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What's Boulder like?

swillden

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
1,189
Location
Firestone, Colorado
I'm flying out next week for a job interview. I'm not too worried about the interview; I can conceal in CO on my UT permit, and I plan to do so, except during the interview itself. However, if I am offered the job, and take it, then I'll be looking at moving to Boulder, which makes all of this much more important.

I saw the recent thread about the WWAG call on the woman with the holster at B&N. That doesn't bode well. Is it typical? Is there anyone here who OCs regularly in Boulder?

General comments about Boulder as a place to live would also be appreciated.

Thanks.
 

entartet17

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
206
Location
Aurora, Colorado, USA
Boulder is unaffectionately called the People's Republic of Boulder by other Coloradans because it is such a far-left town. It's like the Berkley of CO. That being said, it's a beautiful place.

I dont live in Boulder but I have OCd there several times without incident. Their parks and open spaces are posed No Carry so you can't OC there. Of course, they cannot restrict CC in these areas. From what I've heard from people who have lived in Boulder, even though it's pretty far left, they are not all that anti-gun. Denver is certainly worse in that respect.
 

Gunslinger

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
3,853
Location
Free, Colorado, USA
Nice college town, I would say. With preemption, and a CCW, just another dot on the map to me. But then I live in El Paso County where we still believe God, guns and guts are what made this country great.
 

Lokster

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Messages
127
Location
Unincorporated Jefferson County
If you don't mind being surrounded by lunatic liberals everywhere you go moving to Boulder would be a great idea. If you are offered the job and decide to take it you could always find a place to live that is close enough to where you work, but outside of Boulder; that is if a short commute doesn't bother you. Working in Boulder would be enough to make any rationally thinking person go insane. I can't imagine living there. Denver isn't much better.
 

Dynamite Rabbit

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2008
Messages
220
Location
Longmont, CO, ,
I wouldn't live in Boulder for anything. I'd look at Longmont (although it's even taken a left turn), Broomfield, Lafayette, Erie, Superior, unincorporated Boulder/Weld county...
 

swillden

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
1,189
Location
Firestone, Colorado
If you don't mind being surrounded by lunatic liberals everywhere you go moving to Boulder would be a great idea.

That doesn't bother me. To a libertarian being surrounded by lunatic liberals isn't all that much different from being surrounded by lunatic conservatives -- they're all nuts, just crazy about different things ;-)

If I go there I'll almost certainly look for somewhere to live outside of town. I prefer to have plenty of space and I'm willing to commute a bit to get it. Speaking of that, for those of you who know Boulder, any suggestions about which direction I might look? I'd suppose away from Denver since metro areas tend to grow together. I've already planned some time to look around. My interview will be essentially all day long on Friday, so I'm flying in Thursday morning and plan to spend Thursday scoping out the area a little.

The reality here is that this is something of a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity for me, though, so I'm likely to take the job regardless of what I find. This thread is more about learning what to expect than making a decision about whether or not to go.
 

entartet17

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
206
Location
Aurora, Colorado, USA
If I go there I'll almost certainly look for somewhere to live outside of town. I prefer to have plenty of space and I'm willing to commute a bit to get it. Speaking of that, for those of you who know Boulder, any suggestions about which direction I might look? I'd suppose away from Denver since metro areas tend to grow together.


Like Dynamite Rabbit said, if you dont want to live in Boulder itself, your best bets are Longmont, Broomfield, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, etc. It all just depends on how far you are willing to drive. You could even live further into the mountains up around Nederland (also a very liberal town). There are also some nice places in unincorporated Boulder county like Sunshine Canyon, for instance.
 

swillden

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
1,189
Location
Firestone, Colorado
Like Dynamite Rabbit said, if you dont want to live in Boulder itself, your best bets are Longmont, Broomfield, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, etc. It all just depends on how far you are willing to drive. You could even live further into the mountains up around Nederland (also a very liberal town). There are also some nice places in unincorporated Boulder county like Sunshine Canyon, for instance.
According to the map, all of those places are actually quite close -- none more than 30 minutes away, unless traffic is bad. Is traffic bad? I'll take a good look at that when I'm there next week. I'll also make a point of picking up some real estate magazines.

Unincorporated areas would be really excellent -- as long as I can get a decent Internet connection, and as long as they remain accessible in the winter.
 

bcbrown2

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
44
Location
, ,
Boulder is like...

...a big box of Muesli:
an outwardly-appearing healthy blend of fruit, nuts, and flakes few people can truly afford without putting themselves into hock.

It can be fun to visit & spend time in Boulder but (after spending almost a year there in the late '90s and moving out) it's not a place in which I have any desire to live again. Like others have mentioned, if you get the job and wind up moving out here be sure to check out the outlying communities like Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, etc.

All are minutes from Boulder, should you find yourself needing a nice bicycle, a new Mac, good movie theater, or expensive pair of jeans and you don't have to put up with the incessant smug and constant high-pitched whine of unmuffled hipsters bound and determined to force their views of the world on everyone.

Boulder isn't what you'd call a gun-friendly town and their only local club/range has a wait list measured in years. The general population swings very liberal and they are pretty much anti-everything which is powered by gasoline, gunpowder, or flannel. Once you get outside the city limits, life becomes much, MUCH more normal. That... and the beer out here puts Utah to shame, he he.

