Almost two years ago now, I moved to Boulder from Washington D.C. I was on my way to San Francisco where I had a job working for an international consulting firm. Boulder, was a temporary stop along the way. My new job provided me with some additional time (and as a result of spending time in Missoula, Montana)so I thought I’d check out Boulder for a month or two prior to taking my position in San Francisco. The rest is well, history… almost two years later I’ve learned to call Boulder home.
The intellectual atmosphere and excitement of living, breathing, and eating politics naturally drew me towards Washington. However, I began to miss hiking, skiing, camping, and all the wonderful things pertaining to the outdoors. When an opportunity drew me to the west coast, I couldn’t pass it up.
Growing up in Connecticut, I never thought I could be away from the sound but, my heart ached for a life in the mountains. Needless to say, it did not take much persuading in order to change my mind. When the summer drew to end and I was supposed to head to San Francisco something stopped me. Maybe, it was the mountains, or the friendly people but, suddenly I was in no hurry to head to San Francisco.
Once I made the decision to stay, I began looking for jobs. Tech, Start-ups, twitter, I knew nothing about these things (now they are terms I use daily). I had applied to a small tech start-up and before I knew it I really felt a sense of community.
When asked to write this post for BoulderMe, I really thought about what I loved about living here. In career terms, Boulder is filled with intellectually stimulating like minded people all wanting to help each other. People from all different positions of authority are willing to take a meeting with anyone virtually anytime or place (and I don’t think a CEO of a company in Boston would take the time to meet with an entry level employee). We all want to see each other succeed here and it is really refreshing.
In terms of creating a sense of community, Boulder really caters to the tech scene and everyone I’ve meet seems to be involved on some level. Just a few events that take place in which people dedicate time and share knowledge are TechStars, Ignite Boulder, The Boulder New Tech Meet-Up, and The Boulder Open Coffee Club just to name a few. Perhaps now you want to move to Boulder?
It is so funny how once you move here, Colorado becomes a part of you. My mom grew up in Chicago, and moved out here to go to college and never left. She once told me that she considered living in Colorado one of the greatest privileges of her adult life. I feel the same way as she did. I'm so happy we got you instead of San Francisco. : )
Comment by Elaine Ellis — March 11, 2009 @ 3:23 pm
When my parents were in their late 20's, they each uprooted themselves from their respective homes in New York and Virginia and headed West. They met in Colorado. I'm about to do the same thing. It makes me so happy to read your post; everything you said is how I feel about moving. I'll be out in July, looking for a job with a tech startup, and looking forward to adventuring in the mountains.
Comment by Nicole Relyea — March 11, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
Jacqueline, Thanks for this post. I, too, am considering a move from Boulder (I found this post on Boulder.me). I'm glad to hear you've had such a great experience. While I consider myself more of a city person, it seems that Boulder is a good mix of outdoor activities (obvious) and city amenties (forward thinking people, commerce, restaurants, etc.). And awesome quote in your profile, BTW. Rock on.
Comment by jquaglia — March 24, 2009 @ 8:48 pm
I meant to Boulder, rather
Comment by jquaglia — March 24, 2009 @ 8:51 pm