Advice for moving to Boulder? (lease, living, architecture)

[Christian11]

Minz and chilaili:

Ok, so Boulder is not full of bums, but for the size of town, it is substancial. Look, I live in Orlando, FL not candyland. I cannot go downtown Orlando without at least seeing 3 or 4 homeless folks. So I was not like "OMG a bum!!! Yikes" when I was in Boulder, but you would not expect that many in such a small town. And the town seems ok with it, kind of like San Francisco. At least Orlando is trying to get the folks a place to live and discourage the lifestyle. It is bad for the town and the community as a whole. In many other CO municipalities, the towns try to restrict and relocate some of the homless. Yes, they make people uncomfortable, specially single moms with kids. I saw them a lot looking scarred around the mall area.

CO is very outdoorsy and healthy, but the veggi-nuts in Boulder are a bit too much. It is strange, man. Lots of people in Boulder live in candyland.... hugging trees, living in million-Dollar homes, that kind of a thing. There is too much money with too few people in Boulder and that is why it is not as friendly as Loveland/Fort Collins. In general, everyone seems kinda pissed off. A waitress I met while in Boulder earlier this year summarized it best: "the elitist thinking of Boulder causes this weird atmosphere". Everyone thinks they are better than everyone else.

I would not say the folks in Boulder are outright un-friendly, but they definitelly are not even close to being the nice folks from the Fort or Loveland or Longmont or any of the sourrounding areas. Also Boulder's choice for a DA (District Attorney) shows how serious the folks in Boulder care about their community: a couple beat a child to death a couple months ago and the DA doesn't even press charges... she feels bad for the criminals because the mom was having a bad month. The DA is just another one of Boulder's elite community. This is not the first time it happens in Bulder... seems like the folks there don't think crime needs to be dealt with, or they wouldn't keep re-electing their DA.

Boulder is not hell on earth, but it certainly falls way shorter of what you are paying for to live there. For the kind of cash you have to shill out to live in Boulder, you would expect a lot more and a better community. I have been to Boulder many times and have a friend living there now and Boulder fails to deliver for what you pay for. Boulder is like an expensive car you hate because it doesn't deliver what it cost. "You get what you pay for" certainly is not the case here.

Minz, you are right! People in Boulder are very open minded and accepting... of people who think just like them. Otherwise, you will be treated differently, a subtle way. No one will be rude, but people will look at you differently.. like you are inferior.

Longmont is an option to Boulder. Not as big, but certainly cleaner and friendly. Boulder is too crowded and too expensive. And certainly not as friendly. Dude, avoid Boulder if you can. You will save money and not have to deal with some of the bs.

Chris

[ew2x4]

I am looking for places out side of Boulder (Gunbarrel and Longmont, mainly). Does anybody have any recommendations?

[tao]

Check out the Removed in Superior (about a 10 minute drive from downtown Boulder): Removed

You might also find something in Louisville.

[ew2x4]

Moderator cut: Removed looks really nice, but I can't afford anything more than the Studio. I'm not totally throwing it out, but still.

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by ew2x4

I am looking for places out side of Boulder (Gunbarrel and Longmont, mainly). Does anybody have any recommendations?

If you're looking at Gunbarrel try the Habitat apartments on 63rd. They are older and haven't been renovated in a few years but you can apparently get a 2-bedroom there for $825. And they do 6-month leases - make sure you get a topfloor apt though. Bus number 205 leaves from right outside the complex and goes all the way into Boulder bus station via 28th Street which is one of the main drags thro town. I currently live in a complex right at the northern edge of Longmont so getting a bus into Boulder from there is difficult - you might want to try further south, eg; places on Nelson Road.

And I still absolutely don't agree that Boulder is elitist or that people look down on you if you don't agree with them. I've plenty of friends and acquaintances there who are not at all like that - I actually find Boulder much more open and welcoming than where I used to live in Minnesota. Okay, yes, the DA is a total dingbat who should've resigned earlier this year, but that shouldn't tar the whole town.

[tao]

Originally Posted by chilaili

If you're looking at Gunbarrel try the Habitat apartments on 63rd. They are older and haven't been renovated in a few years but you can apparently get a 2-bedroom there for $825. And they do 6-month leases - make sure you get a topfloor apt though. Bus number 205 leaves from right outside the complex and goes all the way into Boulder bus station via 28th Street which is one of the main drags thro town.

I used to live in those apartments, though it was in 1991. I'm not sure how it is now but it was pretty nice back then. It's an easy commute to downtown Boulder from there. Being from Florida, I wasn't used to snow but I only remember one time when I was too nervous to drive (the roads generally clear very quickly) - so I took the bus to town. This past April my husband and I visited Boulder and we drove by those apartments when I was showing him around. They still looked nice, at least from the outside.

[ew2x4]

Guys, do you mind helping me and not fighting? I don't care about your politics. I just want a nice place to live. Not to be the bad guy, but please help me or get out of my thread.

I called the Habitat and they don't have anything available. The Legacy in Longmont looks nice and has good availability and prices, yet they have HORRIBLE feedback on apartmentratings.com. So, I'm lost right now. The condo in gunbarrel looks to not be available. I found a more expensive apartment, and it looks alright, but I don't want to pay that much.

Can anyone help me find a good apartment or condo for rent? Or atleast suggest one?

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by ew2x4

Guys, do you mind helping me and not fighting? I don't care about your politics. I just want a nice place to live. Not to be the bad guy, but please help me or get out of my thread.

You're absolutely right and I apologise!

I'm sorry the Habitat couldn't help, have you checked Craigslist yet? Or any of the places in Longmont which I think you also mentioned? Longmont would certainly be cheaper. Did you look at allapartments.com - I think they sometimes have more listings than forrent.com?

[ew2x4]

I've been all over craigs list. I have a couple leads, so far. I'll check out allapartments.com. Thanks for that tip. Does anybody have experience with any other apartments in the boulder location?

[ew2x4]

Why are my posts getting removed/edited? I didnt think I was breaking forum rules.

Anyways, I had a post asking what people thought of The Legacy Apartments in Longmont. If that is against the rules, sorry.