Good luck with your interview and (perhaps) welcome to Colorado at some point in the near future! Don't judge all of us by what you find in Boulder... ;-) As long as you're carrying concealed, you shouldn't have any problems with people making MWAG calls on you. Carrying openly, that's a bit of a different story... folks are a might bit twitchy.

Cheers!
 

mahkagari

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Joined
Apr 28, 2009
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1,186
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That doesn't bother me. To a libertarian being surrounded by lunatic liberals isn't all that much different from being surrounded by lunatic conservatives -- they're all nuts, just crazy about different things ;-)

I am very right there with you. The lunatic liberals are easier to point and laugh at. The nutso conservatives, I just stare blankly at and wonder if I'm really looking at a caveman that's been frozen for a few hundred years.

I work in Boulder and live in Firestone. You mentioned liking open space around you. I'd look in Erie or, if you don't mind a little further out, the tri-town area (Frederick/Firestone/Dacono). My commute to east Boulder is 35 minutes door to door. If your job is more affluent, you might be able to afford Niwot, but it's more liberal and detatched from reality than Boulder. The only thing worse than a self-absorbed liberal is a self-absorbed liberal with money who wonders why everyone doesn't live like them.

My employer disallows firearms in the office (of course) but I usually have my pistol locked up in my car. I haven't OC'd much in Boulder as I'm usually just driving to and from work. I usually CC if I go somewhere for lunch just because it's more convenient. I.e. it's easier to put on a belly band than to undo my belt and mount my holster. I've OC'd a few times in the summer on my way to the Boulder Rifle Club's public days. Boulder is the Berkely of the Rockies and a liberal haven college town. But the Rockies still have plenty of mountain folk who are armed against mountain lions. Boulder has plenty of old ranching families. Though Boulder is full of the "outdoorsy" people who LOVE hiking, but are too spoiled to camp, there are plenty of hunters. Boulder is probably institutionally anti-gun, but there are more people "on the ground" who see them as matter of course. Colorado is still Colorado and they can't keep retality from keeping them someone in check.
 

Pace

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
1,140
Location
Las Vegas, NV
be aware that pearl street mall is considered a "park/open space"

Boulder is unaffectionately called the People's Republic of Boulder by other Coloradans because it is such a far-left town. It's like the Berkley of CO. That being said, it's a beautiful place.

I dont live in Boulder but I have OCd there several times without incident. Their parks and open spaces are posed No Carry so you can't OC there. Of course, they cannot restrict CC in these areas. From what I've heard from people who have lived in Boulder, even though it's pretty far left, they are not all that anti-gun. Denver is certainly worse in that respect.
 

entartet17

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
206
Location
Aurora, Colorado, USA
be aware that pearl street mall is considered a "park/open space"

Yeah, but they don't adequately post it so unless someone knows that or sees one of the few signs, it would be easy to carry there in violation of the law. Out of all the times I've been to the pearl street mall I've only seen two No Carry signs which is hardly adequate considering there are a million ways to get to the mall without ever seeing one of the signs. I haven't been to Boulder in a couple of years (except driving through) so maybe it's posted better now.
 

since9

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
6,964
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
To a libertarian being surrounded by lunatic liberals isn't all that much different from being surrounded by lunatic conservatives -- they're all nuts, just crazy about different things ;-)

Yep. Most of America falls somewhere in the middle.

The reality here is that this is something of a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity for me, though, so I'm likely to take the job regardless of what I find.

That's the spirit! Twenty-two years ago, I had a similar opportunity. The fellow I was working for at the time offered me 50% more if I stayed there working for him. I said, "Ok. I'll stay."

The next day he called me into his office and said, "My offer still stands, but I think you'd be happier pursuing your dreams. Don't worry, though. If things don't turn out there, we'll figure things out when you get back, whether that's in four months or four years."

I thanked him, took the lower-paying job, and lived a dream.

Follow your dreams, son. For many, it comes but once in a lifetime.
 
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Demo3

New member
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
5
Location
Longmont, Colorado, USA
What's Boulder like.

Well... Boulder is a very nice city to work and spend leisure time in like hiking and riding bikes. It is one of the only cities I've been to were bikes and pedestrians are given the respect they need... probably because of the college. I live in Longmont which is about 10 miles north of Boulder but still in Boulder county. In the city of Boulder detached houses will start at 500K for about 1000 feet... so I don't live there. I can say this... when you drive around town in Boulder or the county you can see were your tax money has been spent, open space and paved trails that are snowplowed before the streets sometimes. I only CC so I have not had any problems. Try this web site for getting an idea of what to expect. http://www.coloproperty.com/
 

zach

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
228
Location
Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
April 20 is always a fun day in Boulder....


The drive along 36 in either direction is the worst I've experienced since I've moved here 4 years ago from SoCal.
 

mahkagari

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
1,186
Location
, ,
April 20 is always a fun day in Boulder....


The drive along 36 in either direction is the worst I've experienced since I've moved here 4 years ago from SoCal.

During rush hour maybe. At other times it's no worse than any other. The Trex area, 225, and Santa Fe are all reasons I hate going south of Colfax.
 

zach

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
228
Location
Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
During rush hour maybe. At other times it's no worse than any other. The Trex area, 225, and Santa Fe are all reasons I hate going south of Colfax.

The only thing that takes me North of the Tech Center is work. I lived in SoCal for 30+ years and this little strip of public transport takes the cake at anytime during the day.

Trust me, the US36 makes the Utards(if you're from UT, try to have a sense of humor) look like good drivers...
 
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