The Real Deal on Boulder from Folks Without an Axe to Grind, Please! (Denver: hardwood floors, fit in)

[Remember]

Hi,
My wife and daughter and I are planning to move to Boulder (possibly someplace close by, but we have our hearts set on Boulder until we explore more). We currently live in Portland, Oregon, and there are things about Portland we love, which we hope to find in Boulder, and things we dislike about Portland, which we hope to be liberated from in Boulder.
We love the houses in Portland - multi-story with angled roofs, craftsman style and victorian, lots of detailing, etc. And we don't like 1 story (ranch type) houses. Can someone tell me what areas of Boulder (or Louisville) to look at for old-style (but hopefully newer construction) houses - neighborhoods and zip codes? (Preferably with nice view)
We love that Portland is full of trees. We know Boulder's not green all year the way Portland is (but we grew up in Boston and Montana, so we know what real winters are like), but we'd like to live somewhere where there are still plenty of trees. Is Boulder tree-y? Are there particular neighborhoods/zip codes we should look in for more vegetation?
Where (which streets) would be a good place to establish a day spa?
If we set up a business downtown, is there anywhere that fits our above housing preferences that would be within walking distance of work? (This is not a must, just curious)
Would a spa fit in in Louisville, or is it more old fashioned a town than that?
When we come to town to explore, which we plan to do several times over the next year or so, where should we go to get a good sense of the town?
Finally, if I could hear from some people who love the Boulder area about more of the nice things, or links to some pictures of actual neighborhoods in Boulder (and possibly Louisville too), that would be great. I have seen way too much about how Boulder is racist, snobby, cliquish, and just full of such awful people... I think people are making gross generalizations. We're an acupuncturist and massage therapist / Ayurvedic medicine practitioner - I think we'll fit in fine. How about some things that will get us excited about it - some of the positives.
Thank you tremendously,
Peter

[Scott5280]

Look into both the Mapleton Hill district,Whittier area...University hill West of 9th avenue, and typically south College will have less student population and more families...20th and spruce, Pine and streets Nothwards of there--moving west is excellent..Alpine area is nice..All these areas will have diverse architecture and mature landscape..Downtown there are newer luxury condo developments/mixed use..Pearl,Walnut, Canyon, Spruce, Pine, Arapahoe from about 22nd moving west would be all most optimal locations for your business..if you can find something zoned for a spa..Louisville will of course be cheaper, substantially less, so that maybe something to consider..Boulder is very friendly--the racist, snobby comments are typically posted by people who have never lived in Boulder, and know little about what it is really like..

[sunsprit]

I'd second the U-hill area, or Mapleton Hill area. Both mostly developed during a time of multi-story housing, some craftsman and victorian. Trees there, too. Although not as varied and creative as the Portland area in architecture ... nor as thickly wooded.

Reasonably close access to the downtown from this area, too.

Given Boulder area's long term interest in alternative medicine, you'll have a lot of competition already there for your practice. You'll have to do some very creative marketing to bring in clientele to a newcomer.

[nelumbo]

East Boulder and south Boulder are heavy on the ranch style homes - some of these have had second stories added recently, but generally not in a cohesive style unless it was a scrape. Newer construction I think is more in north Boulder and Gunbarrel, but I don't know if there is much that is the style of housing that you want. As has already been noted, the craftsman and victorian homes are in the oldest area of Boulder. Boulder is all available on google maps street view is you want to look at neighborhoods.

Have you visited eastern Colorado before? It is semi-arid steppe, the high plains - the natural vegetation is grass, not trees. The grass is brown from late summer until the following spring. Trees only grow near water features (like creeks) or in irrigated areas (cities). There are trees in Boulder, but not the kind of tree canopy that you see on the east coast (or likely in Portand, but I've never been there and can't say).

[ottodog]

You do realize that Denver/Boulder and the front range in winter is going to look like crap compared to Portland. The front range is brown and ugly in the winter. There's no comparison between Denver and anywhere in the Pacific NW. Spokane might be close but thats not really PNW. I spent 2 weeks in Seattle for work, and I remember thinking when returning on the plane "man this place looks like hell".

Not sure I'd call Boulder "tree-y", not any more than the rest of the older Denver neighborhoods. Remember the front range really doesn't have many native trees, well cottonwoods maybe, so if they hadn't been planted, they probably wouldn't be there.

Louisville will be quite a bit more blue collar than Boulder, so not sure if a spa would fly there or not.

