Boulder, CO

[Faraday]

Hey guys, I was wondering about the following. I just got admitted to UC Boulder, but haven't accepted the offer yet. The latter came with a TAship of just a tad below ~$16.9k, which would amount to about $1.4k montly. Is that enough for a living in Boulder without going into further debt? I looked up university housing and it seems there are some studio options even in the range of $800 - 900. I wonder about the food prices and all the other stuff, though. For example, here in Alberta, I spend $400 - 500 on food each month, most likely since a lot of it goes to meat and veggies. In any case, any and all feedback in regards to this would be greatly appreciated.

 

16.9k would be pretty difficult to live on, especially if that is before taxes. You would definately want to have aat least one roommate, and know how much you would be paying for utilities. Comcast has an iron grip on Boulder so you'll have to step up and pay their absurd prices if you want TV or internet.

 

Hey! I was recently accepted to CU Boulder EBIO, and it's a top choice contender for next fall. My SO and I considering living in Broomfield or Westminster so he can commute to work in Denver. Could you (or anyone) elaborate on the public transportation and busing system you mentioned? I'm just curious if there are options if my (old) car breaks down or something. Would it be easy to use public transit?

 

The public transit system (RTD) is fantastic; among the best in the country. There are busses going to virtually everywhere you might need to go, including Broomfield and Westminster. The BV would get you from the Broomfield Park and Ride to campus and back, and that's probably a half hour trip when it's not rush hour. The BV would also get you to campus from Westminster and that would probably take about 40 minuntes. If you go to google you can type in CU-Boulder and then your other locaton and it is connected to the RTD's schedule and it can predict the best way for you to get where you want to go by bus. You will ge a student bus pass that will let you ride the bus for free and this includes the DIA bus which normally costs ~$13.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Faraday

[MarcusPhcerius]

Hello everyone! I have decided to attend CU Boulder, and will be arriving in August. It looks like many people have trouble with cell phone reception and data in Boulder, no matter what cell phone provider you use. What provider do Boulder residents use, and what should I expect to pay for a moderate use plan (unlimited evenings/weekends, set day-time minutes, unlimited texts, a couple gigs of data/month)?

[iheartplants]

Hello everyone! I have decided to attend CU Boulder, and will be arriving in August. It looks like many people have trouble with cell phone reception and data in Boulder, no matter what cell phone provider you use. What provider do Boulder residents use, and what should I expect to pay for a moderate use plan (unlimited evenings/weekends, set day-time minutes, unlimited texts, a couple gigs of data/month)?

Oh no, really? I second this question then, because I'm pretty sure I'm choosing CU!

[Faraday]

Hello everyone! I have decided to attend CU Boulder, and will be arriving in August. It looks like many people have trouble with cell phone reception and data in Boulder, no matter what cell phone provider you use. What provider do Boulder residents use, and what should I expect to pay for a moderate use plan (unlimited evenings/weekends, set day-time minutes, unlimited texts, a couple gigs of data/month)?

 

I don't know who's spreading this rumor as I heard the same thing when I visited CU, but I can say from my experience it is certainly not true. I have at&t and I get perfect 4G LTE coverage everywhere in Boulder as well as everywhere in the greater Denver metropolitan area. Obviously I don't get good service in some of the metal lab buildings, but otherwise it is fine. I have been told Verizon is even better than at&t so if you have one of those you will be fine. I can't speak for the other carriers or exactly how much data you might want for your own personal tastes, however there is wifi all over campus that you can connect your phone to to reduct data charges while you are at school.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Faraday

[JessePinkman]

Anybody has an idea about the situation of Construction industry in Colorado? The jobs scene and career opportunities? I have received an admit from CU Boulder for MS in Civil Engineering (Construction Engineering and Management) ! I havent really got a proper idea abt the job scenario. The coursework and the reputation of the school looks good! And i like Boulder. Its amazing from what I've seen in pictures.

[aurora_nova]

Hi all! I've been admitted to UC-Boulder, and right now it's my top choice to attend in the fall! I've never been to Boulder (or Colorado), and since I'm from Rhode Island, it would be a pretty big move for me. My SO is planning to come with me, and I've started looking at apartments in the area to get an idea about prices. I was glad to see from the earlier posts that the transportation system is good, because it looks I may end up living in one of the suburbs. 

