EUGENE vs. BOULDER, CO.

[smiggles]

I lived in Boulder for 7 yrs. Land is not cheap. Most homeowners are not young, have been there since the 70s or before Boulder was so popular. Probably because the ski towns boomed in the 80s. Unless you are a doctor, you will be living in outlying towns like Longmont, Broomfield which have no open space left and are highly overdeveloped, ugly, covered in strip malls and parking lots, uncultured and lacking in funds.

As for Boulder, YES it is WINDY and in DENVER its worse. But, Boulder is Beautiful. Some people never leave....it wasnt for me. I didnt like the lack of green on the mtns, and I hate the plains. Boulder sits at the foothills of the rockies, not actually IN the mtns, big misconception a lot of people have is that it is IN the mtns. Its in the plains, next to the mtns. REally weird inconsistent weather can be fun when youre a student, when you're working, not so much. Your hair style gets blown out and frizzy from the wind, or it looks sunny but is really freezing out. It is very dry. I loved this bc i hate humidity. I never heard anyone complain it was too dry. currently intellicast has it at 64% not like texas which is 20-30%...good luck. I am looking to move to portland or eugene, which is why i happened by this post.

FYI:
Eugene seems almost identical to Boulder in geography, values (sister cities -Boulder has the Boulder Dushanbe teahouse on 13th), pop (Eug - 142,000 ; Boulder is a little more - about 190,000), architecture - public libraries look almost identical, organic-granola goodness, hiking/outdoorsy ness -my biggest probl. w hiking in boulder is hikes are not very high elevation , hard to find a really long day hike, but you can go west to summit county in a 1-2 hrs drive and solve this probl. Boulderites are very territorial, students are obnoxious, theres very little integration btwn residents and students students dont respect the community, in terms of noise, pollution, vandalism, couch burning overturning trash cans etc.

I used to be one and i just didnt care at all, but now i am older this would bother me. Mothers are like lions in Boulder, very very protective. kind of weird. i want to live somehwere a wee bit more integrated.

no good music in boulder except some salsa at st juliens friday nights on the terrace, reggae at redfish is no good anymore, some jazz at [[[] next to redfish is good but mostly its a hippie town with jam bands at the fox. sinkburgers are the best. pearl st is prety but very commercial. bars are mostly college bars except for the scumdowner.. SUNdowner. warrne mller ski movies premiere at boulder theater which is really cool to go see.

[haggardhouseelf]

Boulder is too trendy and expensive. Eugene is way more laid-back. Plus - Eugene is an hour away from the coast!

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

Boulder is too trendy and expensive. Eugene is way more laid-back. Plus - Eugene is an hour away from the coast!

Exactly! Eugene has a decent music scene too. As well as better integration between the university/students and the community.

[haggardhouseelf]

I am always surprised at what can be found here in Eugene, considering it's such a small city. We have really great performances and shows that come through, and so many great music festivals and arts festivals. We recently saw a symphony performance at the Hult - it was awesome. I've performed and attended performances at the Meyerson in Dallas, and the Hult sound rivaled those experiences. That's just astounding to me, for a city this size. And then there are things like Faerieworld, which I just discovered via a poster on these boards! And the Country Fair... it's an amazingly creative and ingenious community here, with lots of culture... and it's just so laid back. I mean... at the Hult I expected people to be dressed to the nines... as that's how it has been at other symphony performances in other cities I've lived. But not in Eugene! People were dressed in all different ways... some in ball gowns and all decked out... some in shorts and birkenstocks! I felt really at ease as everyone was free to be comfortable and just enjoy the show - which is the whole point of going!

[CCCVDUR]

[quote=smiggles;9281252]Unless you are a doctor, you will be living in outlying towns like Longmont, Broomfield which have no open space left and are highly overdeveloped, ugly, covered in strip malls and parking lots, uncultured and lacking in funds."

Thanks for your reply.
Parts (not all!) of Boulder have become covered with strip malls too, but you're right, Longmont is way overdeveloped. However, the older neighborhoods in Boulder are *VERY* nice...

"Boulder sits at the foothills of the rockies, not actually IN the mtns, big misconception a lot of people have is that it is IN the mtns. Its in the plains, next to the mtns."

It's on the eastern side of the Rockies, so things seem turned around. Very different than places such as Durango, where there are mountains on all sides...

"It is very dry. I loved this bc i hate humidity. I never heard anyone complain it was too dry."

I grew up in seattle so I've got lifelong seasonal affective disorder, and love the dryness in the southwest...

