Move to Boulder area (about, love)

[concoulor3]

YOu will pay a premium for having a dog, although a Jack Russel is small, which is to your advantage, most Boulderite-renters have LabsX. You will also pay a premuim for wanting a yard. If you offer first/last & deposit up-front, you can usually get around the dog issue. I would suggest looking to room in a house, if you like the Teahouse, live downtown. We do all of our listings on craigslist, and so do many other rental companies. PM me and I can give you our website. I could even suggest a Russian Landlord who comes from Dushanbue (where the teahouse comes from - our sister city) , but he's a little greedy and his apartments don't look like the teahouse .

Jobs are there if you want them, look at all the job-websites & craigs. Did you know that we traded a Fax machine for the Tea House!!! That was the early 90s for you. HOwever, we did pay to have the artisians come over & feed & house them.

Good Luck!

[KSchafer]

I am currently living in Virginia, have visited CO the past two years and want to move from this hectic, stressful area to something more peaceful, friendly and eye-pleasing. I've visited Estes Park, Boulder, Idaho Springs and Man. Springs. Enjoyed all of them but am considering Boulder as a place to move to b/c I felt it best combined what I'm looking for: proximity to the mountains, lots to do, likely to have available jobs in HR (?), and the benefits of things you find in a larger city w/something like a small town feel still.
Granted, I was only there the first time for a couple of days, but I loved what I saw. However, last year, I drove right through w/out stopping because it looked so crowded, kind of dirty and sprawling. Might just have been the location I was in but I've read a little bit of negative feedback here about Boulder. I fell in love w/Idaho Springs but after a recent visit there to see if I could live there, I determined that it was too isolated, job prospects slim to none, and I didn't like the housing.

I've just joined this forum and spent some time browsing, reading and learning from other's postings. I must say it's so nice to hear how welcoming and friendly everyone sounds. I always feel that when I'm in CO - something sadly missing from this area of the country.

I'm leaning towards Boulder thinking I can find a decent HR job there, move into a nice condo (I'm single, early 40's and don't want yard work anymore), enjoy the outdoors, have bookstores and healthfood stores, etc. But, am I going to feel disappointed in the sprawl that I thought I saw and what I think I've heard at times here? I understand housing is pricier but I think I can swing a small condo. I'm more worried about feeling crushed by a lot of people, disappointed w/sprawl. Denver seems bigger than what I'm looking for and I don't want to commute to work. The mountains in Idaho Springs are gorgeous but I can't live there.

I would be very appreciative for anyone's thoughts or feedback about Boulder and/or suggestions for other areas that I might find what I'm looking for. Thanks in advance.

[Mike from back east]

K, hello and welcome to city-data. You're gonna love Colorado.

Wife and I escaped NoVA in 2005, as soon as our retirements kicked in, our story is in Why Choose Colorado Springs.

Been to Boulder to visit an artist friend and to visit the Chatauqua (think of the Barns at Wolf Trap, 100+ year old performing center). From what I saw, Boulder doesn't seem crowded, dense or sprawling and should be close to what you seek.

Side issue....it seems to be a trend that so many people on this website are looking for walk-around living....

Best of luck and keep us informed. Several regular posters are familiar with Boulder and will be speaking up soon.

Lastly, don't overlook the Search this Forum tool in the drop down menu just above the postings. Insert key terms like Boulder or walkability or crime and then click on View Posts and then hit enter and up will pop a good deal of data already out here.

s/Mike from back east, and I ain't going back

[KSchafer]

Hi Mike, thanks for the response. Nice to know that someone from the area made it out and is enjoying CO. Funny that you mention Chatauqua b/c I am wearing a t-shirt from there today. It was a part of my visit to Boulder. I will check out your Co Springs story and follow your search suggestions. Many thanks!

[Dan6200alt]

I just came back from vacation in Charlottesville, Va. Beautiful area, GREAT university (U of Va). I live in Denver Metro (Castle Rock) and used to work in Boulder.

