I love me some John Denver. Who doesn't? This weekend Rob and I went to Longmont, Colorado for an interview. I admit, the song "Rocky Mountain High, Colorado," ran through my mind more than one time. Anyway, Longmont is a nice little city about thirty minutes North of Denver and ten minutes north of Boulder. It is small, but doesn't feel rural. It has everything a person could need, four wards, four high schools, and it takes only about 15 minutes to get anywhere in the city (no traffic/commuting). One of the great things about Boulder County is they believe in protecting green space from developers, so the city is surrounded by scenic fields and there are abundant greenways and open space all through the city making it a pleasant, bikeable place. I will admit, access to the mountains is not nearly as good as it is in Salt Lake. It takes two hours to reach skiing, but hey, SLC is no longer an option so I need to not compare. But while we are at it, I discovered this weekend that Colorado mountains (at least what we saw) aren't nearly as amazing as Utah mountains. Okay they are pretty, but our granite cliffs, maples, oak, aspen, mix of spruce and pines can't be matched. (Yes we are pretty sad about leaving our beloved canyons). BUT, one nice thing about CO is they are a bit less into raping and pillaging the land like the good folks of Utah are, and there are no inversions and they really put a lot of effort into smog reduction, which isn't happening fast enough in UT. Anyway, the point is there are trade offs.
We did venture past the not so scenic mountains (people were raving about Estes Park and I didn't think it was pretty at all. Maybe it was just the time of the year, but it felt barren. I guess I thought it would be more Alpine) and went to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was lovely, even at this time of year. I would say this in between fall and winter is probably the least scenic time of the year, but it was nice there. And the weather was PERFECT. 70's the whole time.
Above is Sprague Lake and below is Bear Lake. We were
envisioning ourselves on snow shoes here.
The pictures below are above Boulder at Chautauqua Park. I LOVED Boulder. It has
the same vibe as Portland and it is quaint, and organic, and just
a very cool fun place (Christian, we had someone ask about Rob's
arkotec shirt in Boulder. They liked it. We need cards to hand out :).
I do think that you have to shop at REI and wear North Face to
really fit in there (and possibly smoke pot). Anyway this place is a park in the foothills FULL of
cool hiking trails. So we spent some time working off all the delicious food
we had eaten all weekend.
So anyway here are is our assessment of CO: nice place to live, environmentally friendly, family friendly, good schools, good practice, affordable, close to home.... Next weekend we go back to VA for a second look. I look forward to seeing how I feel/think of VA.
Crazy times. By the end of November we should know where we are going. That will be a relief!!!!!!!
12 comments:
Boulder area would be pretty dope. I've scoped out some nice spots where I could land in that area too.
So cool. I could definitely see you guys there, even sans a complete North Face wardrobe. From your description it sounds like just your vibe. Now, how far from SLC again?
Glad to hear the report. Sounds like a good option! Anxious to hear what happens.
I'm so excited to hear about the final verdict! I think you will be happy no matter where you go, you're just those kind of cool people. But choose wisely, you know, if you want us to follow.
Longmont definitely has some pluses -- proximity to mountains and a United hub, being two. Once upon a time, Colorado was going to be our fall-back choice -- further south (Colorado Springs) we thought.
Virginia's pluses are different. We'll be interested to see how you weigh your options.
And remember, you won't be making a permanent commitment. Relocating later may not sound attractive now, but it will always be a possibility.
Colorado totally rocks. I would take Colorado over Utah any day of the week...but I am might be partial! Looks like where we will end up!
Looks nice there! Anxious to hear how Virginia goes. And thanks for representing Arkotec. :)
It will be nice to have a final decision. I thought you might like CO, but I think you will like VA, too. You are a good networker and will find everything you need to be happy wherever you go.
D.
decisions, decisions! Colorado sounds like a good fit (just from how you described it, and you sounded happy!) Good luck narrowing it down! Sounds like you've been busy.
Cool! Remember I have a cousin in Longmont. Let me know if you want her contact info. She doesn't have kids old enough to be in school but she would be a good resource in other ways.
Good luck! Can't wait to hear!
Alan worked in Boulder for a while. It is a unique town! I agree that Colorado is beautiful! It'll be fun to hear the final results of all your travels. Is Hawaii definitely out of the running now?
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