 

Does anyone have any advice for moving to Boulder and finding an affordable apartment? I'd really like to stay under $900 a month with utilities if possible, since I only have a small stipend right now, and my SO will need to find a job. Is late May/early June too late to fly out to look at potential apartments? I see that a lot of people are already starting to lease for fall. Also, are there any areas that aren't so great to live in? I see from an earlier post that Longmont has a higher crime rate, but how bad is it?

 

Since my SO also needs to find a job, I was wondering if anyone could tell me how the economic situation is? Is it possible to find a job in the area? My SO is not really a school person, so he only has an associate's. He's thinking about taking online courses to earn a certificate or bachelor's.

 

Any advice would be appreciated!

[Faraday]

Hi all! I've been admitted to UC-Boulder, and right now it's my top choice to attend in the fall! I've never been to Boulder (or Colorado), and since I'm from Rhode Island, it would be a pretty big move for me. My SO is planning to come with me, and I've started looking at apartments in the area to get an idea about prices. I was glad to see from the earlier posts that the transportation system is good, because it looks I may end up living in one of the suburbs. 

 

Does anyone have any advice for moving to Boulder and finding an affordable apartment? I'd really like to stay under $900 a month with utilities if possible, since I only have a small stipend right now, and my SO will need to find a job. Is late May/early June too late to fly out to look at potential apartments? I see that a lot of people are already starting to lease for fall. Also, are there any areas that aren't so great to live in? I see from an earlier post that Longmont has a higher crime rate, but how bad is it?

 

Since my SO also needs to find a job, I was wondering if anyone could tell me how the economic situation is? Is it possible to find a job in the area? My SO is not really a school person, so he only has an associate's. He's thinking about taking online courses to earn a certificate or bachelor's.

 

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

You can definately find an apartment for that price. I pay 700/month plus internet/TV and electricity (about 50 split between the two of us) and I live on the eastern edge of the City of Boulder itself. If you were in a suburb I bet you could find better than that. Late May/June is probably a good time. I searched around then and I was told by the agent I talked to that it was still a little early. Undergrad housing is already being leased for next year but gratuate student and older professional housing only needs to be done two months in advance or so.

 

As is the case with anywhere there are some nicer places to live and some not-so-nice places, but on the whole Colorado is very safe so I wouldn't worry about that. I haven't know anywhere in particular to be mentioned as an "unsafe town" while I've been living here.

 

Sadly, the employment is not great in the Boulder area. There are lots of over-educated people looking for jobs and while maybe a bit of an exaggeration, the old tale of your cashier at the grocery store having a PhD is an apt description of the employment picture. Fortunately if he will not limit his search to the Boulder area then he should have a better employment picture in the greater denver metropolitan area.

[aurora_nova]

Faraday- Thanks for the info!

[TeaOverCoffee]

So out of curiosity, if a Muslim woman were to walk around the city with a scarf on her head, how would the people react? Obviously there will be stares anywhere she goes, but would they treat her like an outcast or actually speak to her like any other woman would be treated? 

[Faraday]

So out of curiosity, if a Muslim woman were to walk around the city with a scarf on her head, how would the people react? Obviously there will be stares anywhere she goes, but would they treat her like an outcast or actually speak to her like any other woman would be treated? 

 

Boulder is quite multicultural so I don't think many people would make a big deal out of it. As you mentioined of course some people are going to stare, but I think as far as cities in general go Boulder is very liberal and accepting of anyone and you woulnd't be treated like an outcast. You do, however have to make a strong effort to get to know people in a friendly way for that to happen as Boulderites often seem standoffish to outsiders but it's not just you, they are like that to everyone.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Faraday

[juiceboxrampage]

I'm bumping this thread because I'm procrastinating doing other work! I went to CU Boulder for my undergraduate degree and I'm still living here. Let me know if you have any questions. Here is some general information about the things people tend to ask about.

 

Diversity:

Most Boulderites are fairly liberal and accepting. There's usually a weird line where people are against racism/transphobia/homophobia/etc. in theory, but don't necessarily know how to interact well with actual people of color or LGBTQ people. There's lots of color blind "I see people as people even though all of my friends are straight and white" rhetoric, you know?

Boulder is 88% white and I have heard from people of color that it can be pretty alienating.

Boulder is very LGBTQ friendly. There's lots of LGBTQ resource centers, events, and groups, but obviously anywhere you live there will be discrimination.

Boulder is one of the most active and most fit cities in the country. The average Boulderite is pretty fit, and it's uncommon to see obese people here. I've heard that it can be difficult being overweight in Boulder because everyone is expected to be very active and healthy.

