Where Should I Move? Seattle vs. Boulder

[ColMan]

For the record: mountain bike access is NOT the same in Denver and Boulder. I don’t think I’ve put my bike on my truck for a local Boulder ride in almost 2 years. Plenty of good riding from the garage...

Yes, good rides from town...If you're a roadie.

OP - My advice would be to rent in Boulder for year to test the waters before possibly moving to Denver and dealing with a shitty commute.

[TNKen]

Nashville

[GoldMember]

Nashville

Kind of missing the part about easy access for back country skiing, aren't you? Or any skiing for that matter.

[jacob_dbu]

Yeah I'm not a native Texan so I've been ready to get out.

east or bust you nailed it though. I am lucky/privileged/whatever you want to call it to make living work pretty much anywhere I can get a job in my field. The Boulder job actually provides a very good 2-year baseline for my career, but after that if I want to keep learning I need to leave...and that means leaving Boulder too. If I think I'll like Seattle, I'd rather settle in there first than keep moving around every 2 years. I'm getting sick of that.

But my issue with Seattle is it just feels like it's busting at the seams and way too close to the next SF (I moved the fuck away from there) and I have no interest in being part of the problem (I know I always will be). My heart wants to go to Seattle, but I'm notorious for making decisions that make my life harder/worse. I was hoping to get a reality check on what it's like to get out there on the weekends in Seattle. If I wanted to avoid the commute I could always move straight to Bellevue yuck.

I also like the idea of being able to ski volcanoes and getting really into alpinism. The nice thing about Seattle is if my job sucks after 2 years I can just move to another job in the area. In fact I already have two offers there, but one is for significantly less money.

I don't like the bro/brah outdoor culture of Colorado Front Range, though I know that's not everyone - they're the loudest. Ground zero for tools kind of sums it up. Seattle feels like it's got a little more refinement.

[Danno]

For the record: mountain bike access is NOT the same in Denver and Boulder. I don’t think I’ve put my bike on my truck for a local Boulder ride in almost 2 years. Plenty of good riding from the garage...

Yes, good rides from town...If you're a roadie.

Mt biking from town in Boulder is pretty lame. But better than mt biking from Denver, which is non-existent. As for driving to trails (which I do from either) someone said that the drive from Denver to trails is the same as it is from Boulder, except to better trails. That is pretty fucking dumb. First, if you live in, say, Berkeley your commute to trails is significantly different than if you live in, say, Park Hill, so treating Denver as a monolith for drive times is silly. Second, the closest trails that one could drive to from Denver are in Golden (White Ranch, Apex, etc), and you can drive to those same trails from Boulder, in the same amount of time. But Boulder has other options for riding that are much further from Denver (Heil/Hall/Walker/West Mag).

As a Boulder mt biker, I complain about our riding access all the time, so I don't have the rosy outlook that ski-wpk does; Marshall Mesa is fine for what it is (flat, crowded, lots of non-singletrack, lots of non-pavement miles, and good views) and Betasso is great as a quick workout ride, but that's it riding from the garage (I don't consider rides that require more pavement than those as rideable from the garage). But to say that Denver mt biking is as good as Boulder mt biking is just fucking stupid.

And if you like to hike or trail run, the difference becomes even more stark. Denver has plenty of things going for it over Boulder, but access to trails (bike or hike) ain't one of them.

[plugboots]

Yes, good rides from town...If you're a roadie.

OP - My advice would be to rent in Boulder for year to test the waters before possibly moving to Denver and dealing with a shitty commute.

I don’t know if it’s changed, but I visited my buddy in Boulder about seven or eight years ago and we went for a road ride of about 40 miles and I probably got beeped/honked at 15 times on that one ride. Mostly trucks riding close to the white line and waiting to the last minute to blast their horn. I’ve never been beeped at here in the Seattle area, or even in redneck Eastern Washington for that matter.
It’s probably because it’s raining so much that they can’t see me through their wipers.

[Telemarketeer]

Pros of Boulder:
-easier to have high QoL

Here’s your answer. QoL is everything. You could die at 30 and would have spent 5 years grinding away somewhere and not skiing as much as you want. F that.

Seriously though. I would go with Boulder, and I rip on Boulder a lot but it is a much finer place to live. I used to love Seattle, but it appears that the place has been going off the rails in the last few years.

Also, you can always change your mind and move a few years in. You are only in your 20s. I moved a shitton in my 20s.

[riser4]

Coffee out the nose, thanks

If Rutland isn't the right speed, there's always Londonderry.

[JimmyCarter]

Does Europe have these threads?

[PNWbrit]

Does Europe have these threads?

Move to Seattle from Europe?

That's crazy talk.

[Bandit Man]

Sounds like you have already talked yourself out of Seattle. The last thing we need here is another transplant who gripes about all the things they would change and why the weather sucks. You gotta be hearty to enjoy life here. And it’s crowded. Job market is amazing though. [emoji6]


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[The SnowShow]

Access to the trails from Denver proper is pretty fast if you’re right off 6 or Hampden. 20-25 from my house IN the city and I’m at Apex, Green Mtn, Dakota Ridge and Mt Falcon.

Golden’s awesome though. I’d look at that.

[JimmyCarter]

Move to Seattle from Europe?

That's crazy talk.

Dont be ridiculous. They'd move to Boulder for the women and quality of life.

[TNKen]

Kind of missing the part about easy access for back country skiing, aren't you? Or any skiing for that matter.

