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In my neck of the woods it's referred to as "Fredneck".
Glad I'm not in your neck of the woods. My wife is has been working in Frederick for the past six weeks and is actually amazed by how nice people are compared to Boulder. She doesn't know the political leanings of the people she is meeting and doesn't care. The only thing that matters is whether they are nice or not, which is my critera. I guess some people don't really get my original post. People can be happy or unhappy anywhere. Or, people can be unhappy anywhere. What is so hard to understand about that? Hopefully, people can gravitate to the place that works for them.
To me, having a meaningful life, is important, and looking at mountains and having it sunny are not all the ingredients for that type of life. If people don't care about a meaningful life, well, best of luck to you, and I hope that one day you can understand that this life is for giving and that can happen ANYWHERE.
Glad I'm not in your neck of the woods. My wife is has been working in Frederick for the past six weeks and is actually amazed by how nice people are compared to Boulder. She doesn't know the political leanings of the people she is meeting and doesn't care. The only thing that matters is whether they are nice or not, which is my critera. I guess some people don't really get my original post. People can be happy or unhappy anywhere. Or, people can be unhappy anywhere. What is so hard to understand about that? Hopefully, people can gravitate to the place that works for them.
To me, having a meaningful life, is important, and looking at mountains and having it sunny are not all the ingredients for that type of life. If people don't care about a meaningful life, well, best of luck to you, and I hope that one day you can understand that this life is for giving and that can happen ANYWHERE.
Very Well put..I agree..enjoy your new neck of the woods
Come to Missouri, my friend. Not perfect but lots, lots better than Colorado.
So why is it pronounced "Misery"?
For six years, I lived right between Chicago and St. Louis. I would generally go up to Chicago several times a year for a variety of reason. The number of times I went to St. Louis in that six years. Zero. No real reason to go. Plus, Cubs fans aren't jerks.
I've even been to Colorado twice in the past few years.
Sorry, but I'd prefer Colorado. But that is my opinion, and if someone prefers Missouri, that's fine, as well. I'd rather see some mountains and pine trees rather than fields of CORN in the heartland.
My father lived in Branson for a couple of years, so I'm familiar with it. I'm not surprised people who like Branson wouldn't like the Boulder area and vice-versa. They're pretty much diametrically opposite - age groups, politics, activities. And traffic in Branson along the main drag can be as bad as L.A. sometimes - and that's saying something. But good luck to each in finding their ideal community.
I believe people who have money have had to struggle against each other to achieve success; the competition from college through the workforce tempers a distinct arrogant personality. While people who avoided those battles have not develop the weapons and armor of a hardened successful warrior in society, who must maintained the shield to defend their ego and further their aggressive need.
This is an interesting observation ... one that I think has some truth to it.
To make it short, Boulder is NOT an open-minded hippie or individualitst kinda place and hasn't been for soime time ... it's an upper middle class community now drawing wealthy folks from around the country, as well as a locus of the over-acheiving "creative class" in high tech, name brand "organic" goods, yoga products, etc. Boulderites of all political leanings don't particularly want a lot more people here (although once you're here they are nice enough) and appreciate the weather and mountains. To me its not really progressive - just anti-growth/pro-open-space with some 1960s leftovers heaped on for good measure. (I think they even elected a pro-war, anti-growth County Commissioner a while back - priorities!). You pay a huge permium to live here, or live in a smaller community down the road. I won't judge if that is good or bad - that's the community it is. I certainly plan on moving in the near future, maybe Portland ...
Last edited by docwatson; 08-03-2010 at 10:38 PM..
Reason: spelling
What a strange set of negative stereotypes. There are pretentious people everywhere. And there are friendly and unfriendly people in every socioeconomic bracket. If you can't find a set of people who share your interests in city of 100,000, I respectfully submit that the fault might not be with the city. I often wonder how odd it must sound to a visitor when a Boulder-bashing Coloradoan takes him or her to the city and says: "sure it's beautiful, the restaurants are great, the city is walkable, there's a lively cultural scene, the downtown is vibrant, there are extensive mountain hiking areas 1/2 mile from downtown, but don't be fooled, this place really sucks."
What a strange set of negative stereotypes. There are pretentious people everywhere. And there are friendly and unfriendly people in every socioeconomic bracket. If you can't find a set of people who share your interests in city of 100,000, I respectfully submit that the fault might not be with the city. I often wonder how odd it must sound to a visitor when a Boulder-bashing Coloradoan takes him or her to the city and says: "sure it's beautiful, the restaurants are great, the city is walkable, there's a lively cultural scene, the downtown is vibrant, there are extensive mountain hiking areas 1/2 mile from downtown, but don't be fooled, this place really sucks."
I never voice that overused word, denoting a movement of air or the prurient connotation. It makes me cringe when I hear it and see it in print. It just makes me feel that the user has some limits of expression.
