Boulder, CO... AGAIN?

My new thing is to write more frequently, because I believe that like most other things, becoming a better writer isn't just about being smart or creative, but practicing.  So I'm making it my new thing to put up a blog post as often as I can, ideally between once a week to once every ten days or so.

My other new thing is that I have relocated to Boulder, CO.  You know, no big deal.  But really, when you consider how much I have been pinging around place to place in the past year, it really isn't too big of a deal.

That's right, this is no big deal

Just kidding.  Boulder is pretty amazing.  The first thing that greets you on arrival (at least if you fly) is that the sky seems so much bigger and the sun brighter.  Perhaps it's because I'm most used to the gloomy grey sky that belongs to Chicago for much of the year or perhaps it's just my overactive imagination, but when I left the Denver Airport I thought I was going to go blind from how bright it was.

As usual, my plan had been to show up to Boulder and figure out things as they came, but thankfully  my 4K teammate "cool mom" Caitlyn was kind enough to drive up from Colorado Springs to pick me up at the Denver airport and drive me to Boulder.  I am also lucky to have 4K friends in Boulder, on whose air mattress I have been crashing for over a week now (thanks Bradley and Chelsea and co).

For those of you who followed my 4K trip last year on this blog, we actually went through Boulder on our way to Portland.  It was definitely among our team's favorite stops, which is partly why I came out here.  Of course visiting a town is different than living there, but I would say so far Boulder has lived up to the hype, and I can see why it is often called the happiest city in America.  But of course there is no such thing as a perfect place (or a thing that I can't complain about), so here are my thoughts on Boulder after living here for a week, listed somewhat randomly.

Great commuting by biking- I don't think there is anywhere I have been in America that is as bike friendly as Boulder.  I suppose this is easier to accomplish in a smaller city like Boulder, but still I'm amazed by just how many bike lanes and paths are spread throughout the entire city.  A big plus is that bike paths are designed such that you don't have to constantly stop at every light, making commuting by bike much faster.

Proximity to the Rockies- I love the Appalachians and their general greenness, but in terms of embodying the essence of "mountain-ness", it's pretty hard to dispute that the Rockies reign supreme in North America.  They are where I first saw snow in July, where I first suffered from altitude sickness.

6,843 feet above sea level and out of breath

Privilege and leisure - this is one thing I'm not so crazy about Boulder.  A lot of people point out that Boulder is very white, but that isn't what I care about.  What I care about is the sense of privilege and leisure that people have in Boulder.  If I might be brutally frank and describe it in the worst terms possible, Boulder is the city where the wealthy come to get away from the problems of the poor.  I've heard the term "Boulder Bubble" multiple times already, and it is very real.  By no means is everyone here is rich, and I've loved my stay in Boulder so far.  But as one of my friends said, yeah it's great that Boulder has no crime, but that also means it doesn't get to have any superheroes.  What's a city without superheroes?