“As one who has lived in and visited Boulder, CO over the years, I must warn everybody not to judge a book by it’s cover. Sure, Boulder is a very hip & fun town, but times are changing. Due to an ever-increasing influx of “hippies”, Deadheads, Phishheads, etc., the local law enforcement has been cracking down on the free-spirited mentality of our lifestyle. I have personally witnessed numerous human rights violations & unnecessary arrests all stemming from pressure by the local government & Boulder residents to “clean up the town”. I mean, how many places can you go where both you AND YOUR DOG get arrested in the same day?!!! Don’t laugh, because it has happened!”
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I concur. My biggest disappointment was moving to CO only to find that it’s the most oppressive ultra-right wing state there is. They’ve pretty much dropped their environmental programs (unless you live in an upper class neighborhood). Off roaders sued and won the right to tear up public lands. Developers rule.
I agree. Boulder is overpriced; the rent is expensive and it’s hard to get a job. It is full of rich people who drive SUV’s and pretend to be outdoorsy. There are a few down to earth people, but mostly tourists and yuppies.
I recently lived in Boulder for about three months and that’s really all it took to realize it wasn’t at all what I was looking for. It’s a beautiful town but unless you want to pay loads to live there among the yuppies and excessive amounts of SUV’s then you probably won’t dig it either. The attitude in Boulder is a little sketchy too, there isn’t much of a community feel, just everyone out for themselves! I can think of many places that are much more worth the time than Boulder.
I agree with you all on your comments about Boulder. I lived in Boulder for about two months and couldn’t afford it anymore. Boulder is filled with uptight rich kids pretending to be hippies.
Doesn’t sound like I’ll be wasting my time in Boulder either. If any yuppie town pretends it’s hippie, I just avoid it like the plague. And no, from what I’ve learned, Boulder isn’t as liberal as it pretends to be. I’ve heard online that Boulder has been taken over by a pro-big business, pro-development conservative Republican mayor (you can thank the yuppies for voting him in). So, as not to sound like I’m making this up (as I’ve never been to Boulder, or Colorado in general), I found the article regarding the conservatives taking over Boulder:
https://www.oricomtech.com/misc/boulder.htm
Anyway, in my opinion, if it’s a supposed hippie town, and it’s too expensive to live there, I can’t imagine the vibe or the scene being all that real.
My older Sister and Mom remember when Boulder was a free-loving open hippie town. Boulder was a really amazing place in it’s time. I’ve heard really cool stories. Boulder is built on a very powerful energy point, right in a valley, where both the mountains and the plains end and begin for miles and miles and miles. An energy point draws really old people and really bad people. The hippies that are still here are older and sucessful. (herb experts, body workers.) You have to be successful to afford to live here! Hopefully, with a few people out of office, something will change. Asheville NC is a great place for hippies! VERY beautiful.
it angers me to hear boulder talked about in such negative ways. i alos think it is rediculusthat people who have never been to boulder/ colorado put up a post degrading a great town. And basing most of his negative comments off of something he has read . Hey you read alot of things in youre life its just a shame you have to believe all of it. I say come see boulder meet some of its great people and enjoy the laid back atmosphere of the west. As far as the police are concerned i drive a car plastered in Grateful dead and phish among other stickers with no back window and have yet to be pulled over by the police. they will hassel you if they have a reason to like in anyother town
It’s sad to see the comments that Boulder has rolled downhill.
I remember it as a great hippie haven.
Our band used to tour there and we’d always play a set or two at a little place called the Blue Note.
Fantastic.
Everyone jumped around like the Swahili and we rocked well into the night.
We’d stay in the Boulderado, which was expensive at the time, I’m sure ~ but since it was all paid for ~ hey, we enjoyed it.
Great town.
If it’s gotten stuffy and expensive that’s not unusual.
Alot of havens have gone that way.
Instead of trashing Boulder I’m going to look down the road for some new havens to hang out in.
And I’ll hang on to my happy memories 🙂
I lived in Boulder in the late 90’s and up to last year, when I went traveling to China. Like anyplace, Boulder is what you make it. I wonder why some of these posters have chosen to put their energy into being with, and being bothered by yuppies? Actually, when you give up the labels and judgements, there is much to learn from all people, even yuppies. You get what you give and, in Boulder, if you make an effort to meet awesome people you will. I went to Naropa University and met lotsa beautiful, kind people. Not to mention I was there with the spirit of the great poets! Ginsberg, Kerouac, Waldman… How inspiring. Look for the subcommunities in Boulder and you will have so many friends! I also found spiritual, wonderful people in the “outdoor aventure” communities–rock climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, skiing/boarding. And there is a large buddhist community and good veggie places to eat.
No one can expect to move to any town and have it be utopia unless they are willing to help create utopia. Boulder is the one of the very most beautiful places in the world, and I’ve been all over! Beautiful, gorgeous, inspiring… There are social and cultural opportunities, as well as opportunities to get involved in activism and volunteering.
As for the government, there is a lot of room for improvement, that’s true. There is a lot of conservativism and money-making going on. And the police, as posters have mentioned, do some really messed-up stuff, in general, they’re on a bad control-trip. However, I don’t think there’s a lot of strength and honor in just going to a place where everyone agrees with you. That’s what surprises me most about the Boulder bashers: There’s no room to teach and grow in a place where everyone thinks the same way you do. Much better to go to a place where you can make a difference and get involved to promote the values you are committed to, thereby enlightening others! Remember, BE the change you wish to see in the world!
P.S. My daddy lived in Boulder in the 60’s, and he remembers there being yuppies there in those days, too. Only they called ’em squares.