 

Transportation:

You do not need a car in Boulder. The city is extremely bike friendly -- there are a ton of bike paths, super wide sidewalks, bike lanes in the street, AND now you can legally bike in any road (though cars are not used to this yet and will yell at you if you take up a whole lane). The bus system is pretty good and almost every bus stops on campus. All students at CU get free RTD passes, too, so you get free public transport in all of Colorado. You can also just walk. Even when we have three feet of snow out, you can see people walking and biking around.

If you're going to CU but don't want to live in Boulder, you can live in one of the cities along Highway 36. There's a bus that goes between Denver and Boulder that stops at almost every exit along 36, so you can still bus to class.

 

Housing:

Housing is really expensive in Boulder, especially if you want to live close to campus. Boulder has dumb zoning laws that only allow three unrelated people to live in a house, which makes it super difficult to negotiate cheap housing. I personally live in a co-op and think it's fantastic. There are only three legal co-ops in Boulder (you can look them up by googling "Boulder Housing Coalition"), but there are tons of illegal ones (only illegal because they're violating zoning laws). Each one has a different purpose. Some co-ops are more family friendly, some are just people who want cheap rent, some are focused on political activism, some are focused on producing most of their own food, some are focused on creating and displaying art and music... Please PM me if you want information on these houses. You can also search craigslist and look for key phrases like "cooperative living", "co-op", "community", etc.

If you want cheap housing and you don't want to live in a co-op, your best bet is to share a room with someone, violate the zoning laws by cramming more people into a smaller space, or live outside of Boulder.

 

Things to do:

Most folks love Boulder because of all the outdoorsy and active things to do. We have bike paths everywhere, we're right at the base of the foothills so you can go hiking, you can drive up the canyon to go rock climbing or inner tubing, you can go snowboarding or skiing, and there's climbing gyms and yoga studios everywhere. There is also free yoga everyday at Prana, which is awesome! Like I said before, even when it's blizzarding out, everyone still goes running and biking.

If you're into the co-op scene, we have tons of events all of the time. Each of the co-ops usually hosts at least one event a month. Here's some of the events that go on, and they're all free: art shows, concerts, poetry nights, open-mics, anti-oppression trainings, life skills and relationship trainings, language classes, community meals, LGBTQ dinners, game nights, clothing swaps, food/drink/beer making classes, and a million more.

My life kind of revolves around the co-ops, so I don't know much about other things in the city like bars or anything, but let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll try to help.

 

Weather:

Colorado gets something like 300 days of sun a year. It does snow in the winter, and we usually get a big blizzard every other year or so, but it doesn't stay cold like it does in other places. It'll snow one day, but get back up to 50 or 60 degrees the next day. It's lovely.

 

Culture:

The general caricature of the Boulderite is the "trustafarian" -- the hippie version of a trust fund baby. There's a blog that makes fun of the white women in Boulder: stayoutofmynamastespace.com . It's not a super accurate view of the average Boulderite, but it shows an extreme version of the rich hippie culture here.

We do have legal weed here, but it was normal to smoke weed in Boulder before weed became legal. It's more expensive to buy from a shop than it is to buy from a dealer. It's not at all a big deal here. People will glare at you and make comments if you're smoking cigarettes (nicotine is banned on campus, as well), but no one really cares if you smoke weed.

Like I said before, people are really active. If you want to hang out with someone, they'll probably ask you to go climbing, go to yoga, go on a bike ride, go on a hike, or something like that together.

A lot of women here don't wear make-up, have short hair, don't shave their legs or armpits, etc. You'll get more judgment for this on campus than you will in the city, but it's not a big deal here if you're not feminine.

There definitely is a large population of 'normal' people, and there are a lot of fraternity/sorority type folks. I just hang out with other dirty hippies so I have more to say about them.

 

Overall I think most people are very nice, accepting, open-minded, liberal, and pretty chill. I love Boulder. I tried to include some negative things to give people who may be in a minority/oppressed group a realistic image of what they might have to deal with, but I think Boulder is a wonderful place to live.

[esotericish]

How bad is the commute to/from Denver?

[juiceboxrampage]

How bad is the commute to/from Denver?

