Took a job in Boulder. Looking for housing and work options.

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mike m

Trad climber
black hills
Topic Author's Original Post - May 27, 2015 - 08:29am PT
Just accepted an offer from CU and will be moving in a month or so. Looking for housing as close as possible to Boulder and work for my wife. Any advice on relatively reasonable housing options for a family of 4. We could rent for a year or so, but getting our kids in good schools is a priority.

My wife has a degree in hospitality/management and 20 years experience. She is currently working in property management and has dealt a lot with HUD housing. She also worked in a local Chamber of Commerce for many years after she finished her bachelors.

Super excited and super nervous all at the same time.
Crimpergirl

Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
May 27, 2015 - 08:45am PT
Congrats...happy hour coming up when you settle in!
Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
May 27, 2015 - 09:09am PT
Wow! Congrats! Guess I'll see you in colo/ Vedauwoo rather than spearfish, this summer!

... And there's no reason for you all to miss Vedauwoo sushifest, now!
nature

climber
Boulder, CO
May 27, 2015 - 09:22am PT
Check out Louisville. It's fairly close to Boulder. Do not live near campus - especially on The Hill - unless you really like party-animal college kids.

And get a cruiser bike. And join us on Thursdays nights "Happy Thursday".

And what Jay said.

Rent in Boulder is pretty steep - I can tell you first hand as I'm looking for a place right now. Ugh.
Jan

Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
May 27, 2015 - 09:33am PT
Longmont which is about 20 minutes north of Boulder is much cheaper. I don't know about the schools but there are enough CU profs in this town who can't afford to live in Boulder that there should be.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
May 27, 2015 - 09:41am PT
Only four hours from the Black Canyon!
nature

climber
Boulder, CO
May 27, 2015 - 09:43am PT
locker always making it about him

and Donini always making it about climbing.



Didn't someone say this forum was starting to suck? seems fine/normal to me.
nature

climber
Boulder, CO
May 27, 2015 - 09:50am PT
you'll have to clue me in on the joke when I see you at Vedauwoo SushiFest, Dad! ;)
Evel

Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
May 27, 2015 - 10:03am PT
Welcome to town Mike! Some pretty good advice here so far. You might check out Nederland, though the rental market here is mostly eaten up by pot growers. Jan is right about Longmont, but man is it hot in summer. Maybe look at Golden. Just down the road and ok rock almost in town.
See ya soon!
telemon01

Trad climber
Montana
May 27, 2015 - 10:04am PT

Wow Mike- big changes! Congratulations, you are definitely not in South Dakota anymore!

$$$$$$$$ and more $$$$$$$$ for sure.

Enjoy the new adventure; no doubt you will have lots of Taco support. I lived in Boulder in the 80's for a few summers. It was great then for a single person in their 20's. Not sure what it means now to get a family established there. Teaching at the University seems like a great professional move.

crunch

Social climber
CO
May 27, 2015 - 10:22am PT
Welcome to Boulder, Mike.
Some good advice upthread, rental places in town are pretty expensive, Golden, Louisville, Longmont, Nederland, all good options.

South Boulder, Martin Acres etc, has a big stock of lower-priced housing. But, it's relative.

Good luck!
blahblah

Gym climber
Boulder
May 27, 2015 - 10:24am PT
Jan is right about Longmont, but man is it hot in summer. Maybe look at Golden. Just down the road and ok rock almost in town.
See ya soon!

Always love whacky (but I'm sure well intentioned) Internet advice.
The temperature in Longmont is almost exactly the same as Boulder. It is indeed a couple degrees warmer on average in the summer, but you'd need a highly refined sense of temperature to tell the difference.
The kicker is that Golden is also a couple degrees warmer than Boulder on average.
All three are very close in average temperatures, as is every other town in the Front Range Boulder/Denver area.
Golden has lower rent than Boulder but would be a strange choice for someone who is working in Boulder--it's not that cheap and it's not that close.
You could live in Boulder proper if you afford it, or any other of the other nearby towns that are somewhat less expensive. They're all perfectly fine places to live.
Sorry if this post comes across as nitpicky, just sharing my point of view, for what it's worth.

Oh and Crunch--I don't think I can agree about South Boulder (where I live) lower priced housing--maybe lower priced than certain other parts of Boulder (but that depends on the neighborhood, SoBo has some very expensive ones), but not really lower priced in the grand scheme of things, and the appreciation in SoBo real estate in the past few years has been extreme (just like in every other part of Boulder, as far as I know).
wbw

Trad climber
'cross the great divide
May 27, 2015 - 10:41am PT
Hey! Welcome to Boulder in advance. I've been a teacher in the school district for going on 24 years. You can't really go too wrong in the BVSD for schools, but when you get here and have an idea in mind, feel free to email me and I can give you some thoughts on schools. Also, the BVSD is big on open enrollment, so you can always choose to send your kid to school in a different area within the district.

Gimme a holler in any case, and I'll give you a good Eldo tour. Also, I think I've seen that you're an ice guy, and there are many excellent outings to be had in RMNP.
nature

climber
Boulder, CO
May 27, 2015 - 10:46am PT
The morning commute is into Boulder in the morning and out of Boulder in the evening. Avoid that at all costs. I don't think it's too bad going to Longmont but between Boulder/Denver it simply sucks. To/from Golden isn't as bad now that they finished that construction.

Forest might chime in here and I'm sure he'll say great things about Louisville as he owns a home there. Great for families in particular.
Edge

Trad climber
Betwixt and Between Nederland & Boulder, CO
May 27, 2015 - 10:50am PT
Welcome!

My wife and I rented for a year and a half to get to know the area and what part of it we wanted to live in. Quite out of the blue, we happened on our dream home/location and bought last November, halfway between Boulder and Nederland. Only 23 minutes to Pearl Street, but it's mostly steep, winding mountain road. If you have a good car and tires and are comfortable with mountain driving, your options open up considerably. Good luck!
Roots

Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
May 27, 2015 - 11:57am PT
When I checked out Boulder...20 years ago...I liked:

Louisville

We might be moving soon and this is where I would look +Durango but that is all about me, not you ; )
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
May 27, 2015 - 12:12pm PT
I looked into buying a place near Nederland but the realtor said that she
heard that the Nederland chapter of the SuperTopo Robespierre Chowder and
Marching Society might not approve my residency permit. I guess it's gonna
haveta be Montezuma then cause he's already had his revenge on me.
JLP

Social climber
The internet
May 27, 2015 - 12:31pm PT
My wife and I rented for a year and a half to get to know the area and what part of it we wanted to live in.
Good move, suggest the same. Your options here are highly varied, far more than other areas in the US, and your choices and priorities are going to be personal.

+1 for some points made above - commuting sux in and out of Boulder for outsiders, great if you live here and work elsewhere. Also, average tenancy in the mountains is 2 years, might want to try the roads as a visitor over the winter before committing to such a thing.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
May 27, 2015 - 01:26pm PT
As others have said, check out Louisville. Short commute and you can take the South Boulder road and avoid 36.
Avoid Nederland, the drive up and down Boulder Canyon gets old in a hurry.
blahblah

Gym climber
Boulder
May 27, 2015 - 01:55pm PT
I would suggest that anyone who is not a regular commuter on US36 (I am one, and have been for about 20 years, although not full time commuter for all of those years) should avoid commenting on it.
The recent lane expansions (much completed, and more to done soon) have significantly ameliorated the congestion.
Messages 1 - 20 of total 64 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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