Seattle to Boulder - biggest differences? (Denver, Longmont: townhouse, job transfer, neighborhood)

[Kayela]

Good day! We currently live in Seattle, but teh husband is looking at a possible job transfer to Longmont w/in the next 6 months. We are having some fairly serious internal debating as to whether or not that would be a good idea.

On the one hand we have family in the area and family in nearby states. This would be a more convenient to them. It's not as dreary as Seattle in the winter. Traffic is better. Cost of living is cheaper.

However, on the other hand everytime I visit the midwest it feels like nothing but sprawl and subdivisions. I see the same big box stores over and over and you drive and drive and never run out of cookie-cutter housing developments. We live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle and I love how dense, vibrant and walkable it is. I adore all the unique little shops and how everyone can be so different and yet still feel right at home. I've been told Boulder is reasonably convenient to Longmont and the place that I would most likely find appealing. We do have a visit planned in the near future.

Does anyone have any recommendations on areas to check out and things to see? We love a nice restaurant (or good street food), wine bars, classic cocktails, snowshoeing, hiking, walking, coffee shops, and small bookshops. We also eat very little processed food and are completely addicted to Trader Joe's - what grocery stores would be good?

Also - any recommendations on places other than Boulder to check out?

[Mike from back east]

Your current location, with it's walkability, sounds great. IMO, and mountain views not withstanding, living on the western edge of the Great Plains with the same big box stores you already have there, is not an improvement.

[suzco]

Originally Posted by Kayela

. . . possible job transfer to Longmont . . .
Also - any recommendations on places other than Boulder to check out?

Check out Longmont. (There are already quite a few threads here at CD about Longmont, you can try reading some of them to get started.)

[sanmonahan]

In Boulder go to "Pearl Street Mall" area. Good food, no great food at The Kitchen, Salt, Jax to name a few. The 29th Street shopping area has many stores that may interest you, Whole Foods too. An REI is across the street. Boulder is great but expensive. If you can't afford a single family home in Boulder, try for a townhouse in South Boulder. Boulder has south Boulder, central Boulder and north Boulder as well as east Boulder (outside of town). Longmont is not as "hip" as Boulder, but is more afordable. There is Lafayette and Louisville to consider too or Denver. [ mod cut ]

[MtnLion512]

Originally Posted by Kayela

Good day! We currently live in Seattle, but teh husband is looking at a possible job transfer to Longmont w/in the next 6 months. We are having some fairly serious internal debating as to whether or not that would be a good idea.

On the one hand we have family in the area and family in nearby states. This would be a more convenient to them. It's not as dreary as Seattle in the winter. Traffic is better. Cost of living is cheaper.

However, on the other hand everytime I visit the midwest it feels like nothing but sprawl and subdivisions. I see the same big box stores over and over and you drive and drive and never run out of cookie-cutter housing developments. We live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle and I love how dense, vibrant and walkable it is. I adore all the unique little shops and how everyone can be so different and yet still feel right at home. I've been told Boulder is reasonably convenient to Longmont and the place that I would most likely find appealing. We do have a visit planned in the near future.

Does anyone have any recommendations on areas to check out and things to see? We love a nice restaurant (or good street food), wine bars, classic cocktails, snowshoeing, hiking, walking, coffee shops, and small bookshops. We also eat very little processed food and are completely addicted to Trader Joe's - what grocery stores would be good?

Also - any recommendations on places other than Boulder to check out?

The midwest?! Whaa?!

Jokes aside, you of course won't find anything as vibrant as where you live now (Capitol Hill) -- even if you lived in Denver...so that will be a major adjustment no matter what. But, from a lifestyle standpoint, it will be a really good fit....plus, lots and lots of non-sunny summer days!! Boulder is super walkable, and even more bikeable. Definitely a good fit if you like outdoor activities and if you like to eat healthy...I know there is a Whole Foods and a Natural Grocers in town.

I'd recommend hiking the Flatirons, and checking out Dushanbe Tea House. Enjoy your visit!

Originally Posted by suzco

Check out Longmont. (There are already quite a few threads here at CD about Longmont, you can try reading some of them to get started.)

2nd this. Longmont is great! It's not as hailed by outsiders as Boulder but it's a great place...I actually know a family of 4 that live car-free in Longmont...pretty cool. Definitely look into it.

[Idlewile]

Midwest?

Having spent a lot of time in Seattle, I say you may be hard-pressed to find the density you describe, even in downtown Denver. Seattle has a much bigger and busier city feeling than Denver.

Originally Posted by Kayela

We love a nice restaurant (or good street food), wine bars, classic cocktails, snowshoeing, hiking, walking, coffee shops, and small bookshops. We also eat very little processed food and are completely addicted to Trader Joe's

As far as what you mention above, every aspect -- this is Boulder -- just NOT as dense, certainly. Boulder was rated as the Foodiest Town in America by Bon Appétit in 2010 -- there is a restaurant scene, Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg, etc. Lastly, the natural or organic food focus in the Boulder area is actually much stronger than Seattle; too many local ones to list, aside from the bigger outfits like WF, Natural Grocers, Sunflower, Sprouts. Still, you probably know there are no TJ's in CO.