I think Boulder is a great place and has all the amenities you mentioned. It has some issues that are part of a college dominant town that I do not find, today, as appealing as I did when I was younger--that is only my opinion. If someone voiced these observations to me when I was much younger and lived in Boulder, I may not have understood and may have disagreed. It takes experience of age to see what you have always viewed, but never really seen. Yet, I arrived in Boulder when I was already close to 30 and it did not take me long to figure out that it was no longer a place that I wanted to live. I had already went to colleges and gone through that experience.
Stereotypical characteristics are opinions that are many times based on observation by the observer. Again, those are my observations and points of discussions; they do not have to be yours. If they appear to be a truth for me; I do not expect or desire that they be a truth for you. For we are each an individual with different experiences; different abilities to observe and of different ages which modify our views. They are just observable opinions. I do not use those opinions to judge a whole group and consequently cause an individual harm by discrimination of their rights.
Boulder could be a good place for me to live, as a disabled senior citizen who has difficulty driving. The main reason is that it is a dense urban environment with outstanding public transportation and is better because of the demands of the liberal college community. Many seniors, who live in Boulder that I have met, express the same opinion. However, the negatives for me, and only me, are that I have a difficult time around too many college students--it is just like going back to high school--too loud, too raucous and in reality like I was, when I was younger.
I have expressed that Boulder has too many pretentious people who are part of the youth, the aggressive and the wealthy. Yes, I know those same characteristics exist in all classes and all places. My observations just says that the Boulder environment distills and concentrates these characteristics.
Livecontent
Last edited by livecontent; 08-04-2010 at 02:47 PM..
What a strange set of negative stereotypes. There are pretentious people everywhere. And there are friendly and unfriendly people in every socioeconomic bracket. If you can't find a set of people who share your interests in city of 100,000, I respectfully submit that the fault might not be with the city. I often wonder how odd it must sound to a visitor when a Boulder-bashing Coloradoan takes him or her to the city and says: "sure it's beautiful, the restaurants are great, the city is walkable, there's a lively cultural scene, the downtown is vibrant, there are extensive mountain hiking areas 1/2 mile from downtown, but don't be fooled, this place really sucks."
I would say, xeric, its not about a set of stereotypes or about finding ncie people, but about the atmosphere and political choices made, including the choice to severely limit housing choices and force many people to commute. Finding nice people in Boulder won't help me afford a house or live off the income of a small start-up business (unless of course they are nice enough to let me live in their house ...) I know many nice people in Boulder ... they are in their 20s and rent or live in cheap condos, or in income-restricted units; or they are older and bought years ago; or they have good incomes, generally two good incomes, which they must maintain to be able to live here. Some have a $500,000 house and shop at the dollar store and seldom go out to enjoy our restaurants, just to make ends meet. Middle-class families can't even afford a townhouse here. Likewise, none of the people I know in their 20s will live here when they have children and buy a house. Then we are constantly told how "liberal", "progressive" or "green" Boulder is.
I much prefer a generally progressive city with room for a range of income levels, more ethnic diversity than Boulder has, and a generally well-educated and active population (not as measured by degrees earned but by general literacy, interest in issues, etc.); somewhere with nature nearby - yes I know I ask a lot and nowhere is perfect. I could certainly live in a very major city like New York, an insular high-income enclave like Boulder, or a rural area like where I went to high school, and I would meet many nice people, some of whom share my interests, but I don't feel these are the envrionments for me, for my lifestyle, or for my career. I could live in San Francisco, which I loved, but my wife and I have decided we don't want to live in a metro area of 6 million people and that on one salary plus my wife's business income, we couldn't afford the life we want there.
As Livecontent states, places develop an atmosphere and based on who lives there as like attracts like, particualrly in communities of choice like Boulder. People I know from Seattle, from Denver, etc. find Boulder's atmosphere lacking and say "it's a nice palce to visit," and I tend to agree. To others it's heaven on earth. Neither is right, but we all have preferences. No one is obligated to prefer Boulder.
As for the quote I mention, having had the chance to live in New York and attend an exclsuive university, I have come to the conclusion that there is some truth in it - "some" truth. And no I don't need any help finding people who share my interests, but thanks for the thought.
"sure it's beautiful, the restaurants are great, the city is walkable, there's a lively cultural scene, the downtown is vibrant, there are extensive mountain hiking areas 1/2 mile from downtown
I'm probably just jaded from where I have lived before, but I've been disappointed in the restaurants and walkability and unimpressed by the downtown scene. Tack onto that having a preference for lush greenery and not caring about mountains, and there isn't much left. I can see how many aspects of Boulder would be appealing to a lot of people, but it just isn't my cup of tea. De gustibus and all that.
I didn't have problems finding people who I connected with easily in other cities, not sure what the problem is here. Perhaps that is more an issue of my current demographic (early 30s, single, no kids) - most people my age have small children, maybe it just happens the the folks here who don't (and who I am thus more likely to interact with) are just really into things that I don't care about (mountains and outdoor stuff). Most of the friends who I have here are either 20-30 years older than me, or 10 years younger.
It appears that you are a little bit older and a lot less "Boulder" than you used to be.
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Misery?
