Moving from Los Angeles. Need tips.

[Nadine]

Originally Posted by MGeldres

Hi,
I'll be moving to Boulder this fall for school (Naropa). I've lived in Los Angeles my whole life so I really need to know:

What cities should I be looking for rentals in?
What areas do I stay away from? (We all know these neighborhoods)
What are the best online places to rental search? I've been doing alot of craigslist.

Also,
What does starting pay look like for clerical/adminstrative assistant work in Boulder?
Here I make $12.00 can I expect to make the same?
I have three months to figure this stuff out before moving.

I am only going to tell you what my Grand daughter has told me. She graduated from Boulder, lived in Boulder. She now is in Irvine, Calif. The cost of housing in Calif is much higher, gas is higher but most everything else is about the same. She was surprised that jobs were not more plentiful in Calif. They don't intend to stay any longer than necessary. She is engaged and he is in law school there. They are hoping he will be excepted in a higher law school some where else.(don't ask me what higher law school means, I have no idea) Also she said she never worried about biking all over Boulder even in the late evening. But she said she sure would not do it out there. Anyway that is her impression and she has been there 1yr.

[chilaili]

You definitely won't be able to live in Boulder on $9-$12/hour salary! I used to make $16/hour and still had to get a 2nd job. Another place to consider living while studying/working in Boulder is Longmont. It's about 12 miles north of Boulder, there is a daily express bus between the two cities (the Bolt), rents and cost of living are quite a bit cheaper and Longmont has a few more of the regular amenities you won't find in Boulder. It's a larger city with many parks and trails and is close to Lyons and about 25mins from the mountains. People will tell you Longmont has a drug & crime problem, but it's really not as bad as they make out. Other cities in Colorado have much worse issues.

Boulder isn't a BAD place to be, it has a LOT of character and some great places to hang out, eat, relax, and it's close to the mountains if you're into hiking, climbing, etc. In the Summer there are lots of festivals, the Farmer's Market, concerts, etc, to enjoy, but it is horrifically expensive. People can be a bit snooty but there are also a lot of "homegrown" Boulderites who've lived there their whole lives and are just as normal and down to earth as anyone else. You just have to find them :-).

[POdNCrazee]

Kinetics is May 5th, I think. Heck, just google the damn thing....

[Pattea]

Wow - it's too bad that people who live here can be so negative and disenchanted about Boulder. Hmmmm...makes me wish they would move elsewhere if they don't like the spoiled hippie leftist community - upon which Boulder made itself famous by they way - and some of us oldies still love.
Places everywhere are more expensive nowdays and Boulder is no different. I moved here in 1971 - moved away to a big city for 9 years and couldn't wait to get back. When I did, I could no longer afford to live in Boulder so I bought a house in Louisville. I work in Boulder though, and it take me 15 minutes to get to work. Painless folks.

Business is booming here and if money hungry people want to ruin the small town feel, they won't make it, because we have SMART people in control who won't let them (TYG-d). When in Rome, do as they do. When in Boulder, try to get a feel for the consciusness of Boulder. If it doesn't fit you- MOVE.

I think if you are coming to attend Naropa then you will love it here. I agree - live in Louisville or Lafayette to avoid high costs in housing.
good luck....welcome to Boulder!!

[chilaili]

I don't know why people hate Boulder so much either! I LIKE it and I'm definitely NOT one of the ultra-rich hippies. I am an average 40-something female living in Longmont, working in Loveland (not earning a fortune), I don't drive a BMW and I really get a big kick out of visiting Boulder, window-shopping on Pearl and 29th Street, browsing the Farmer's Market, killing time in the library or sitting by the Creek, eating out in one of many great restaurants and bars, people-watching (incl. students, homeless, hippies, rich people, regular folk, etc, etc.) and I have NEVER seen any evidence of Boulder being a "dirty" city. Neither have I ever been subjected to any harrassment or criticism for my lifestyle such as being a meat-eater. Sure, there are people there who have more money than sense but name me one city in the country that doesn't have that! Personally, I think if you go into Boulder wanting to dislike it, you will find something to dislike, but if you keep an open mind, take it with a large pinch of salt and maintain a sense of humor, you might find it quite likeable.

[Rawlings]

Originally Posted by chilaili

I don't know why people hate Boulder so much either! I LIKE it and I'm definitely NOT one of the ultra-rich hippies. I am an average 40-something female living in Longmont, working in Loveland (not earning a fortune), I don't drive a BMW and I really get a big kick out of visiting Boulder, window-shopping on Pearl and 29th Street, browsing the Farmer's Market, killing time in the library or sitting by the Creek, eating out in one of many great restaurants and bars, people-watching (incl. students, homeless, hippies, rich people, regular folk, etc, etc.) and I have NEVER seen any evidence of Boulder being a "dirty" city. Neither have I ever been subjected to any harrassment or criticism for my lifestyle such as being a meat-eater. Sure, there are people there who have more money than sense but name me one city in the country that doesn't have that! Personally, I think if you go into Boulder wanting to dislike it, you will find something to dislike, but if you keep an open mind, take it with a large pinch of salt and maintain a sense of humor, you might find it quite likeable.

I'm an alum of CU and I like to make fun of Boulder. But the fact that Boulder exists is a testament to how interesting and vibrant Colorado really is. Where else can you drive a half an hour and enter what seems like a different country? Yet, you go from Denver to Boulder or Boulder to Denver and you start reaching for your passport. It's like going from London to Cowboy Nation or whatever. Especially for being a mid-American state, Boulder is a real anomaly. I think Boulder is something that even the average Coloradan--right-leaning and very much NOT a hippie--can appreciate.

[jazzlover]

I actually know some pretty "normal" people who live and work in Boulder. This is a story from one of them--I think it says a lot about the poor attitude a lot of people have about some of the "spoiled brats" in Boulder. This particular fellow worked for local government in Boulder. He was doing an inspection on an apartment building in town near the end of the CU school year. A college student (in dreadlocks, as I recall his telling of the story) came out of the apartment building carrying a mountain bike with a bent front wheel. He proceeded to throw it the trash dumpster.

"Are you throwing that bike away," my acquaintance asked.
The college student replied (in an East Coast accent), "Yeah, the wheel's bent and I'm not taking it home."
"Well, do you mind if I take it? It looks like a new wheel would fix it," my acquaintance asked..
"Yeah, go ahead. I don't care."

So, my acquaitance put it in the back of his truck and took it home that night. He had a friend who owned a bike shop, so that Saturday he took it in to get a new wheel. The shop owner took one look at the bike and said, "Where in the hell did you get that bike?" My acquaintance explained how the student was throwing the bike away.

The shop owner shook his head and told my acquaintance, "That's just amazing. That is a $6,000 titanium frame mountain bike that kid was throwing away!" So, for the cost of a wheel, my acquaintance is riding a preimium mountain bike. Good for him. But it hardly is a positive statement about the values (or lack thereof) of some CU students. Spoiled? I guess.