What's Boulder, CO really like?

Not many can climb 5.14... or 5.13...

But 5.11 and 5.12 is pretty common.

The grades of course don't matter at all. There is a ton of fun climbing in the front range. If only the skiing were so good...

Even if I don't get the job - I'll definitely come take you all up on your offer to show me around! Boulder sounds great, and living there or no it is definitely high up on my want to visit list!

Boulder is a great town - but in my opinion you have to actually live there, not commute, to really enjoy it.

I lived in Broomfield, worked in Denver, and played in Boulder and points west. Which made it affordable but also ensured that I spent literally hours in horrible traffic every day.

The Front Range is a traffic mess! Sometimes took me 4-5 hours to make it 88 miles back from Copper Mtn after a day of skiing.

But to live in Boulder, you need to be either willing to live in a cheap apartment, or shell out $700,000 for the median-priced home, which is surprisingly similar to your uncle's house in Ohio, you know, the one that he is selling for $110,000...

I might move back to Boulder as soon as I scrape up a million bucks.

If you are cool with an apartment, definitely move in town somewhere near where you work, you will love it.

R.S. in denver: not so.

the horror stories of $800,000 homes are overblown. the average price of a house pre-bust was up in the 400s...but that has come down substantially. if you're interested in talking to the best realtor in town, contact Tim Goodacre, 303/817.9300 and he'll give you a great idea of what's out there in the less expensive neighborhoods (where i live). a buddy of mine (who DOES IN FACT climb 5.14, woh!) just flipped a house around the block: gorgeous, about 2000 sq ft, and it was going for less than 6. and it is BRAND NEW.

don't let the bitter dudes stuck in traffic turn you off. boulder's great...you just have to work with it and eschew the prairie-mansion desires/dig-me fitness trainer/land rover lifestyle.....come to town, get a good town bike (i had a 1043km in 2010; personal best!), and i think Magill was right: try not to commute for work!

i'm still up to go climbing with you; bring your boyfriend/girlfriend/pet rock.

wait, unless you're into michele bachmann. you're not into bachmann, are you?!?! oh noooooooooo!

I'm not bitter, I just don't like traffic. Of course now I live in Wyoming and have no traffic, but also no climbing gym...

And I agree, Boulder is a great town.

House prices in Boulder vary greatly depending on the neighborhood. And don't overlook condos, which can be very affordable, even right in central Boulder.

I'm from VA and looking to make the move out west as well. I'm finishing up a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. How are the engineering job prospects in the Boulder area. I climb, ski, and mountain bike and am attracted to the Boulder area because of the outdoor activies but I would like to have some solid job leads before making the jump.

Things must have changed since I moved north a decade ago, or maybe I just have a bad memory...

My recollection was that there wasn't much 5.13/5.14 climbing near Boulder.

Of course indoors you can do routes that hard, if that counts. And at Rifle there are a ton, but that is quite a ways.

Certainly there are lots of good climbers in Boulder, but if you really just wanted to climb hard, you would probably just move to Rifle or Bend or maybe even SLC, no?

The attraction of Boulder is more than just the hard climbing.

CPJ wrote:I'm from VA and looking to make the move out west as well. I'm finishing up a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech. How are the engineering job prospects in the Boulder area. I climb, ski, and mountain bike and am attracted to the Boulder area because of the outdoor activies but I would like to have some solid job leads before making the jump.

I'm doing my PhD in ME here at CU. There are tons of national lab jobs (NREL, NCAR, NIST, NOAA), techy jobs (Sun Microsystems, IBM), defense/aerospace jobs (Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, Northrop Grumman), and also a lot of small energy start ups. What was your research? I might be able to point you in the right direction. You can PM me if you want.

"I don't care what kind of single-source low-carbon Guatemalan indigenous insulation product you use, a 6,000 square foot house isn't earth friendly".
I love it! That goes right to the point.

