It's a big shock, moving to Boulder. Depends where you move from, of course, but if you're coming from a place that is old, diverse, and or gritty, you may be in for an adjustment.
We moved from Chicago - actually from Evanston. Everything from the age of the houses here (70's, in spades!) to the whiteness of the people to the blandness of the ethnic food took us by surprise. We love it, but Boulder took some getting used to.
A guy that I worked with, based in Boston, said "I can't see you in Colorado. The people are very....plain." I didn't understand him. He was talking about that East-Coast (and West Coast too, to some degree), fast, snappy, often sarcastic verbal thing. It's not a Colorado thing. People here ARE plain, but I like that about them. When they say a thing, they're done.
People think that Boulder is going to be hippie-ish, but you really have to look for that. It is definitely doggish. And bike-ish. Natural foods? That surprised me. I thought the town would be overrun with healthy restaurants, but it isn't so. I'm not complaining. That was another Boulder Surprise.
The ethnicity thing is the most unsettling for me. I'm so excited to get in a cab in Chicago or New York and hear an accent. Wow! You're Nigerian! Polish! Congolese! It's the greatest. That's a big part of the deprivation here. We get the glorious mountains, but no pierogi.
Wednesday 9 September 2015
Wednesday 1 July 2015
Canyon Mystique
When we moved from Evanston to Boulder almost five years ago (we did not know at the time that Evanston and Boulder are on the same circuit - the lefty circuit) we moved into Sunshine Canyon. You can't believe the views we had. We were walking distance from Pearl Street, far down on the west end, but in our own world too. We fell into the canyon mystique pit.
Later on we figured out that our 30-degree-pitch driveway left something to be desired. We had friends who literally couldn't walk down our driveway from the street OR manage the rickety railroad-tie stairs through the front yard. We had no sidewalks of course, and almost no on-street parking for our friends. Forget about carting anything - like a Thanksgiving casserole or even a large birthday present - down that treacherous driveway.
One time, I had our twins in the Volvo wagon (there's a Boulder staple) and tried to back up the driveway to the street. But the driveway was icy and I nearly went over the side, about an eight-foot drop. The car was teetering on the edge. I pushed the twins up, out the passenger-side door, and got out of the teetering vehicle myself, then called a tow truck. Wrong: two tow trucks, because of the way the car was perched on the edge of the cliff between my driveway and my neighbors' yard.
A year ago we moved into town. We have sidewalks and a fenced yard for our dogs and coffee and groceries within walking distance. A bus route. Snowplows. A bring-the-garbage-cans-to-the-curb task that will not put my husband in traction. We like it.
Later on we figured out that our 30-degree-pitch driveway left something to be desired. We had friends who literally couldn't walk down our driveway from the street OR manage the rickety railroad-tie stairs through the front yard. We had no sidewalks of course, and almost no on-street parking for our friends. Forget about carting anything - like a Thanksgiving casserole or even a large birthday present - down that treacherous driveway.
One time, I had our twins in the Volvo wagon (there's a Boulder staple) and tried to back up the driveway to the street. But the driveway was icy and I nearly went over the side, about an eight-foot drop. The car was teetering on the edge. I pushed the twins up, out the passenger-side door, and got out of the teetering vehicle myself, then called a tow truck. Wrong: two tow trucks, because of the way the car was perched on the edge of the cliff between my driveway and my neighbors' yard.
A year ago we moved into town. We have sidewalks and a fenced yard for our dogs and coffee and groceries within walking distance. A bus route. Snowplows. A bring-the-garbage-cans-to-the-curb task that will not put my husband in traction. We like it.
Tuesday 12 May 2015
Boulder This Very Minute (and Lousy Names)
It is 75 degrees outside. This is one of the big misconceptions about Boulder: that the weather is harsh. It's a gorgeous Spring day. Yesterday was glorious, and the buskers were out in force on Pearl Street Mall. The cyclists are everywhere. I went for a massage yesterday and the place was packed, on a Sunday afternoon, because people are thinking about the Boulder Bolder (or is it the Bolder Boulder?) race coming up.
Boulder is great, but there's a serious shortage of creative brainpower here. The Boulder Bolder/Bolder Boulder race name is a perfect example. Geez! How trite and boring can you get? There is another race called the Boulder Dash - okay, that's kind of cute. But there's Bolder Staffing and Bolder This and Bolder That. Enough. Great town, horrible names.
Boulder Creek, Boulder Canyon, Boulder Falls. South Boulder Creek. There are three Rec Centers called North Boulder, East Boulder and South Boulder Rec Centers. I mean, please. One of the less-exciting (but perfectly nice) areas of town has one of the most evocative names: Gunbarrel. Left Hand Canyon is a great name. That's pretty much it as far as place names go. It's all downhill from there. But it's a great town, regardless.
Boulder is great, but there's a serious shortage of creative brainpower here. The Boulder Bolder/Bolder Boulder race name is a perfect example. Geez! How trite and boring can you get? There is another race called the Boulder Dash - okay, that's kind of cute. But there's Bolder Staffing and Bolder This and Bolder That. Enough. Great town, horrible names.
Boulder Creek, Boulder Canyon, Boulder Falls. South Boulder Creek. There are three Rec Centers called North Boulder, East Boulder and South Boulder Rec Centers. I mean, please. One of the less-exciting (but perfectly nice) areas of town has one of the most evocative names: Gunbarrel. Left Hand Canyon is a great name. That's pretty much it as far as place names go. It's all downhill from there. But it's a great town, regardless.
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