Considering moving to Boulder! Help! (Denver, Fort Collins: appointed, apartments, to rent)

[HelloHelloToYou]

Hi there,

We're a young couple currently living in Atlanta, and we can't say we like it all that much. We heard that Boulder has a lot of younger, alternative, open-minded crowd, and is very beautiful and community based. From what we understand, the kind of people who live there are exactly the kind of people we want to work with (we run a marketing and advertising firm). We wanted to take a trip up there to explore the area and look at apartments and see how we like it.

Do you guys have suggestions about planning the trip? What are good areas to look into? Or places we would frequent if we lived there? Any reasonably priced places we can stay on this scouting trip? We saw some apartments at Meadow Creeks Apartments online that looked really nice! Is that near downtown? We definitely want to be in a really lively area where we can meet lots of great people.

We don't really know where to start, so any information you can provide would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Mike from back east]

Generically speaking, much of Boulder is pricier than the nearby towns like Louisville, Longmont, Superior, Westminister, etc that are excellent towns and more affordable. A quick search of websites like realtor.com will show you the general levels of price in these areas.

[Neditate]

There is a lot of Boulder info on the forum, both pro and con. The search feature above is very handy to use.
The Meadow Creek apartments are located in Gunbarrel which is about 7 miles NE of downtown Boulder.
Boulder is home to the University of Colorado so yes, there are many young people. Many of the people I know went to school there and stayed.
Here are some websites that you might want to read to get a feel for the area: Boulder Colorado Relocation - Your Online Information Guide to Moving & Living in Boulder, CO
Life In Boulder Colorado : Boulder Trivia, Facts, Environment & History
Boulder Activities and Attractions - Boulder, CO

[docwatson]

See my other post for a synopsis of nearby towns to Boulder.

We heard that Boulder has a lot of younger, alternative, open-minded crowd, and is very beautiful and community based.

Now, here's the thing - Boulder has become a very expensive community unless you want to rent or live in an older condominium (many of which are overrun with students). It is increasingly becoming a monied community, with middle-income workers commuting in from other communities. The population is sarting to consist of the 30,000 or so CU students; younger people renting or buying older condos (or affordable housing), established families and reitrees who can afford the $400,000 - $600,000 single-family homes here (at the bottom end that's atypical suburban tract home); and an almost invisible population of low-income and undocumented immigrants who work to support those who dine out, hire lawn care, etc.

My wife and I live here and I know almost no 30-somethings like us who can afford to stay in Boulder once they have children and want to buy a home. So, I would say consider how much you like Boulder County because unless your business does VERY well you'll likely be living in one of the surrounding communities (and I'm not saying that's bad - see my other post). I think it's a matter of preference. Also, if you like the close-in historic housing stock, you'll probably need to buy in Longmont. If you want more of a down-to-earth college town environment, with a vibrant economy, where you could afford a house not too far from downtown, I would suggest visiting Fort Collins on your visit.

It depends what you prefer. I loved living in Ft. Collins so I'll tell you waht I liked about it:

The scenery is not as dramatic as Boulder and the taller mountains not quite as close, but there's a great downtown, bike trails, a nice river, nice older housing stock, parks, a very vibrant economy, a focus on local agriculture, green technology/energy, local beer production, high-tech (HP, etc.) and of course Colorado State University; a decent and expanding live music scene (OK, you'll find more to listen to if you like bluegrass, afrobeat, etc.), fun events around cycling, local ag, etc., and a progessive culture, especially among those under 45. Hikling etc. is maybe 15-60 minutes away depending on what scenery/elevation you want. Its not terribly diverse ethnically, but neither is Boulder.

Fort Collins is more laid-back than Boulder, and manages to be fairly progressive without a lot of the 1960s baggage, exclusiveness and constant political fights you see in Boulder - its a bit more live-and-let-live than Boulder. It's a bigger city than Boulder, with a slightly smaller university, so it doesn't seem to constantly revolve around the univeristy. It was also nice to imagine in a few years my wife and I could buy an older house near downtown (north of Propsect street is really where you would probably enjoy living).

I've talked with more locally-based entreprenuers who find the environment in Fort Collins to be more conducive b/c of lower entry costs and cost of living. Then again, in Boulder you can more easily hook in to the Denver metro area (which Boulder is part of) and the many larger national companies and wealthy economy of Boulder County.

Again, it all depends what you like. When you say you are looking for a younger, alternative open-minded crowd and a place that is community-based, that sounds more like Fort Collins to me. Definitely visit if you can.

[Katarina Witt]

Boulder is not as expensive as the previous posters have made it sound. Lower cost housing can be found, though it takes some looking. I would take a look around before eliminating it as a place to live.

[LisaBoulder]

If you haven't already, please do read some of the other Boulder threads as Neditate already mentioned. Boulder is a great place to live with a lot of great people, but it's not perfect. I'm not trying to be negative at all, it's just that a lot of people have moved here and become totally disillusioned with the place. Since it sounds like you'd prefer something closer to downtown, in Boulder proper, I'd focus my search west of Folsom, north of Arapahoe and south of Iris.

I think that it could be a good fit for you, but if you do come to CO for a visit, I would check out Fort Collins and Denver too. Good Luck with your decision.

[junechild]

I moved from Atlanta to Boulder when I was twenty. At the time, I was naively hoping for some sort of utopia and was a little disappointed. It was also a lot more expensive than I was used to (average 1000 for 1-2 bedroom compared to 800 in Atlanta) After a year, I ended up having to move back to my hometown due to family issues. Now that I am getting ready to move again, I have been searching high and low for a decent mountain college town. I've looked and talked to friends in N.California, Washington, Oregon, New York , etc. and...I always keep coming back to Boulder. Obviously there isn't going to be one place that is perfect. I think that the charm of Boulder makes up for it's cons but that's just me.
There is more to Boulder than this but...
If you like good schools, green energy, organic food, yoga, microbreweries, record shops, and coffee shops than Boulder is a wonderful fit.
You will definitely end up having to pay for such luxuries but if you have the money or can swing it I say go for it.
As far as more affordable areas, I agree with going a little outside of the city. You will end up saving a good bit.