 

Traffic gets pretty horrendous... But that's because they've been doing construction on 36 for what feels like forever. (36 is one of the highways that goes between Boulder and Denver). They're adding an express lane on both sides for buses, high occupancy vehicles (not sure how many people you have to have in a car for it to count, but I'm assuming at least three), and tolled single/low occupancy vehicles. For now, traffic is worse. But within a year or two, it'll probably be a bit better.

 

I hate driving to Denver during rush hour because it takes 2-3 times as long to get there and I have zero patience when driving in traffic. The buses are faster and easier, in my opinion.

 

I'd recommend either living right next to a BV/BX/BMX bus stop (those are the ones that go straight from Denver to CU Boulder) or trying to plan your schedule so you don't have to drive during rush hour.

[esotericish]

Hey thanks for responding. Do you know anything about the suburbs in between Boulder and Denver? If I end up in Boulder, in all likelihood my SO will be working in Denver.

[juiceboxrampage]

Hey thanks for responding. Do you know anything about the suburbs in between Boulder and Denver? If I end up in Boulder, in all likelihood my SO will be working in Denver.

 

I don't know much about them, sorry. If you google maps "Boulder CO", follow 36 / Denver Boulder Turnpike south to I-25 / 87, which then takes you to Denver. You can look at all the different towns around the highways and maybe look them up individually?

[Faraday]

How bad is the commute to/from Denver?

 

 

Traffic gets pretty horrendous... But that's because they've been doing construction on 36 for what feels like forever. (36 is one of the highways that goes between Boulder and Denver). They're adding an express lane on both sides for buses, high occupancy vehicles (not sure how many people you have to have in a car for it to count, but I'm assuming at least three), and tolled single/low occupancy vehicles. For now, traffic is worse. But within a year or two, it'll probably be a bit better.

 

I hate driving to Denver during rush hour because it takes 2-3 times as long to get there and I have zero patience when driving in traffic. The buses are faster and easier, in my opinion.

 

I'd recommend either living right next to a BV/BX/BMX bus stop (those are the ones that go straight from Denver to CU Boulder) or trying to plan your schedule so you don't have to drive during rush hour.

 

 

Hey thanks for responding. Do you know anything about the suburbs in between Boulder and Denver? If I end up in Boulder, in all likelihood my SO will be working in Denver.

 

To offer an alternative opiniton as someone who originally lived near Washington D.C., the traffic here really isn't all that bad. It's traffic and it will slow down your commute but in the grand scheme of things it's about average for what you would expect living near any major metropolitan area. I always get a chuckle when the locals here complain about how bad their traffic is... Most people I know who commute to Boulder each day agree it's not fun (especially when it snows) but that the various reasons for living outside of Boulder (cheaper rent, SO needing to work somewhere, etc.) outweight the negatives of the commute.

 

As you alluded to there are some really great suburbs between Denver and Boulder that are closer to CU (less of a commute problem) but still pretty close to Denver. There are a few nice places but Broomfield is in my opinion the all around best location. It is quite literally in the middle between Denver and Boulder, and there is lots of reasonably priced housing there. As mentione above the RTD buses will go by there each morning.

 

it should also be noted that the RTD bus pass isn't "free". As a graduate student (at least in my experience) you'll be paying several hundred dollars in student fees (unless your department coveres these, which is rare) and if you go in and look at the itemized expenses you can see the RTD bus pass you are paying for. You don't get and option and it's a great deal but you are definately paying for it along with a number of other less useful things.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Faraday

[juiceboxrampage]

To offer an alternative opiniton as someone who originally lived near Washington D.C., the traffic here really isn't all that bad. It's traffic and it will slow down your commute but in the grand scheme of things it's about average for what you would expect living near any major metropolitan area. I always get a chuckle when the locals here complain about how bad their traffic is... Most people I know who commute to Boulder each day agree it's not fun (especially when it snows) but that the various reasons for living outside of Boulder (cheaper rent, SO needing to work somewhere, etc.) outweight the negatives of the commute.

As you alluded to there are some really great suburbs between Denver and Boulder that are closer to CU (less of a commute problem) but still pretty close to Denver. There are a few nice places but Broomfield is in my opinion the all around best location. It is quite literally in the middle between Denver and Boulder, and there is lots of reasonably priced housing there. As mentione above the RTD buses will go by there each morning.

it should also be noted that the RTD bus pass isn't "free". As a graduate student (at least in my experience) you'll be paying several hundred dollars in student fees (unless your department coveres these, which is rare) and if you go in and look at the itemized expenses you can see the RTD bus pass you are paying for. You don't get and option and it's a great deal but you are definately paying for it along with a number of other less useful things.

