psycho d

Hola. i presently live in God's country (San Luis Obispo, CA), but am considering a move to Boulder to study West African rhythmical arts (djembe, duns, and balafon). San Luis has just about everything, including a nice climate, beautiful country, clean air, great riding and hiking, plenty of horses (i make my $$$ as a horse chiropractor), and a low crime rate. Unfortunately, being an ag and engineering college town, it painfully lacks culture. All i know of Boulder is that it has some of the most incredible masters of W. African drum, balafon, and dance, which is almost enough for me to make the move. If any of ya'll could bust out a brief synopsis of Boulder i would be most appreciative. From the little that i have heard, it sounds great. BTW, i am by choice totally car free and hope to continue living this way. Grazi.
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SKYLAB

I live about 35 minutes west and a bit south of boulder. I've worked in and around boulder for 25+ years.
Personally its a little too fast for me, but I've become very accustomed to more rural living. Boulder suits many of my friends very well. Lots of good food, art and music. It is expensive. Also the bike culture is very well developed - lots of good shops, plenty of riders of all different levels. Eldora ski area is 30 minutes to the west and they've had very good conditions for the last several years. I first moved to the area when I was 30 years old. I still recall tooling around on the old Fuji touring bike thinking to myself "everyone in this town is younger and better looking than me."
Are you planning on studying at Naropa?

redirekib

foo

skinnyone

I did my masters in Boulder and I LOVED the place. I still dont know what I am doing out of it. It has fantastic riding, flats, mountains, rollers a stones throw away, enough bike lanes and a great vibe to it. Access to Outdoor activities abounds, hiking, biking, skiing, bouldering, you name it. You could easily live car free but winter commuting might be tough. The bus system around Boulder is pretty decent though.

It is a college town in some sense but still has plenty of character and small town restaurants and shops. Oh and getting to and from Denver International Airport is pretty easy with the AB bus run by the transportation dept. You can even get to Eldora to ski in the winter on the N! All in all I would highly recommend the place.

SKYLAB

Transportation is indeed very good in and around boulder with the local bus service. They also run buses on the hour up and down the canyon from around 5 AM until midnight.

psycho d

Thanks for the info. i hope to study West African music with Fara Tolno's Project Drum and hope to eventually play balafon with his troupe Kissudugu. Does anyone know if there is a decent horse population in the surrounding area as that is how i plan to keep myself fed???
Ashe.
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dcbikeguy

I see. You're going to be a bum.

psycho d

Exactly!!!

psycho d

Just to remove any confusion, i plan to work on the ponies, not eat them!!!
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gr@sshopper

Seriously, a horse chiropractor? That's kinda cool!

DataJunkie

Boulder is a little off. So if you are a little off then it is the place for you.
Great place for a cyclist to live.

ridenow

There are a bunch of mini-ranches with horses north of Boulder along the foothills. They're along the Boulder/Larimer county roads which are also excellent roads for riding. Just watch out for the Sheriff's posse in southern Larimer county... (They're in cars, not on horses...)

ken cummings

I lived south of there in Golden and Wheat Ridge for a while and my sister builds homes and condos in Boulder. So yes it is expensive and you are competing with the thousands of local college kids who know where the limited cheap housing is. There are buses running to and from surrounding cities so consider commuting. A big part of Boulder to me is the beer scene. Maybe you can drum for beer.

boulderroad

My wife is really involved with horses. She rides, boards, and gets trained at a dressage barn north of Boulder. Lot's of affluent horse enthusiasts around Boulder. I have lived here for 30 years and love it; originally from NYC.

SKYLAB

Off what?

DataJunkie

Kilter. Just an odd city.
Love riding there and the areas surrounding it.

hanksake

I'm a student at CU-Boulder and love it. Right now I'm in Boston (my hometown) for the summer, and taking a semester off this fall to do a 2,500 mile mediterranean tour with my best friend. Already miss Boulder though. The riding (both cycling and snowboarding) is second to none. Though most of the students at the school prefer to drink and smoke up 24/7, like with any large community, there's all kinds of variety if you dig below the surface.

psycho d

That is exactly what i needed to hear. i have been working on horses for ten years now (used to be a horse dentist as well) and could not imagine working on anything else. As to riding, though, i'll stick with my LHT.
Ashe.
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climbhoser

Lived there for too long....

I love the geography of the area, and the geology Don't so much like the vibe there, but I did when I first moved there. It has plusses and minuses like anywhere, but you honestly sound like someone who will dig it, based purely on your profession and your hobbies (drums, car-free, etc...)

Lots of horse stuff in the area. The Front Range is very much a horse area. Do it, you'll like it.

YungBurke

I disagree that UC Boulder saps the town's culture. Maybe not the same culture as the town by itself, but makes it a much more balanced community. I am an engineer and an expert writer also. I pride myself on being cultured, and having lived and traveled all over the world.