I lived in Boulder in 80’s and the yuppies were already taking it over then: Coors pumped tons of cash into CU and right-wing bizness ventures, and from what I have heard it is worse now. It was getting expensive back in the 80’s and lots of the dead heads, buddhists, leftists were rich kids living on Daddy and Mommy’s monthly check…though I had some great times and love the place: attended CU and went to some Naropa poetry readings, visited Cubensisland, rambled through Front Range, got in fights at the Pioneer Inn with Nederland locals, met a few beautiful hippy gals: all I can say is Long Live Boulder Freaks….
What a bunch of come-latelys!
It’s quite true there are a lot of affluent people in Boulder. That’s what PAYS for all the open space, historic preservation and other amenities that wouldn’t exist if the town were full of nothing spare-changers and roaming dogs.
The town also has a lot of folks who were hip long before the people posting here were born, and who continue to quietly go their own way.
Earth Temple is the party to end all wars
http://www.earthtemple.org
I ran away from home in 1968 and lived in the streets of Boulder.
All I wanted was my Freedom and I was. Outdoor concerts, Hari Krishna, STP family. Those were the day when life and the world was simpler.
Carol
STP Family, you remember them? Have you heard about Butler?
JH
I too moved to Boulder in 1968 Carol!..I lived at 11th and Euclid and have memories of a lifetime…as Pete Seeger says “wasnt that a time”…I am very nostalgic and go back every other year or so for a day and yes things have changed but so has the world and so have I..its still one of the most beautiful college towns in the world and I imagine the kids there today,although with no Vietnam and so many other things that are different, are still making memories for a lifetime just being in that magical settingCarol get in touch to reminisce if you like.
wake up to reality my stinky friends: the yuppies are the productive members of society that keep the economy running. We can’t live on love and pot alone! Long Live Big Oil!
Where else can someone find an outdoor mall, ampitheatre, Dushanbe Teahouse, a dog exclusive bakery, and three parks in a one mile radius.
I’ve lived in Boulder for 15 years including HS and College and just love it. Sure the town has gotten bigger and the community wealthier, but if you look below that and discover what makes the community up you will be amazed. Once you find a small community below the surface life is phenomenal. Summer days tubing down boulder creek, long hikes in misty mountains, watching local bands at Penny Lane. If you’re considering moving here or just want to visit I highly recommend it. Living in parts of the city are expensive; I agree. Boulder is worth it all though, the good, bad, the hype and disappointment it triumphs over all to make a truly enjoyable community and time to spend our few short years here.
sadly, as the first poster here noted, colorado is quite right wing. ‘focus on the family’ has its headquarters here, in colorado springs.
speaking of family, the governor is a Republican who is separated from his wife & children, but still spouts off on family values. oh well…
the point is- for a city in a right wing state, boulder does okay.
Hey Folks,
sorry to be a bummer, but it’s not the 60’s anymore. Boulder is not like it was in the 60’s….. ’cause it’s not the 60’s. We gotta move on here. I too, moved here because of the sense of laid-back, liberal thinking that i saw on the surface. It only took me a little while to realize that, like almost anywhere else, there are two sides to the story. Yeah, it ain’t all flowers and bong hits here, but i’m cool with that. If you wanna get high, do it, but if you blow the smoke in a cops face, you’re probobly going to get busted.
Yeah, there’s a lot of bullshit politics in this town, so vote, or protest, do whatever you want. But if you live here and hate it and aren’t doing anything about it, move to Seattle or something.
Anyway, thanks for reading, just another opinion,
Happy in “Not So Perfect” Boulder.
Hi,
Me again… I thought this quote from one of the posts was interesting… “Due to an ever-increasing influx of “hippies”, Deadheads, Phishheads, etc., the local law enforcement has been cracking down on the free-spirited mentality of our lifestyle.”
Uuhhh, huh? So if i’m driving down Broadway smoking a joint and get pulled over by a cop, it’s some “hippies” fault?
Hey face it, right or wrong, cops are going to mess with the “freaks”. The dreadlocked kids on the hill swinging sheets of acid should know what they’re getting into. Just because you don’t agree with the law doesn’t mean you’re right. I think there are a lot of stupid laws and regulations in Boulder too. Leash laws, couches on porches, parking fees, etc. But i have a couch on my porch, a dog that runs free, and a shit-heap of parking tickets, i just don’t point it out to the cops.
Whatever… hope the point has been made,
Boulder… love it, or do something about it.
Thanks
Boulder is gone, the separation of the front range communities that allowed Boulder to remain what it had become in memories of old, has now been developed into one long suburban strip mall that destroyed what was referred to as the “million dollar view” of the Flat Irons, along 36 hwy.
It`s spirit gone, killed as the spirit of the Indians who once
lived hunted and cherished it`s magic and it can never be replaced.
I AM PLANNING TO COME OUT AND VISIT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PEACE AND JUSTICE COALITION, THEY HAVE A NEW BUILDING, AND I HAVE FRIENDS WHO WORK THERE. AND IS THERE ANYPLACE TO STAY AROUND BOULDER, THAT IS THE QUESTION, FOR A BREIF TIME. CONTACT LINDA SAFLEY@410-243-6535. I WILL SEND MY CELL PHONE NUMBER. PLAN TO GO TO OCALA GATHERING THIS YEAR. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. LOVE YA’S ALL!
LOVE LINDA!
I now live in Colorado Springs. I moved here to be close to my family. I moved here about 2 1/2 years ago from Seattle. I’m looking at Boulder as my next place to live since I’ve heard it’s more liberal. I love hiking, biking, kayaking, and hiking so I love living in Colorado since the mountains are so close. I don’t like living in Colorado Springs because no one cares about the environment and there are so many fundamentalists. Does anyone recommend Boulder as a good place for a person like me to live? I’ve only visited once but I thought it was very beautiful and the people seemed nice.