Boulder, CO

[Ibycus]

I am starting the PhD program in philosophy this fall. Just wondering whether any other Boulder grad students, incoming or current, are on here.

[Jaccard]

Hi! I'm also planning to start a PhD in Boulder next semester. However, I'm still a little bit worried about finances.. My funding consists of (smaller or bigger) TA-ships (and possibly RA-ships and fellowships in the future) and would - in case of a small TA-ship - be around 13k.
I was wondering if any current Boulderites on here can say something about whether it would be possible to live on that? Thank you

[Ibycus]

On 4/8/2017 at 1:15 PM, Jaccard said:

Hi! I'm also planning to start a PhD in Boulder next semester. However, I'm still a little bit worried about finances.. My funding consists of (smaller or bigger) TA-ships (and possibly RA-ships and fellowships in the future) and would - in case of a small TA-ship - be around 13k.
I was wondering if any current Boulderites on here can say something about whether it would be possible to live on that? Thank you

My sense from the rental market is that $500-$600 is possible if you have tons of roommates or live far away. Throw on $400-500 for utilities, food, and other expenses and you'd be cutting it extremely close, but basically breaking even. 

[Jaccard]

9 hours ago, Ibycus said:

My sense from the rental market is that $500-$600 is possible if you have tons of roommates or live far away. Throw on $400-500 for utilities, food, and other expenses and you'd be cutting it extremely close, but basically breaking even. 

Thanks for your reply! I hope I can make it work Have you already been looking at neighbourhoods and nearby towns? You are also starting this Fall, right?

[Ibycus]

21 minutes ago, Jaccard said:

Thanks for your reply! I hope I can make it work Have you already been looking at neighbourhoods and nearby towns? You are also starting this Fall, right?

Yes. I'm going to try to pre-lease at Timber Ridge with a roommate from Ralphie's List today.

[nikcav]

Just found out that I am officially accepted to CU, so I definitely want to hear all I can about living in Boulder. What are the best/worst places to live & why? Is public transit still as good as it was during other parts of this thread? What other advice can you offer?

[Ibycus]

On 4/20/2017 at 9:26 PM, nikcav said:

Just found out that I am officially accepted to CU, so I definitely want to hear all I can about living in Boulder. What are the best/worst places to live & why? Is public transit still as good as it was during other parts of this thread? What other advice can you offer?

I found an apartment complex through r/boulder and pre-leased a two-bed near campus for $1400 (Timber Ridge). I found my roommate through Ralphie's List. 

[Kaiwei]

Figured I would post for students attending school in Boulder for Fall '18. I was accepted to CU Boulder. I was offered a position as a TA and a small fellowship. I believe I should have around 15k per year. Anyone else in a similar position? Going to make a trip out to Boulder within the next month or two. 

[abnormalcluster]

On 1/10/2018 at 8:29 AM, costevens said:

Figured I would post for students attending school in Boulder for Fall '18. I was accepted to CU Boulder. I was offered a position as a TA and a small fellowship. I believe I should have around 15k per year. Anyone else in a similar position? Going to make a trip out to Boulder within the next month or two. 

Curious - you got into Stanford but are choosing CU Boulder? Why is that?

[hellz2dayeah]

6 minutes ago, abnormalcluster said:

Curious - you got into Stanford but are choosing CU Boulder? Why is that?

Not sure why the above student chose, but there definitely are departments at CU that are better than the same departments at Stanford so that could be one reason. Another at least in my field (engineering) is that Stanford is notorious for not funding incoming PhD students so that could be another reason. 

On 1/10/2018 at 8:29 AM, costevens said:

Figured I would post for students attending school in Boulder for Fall '18. I was accepted to CU Boulder. I was offered a position as a TA and a small fellowship. I believe I should have around 15k per year. Anyone else in a similar position? Going to make a trip out to Boulder within the next month or two. 

Good luck man! I was in your position last year, always a good idea to get a jump start on finding an apartment cause it can be pretty competitive around here

[abnormalcluster]

55 minutes ago, hellz2dayeah said:

Not sure why the above student chose, but there definitely are departments at CU that are better than the same departments at Stanford so that could be one reason. Another at least in my field (engineering) is that Stanford is notorious for not funding incoming PhD students so that could be another reason. 

