My family and I have an opportunity to move to either Boulder or the Broomfield area and wanted to see what both folks from Socal and Colorado have to say about the difference. This would be a lateral move and more for the quality of life. I have to say I’m originally from Chicago (been in OC for 9 years) and love the weather. I can definitely do without the attitudes, Mercedes / BMW’s, and the MILF’s that don’t know how to drive Escalades nor can see over the dash, but besides all of the “in your face” images, it’s a great to place to train.
Any good, bad, or indifferences in Boulder or Broomfield? I know they’re two different places - but one is much more affordable.
We moved from Ladera Ranch to Colorado Springs in July. I lived in CA my whole life and like you was just tired of the “OC”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place, but I don’t think I could ever go back after being in Colorado for 5 months. Colorado still has all the great things that the OC offers but without all the fluff. It’s a very comfortable place to live and train.
Funny, we moved out of the OC (we were in Aliso Viejo) for the same reason…but we only moved about 40 miles south to Oceanside. Love it…the vibe in SD county is a lot different than the OC.
You get what you pay for. There’s not much in Broomfield itself – a big mall, some residential communities, a new expo center that is messing up traffic, some other stuff. If you live there, you’ll often go driving elsewhere to do things. In Boulder you can do a lot more just going out your front door. So from a sports perspective, maybe the question is whether you’d spend $100k more on a house (or whatever) in order to be closer to the action. The answer probably has a lot to do with whether you have that extra $100k. Outdoor recreation aside, Boulder has a lot more going on – more and better food, all the intellectual and cultural stuff (some not so great) associated with a major university (and a minor one), more political fighting and general awareness. People who live in Boulder don’t go to Denver a lot. People who live in Broomfield probably go to Denver a lot more. Boulder is a city with its own distinctive culture and sense of itself. Broomfield is more of a place between two cities. Good luck, whatever you decide.
first bit of advice: don’t tell anyone in Colorado you moved here from California (especially SoCal). I’m only half-kidding. but …i bet there are more native Californians in Boulder than Coloradoans. Again, only half-kidding.
Why these two locations? They couldn’t be more dissimilar. Boulder is a culture unto itself, unlike anyplace else in the country. Broomfield is just another anonymous suburb. It could be in Ohio, Iowa, Kansas . Wherever. Nothing much good, or bad, to say about Broomfield. Boulder is expensive, but coming from the OC you’re used to that and by comparison Boulder might even seem somewhat reasonable.
You will get a lot of tude in Boulder … but of a different kind. I would suspect in Broomfield you might never learn your neighbor’s name.
Quality of life on the front range is awesome. IMO best place in the country to live. I moved to Northern Colorado from Las Vegas and love it here. This is the first place I’ve lived I could see myself staying for good.
Boulder is an excellent place to live if you like the Boulder college town feel (I lived there for ~4 years). I would live there again in a second if I could afford a 1000k home on the north or west side of town and was also able to work in town. The cycling to the north and east is great from either place.
If you are working anywhere outside of Boulder the drive isn’t all that great which is one of the reasons I moved to the Golden area. Depending on what you do, you might not make as much money in Boulder as you would elsewhere.
You might also check out the west Arvada area. It’s not quite so crowded, close to the mountains and is pretty easy to get around (20min boulder, 20 min downtown).
Previous posters captured the differences between Boulder and Broomfield, but there are a few other communites you might want to consider that are close by, including Louisville (just west of Broomfield), Golden, and Arvada. Any of these three (in my opinion) are much nicer than Broomfield, have similar housing costs, and great places to train. They are also very close to Boulder. Our trip from Arvada/Golden to Boulder is about 25-30 minutes max.
If you are working in Boulder, I’d recommend Louisville or Boulder proper. If you are working in the Flatirons/Interlocken area, any of the above would work.
One big plus (for us) is that the Arvada/Golden area is a bit closer to Denver, and also closer to I-70 and skiing.
I’ve lived in Broomfield (well actually Superior, but if you cross the street it’s Broomfield) for the past 2 years and honestly, I think you’d be crazy to pay the extra to live in Boulder proper.
As far as training goes, I can run or ride my cross bike into Boulder on much quieter trails that are right on my doorstep and, there is some great quiet mountain-riding (not like Lefthand which can turn into a virtual bike traffic jam on weekends) within a 30 min ride.
Pick your poison I guess, but if you like some quiet time on the roads and trails, I’d go with Broomfield or Superior
I live in San Clemente. Nearly 20 year-transplant from Maryland. Just moving within this town made a huge difference in our lives. I used to live in a condo and never really knew my neighbors, even living there 10 years. We moved into a new housing tract nearly 5 years ago and we have awesome neighbors and a great neighborhood here in northeast San Clemente and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else personally. Yes, there is some of that “OC” thing around, but it’s not so bad in our little neighborhood.
I’m jealous!!! I lived in Colorado Springs for 2 years, then moved to San Diego. Been here for 3 years, and now I can’t wait to move back. In fact, just over Thanksgiving I decided to do just then…move back to Colorado. I miss the hiking, the endless riding out east, the snowboarding, and the disc golf! Maybe I’ll see you out there. BTW, weather is actually awesome out there, Denver and Colorado Springs have 300+ days of sunshine a year! Mono-season is starting to get to me here. Sure, its nice to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of winter, but I miss the seasons.
Everyone else hit on a lot of the differences. Be sure to check out the map so you know where everything is located, there is new stuff popping up every time I am back there. I haven’t been back in almost 6 months, so there is probable even more developments on the outside of town now.