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Boulder is pricey, but $1,200-$1,500 for renting will get you a nice apt. $1,200 more a standard apartment, nothing fancy, but not too many students. $1,500 a nice 2 bedroom. Areas to look in Boulder may include North Boulder - there are older condos in North Boulder as well as the "Holiday Neighborhood" and Dakota Ridge that would be at the top of your price range or a bit higher for a 2BR, but near open space with its own little faux-main street. There are also townhomes and a few apartment complexes down in Table Mesa, with great views, more suburban feel. I would say look around, try Craigslist. Many of the apartment complexes in Boulder are overrun with students, as is "the Hill," but it should be pretty easy to tell (also, a lot of Boulder's housing stock is also from the 70s and reflects it). Living in Boulder gets you close to great open space and also a nice downtown, but you also live in "the bubble" which depending on your mindset may be positive, negative or neither.
If you are looking outside Boulder, the nearest towns are:
Louisville/Lafayette: small, quaint downtowns & old towns (especially Louisville), typical suburban housing, surrounded by open space (sort of), and just far enough to make going to work by bike a hassle. Rents are not so much cheaper but homeownership is, fewer students here.
Longmont: Much more affordable housing, more conservative city around 100,000 people, but near mountains, access to bike trails, nice reservoir, nice old town areas and the downtown is improving with new restaurants, etc. About a 30-40 minute commute to downtown Boulder. There is a bus...
Lyons / Niwot - truly small town feel, with quaint downtowns, open space around (Lyons is up agains the foothills, has a small river running thru it, and is not far from Rocky Mountain National Park; Niwot is an old farm town on the plains, lots of trees). Either is a 20-30 minute commute to downtown Boulder, both have bus options, and people do bike.
Mountain Towns: Nederland offers cool summers, a bus or not-too-far drive to Boulder for commuting (about a 30 min ride right into downtown), great hiking nearby in the summer, a ski area right next door, and plenty of nice hippies ... It's the only real town in the mountains near Boulder as far as having a grocery store, probably somewhere to see music or get coffee (its been a few years) and etc., but there are other small towns here and there. Youd get a nice place for your price range.
Superior, anything along US 36 toward Denver is for the most part suburban sprawl but can be more affordable, especially if you want to buy.
Gunbarrel: Not really a town, this is a suburb of Boulder separated by open space. The only reasons I could think of to live here are: you don't want to live in Boulder itself, but you want to live close enough to have a really quick commute, or an easy bike/bus ride in; or you want to buy a suburban style home and save about $100,000 off Boulder prices. As it's surrounded by farmland, you can get onto bike trails pretty quickly and the Boulder Reservoir is nearby (appologies if you're from the coast, bit if you really miss the beach you may want to go there ...)
Hope this helps.
Btw, if you qualify, Boulder has good first-time homebuyer programs. My guess is if you're cotemplating $1,500 for rent, you don't qualify, but maybe.
Last edited by docwatson; 08-02-2010 at 10:41 PM..
Love the responses. I have to ask where is the nearest slot machine casino from Boulder?? He loves the slots abit too much if you know what I mean............ I did look at longmont. That area looks promising. So I might be able to drive in the snow as I have four wheel drive. Another question. How is ATT service there? I have had problems with them and found when I called to get my uverse fixed two guys said that it was my mac. Then I called ATT again as it kept dropping me off internet. I spoke to a young lady and she was doing her job so I asked her do they tell me it's my com****r bkz they are lazy. She said Yes.
What a lazy, thoughtless business. So how's ATT??
My husband has AT&T because of the iphone. All I'll say is, if Verizon were to ever start selling the iphone and offering service, he'd jump back in a heart beat. I'll leave you to draw you own conclusions
We live on the s.w. edge of Longmont - my husband used to work in Boulder. It would take him 30 minutes at the most in traffic to get to work. The traffic along Hwy 119 can be a bit bad. We love Longmont. Great town.
