $1000 to 1100. You can share rides to climbing. I live in Colorado and my utilities are less than $100/month.

Just go for it! Ph.D. chances aren't abundant, and your life will likely be a whole lot more fun when you're done.

FWIW: I pulled less than you through grad school, supplemented my income as a Gunks ranger/substitute teacher/firefighter. It was the best 6 years of my life. Climbed 200+ days a year for 3 of them, and at least 100 days on rope 6 years in a row. Took trips to Moab, Tetons, Cochise, Leavenworth, Josh, Red Rocks, the New, climbed out NH and the Gunks, 6 Grand Canyon excursions, and joined the less than prestigious White Mountain 4000 footer club.

Point is: if you want it, you'll get it done.

lucander wrote:Just go for it! Ph.D. chances aren't abundant, and your life will likely be a whole lot more fun when you're done. FWIW: I pulled less than you through grad school, supplemented my income as a Gunks ranger/substitute teacher/firefighter. It was the best 6 years of my life. Climbed 200+ days a year for 3 of them, and at least 100 days on rope 6 years in a row. Took trips to Moab, Tetons, Cochise, Leavenworth, Josh, Red Rocks, the New, climbed out NH and the Gunks, 6 Grand Canyon excursions, and joined the less than prestigious White Mountain 4000 footer club. Point is: if you want it, you'll get it done.

Jesus dude, what graduate program were you in that allowed all that?!?! Did you actually graduate? :)

I studied for my PhD in Denver (Skool of Hard Knocks, Econ '08), and grew my own weed, siphoned gas from BMW's, climbed on knots instead of cams, and ate Jerusalem's a lot. It was tight, but I made a little on the side modeling for homeless shelter billboards. You find a way, y'know?

I'm doing exactly that: living in on the stipend associated with a Ph.D. program at DU (same as yours). It's extremely possible. You probably won't save much (any) money. You'll live with roommates. It's awesome. Do it.

If you have any questions about the city or the school, feel free to send me an email any time.

nytimes.com/2013/04/14/educ…

You could always try this approach.....

I am surprised that no one mentioned to ask what your phd is in. Are you seeking an art history Phd? If so, then you will just be wasting time and money. Another option would be just to work at Mcd's and climb a lot and avoid a whole bunch of work that will yield nothing in the end. If it's a valuable profession, then sucking it up for a few years may be worthwhile.

Thanks, guys.
So, it's not impossible.
My PhD will be in engineering.
I am planning to move in August, 15th ( the classes starts in septembe, 1st) in order to get used with the altitude. Is this time enough to find a place to live?

What type of engineering? I might be able to help you out with some side jobs/intern type work if you have ECE or CS type experience.

Adriano wrote:Thanks, guys. So, it's not impossible. My PhD will be in engineering. I am planning to move in August, 15th ( the classes starts in septembe, 1st) in order to get used with the altitude. Is this time enough to find a place to live?

Cutting it real close with our tight rental market. Might be camping for a couple weeks.

Transitions are hard. I'd move in for July 1 or earlier to get settled with your place, learn the campus, and be used to the area. Faculty will notice if you stand out in the first week of your program - and they will also notice if you don't.