Boulder or Denver - Young australian relocating to CO (Westminster: apartment complexes, rentals)

[Diamond USA]

Gday!

My company has offered me a relocation package to the USA to establish our IT/telco company. I'm 23 and will be moving from australia to a land where i dont know a soul!. Colorado has been recommended to me due to the central location for both coasts.

My question-

Boulder or Denver?

Remembering i won't know a soul i'm looking for somewhere I can meet young people, have fun. I'm very active, into sports and play music. I've been recommended Boulder due to its relaxed lifestyle.

Your thoughts please?

[diablo234]

I would probably recomend Denver, however you can't go wrong with either. Boulder however is more of a college town which can get a little crazy and is also more expensive. That being said even if you find a position in Boulder, you can still get to enjoy the ametities of both cities since they are only about 22 miles apart.

[tfox]

They're very close to each other, as mentioned. You barely need to step out of Boulder city limits and you're entering the suburbs of Denver (though some might tell you that Boulder is itself a suburb of Denver, it does have something of an independent identity).

About a quarter of Boulder's population is students, many of whom are 18-22 years old. The student population is hard to avoid if you live in Boulder, though if you live on the north or south end of town you can do it. Cost of Living in Boulder is extremely expensive by any measure; the cheapest apartments being those right near campus in the student dominated apartment complexes (which you probably want to avoid at all costs).

Despite the heavy college presence, Boulder does have a number of technology companies and is heavy on start-ups. So, it's not a bad place for starting something. That said, most startup companies "outgrow" Boulder and make their way into Metro Denver, usually somewhere about halfway in-between Boulder and Denver.

In fact, I find that's what many residents do as well. (Including myself). Boulder tends to attract a lot of people due to its attractive scenic location, but most end up leaving town eventually as the town becomes too small and too expensive, and Denver has much more to offer. There's many more opportunities for just about everything in Denver.

Denver, of course, is a relatively large city, at least by regional standards (NOT compared to the big cities on the coast, however). In Denver, you could opt for either the vast suburban areas, or the city of Denver proper (I'd recommend the latter in your case). The Capitol Hill neighborhood is IMO a great first landing place for newcomers to Denver: it's right in the middle of everything, it's fairly inexpensive, and it is a cool place to live.

[CapHillboy]

I think you're going to have to visit both places before deciding. I moved directly from San Francisco (though i was born and raised in San Jose, about 50 miles south of San Francisco) to Boulder in the 80s to go to college and i ended up preferring Denver to Boulder. (Though my experiences are dated, i don't really think what i write below is inaccurate, even today.) But--most of my friends (same general age as me) thought i was crazy. Boulder's a great town, but for me, it turned out to be just a bit confining--a bit too much like SF in mindset. otoh, this might be exactly what you're looking for.

Boulder is very typical of college towns in the States. If you've seen any American college town (like Ann Arbor, Princeton, or Berkeley--where i attended college for a bit), you'll know Boulder pretty well. (Sorry, but I don't know what the major college towns are on your continent.) I don't at all mean my statement as a put-down in any way; i think it's pretty accurate. Boulder's all very upscale and very beautiful--the town and the surrounding environment. Restaurants are great; nightlife is fun; with a bit of money and friends (I was a college student in those days), it's pretty easy to get away to some really beautiful spots. If you want what most people consider paradise, you can't go wrong with Boulder, imho. Again, i don't mean the previous statement meanly at all. I lived in Boulder for nearly two years and rarely left town except to get away to the mountains for backpacking trips. And,don't let the cost of housing deter you from living in Boulder if your heart is set on living there. the cost of housing in Boulder is not that bad relative to central Denver; it's more expensive, definitely, for equivalent housing, but, given what i paid for my detached house in central Denver, i could have also purchased something pretty similar in Boulder.

But--to Denver. If by relaxed (the word you use in your post), you mean a place where you don't have to worry about being au courant and don't care if your friends are, then you might want to give Denver some consideration. I think you have to live in Denver a while to appreciate it. Denver is not (to my eye, at least) anywhere near as beautiful as Boulder, but it does have some lovely and very urban views. (If the view of downtown Denver from Central Ave, near the bridge, doesn't inspire you, you really do need to live in Manhattan or Hong Kong--or Melbourne, from the pictures i've seen.) And Denverites, in my experience at least, seem to either like you or not, regardless of your status, your political affiliation, or the way you dress. I've actually been to parties where Democrats and Republicans have been good-natured toward one another despite the recent political friction--something that never happened when i lived in SF in the 70s or Bouder in the early 80s. And, on another cultural front, it's rather a joke within my circle of friends that i dress like a lesbian (even lesbian friends say this, joking that they want to borrow some of my shirts).

So, it's pretty much a choice of what you want in the place where you'll be spending, I assume, a significant chunk of your time. if you'll be commuting to to the east and left coasts pretty regularly, Denver might be something different and a nice respite from those sojourns. otoh, if you really like the east and left coasts, you'll probably find Boulder more to your liking. (Just so no one gets the wrong idea: I was born and raised on the left coast AND i was a moderate Republican there who found out he was a raving communist when he moved to CO, so i think i have a right to use the perjorative term wrt CA.)

[osman]

Good advice so far.

When you get here, do short term rentals and see how you like both. I fell in love with Boulder when I first saw it. Denver is great, but Boulder fits me better.

Where do you live in Australia?

[bouncing]

I would recommend Boulder only because you said you like the outdoors. A town doesn't get much more obsessed with outdoor recreation than Boulder.

[MarioJ]

Good info so far on this subject.

How about somewhere in between Boulder and Denver for your business so you are close to both?

Louisville, Broomfield/Interlocken or Westminster are excellent spots for businesses and you the office space options are still pretty good.

Thanks,

Mario Jannatpour

[Radical347]

I recommend Denver because it's more real. Boulder is typical college town; it has a bunch of cool and trendy coffee shops and the likes, but it's also full of 18-22 year olds who are still stuck in (or just emerging from) la-la land. It's true that there are other people in Boulder but the entire town revolves around the college.

[Diamond USA]

Thanks for the replies. Definitely sheds some light on the situation.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by Radical347

I recommend Denver because it's more real. Boulder is typical college town; it has a bunch of cool and trendy coffee shops and the likes, but it's also full of 18-22 year olds who are still stuck in (or just emerging from) la-la land. It's true that there are other people in Boulder but the entire town revolves around the college.

Sounds like Flagstaff just what I am trying to get away from.
Everything here revolves around the college. Employers and landlords prefer students. How about the foothills in the mountains? Should potential newcomers w/ jobs or companies in Boulder consider commuting in to Boulder from the foothills or communities in NW Metro Denver? On craigs list there are cabins for rent west of Boulder. Now I'm afraid this post may not post right after yours, sorry.