Boulder is a great place to live for access to climbing.
The weather is OK, though hot and somewhat humid in the summer.
Infrastructure is nice. Biking lanes are nice.
Food scene is OK but getting very expensive and snobbish.

BUT:
Don't believe the hype about this being a hippie town.
It may once have been but no more. It's a city of pretentious, overly rich, self-absorbed, self-congratulatory outdoorsy people who drive BMWs and large brand-new SUVs and live in $1M houses. It feels no different to me culture-wise than any other super-affluent exclusive place in the US. Bottomline: I'll stay for the climbing but the vibe in this town is way too money-oriented for my taste.

Eric and Lucie wrote:" Boulder is a great place to live for access to climbing. The weather is OK, though hot and somewhat humid in the summer. Infrastructure is nice.

The weather is really good with tons of sun. I don't think its ever humid here. The summers are more of a dry heat to me during the day.

The most miserable person in Boulder is a fat person without a cause...

Just change "everyone climbs 5.14" to "everyone (and their mom) climbs 5.6". 5.6 is the most crowded grade in Boulder. 5.14 climbers only go to 2 "crags", Rifle and Movement (a gym), so they won't be bothering you.

Definitely expensive, definitely crowded. Easy to avoid crowds if you try though. People are pretty nice. Most people here are not from Boulder. It's easier to find a climbing partner from Boone, NC in Boulder, CO than it is in Boone itself.

- A Recent NC Transplant

Things that I like:
-Exceptionally good routes/bouldering, a good variety of climbing styles with granite and sandstone to choose from. Plenty of areas to get away from crowds if your not lazy as balls. Very easily accessible from town.
-Overall nice place, relatively clean, not over-crowded (but growing quickly), good views of mountains all over town.
-Usually cool people, but a decent share of fucks as well (as with any place)
-Medical Marijuana industry probably more prosperous here than anywhere else in the country right now, if you like weed, if you dislike weed that could be a negative.
-Probably one of the best public transit systems in the US.
-Can find climbing partners very easily.
-4 gyms I think
-You don't actually need a car, they are a convenience
-Many more...

Some things that kind of suck:
-Overall unaffordable real estate (much cheaper in surronding areas such as Louisville and Longmont)
-Some annoying-ass people, mainly boulderers telling eachother to "come on" and the like, gym climbers, rich fuckers that drive crazy.
-Moderately grating drunk ass college students (easily avoidable)
-Becoming more crowded
-Gym climbers
-Everything becoming more expensive (everywhere though)
-Don't go to Whole Foods

Haha

Mitch Watkins wrote: The weather is really good with tons of sun. I don't think its ever humid here. The summers are more of a dry heat to me during the day.

Come north to Wyoming, you'll feel the difference. I notice the humidity every time I go south.

Its not August-in-Georgia bad, but its noticeable, and I try to avoid climbing near Boulder (more than usual, I mean) in the summer because of it.

Mitch Watkins wrote: The weather is really good with tons of sun. I don't think its ever humid here. The summers are more of a dry heat to me during the day.

I lived in the Santa Fe, NM area for a long time; let me tell you: it is considerably hotter and more humid in Boulder than Santa Fe. It also rains more. Just look at the vegetation...

Mike McHugh wrote: ......* If it seems like most people in Boulder drive/talk/act like they're from Minnesota, New York, California, or Texas, it's because they are. * NIST has redefined the millisecond as the interval between when the light turns green and when people start beeping their horns. Especially true in that cluster near Whole Foods. * A lot of people with $500 highlights in their hair can recite very intricate Tibetan Buddhist prayers. No disrespect to either coiffure or sutras, it's just interesting to see....... .

HaHa +1

Living Close to Boulder is great. the only time traffic is really bad is during rush hour in which it's usually like that in all decent sized cities though. Plus, there's plenty of 'scenery' around to make you hate having gotten married. if you already are that is. haha!

Boulder. Pfffffft.

If you live in Boulder you will be surronded by obese people. I suggest Fort Collins. I always invite my fat friends from Boulder to come to climb with me.
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