Boulder vs. Berkeley - it's no contest

I went to a luncheon in Denver on Wed for a work organization that I was involved with in the Bay Area. Not knowing anyone in the room, I sat down next to a guy who looked about my age, hoping for some interesting conversation. We covered the usual, Where do you work? How long have you been there? What kinds of projects are you working on? questions. All was fine and dandy until we hit the normally inocuous, "Where do you live?". I confessed that I lived in Boulder. From his reaction, you'd think I had said, "I currently live in a nudist colony where we smoke weed and meditate all day. In fact, I think I am only days away from achieving full enlightenment". When I mentioned that I recently moved from the Berkeley area (which I told him that I very much enjoyed), I may as well have said, "In my spare time, I enjoy hurting small, innocent children." I clearly dropped several rungs on his ladder of respect.

I hate to break it to this guy, but compared to Berkeley, Boulder is a pretty conservative city. Which to me, carries with it both good and bad things. The people who live here tend to be upper middle class, white, intellectual, physically fit, and involved in their community. Did I mention that the city is 86% WHITE? This is NOT Berkeley. Sure, the two cities have some similarities. Both have large, liberal universities. Republicans are in the minority. And admittedly, both are so open-minded about new-age philosophies that they tend to be narrow-mind about traditional religions (did you say you're a CHRISTIAN???).

But Boulder is not the hotbed of raging liberalism that the rest of Colorado perceives it to be. Sure, they are alittle weird about their organic food, but I appreciate that they care about the earth. It may be unique that they institute "no waste zones" at their weekly Farmer's Market, composting everything in sight, but I have a hard time looking down at the city for wanting to reduce the size of our landfills.

Though expensive and (I suppose) liberal by Colorado standards, Boulder is a wonderful place to live. I can bike to the Peak to Peak highway from my doorstep, trail run with the sun setting behind the mtns, or hang out with friends and have coffee along the bright, cheerful, outdoor pedestrian mall in the heart of downtown.

Colorado, you can have your hunting, your cowboys, and your right wing conservatism. I'll take the mountains, even if they come with a serving of wheat grass.