Boulder, Colorado

ChristianLS
6m ago
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I love Boulder and I think it's been improving over the past few years
I've seen so much griping and negativity about Boulder lately, both from redditors here, as well as certain local business owners talking to the press. So to counter that, a little positivity. Be warned, this is from the perspective of somebody who loves cities and loves to watch how they change and grow. You might even say… a City Nerd. (And no, I'm not him.)

I still love all the same things about this town as when I first moved here a few years back-the gorgeous mountain views and all the amazing outdoor activities, the four-seasons climate where it's usually mild and pleasant on summer mornings/evenings and winter afternoons. The phenomenal (by US standards) bicycle infrastructure, the walkable neighborhoods and very walkable downtown. The sense of community at my daughter's school, the un-nosy pleasantness of most people I encounter. The lack of low-density sprawl and the compactness which makes it quick and easy to get around, where you can kind of have a feel for every neighborhood and what's in it, but still have access to most of the day-to-day amenities of a larger city without ever leaving town.

But beyond all of that, I think Boulder has been getting better, not worse, over the past few years.

NewCenturyNarratives
9 mo. ago
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All the things I love about Boulder, Colorado
Last time on Dragon Ball Z … All of the things I hated about Pittsburgh

I am leaving Boulder, Colorado after 8 years. This thread is one of the many things I am doing to process moving away from this awesome place. Alright, let's get into the list

Athletic Culture: People here do sports. Come to think of it, I don't recall many people who watch sports. Instead, folks pick a sport of their choice and go HARD at it. The result is that finding friends is easy if you get into a hobby

Old =/= Old: I'll never forget the first time I saw someone my grandmother's age biking up a mountain. I think I was 23 when I first saw it. It broke my brain. In the place that I lived in prior, after a certain age people let themselves go. It is so common that to move in the opposite direction paints you as an insufferable gym guy. Living here taught me that despite the fact that age is real, if you keep moving you can maintain vitality.

Public Transporation: If you live in the right spot then you can get to most spots in town. My favorite bus is the HOP, whose route is a loop that connects downtown, CU Boulder, and the 29th Street Mall. Not only is the route convenient but the drivers are some of the nicest people I've ever met.

Walkability / Bikeability: Again, if you are in the right spots, you can walk everywhere. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE BIKE PATHS?! My goodness, the bike paths are glorious.

The Weather: 300 days of sun. After living in Pittsburgh having the sun during the winter was a game changer for my mental health. Because of the altitude and low humidity when it does snow at 35F (ish) it begins to melt and evaporate.

monstera0bsessed
9mo ago
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Boulder and honestly a lot of the front range towns by Denver like Longmont are very nice. I've grown up in Colorado and also new England and Philly suburbs and Colorado was honestly one of my favorite places ot grow up. It's genuinely an awesome place to be a kid. I could actually walk and bike to school and the public amenities like pools and rec centers don't exist in the northeast. We have the ymca and stuff but the affordable publicly run amenities like wifi and publicly run gyms are awesome and I haven't seen it much outside of Colorado and utah because everything else is privatized. Also the people in Colorado are much better neighbors than the northeast. We had block parties all the time in every neighborhood and people talked to their neighbors a lot. Whereas in new England and Philly suburbs I found people to be very cold and not as welcoming to newcomers. The sense of community in the suburbs wasn't there. Like everyone keeps to themselves and no one really talks to their neighbors in the same way.

what's it like living in Boulder?

I’m from the east coast and have lived in CO for many years, Boulder for about the last decade. It’s culturally very different from NYC/NJ. Slower pace, more outdoorsy, more casual dress.

Things I notice when I go back home: people yell at you in the airport back east. They don’t do that here. Much better and more diverse food back east.

It’s not Midwestern-nice here but it is more chill. I like the mail in voting, the outdoorsiness and the views. Don’t like the winter because it’s long, but there are sunny days.

It’s a college town and it’s small enough to notice, so that can be annoying in some ways. But I also enjoy the college - concerts, theater.

People complain about obnoxious people a lot but I haven’t had any issues.

I don’t have a trust fund and I do have a house. I’m just a regular person. We are here.

I don’t love the amount of bike theft.

I don’t know if I will stay in CO forever but it’s really nice in a lot of ways and I don’t have any desire to move back east.

Top 10 Pros and Cons about Boulder, Colorado (Moving to Colorado) - Traveling Cloud