[Remember]

Thanks for the replies. I'll check out those areas.
Yes, I'm under no delusions that Boulder's going to be lush. I just want as much vegetation as I can reasonably get in that area. At this point I'd happily trade the lush growth and gray skies of Portland for the bright sun and relative brownness of Boulder.
There must be ways to make one's living area greener though, no? I've seen a number of homes in Boulder with solariums and/or big windows. I'd think with the amount of sun you get that you could do well with cultivating plants indoors. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Sunspirit for the comments on competition. However, Portland is also about as saturated as can be, so I'm used to the competition. We're good marketers and have some things to offer that I haven't seen yet in Boulder. Luckily, I'd also be one of only three acupuncturists with a doctorate in Chinese medicine in Colorado (I know the other two).

[tfox]

The older parts of Boulder do have a nice tree canopy for Colorado, as do most of the historic parts of all the Front Range cities. It won't be hard to find Victorian/Queen Anne and Craftsman architecture in the older parts of Boulder, either. University Hill is going to be VERY heavy on undergrads and their antics -- might not be the most fun if you're out of that age range, though as the previous poster mentioned towards the west it does change. Mapleton Hill is a gem but it's extremely expensive, just a warning. Actually, any of the areas mentioned so far are going to set you back a great deal in the wallet.

I also think that Boulder would be a tough place to break into alternative medicine. There IS a big market for it, but there seems to be even more practitioners already than demand would indicate. Naropa University, while not exactly focused on alternative medicine per se, seems like it funnels most of the grads into that field, many of them staying in Boulder County. Have you considered the more urban parts of the city of Denver? Similar demographics to Boulder, but from what I can tell less competition for you in your field.

[Neditate]

Lots of good info and advice by previous posters. Just FYI, I would like to add that Boulder has been designated “Tree City USA” by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the 22nd consecutive year (in 2006) and the city of Boulder’s Urban Forestry Division received the “Tree City Growth Award” from them as well. The Mapleton area, Chautauqua, Whittier areas have more trees.
As for your spa idea, there are quite a few day spas and many massage therapists and acupuncturists in Boulder. I'm sure you've done your research. If you have something different to offer Boulder is very receptive to new ideas and concepts.
As for that ridiculous post "why is Boulder snobbish", et al. Every time I see that it makes me cringe. It is unfair and untrue.

[Lupulin]

What about a "New Urbanism" location? Sounds like you could use a live-work unit, where your home is upstairs and your business is downstairs (or nearby). Various neighborhoods are going up in North Boulder under this concept ... plus there's Prospect New Town in Longmont. Homes range in style, but they're all rathering interesting in my opinion.

Welcome to Prospect New Town!

Don't believe the hype. Boulder has WAY more positives than negatives. There are a few things about the town that bother me, but countless other towns bother me in many more ways.

Great things about Boulder? Many art festivals. Best biking/walking paths in the nation. 10,000 coffee shops, and almost all of them are great. Awesome beer (many breweries in town, plus great selections at some liquor stores, such as Liquor Mart). Great music venues like Boulder Theater and The Fox. Film festivals, Conference on World Affairs, ... miles and miles and miles of hiking trails at the edge of town. World-class scrambling, bouldering and rock climbing, too. Skate ski in North Boulder Park. Plenty of shopping on Pearl Street and Twenty Ninth, among a myriad of places. Awesome restaurants ... too many to list. Fabulous tea houses like Dushanbe, The Tea Spot, Pekoe Sip, with great tea and ambiance. If you're vegetarian or vegan, it doesn't get any better than Boulder. The Boulder Farmer's Market is one of the best I've been to. <<< just some random things of the top of my head.

Back on the main topic, I wouldn't discount Louisville. It's up-and-coming and it has potential. Its downtown is small but charming, and it seems to be growing. Homes around there are pretty cool, too. A friend of mine rented one (just a couple blocks from downtown) for a couple years and it was great. Had a real historical feel, hardwood floors, arched ways, ...

Boulder has a lot of trees. Portland has a lot of trees AND a lot of lush ground greenery. But the true-blue skies and constantly sunny days are so worth the loss of that extra greenery. The low humidity is also nice, once you get used to it.

But if you really want that jungle feel, buy a house with a sun room (or add one on) and you can grow whatever you want. If it gets direct sun, it'll probably get so hot that you won't even want to sit in there. The sun is piercing here. That's why you can hike on a sunny day in your t-shirt when it's only 35 degrees. Conversely, if it drops behind the clouds, it'll feel like it dropped 20 degrees ...

[Lupulin]

Forgot to post a North Boulder link ... here's one neighborhood (with different developments / home options):

Holiday Neighborhood - A New Urban Neighborhood in Boulder