If you are okay w/ a condo and are okay the 'Republic of Boulder' mentality, Boulder is a wonderful place. It can be crowded, but not as bad as it is sometimes made out to be. A condo right near the Pearl St. Mall would be a great place for a single person to live.

[KSchafer]

Hi Dan,
Yes, Charlottesville is a beautiful area. There are lots of lovely areas to be enjoyed around D.C. Others on this site have talked about the seafood here - the fresh crabs and crabcakes are not to be missed! They are excellent! No other place in the U.S. comes close. But...the area is so crowded, stressful, traffic jammed, sprawling and expensive. I want out. I want to live some place that I see the mountains every day and came get to them quickly (something I read you can do easily is CS as well as Boulder), where people pass others on the street and make eye contact and say "hello" and where I don't have to sit in terrible traffic every day or be crammed on a metro train listening to the overhead system remind me to look for suspicious objects.

Can you share what you found wonderful about Boulder? How hard was it to find a job there? (I work in HR for law firm.)

I've heard of this "Republic of Boulder" mentality, but what is it exactly?

Thanks!

[Dan6200alt]

The mentality of Boulder is really not that much differerent than other small university towns-liberal approach to the environmental and political issues in general-but multiplied by ten. There seems to always be a Ward Churchill type issue going on. It depends on your point of view if thats good or bad. I, personally, am usually a bit right of center, but I would live in Boulder if I could afford it there, given all the positives.

Positives? I'd say the quickest access to the mountains. From most of town, your up in Boulder Canyon in 5 min, do a bit of decompression, be back in 30 minutes. That is by far the best thing going. You can make the mountain experience a daily thing, still be able to work, live a normal life and not be forced to wait untill the weekend to relax. Golden, CO actually has better access to i-70 into the all the ski towns, resorts and all those areas. But those are the most crowded, takes some time to get to and Golden just isn't as pretty IMO. Boulders right up against the Mountains so you can't ignore the views.

Boulder has been very proactive over the years to prevent too much growth by zoning, etc. I'm not an expert on this, so maybe someone else can elaborate. The sprawl just can't happen the way it does in other places. Like a built in self defense mechanism for a town.

Boulder has great shopping, some cool older housing districts, achitecture, restaurants, fun events a nice university and an overall clean and manicured fell to it. Plus its easy to get to Denver.

...As far as a job in the legal field, I'm not sure. I believe its a pretty popular place for firms to set up shop for the adress. So I imagine you'd find a job. Good luck

Theres a basic run down. Hope that helps.

[chilaili]

Boulder is surrounded by what's called Open Space. This is land that I believe (and I'm sure someone will correct me) is designated by law as undeveloped. Nobody can build on it, ever. This has protected the city from the horrendous sprawl you'll see around other towns in Colorado, but has also driven prices up due to lack of building space. There are some nice new areas around the town - the Holiday development on N Broadway or Iris Hollow - but they aren't cheap! A 1-bedroom there can go for about $350k. But other, older condos are more reasonably priced, you just might end up surrounded by students whose parents have kindly bought them a place to live for 3 years. There are also some nice condos and townhomes further out of town in the Gunbarrel area NW of Boulder. I really can't say I've noticed any urban sprawl. Admittedly if you drive thro town on 28th Street, you won't see the best of Boulder, but it's improving and the new 29th Street Mall is looking good. The really nice thing about Boulder is that it's half an hour to Denver or the airport and 20 minutes into the mountains. There are excellent restaurants in town, a great library, lots going on thro'out the year and genuinely friendly people.


Good hunting - keep us posted

[jerrypa76]

Living right in Boulder is uncomparable to these bedroom communities. Look into north Boulder areas and Boulder Heights neighborhood is beautiful. The college crowd is in the south Boulder areas. The weather here is "Four Seasons" with a lot of surprisingly warm days through the winter....the sun is always out too. I moved here from Florida and I absolutely love it,,,,I live in Boulder Heights. Good Luck!!!!!

[Neditate]

Helloooo... why dredge up such an OLD thread?
The original post and last reply is more than TWO years old...