Interesting! Which departments? I would think Stanford's engineering departments are some of the best funded in the country, eh?

[hellz2dayeah]

8 hours ago, abnormalcluster said:

Interesting! Which departments? I would think Stanford's engineering departments are some of the best funded in the country, eh?

I guess I shouldn't be so general saying engineering but the aerospace department at Stanford I know doesn't have close to the funding that other departments like CU, Georgia Tech, and Purdue have. In my application cycle, it became a running joke how they told students they'd have to finance the first few years themselves (at a private school in the bay area, thats a lot of money), but if they got a fellowship to call them and they'd be able to work something out. Anyways, there's probably not very many subjects Stanford doesn't excel at, but I can say for sure the aero department is definitely one place CU does have some advantages (particularly because there are fields in aerospace where Stanford doesn't even have research in)

[Snowflower35]

I was accepted to CU Boulder for a PhD in CS. I think I will end up attending - I absolutely loved the community when I visited last weekend. Any other CS/INFO/ATLAS people here?

[Mopar18]

I got accepted to the CU Boulder Sociology program, hoping to visit in mid March as this is currently my top choice. I have seen that Boulder is pretty expensive.

[Alex B]

Hello, I was offered admission to Spanish MA with tuition, medical insurance and stipend of 22k. Eventually summer grants are also offered. What do you think about more or less 20k after taxes to live a full year in Boulder area? 

I'm international student, and saving money is my main concern.

Thank you!

[Ternwild]

Can someone bang on the door of the Admissions Director for Physics at CU Boulder and tell them to (pretty) please accept me? xD 

[Dwar]

Hey All, 

I was just accepted to CU Boulder and it is my top choice so, assuming funding works out (will know in march), ill be moving out that way. 

Does anyone have any experience with the on-campus grad housing? My main concern is its availability. Assuming things work out in march, would i still be able to successfully get into grad housing while applying in mid-late march?

[Phoenix88]

Any advice for banking in Boulder? I am currently with a national bank that has no locations in Colorado, so I may have to switch to another bank. I'll be moving out there in late July/early August, so I have some time to do research on it before switching. 

[MarkySharky]

On 4/8/2020 at 1:54 PM, Phoenix88 said:

Any advice for banking in Boulder? I am currently with a national bank that has no locations in Colorado, so I may have to switch to another bank. I'll be moving out there in late July/early August, so I have some time to do research on it before switching. 

Unfortunately I can't offer any insights on national banking, but if you want a Colorado-based (mostly CO, but I think they also are in NM, CA, and AZ) bank, go for FirstBank. They're honestly the best bank in my opinion, I've had them my whole life. They offer 24 hour customer service (which I have tried out, and it's excellent), they are SUPER on it for fraud - my dad's card has been compromised a couple times (in the past 5 years) and about within 15 minutes of getting the charge they call him to ask if he's trying to buy x thing in y place. The only downside is that they're mostly CO based, but I think that's also what allows them to have really good service. Everyone's always really nice too. 

[LCZ]

Hi friends! I am about to move to Boulder in late July from Fort Worth, TX for my Ph.D. and I thought I might restart this thread. What are some tips and tricks of living here. This is a big change for me so I am open to recommendations, advice, and pals!

[Phoenix88]

Hi @LCZ! 

A lot of topics have already been covered, but be sure you know about: 

1. Living closer to campus and paying way more, versus living further and paying less, but a bit less connectivity (although living in Boulder hasn't been super connected these days with Covid stuff, and people generally being flaky). 
2. Boulder is more like a large town, or a very small city, than you realize before you get here. Lots of driving/buses from place to place to meet people, between "suburbs" and other cities as well at times too. 
3. However, there are lots of hikes within driving distance (I need to get a car ASAP as a result lol)
4. You can find some people eventually, it's just a lot harder than in a lot of different places, people aren't as open in Colorado as other places in the US such as the South or Midwest. I'm still a newbie (going into my 2nd year of my PhD) so it's been tough to connect. Trying to get connected to your labmates or one social activity (or more if you can swing it) would be helpful. 
5. Bike lanes are abundant, and buses between cities are great, but buses in the cities themselves don't run often. It's often quicker to bike somewhere than take the bus! 

Hope this helped, let me know if I can help any further