FYI:
"Eugene seems almost identical to Boulder in geography, values (sister cities -Boulder has the Boulder Dushanbe teahouse on 13th), pop (Eug - 142,000 ; Boulder is a little more - about 190,000), architecture - public libraries look almost identical, organic-granola goodness, hiking/outdoorsy ness"

These geographical and socially libertarian values are important to me - as is the size of the town. Eugene certainly has the potential to become a rival with Boulder, in terms of high tech industries moving in.

"-my biggest probl. w hiking in boulder is hikes are not very high elevation , hard to find a really long day hike, but you can go west to summit county in a 1-2 hrs drive and solve this probl."

Indeed - Summit County, Colorado - Breckenridge, Frisco, etc. are *VERY* nice -

" Boulderites are very territorial, students are obnoxious, theres very little integration btwn residents and students students dont respect the community, in terms of noise, pollution, vandalism, couch burning overturning trash cans etc. "

Hmmm... Interesting. Is that the case at UO (Univ of Oregon, Eugene)?

Does the Boulder climate (constant downslope winds, positive ions) drive these personalities?

How would you compare Boulder and Eugene to Durango, CO?

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

Boulder is too trendy and expensive. Eugene is way more laid-back. Plus - Eugene is an hour away from the coast!

That's the first thing I noticed in Boulder - it's way too trendy, congested, expensive, bad drivers, and not as laid back as Flagstaff, Sedona, and Durango, CO. Boulder reminds me of Santa Fe in terms of "trendiness." If not for other factors (economic, jobs, etc.) I'd choose Durango over Boulder. I need to be near metro Denver for right now for these and other reasons. Perhaps Eugene or Durango in a year when the economy gets better. Oregon's economy WILL get better.

On the other hand, one must be careful not to talk down Boulder, and be sure to look over the congested strip malls -- and see the forest for the trees in Boulder. The controversial new 29th street mall is on a hill, and you can see Chataqua Park and the front range from the balcony -- reminding you that the dense urbanization only extends so far. Even though Boulder is to some extent an extension of Metro Denver, the City Limits border open space and national forests, with thousands of miles of back roads and trails - the gateway to the Rockies. Boulder has a great bike trail / bike lane system. Bike to Work day is June 24, 2009.

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by Tom Lane

Boulder has a great bike trail / bike lane system. Bike to Work day is June 24, 2009.

Eugene is known for it's biking and hiking, too. In fact there's an article in the paper today about a bike trail that spans the entire length of the Willamette Valley... all the way from Eugene to Portland. This past Saturday was "Bike Day"... we celebrated "Eugene's Bikulturalism"... When we first moved here, before I found a street map, I discovered a Bike Map. Springfield has one, too. It's often easier and quicker getting to where you need to go riding the wooded trails on your bike than navigating through the city streets and stoplights in your car. My favorite bike trails are the ones that cruise along the rivers. Here's a link for GEARS (Greater Eugene Area Riders), which has some great bike resources for Eugene: http://www.eugenegears.org/about/links There's a joke I heard before we moved to Oregon... that in Oregon people spend more money on their bikes than their cars. I'm not sure that's 100% true, because I see a lot of expensive cars, too... but there is a huge culture of dedicated bicyclists in this area for sure, and a very fun infastructure which supports us all.

[jaada]

Originally Posted by Tom Lane

Steve: I'm referring to work in horticulture (nurseries, small farms), not landscaping. Indeed, Landscape design goes down on a local scale whenever construction goes down. The nursery business produces plants serving large regions even several states, so is less dependent on construction in the particular state in question.



Well, indeed, there may be no perfect weather scenario for epileptiform conditions given that most desert areas along w/ Midwest/Rocky mountain states have high winds. High winds bring positive ions so they are the worst. No good answer to this issue ...



I have no job and am about to leave this state (Arizona) where in my town there is double digit unemployment, even though it is reported as single digits (for whatever reason, they apparently don't count non-residents and college students). I keep meeting people in flagstaff, they lose their jobs, and leave the state. Among other places in the West, I would consider Oregon & Washington since my industry is in season right now.

Why is your Oregon unemployment so high?

Is anyone trying to stimulate the economy to bring it down?



I'm referring to the lack of significant tax incentives and recruitment policies for new businesses, etc. etc. New Mexico is much more pro-business than Arizona.

Do not move to tourist/art/college enclaves like Flagstaff / Sedona / Cottonwood, AZ; or Taos / Espanola / Santa Fe, NM -- as they do not like new stores or companies coming to town. A college town w/ some industry like Boulder or Eugene is much more ideal for young people like myself....

actually yuma az is at 22% unemployment rate and they are thinking it will reach 30% by end of summer. we are the highest in the nation will el centro ca is either beating us some months or in second.el centro is only 50 miles from yuma so not much difference