When is it time to say, "I just don't fit in here," and leave?

[tman666]

Yeah, I've actually thought about investigating living, working, and possibly attending grad school in Boulder. I lived in Denver the first year I was here, and my feeling about that city, perhaps unfairly, is heavily sullied by the horrible humiliation I suffered at the hands of my ex there, plus the humiliation of being unable to find ANY job there. I felt like such a nobody, and I would rather live somewhere else than ever return to the site of such an unhappy period in my life. I will probably never think very positively of Denver because of what I encountered there.

 

I know what you refer to when you talk about the kinds of personalities you can encounter in the ski industry. But honestly, my work as a ski instructor has been a veritable oasis in all the unpleasantness I have experienced while living in CO so far. My ski school colleagues have been so much fun to work with, and supportive and encouraging, and I have achieved a lot as an instructor, building up a clientele, and going from having never skied before Dec. 2007 to getting my Level II cert this past season and a children's specialist accred. Teaching skiing has taught me a lot not only about skiing, but about psychology, which is the passion on which I am contemplating building my career from here on out, in collaboration with other skills of mine.

 

I have noticed that the nordic skiing community is a pretty cool group of folks...but I'm all about the downhill, baby!

 

I'm curious about any thoughts / exp. you might have regarding Boulder. It seems to bring its share of flakiness, etc., but also being a college town near the mountains I thought it would be a bit more vibrant opportunity-wise and socially.

 

Thanks much for posting your thoughts on my thread, fellow Coloradan

 

I personally think that Boulder is a great place, especially if you're the type that enjoys meeting and mingling with a wide variety of people. Housing tends to be pretty expensive from what I hear. There's definitely a huge fitness/outdoors community, so if you're into that, Boulder is a mecca of people with those interests. Obviously you have CU, which is a great school. As as CSU grad, I tend to be a little biased about certain programs at CSU being better , but in all seriousness, you can't go wrong at CU. It's a great school.

 

Boulder tends to lean to the left on the political spectrum, probably more so than the rest of CO. Despite it's reputation as sort of a "hippy town", there are plenty of very affluent people there. You'll see guys/gals with dreadlocks driving Land Rovers.

 

As far as jobs go, check out this website: http://www.nocojobslist.com./archive072511.html

 

While this list is obviously weighted towards professional-type jobs, it could be useful.

 

Another place I would definitely check out is Fort Collins. It's not quite as fast paced as Boulder, but you still have an abundance of the things I mentioned above (cultural diversity, big fitness/outdoor community, college town, etc.). In my opinion, the town is more centered politically due to there being a large "rural community" and a large college aged crowd.

 

I loved living in Fort Collins, and I love visiting Boulder (I've never had a reason to live there yet). Both places offer a wide variety of social/cultural/activity opportunities and experiences.

 

One downside to living in FoCo is that there aren't any ski areas within a commutable distance, so if you're trying to stay in the ski industry, that might disqualify it as a viable option.

 

Good luck!