Ah, see I've lived in Colorado my entire life, so I'm one of those locals that apparently doesn't have much of a basis of comparison for traffic.

You are right that the bus pass isn't "free". You get a huge discount than if you were buying one directly from RTD, though.

[ackermanct]

Hello!

 

I've been accepted into a PhD program in Boulder and have never been. My first order of business is feeling out the housing situation. I have a fiance and a dog and would ideally like to keep rent below 1400 a month. If anyone has any good ideas of areas/where to start looking it would be MUCH appreciated!

[juiceboxrampage]

Hello!

 

I've been accepted into a PhD program in Boulder and have never been. My first order of business is feeling out the housing situation. I have a fiance and a dog and would ideally like to keep rent below 1400 a month. If anyone has any good ideas of areas/where to start looking it would be MUCH appreciated!

 

I'd start looking ASAP since students are already signing leases (as in most/all college towns, I'm assuming). With that sort of budget, you can find a pretty nice one bedroom apartment. You can look at craigslist, obviously, and CU has an off-campus housing listing, though it's pretty small.

 

Boulder/Denver (and all the surrounding areas) also has a free housing search service calling Housing Helpers. You can call or email them, tell them what you want (i.e. how many bedrooms, price, location, etc.) and they'll send you a list of different places. They can also schedule showings for you if you're in the area. In my experience, they haven't been pushy about trying to make you get on a lease, and like I said, it's completely free. I don't know how I forgot to mention this before. It's super helpful!! 

 

Edit with links for the lazy:

 

Craigslist: http://boulder.craigslist.org/search/hhh

CU's housing listing (called Ralphie's List): https://ralphieslist.colorado.edu/

Housing Helpers: http://www.housinghelpers.com/

Edited February 11, 2015 by juiceboxrampage

[skatjezero]

There are reasonable places to live north of Boulder. I recentishly moved out to the Gunbarrel area (technically still Boulder). The Bolt and at least one of the 200-something buses run out here. It's about a 11-15 minute drive to get to campus, and the traffic isn't too bad.

 

You could also look at Niwot and Longmont.

[d3rtysouth]

Anybody accepted in the Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering CEAE Department and going to visitation day on Feb 27, 2015? I've rented a hotel (walking distance to the school and a car at the Denver International Airport). I was wondering if you want to split the cost of the hotel and rental car? Please let me know so I can give you details of my itinerary to see if yours match up with mine. Thanks!!!  

Edited February 14, 2015 by d3rtysouth

[jujubea]

Hello!

 

I've been accepted into a PhD program in Boulder and have never been. My first order of business is feeling out the housing situation. I have a fiance and a dog and would ideally like to keep rent below 1400 a month. If anyone has any good ideas of areas/where to start looking it would be MUCH appreciated!

 

I was accepted to Boulder for MA in Comm Department, which I think is combining with media studies!

Are you going to recruitment day in a couple weeks?

 

Doing some serious searches for housing too. Have the added constraint of finding "8" and above high schools in the same neighborhood as the home we find... that should also be affordable.  Unfortunately the suburbs between Denver and Boulder don't have as many options as north of Boulder or other parts of Boulder. It'd be nice to be between so SO can have more job opportunities.

[MaxWeberHasAPosse]

Just throwing it out there that I'm moving for my PhD and I'm putting my apartment up for rent. I live three blocks away from campus right in the heart of Boulder. Amazing location with Flatiron views. Beautiful, classic old Boulder home. PM me for details.

 

You can google the approximate location 915 Pleasant Street, Boulder, CO, 80302.

[juiceboxrampage]

Ostara, a family friendly co-op in Boulder, has 2 rooms opening up. Rent is $582-$628 per month. Here's a link to the craigslist post:

 

http://boulder.craigslist.org/roo/4860458836.html

 

And to their general website, which has much more information about the house:

 

http://boulderhousingcoalition.org/houses/ostara/

[puyple]

On 2/5/2015 at 1:41 PM, esotericish said:

Hey thanks for responding. Do you know anything about the suburbs in between Boulder and Denver? If I end up in Boulder, in all likelihood my SO will be working in Denver.

I have a few friends that live in Broomfield and their rent is a lot lower than what you'd find in Boulder.  They are fifteen-twenty minutes (no traffic) from Boulder and Denver.  Lousiville, Westminster, etc. are similar I've been told.