The current issue of Consumer Reports that rates Smart Phones and the underlying phone carriers states that Verizon is best of four national networks, followed by T-Mobile, then Nextel-Sprint and lastly AT&T being the least of the four carriers as far as customer satisfaction with the Network. The Apple iPhone-4 outscored all phones with a rating of "76" points. Tied at 74 points was the iPhone-3G on AT&T, and the HTC Evo 4G on Nextel-Sprint. Tied at 73 points were two phones on the Verizon Network: the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid-Incredible.
I've had Verizon for 5 years with some five year old Samsung phones and I get great service, even sitting here in my office chair.
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Last edited by Mike from back east; 08-03-2010 at 11:41 AM..
Boulder is pricey, but $1,200-$1,500 for renting will get you a nice apt. $1,200 more a standard apartment, nothing fancy, but not too many students. $1,500 a nice 2 bedroom. Areas to look in Boulder may include North Boulder - there are older condos in North Boulder as well as the "Holiday Neighborhood" and Dakota Ridge that would be at the top of your price range or a bit higher for a 2BR, but near open space with its own little faux-main street. There are also townhomes and a few apartment complexes down in Table Mesa, with great views, more suburban feel. I would say look around, try Craigslist. Many of the apartment complexes in Boulder are overrun with students, as is "the Hill," but it should be pretty easy to tell (also, a lot of Boulder's housing stock is also from the 70s and reflects it). Living in Boulder gets you close to great open space and also a nice downtown, but you also live in "the bubble" which depending on your mindset may be positive, negative or neither.
If you are looking outside Boulder, the nearest towns are:
Louisville/Lafayette: small, quaint downtowns & old towns (especially Louisville), typical suburban housing, surrounded by open space (sort of), and just far enough to make going to work by bike a hassle. Rents are not so much cheaper but homeownership is, fewer students here.
Longmont: Much more affordable housing, more conservative city around 100,000 people, but near mountains, access to bike trails, nice reservoir, nice old town areas and the downtown is improving with new restaurants, etc. About a 30-40 minute commute to downtown Boulder. There is a bus...
Lyons / Niwot - truly small town feel, with quaint downtowns, open space around (Lyons is up agains the foothills, has a small river running thru it, and is not far from Rocky Mountain National Park; Niwot is an old farm town on the plains, lots of trees). Either is a 20-30 minute commute to downtown Boulder, both have bus options, and people do bike.
Mountain Towns: Nederland offers cool summers, a bus or not-too-far drive to Boulder for commuting (about a 30 min ride right into downtown), great hiking nearby in the summer, a ski area right next door, and plenty of nice hippies ... It's the only real town in the mountains near Boulder as far as having a grocery store, probably somewhere to see music or get coffee (its been a few years) and etc., but there are other small towns here and there. Youd get a nice place for your price range.
Superior, anything along US 36 toward Denver is for the most part suburban sprawl but can be more affordable, especially if you want to buy.
Gunbarrel: Not really a town, this is a suburb of Boulder separated by open space. The only reasons I could think of to live here are: you don't want to live in Boulder itself, but you want to live close enough to have a really quick commute, or an easy bike/bus ride in; or you want to buy a suburban style home and save about $100,000 off Boulder prices. As it's surrounded by farmland, you can get onto bike trails pretty quickly and the Boulder Reservoir is nearby (appologies if you're from the coast, bit if you really miss the beach you may want to go there ...)
Hope this helps.
Btw, if you qualify, Boulder has good first-time homebuyer programs. My guess is if you're cotemplating $1,500 for rent, you don't qualify, but maybe.
Pretty good synopsis, though I think Louisville is closer to Boulder than Niwot is. I gues it does depend on where you're going in Boulder. Niwot is not an incorporated community, and outside of its "old town" is as suburban as Louisville, moreso than Lafayette, IMO.
Boulder is pricey, but $1,200-$1,500 for renting will get you a nice apt. $1,200 more a standard apartment, nothing fancy, but not too many students. $1,500 a nice 2 bedroom. Areas to look in Boulder may include North Boulder - there are older condos in North Boulder as well as the "Holiday Neighborhood" and Dakota Ridge that would be at the top of your price range or a bit higher for a 2BR, but near open space with its own little faux-main street. There are also townhomes and a few apartment complexes down in Table Mesa, with great views, more suburban feel. I would say look around, try Craigslist. Many of the apartment complexes in Boulder are overrun with students, as is "the Hill," but it should be pretty easy to tell (also, a lot of Boulder's housing stock is also from the 70s and reflects it). Living in Boulder gets you close to great open space and also a nice downtown, but you also live in "the bubble" which depending on your mindset may be positive, negative or neither.