You obviously miss the cynicism in my post.

[Jacques Strap]

If...actual Texan...stay in Texas

This is why you like me. I wouldn't leave this place if you paid me.

I'm not a native Texan so I've been ready to get out.

Praise Willie. One down, millions to go.

Are you Californian? If so, that's even better.

[Lindahl]

duplicate

[Lindahl]

Mt biking from town in Boulder is pretty lame. But better than mt biking from Denver, which is non-existent. As for driving to trails (which I do from either) someone said that the drive from Denver to trails is the same as it is from Boulder, except to better trails. That is pretty fucking dumb. First, if you live in, say, Berkeley your commute to trails is significantly different than if you live in, say, Park Hill, so treating Denver as a monolith for drive times is silly. Second, the closest trails that one could drive to from Denver are in Golden (White Ranch, Apex, etc), and you can drive to those same trails from Boulder, in the same amount of time. But Boulder has other options for riding that are much further from Denver (Heil/Hall/Walker/West Mag).

As a Boulder mt biker, I complain about our riding access all the time, so I don't have the rosy outlook that ski-wpk does; Marshall Mesa is fine for what it is (flat, crowded, lots of non-singletrack, lots of non-pavement miles, and good views) and Betasso is great as a quick workout ride, but that's it riding from the garage (I don't consider rides that require more pavement than those as rideable from the garage). But to say that Denver mt biking is as good as Boulder mt biking is just fucking stupid.

And if you like to hike or trail run, the difference becomes even more stark. Denver has plenty of things going for it over Boulder, but access to trails (bike or hike) ain't one of them.

Missed the boat. If you like riding good trails, Denver has closer riding (not more). Living in five points (killer nightlife, beats the piss outta Boulder) was about 20-25 min from Apex. But is about 30-35 min from Boulder. White Ranch is closer from Denver too. Those times are from Table Mesa. Much longer if you don’t live on the south end. Walker and Hall are fun, but I wouldn’t put them above Apex and WR. And Dakota Ridge is great, too, if you’re on a time crunch.

And yeah, Marshall Mesa and Betasso... no thanks. I’ll leave those for the dirt roadies.

I preferred living in Denver, purely from a mountain biking perspective.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

] Gravel biking and ski touring are my #1's.

Which one of these two things do you care about most? Ski touring near Boulder is fine and if you're new to the sport can be damn fun. But Seattle has no I70, stable mid-winter pow touring + volcanoes so I'd choose it over Boulder for sure. Gravel biking though - I'd think Boulder wins hands down since Boulder's warm most of the year, very dry and there are loads of gravel rides accessible from town + I would imagine a very active community of people riding those roads.

I'm 100% with Lindahl on the mtn biking thing too. Boulder's a great place to live if you like to ride your mountain bike sometimes and value riding from your house. Denver's just a way better place to live you're seriously into mountain biking. That said like the OP all I ride is a gravel bike now so WTF do I know haha

[Lindahl]

Access to the trails from Denver proper is pretty fast if you’re right off 6 or Hampden. 20-25 from my house IN the city and I’m at Apex, Green Mtn, Dakota Ridge and Mt Falcon.

Golden’s awesome though. I’d look at that.

Dude is single, in his 20s and just graduated. Golden would be a tough sell.

[The AD]

But my issue with Seattle is it just feels like it's busting at the seams and way too close to the next SF (I moved the fuck away from there) and I have no interest in being part of the problem

It's definitely crowded and getting worse. My wife's motto is "just assume everything is going to be busy all the time." You stop at the grocery store at 11 am on Wednesday and the lot is full...that kind of thing. You're always wondering: don't people have jobs anymore?

[skaredshtles]

Fucking "gravel riding"??

[AK47bp]

It's definitely crowded and getting worse. My wife's motto is "just assume everything is going to be busy all the time." You stop at the grocery store at 11 am on Wednesday and the lot is full...that kind of thing. You're always wondering: don't people have jobs anymore?

Haha. I used to run all my errands during Seahawks games to reduce the shit show and find parking/less traffic(except Costco and IKEA, they’re always Fucked) but last couple years that strategy doesn’t seem to work as well.

[Telemarketeer]

Fucking "gravel riding"??

Yeah, who actually seeks that out?

[skaredshtles]

Yeah, who actually seeks that out?

Srsly.

That's the shit that I'll begrudgingly do in between sweet sections of singletrack... but ONLY if I have to.

[EWG]

Missed the boat. If you like riding good trails, Denver has closer riding (not more). Living in five points (killer nightlife, beats the piss outta Boulder) was about 20-25 min from Apex. But is about 30-35 min from Boulder. White Ranch is closer from Denver too. Those times are from Table Mesa. Much longer if you don’t live on the south end. Walker and Hall are fun, but I wouldn’t put them above Apex and WR. And Dakota Ridge is great, too, if you’re on a time crunch.

And yeah, Marshall Mesa and Betasso... no thanks. I’ll leave those for the dirt roadies.

I preferred living in Denver, purely from a mountain biking perspective.

I disagree in that I would prefer to be the extra 10 minutes from WR/Apex but still be able to ride Betasso, Super Walker, and soon Heil and Hall when they complete the connector, all from town with a car. Not to mention the flat trails or Rez and Marshall for quick after work laps with no driving. Also only 30 minutes from the Ned trails which are some of the best in the area. Boulder is far better in my mind for mtn biking than Denver.

Just my opinion.