Does a city like Boulder but without the ultra-liberal vibe exist?? (Denver: middle-class, home)

[osman]

You shouldn't really judge Boulder until you've spent some time here.

Those who live elsewhere love to malign our fair city, proclaiming the usual misperceptions.. ultra-elite, opinionated, etc. Or if they have lived here, they base their opinions on a small smattering of experiences.

The fact remains. Those that live here, tend to love it. There's a reason that Boulder housing prices are 20-40% higher than neighboring cities. Think about it.

[jplotz]

Originally Posted by osman

The fact remains. Those that live here, tend to love it. There's a reason that Boulder housing prices are 20-40% higher than neighboring cities. Think about it.

Umm, because the Boulder City Council puts severe restrictions on new development, thereby creating an artificial constraint on the housing supply? That's basic economics.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by osman

The fact remains. Those that live here, tend to love it. There's a reason that Boulder housing prices are 20-40% higher than neighboring cities. Think about it.

Originally Posted by jplotz

Umm, because the Boulder City Council puts severe restrictions on new development, thereby creating an artificial constraint on the housing supply? That's basic economics.

In today's Boulder Daily Camera real estate transacitons:

Median price in Boulder$321K, Broomfield $301K, Longmont $201K, Louisville $340K.

This is just one week's worth of transactions, so not necessarily representative of the entire real estate market. However, it's obvious, that except for Longmont, prices are close, and Louisville's are higher this week.

[idahomama]

Other thoughts out of Colorado..... Bozeman, Missoula, Bend, or Boise. Each with trade offs of course......

[lovethewest]

Originally Posted by osman

There's a reason that Boulder housing prices are 20-40% higher than neighboring cities. Think about it.

Yeah, it's because of that no growth policy. I thought Boulder was beautiful, but when I was there with my family, two seperate people yelled at us to go home, and we were doing absolutely nothing to these people. Granted that was Pearl Street Mall, and I seriously doubt the rest of the city has that same attitude, but it was alarming. It sort of seemed like they thought it was a privelege to even let us into their precious city. That's what bugs me about Boulder.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by osman

You shouldn't really judge Boulder until you've spent some time here.

Those who live elsewhere love to malign our fair city, proclaiming the usual misperceptions.. ultra-elite, opinionated, etc. Or if they have lived here, they base their opinions on a small smattering of experiences.

The fact remains. Those that live here, tend to love it. There's a reason that Boulder housing prices are 20-40% higher than neighboring cities. Think about it.

I did live in Boulder, and at the time I thought it was a great town, still do. (Though I'm partial to my current surroundings in Denver).

However, I think it's pretty well undeniable that the "elitist", "opinionated" stereotypes of Boulder do contain a kernel of truth. Those who aren't with the Boulder program of organic food, vegetarianism, alternative medicine, Green Party, anti-corporate etc should be able to agree to disagree and be okay with dealing with confrontational people who refuse to "agree to disagree." If you live in Boulder, you just have to learn to tune out the political noise there. I think most can handle this aspect of life in Boulder in exchange for the many other benefits of living there, but others will find it a constant irritation.

[eynewman]

Colorado Springs is as conservative as Boulder is liberal, and it is really beautiful (sits right on the foothills of the rockies) and has lots of things to do, but as far as real night life, not so sure. Check Coloradosprings.com. It is growing, and I believe is second in size only to Denver. The political climate would probably be more to your liking. Fort Collins is more quiet and is equally divided as far as liberal/conservative, but the topography is rather flat compared to Colorado Springs west of I 25. Also, Real estate is less expensive in general in C.S. than in areas farther north. Check out homes in the Peregrine neighborhood of C.S. just west of the airforce academy. Breathtaking!

[faa]

Originally Posted by osman

You shouldn't really judge Boulder until you've spent some time here.

Those who live elsewhere love to malign our fair city, proclaiming the usual misperceptions.. ultra-elite, opinionated, etc. Or if they have lived here, they base their opinions on a small smattering of experiences.

The fact remains. Those that live here, tend to love it. There's a reason that Boulder housing prices are 20-40% higher than neighboring cities. Think about it.

Okay, I have lived here for 3 years now and I totally disagree with the above except for one part of it. Yes, I agree: people who live here tend to love it; those who don't tend to leave at the first opportunity. However my experience has been that there is a high percentage of ultra liberal, dogmatic, opinionated, hippie-elitist or just plain odd people and then there's those who live for the outdoors and don't have much else to say for themselves. Admitedly this is not the whole of Boulder, but in my experience most long term inhabitants fit one of the above categories, feel accepted here and don't want to leave thus lending to the overall vibe of the town.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by idahomama

Other thoughts out of Colorado..... Bozeman, Missoula, Bend, or Boise. Each with trade offs of course......

All very anti-outsider, from what you read on their forums.

[JMadison]

This is an honest question... I lived in Westminster for about 4 years. Worked at IBM - Boulder during those years. Frequented Boulder on occasion, but not much.

Some folks call it "The Republic of Boulder" which I took to mean it was Republican at the time. I.e. by the rich for the rich. Yet I saw plenty of what I'd call "Left over hippies" that I later figured where "Hippies with money".

So what I'm curious about is, what exactly are the tennants of "Ultra Liberal In your face Elitist Hippidom"?

Elitist and Hippie strike me as well, oxymoron-ish. But best parallel I can think of would be liberal Hollywood types. Liberals that somehow, through luck, skill, whatever, ended up with a pile of dough. Are these the guys that look like aging John Denvers? You know, bell bottoms, little round glasses, a bowl or page boy style hair cut and they shop at Whole Earth?

And to be honest, seems to me, at least as I've encountered it, liberals with $$$ are more willing to be oppressive than conservatives with $$$. The Liberals seem to want to legislate thier liberalism on you. Almost at though, if you don't subscribe to thier view, you are a bad human being or some such.

Don't want to start a political flame here, but this topic does interest me. Mainly because I was a kid in the 70's and peace signs and protest music, hippiedom in general was marketed at us, and I thought it was "the thing".

Like many I figured I wanted into the Hollywood thing. After living on the west coast and listening to a few of the radio personalities out here that seem to have a liberal bent of mind, and also meeting some work-a-day "militant democrats" (for lack of a better term) I'm not so sure. I now have about zero interest in running down to LA and trying to get a media job, that's for sure. Though of course I would like the legendary income and fame, like any kid of the TV era.

On the other hand, not being a Richy Rich, the other side of the aisle (or fence or whatever) isn't a good fit either. I mean what group really represents my interest? That being to get to the top side of the class gap as quickly and painlessly as possible? LOL!

Anyway, I'm curious what folks have to say about the viewpoint of "Ultra Liberal in your face Elitism".