If you are looking outside Boulder, the nearest towns are:
Louisville/Lafayette: small, quaint downtowns & old towns (especially Louisville), typical suburban housing, surrounded by open space (sort of), and just far enough to make going to work by bike a hassle. Rents are not so much cheaper but homeownership is, fewer students here.
Longmont: Much more affordable housing, more conservative city around 100,000 people, but near mountains, access to bike trails, nice reservoir, nice old town areas and the downtown is improving with new restaurants, etc. About a 30-40 minute commute to downtown Boulder. There is a bus...
Lyons / Niwot - truly small town feel, with quaint downtowns, open space around (Lyons is up agains the foothills, has a small river running thru it, and is not far from Rocky Mountain National Park; Niwot is an old farm town on the plains, lots of trees). Either is a 20-30 minute commute to downtown Boulder, both have bus options, and people do bike.
Mountain Towns: Nederland offers cool summers, a bus or not-too-far drive to Boulder for commuting (about a 30 min ride right into downtown), great hiking nearby in the summer, a ski area right next door, and plenty of nice hippies ... It's the only real town in the mountains near Boulder as far as having a grocery store, probably somewhere to see music or get coffee (its been a few years) and etc., but there are other small towns here and there. Youd get a nice place for your price range.
Superior, anything along US 36 toward Denver is for the most part suburban sprawl but can be more affordable, especially if you want to buy.
Gunbarrel: Not really a town, this is a suburb of Boulder separated by open space. The only reasons I could think of to live here are: you don't want to live in Boulder itself, but you want to live close enough to have a really quick commute, or an easy bike/bus ride in; or you want to buy a suburban style home and save about $100,000 off Boulder prices. As it's surrounded by farmland, you can get onto bike trails pretty quickly and the Boulder Reservoir is nearby (appologies if you're from the coast, bit if you really miss the beach you may want to go there ...)
Hope this helps.
Btw, if you qualify, Boulder has good first-time homebuyer programs. My guess is if you're cotemplating $1,500 for rent, you don't qualify, but maybe.
Very good description of the area. I would make note of an additional area that is nearby to Boulder--Arvada, especially West Arvada. That area is even closer than many of the other towns, you have mentioned. Generally people, who want to move to Boulder only think of Boulder County, but Northern Jefferson County is also a great place.
Western Arvada is partially farms, ranches, many equestrian properties, older homes and many newer developments. What it also has, in abundance, is expansive open space, trails and water resources, in Arvada and the expansive recreational areas of Jefferson County. It is more a feeling of semi-rural than dense urban Boulder and many ways, these areas are much better than Boulder because they are not so stressed with overuse and are less crowded. Arvada has excellent schools and the largest recreation center in the area--Apex. You also have the relaxing pace of Ralston Valley, along Ralston Creek; access to the great older neighborhood of Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Golden and you can quickly get to downtown Denver and the new "in" neighborhoods of North Denver.
You have it all in Arvada, close enough to Boulder to enjoy all the amenities, but far enough away from the turmoil and the stress of that fast town. I found that out, as I grew older, and after living in Boulder. Boulder is great but it is not everything to everybody, at every age. Arvada fits me better today, in my stage of life. Let us also not forget, you can get much more value in housing in Arvada.
Commuting to Boulder can be problematic, at times going North on 93, but you have the options of going north on Indiana to McCaslin, through Superior. The west area gets much wind and sometimes the roads are closed because of drifting snow. You could also go straight north, through Westminster and reach I-36 at many points. Parts of Westminster are also very close to Boulder, even closer than many areas of Arvada.
You also have not mentioned Broomfield but it is coming into its own identity, after separating itself from Boulder County and establishing a separate City/County. It has great recreational facilities and expanding parks. Yes, it does not have the characteristics of Boulder but it is much better for raising a family, away from some of the extremes and the questionable people who are attracted to a College Town.
Livecontent
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