So-called "snootiness" of Boulder

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by docwatson

On a person-to-person basis I haven't found Boulder-ites to be snooty, more just appreciative of what Boulder has to offer (beautiful open space, a small reservoir with funky water, window shopping and the same old street performers on Pearl St., some good restaurants, good schools, etc.) and not seeing that other communities also have plenty to offer. Sometimes it becomes apparent that people spend much of their time in "the bubble," seldom venturing to Denver, for example, or to Longmont. Someone even asked me how I liked living "next to the military base" in Fort Collins!?

I agree with this paragraph of your post. My DD and a friend moved to Westminster, she from our house in Louisville, the friend from an apt. in Boulder. Friend was very reluctant to give up the Boulder address, had the usual opinions about Boulder vs the rest of the metro area (e.g. that it's better than everywhere else). DD, too, was reluctant to move to "suburbia", but that's what they could afford, and lo and behold, they found they like it in Westy; that there are "walkable" places there, benefits to being a Westminster resident, etc. The friend is from out of state, perhaps settling into Boulder w/o seeing/living anywhere else in the metro gives one that impression. The Boulder media do give the impression that "Boulder is Better".

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I agree with this paragraph of your post. My DD and a friend moved to Westminster, she from our house in Louisville, the friend from an apt. in Boulder. Friend was very reluctant to give up the Boulder address, had the usual opinions about Boulder vs the rest of the metro area (e.g. that it's better than everywhere else). DD, too, was reluctant to move to "suburbia", but that's what they could afford, and lo and behold, they found they like it in Westy; that there are "walkable" places there, benefits to being a Westminster resident, etc. The friend is from out of state, perhaps settling into Boulder w/o seeing/living anywhere else in the metro gives one that impression. The Boulder media do give the impression that "Boulder is Better".

Boulder has done an outstanding job in national PR -- virtually the entire country has heard of Boulder, usually positively, and it's got to be the only town on the front range other than Denver that's a household name. (True, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins are known to some, but Boulder's rep easily bests both).

So, there's a steady stream of migrants that make a beeline to Boulder, virtually ignoring the rest of the front range. These are the people who have the "Boulder is Better" attitude -- especially when compared to Denver -- mostly it's just that they don't know any better (and aren't interested in finding out). Of course, most of the CU students aren't really in this category since most came from in-state, mostly from Metro Denver. Boulder natives (yes, there really is such a thing) generally don't have this attitude as much since they've been around the state long enough to know Colorado.

There's also a steady stream of Boulderites who end up diffusing out of Boulder and into Boulder County and Metro Denver. Denver is full of people (myself included) who once had a connection to Boulder/CU but no longer live in Boulder County.