The outdoor activities you mention are huge here, of course, with more opportunities to do them as the weather is much better (clearer).

Boulder is a university town as well and this adds more texture to the town than the University of Washington does in Seattle since Boulder is so much smaller.

You guys should really visit and spend some time. Good luck.

[Kayela]

Midwest?

Oh my - I certainly didn't mean to touch a nerve. I'm from South Dakota originally (but have been in Seattle long enough to grow moss), and have several relatives in CO. We thought of SD as the midwest and my CO relatives refer to CO as the midwest so I didn't realize it was a faux pas. Thanks for clueing me in. So what geographical area do you identify as? West? Rocky Mountains? Front Range?

As far as what you mention above, every aspect -- this is Boulder -- just NOT as dense, certainly. Boulder was rated as the Foodiest Town in America by Bon Appétit in 2010 -- there is a restaurant scene, Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg, etc. Lastly, the natural or organic food focus in the Boulder area is actually much stronger than Seattle; too many local ones to list, aside from the bigger outfits like WF, Natural Grocers, Sunflower, Sprouts. Still, you probably know there are no TJ's in CO.

I do realize it's going to be less dense, but I'm definitely interested in finding the denser areas. Food is a biggie, so I really appreciate the recommendations everyone has had so far, and it's good to know that there will be lots of options. And now I'm even more puzzled as to why CO has no TJ's - from what everyone has said it seems like their demographic.

Check out Longmont. (There are already quite a few threads here at CD about Longmont, you can try reading some of them to get started.)

I certainly will! Thanks for the recommendation. Thanks to everyone for all the recommendations thus far. We'll be visiting soon and now I have some activities planned!

[qfrost]

Originally Posted by Kayela

Oh my - I certainly didn't mean to touch a nerve. I'm from South Dakota originally (but have been in Seattle long enough to grow moss), and have several relatives in CO. We thought of SD as the midwest and my CO relatives refer to CO as the midwest so I didn't realize it was a faux pas. Thanks for clueing me in. So what geographical area do you identify as? West? Rocky Mountains? Front Range?

I was born and raised in Indiana, and I can tell you Colorado is definitely NOT the midwest. The midwest is the land of corn, of farms and fields, of lazy winding gravel roads and the unspoken rule that every woman over 40 is mandated to cut their hair into a shapeless 'butch' cut and buy stretch-waist pants at Meijer and Walmart. It is a land of hard working people who generally lack a more worldly viewpoint, and sometimes a place to dispose of that old vehicle rusting beside the shed. A land where instant coffee is just as good, and a heck of a lot easier to find.

I'd say it ends in Kansas. Starts in Ohio. Wisconsin to the North, and Kentucky to the South. But that's just me.

[MtnLion512]

Originally Posted by Kayela

Oh my - I certainly didn't mean to touch a nerve. I'm from South Dakota originally (but have been in Seattle long enough to grow moss), and have several relatives in CO. We thought of SD as the midwest and my CO relatives refer to CO as the midwest so I didn't realize it was a faux pas. Thanks for clueing me in. So what geographical area do you identify as? West? Rocky Mountains? Front Range?



I do realize it's going to be less dense, but I'm definitely interested in finding the denser areas. Food is a biggie, so I really appreciate the recommendations everyone has had so far, and it's good to know that there will be lots of options. And now I'm even more puzzled as to why CO has no TJ's - from what everyone has said it seems like their demographic.



I certainly will! Thanks for the recommendation. Thanks to everyone for all the recommendations thus far. We'll be visiting soon and now I have some activities planned!

Lol, it's okay...yeah, it's definitely not the midwest! It's referred to as West, or more specifically Mountain West. The US Census designates CO as west.

I totally hear you...CO not having TJ's is a travesty, and there are several threads detailing the said travesty. Everyone has their own theory as to why TJ's hasn't come to CO yet-- it's definitely a head-scratcher.

[kapetrich]

It'll definitely be a tough move considering you'll be moving from a vibrant city center to a subdivision of a much smaller and less vibrant college 'city' (town), Boulder. That said, Longmount is essentially a suburb of Denver, which is bigger, but still less of a 'city', as normally regarded, than Seattle.

The weather's definitely better, although you'll be getting snow which can be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

I would also argue that Colorado is a strange mix of both the Midwest and West. It seems, to me as an ex-East coaster now living out West, that Colorado (most dramatically seen in the Front range/plains of Colorado) is the convergence of the Midwest values rubbing up against Western values making a very interesting cultural mix. You get both the bible thumpers and the 9/11 was an inside jobbers almost living on top of one another. Because of this convergence, extremes, imo, are more prevalent than many true Western states which I would argue, again, is a characteristic (in an obviously ridiculously over simplified and stereotypical way) of the Midwest (and the Southeast) more so than the West.

Why not move inside Denver or, Boulder for that matter, and make the commute. The drastic lifestyle change between Capital Hill and Longmount will be tough and unless you really want a suburban lifestyle I would be very weary of this particular location in the Front Range as it relates to you.