Boulder, Colorado a mountain town? Plenty of biking, hiking (Chautauqua Park photo above) and climbing readily available in the area, but would I call it a “town”? No. Boulder, Colorado has now most definitely evolved into a full-fledged, vibrant, outdoor city.
Boulder in the past
I actually liked being in Boulder a lot more this past week than I did when I lived there for a brief moment in time in the mid 90’s. Taking a look at the current condition of the area, I can see where I must have caught it in a deep state of transition back in the 90’s. A beautiful town filled with outdoor adventure it was and will always be, but at the time, I also found it rather wishy-washy. It was no longer a hippie town, but not quite a metropolitan city either and the whole place felt just a tad out of balance (at least to me).
Boulder now …
Wow … drove in last week and what a change. I had lunch on a block of Walnut Street that had office buildings, restaurants, and a luxury hotel that didn’t even exist the last time I was there. It no longer felt like I was in the wishy-washy town/city I left in ’95. There was no question that I was now in an active, healthy city (still hippie-friendly) filled with outdoorsy professionals who appeared to be genuinely happy to be living there.
Searching for more of a compromise between small ski town and big city living? Mid-sized outdoor cities may be your answer and checking out Boulder, Colorado would be a good place to start.
A few additional things to know about Boulder … it is a new age mecca, home to University of Colorado and boasts an average of over 300 sunny days a year!
Great to meet you Eric and thank you for picking such a nice spot for lunch. It was a great Colorado visit!
Amy, I enjoyed lunch with you and am glad you liked the changes you saw in Boulder!
-Eric