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In the 60s or 70s, IBM made all their plastics, worldwide, for their machines near Boulder, where SparkFun is based. As a result of that, when IBM moved produc

In the 60s or 70s, IBM made all their plastics, worldwide, for their machines near Boulder, where SparkFun is based. As a result of that, when IBM moved production elsewhere, much of the talent stayed in the area - now there are a lot of high quality smaller companies with injection molding and other plastics experience etc. in the area. Another area in business where the high rents and "you need a VC" mentality would have worked against real world success. CO attracts high quality people - although the housing prices skyrocketing is going to affect whether the younger people who are less financially established, will come in the same numbers as before.

rpcope1 9y ago
> although the housing prices skyrocketing is going to affect whether the younger people who are less financially established, will come in the same numbers as before. It's been mindblowing how much housing has gone up over the Front Range even in the last ten years (median price of a single family home in Boulder is now over $1M whereas ten years ago I think it might have been a third of that). Much of the affordable housing for northern Colorado means being all the way up in Larimer or Weld county if you're interested in a single family home. I think this is only going to get way worse, with a number of companies like Google and Amazon significantly growing their footprint around Boulder and Denver.
- blackguardx 9y ago
  Weld county is affordable because it there aren't a lot of jobs there. As people move further and further out for cheaper housing, traffic gets worse and worse. The Front Range is basically like Nebraska: You can basically build in any direction without geographic limits. It that happens, the traffic will be worse than LA as people zig zag across the Front Range to commute to their jobs in different suburbs. As a Boulder resident (renter), I think Front Range cities need to have a pro-growth mindset to allow people to live closer to their jobs. We shouldn't repeat the same mistakes as LA and Silicon Valley.
  - davidw 9y ago
    > As a Boulder resident (renter), I think Front Range cities need to have a pro-growth mindset to allow people to live closer to their jobs. We shouldn't repeat the same mistakes as LA and Silicon Valley. Bingo! My near-miss with Boulder is what got me interested in how cities (don't) work in the US and the people interested in fixing them. It's a pretty interesting movement, with people all over the ideological spectrum, from environmentalists to libertarians. Since it's local, I think it's possible to make more of a difference than with national politics. Here are some good ones: * http://www.sfyimby.org/ http://www.sfyimby.org/ & https://www.yimbydenver.com/ https://www.yimbydenver.com/ * http://www.strongtowns.org/ http://www.strongtowns.org/ * http://marketurbanism.com/ http://marketurbanism.com/
jdcarter 9y ago
> although the housing prices skyrocketing is going to affect whether the younger people who are less financially established, will come in the same numbers as before. But at least you can just go East here. The towns surrounding Boulder--Superior, Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont, etc.--are great places to live, costs are far lower than in Boulder proper, and your commute is still only 15-30 minutes. I live in Lafayette and commute into Boulder; it takes 20 minutes and it's mostly on 2-lane roads going past farmland. And as an added bonus, when I'm missing a part for one of my electronics projects, I can always stop by SparkFun. :)
- davidw 9y ago
  It strikes me as something of an "own goal" that the "green belt" in Boulder has had the effect of putting a lot of people in that area out of reach of public transportation or bicycling as viable transportation options, requiring more cars and parking and traffic and pollution. Instead of growing out a little bit (god forbid they build 'up' or 'in'), people just drive even further out.
  - blackguardx 9y ago
    The green belt worked in Boulder's early days before many people commuted in. Unfortunately, Boulder's anti-growth mindset these last few decades has priced people out, forcing them to "jump the gap" in the green belt. I think the green belt is a really good thing for Boulder to prevent sprawl (and traffic), but it needs to be coupled with a pro-growth mindset. There are shifting attitudes in Boulder as NIMBYs get more competition from younger people like myself. I hope it isn't too late because at this point, Boulder is in danger of turning into Aspen or Santa Barbara.
    - davidw 9y ago
      I get the reason for it and it makes sense to me - but the unintended consequences are causing problems. Oregon has a similar thing, the 'Urban Growth Boundary', but those expand over time so that cities can expand.
  - 9y ago
w00tw001 9y ago
IBM is definitely not the only reason there is so much talent. Don't forget about the numerous government research centers.

rpcope1 9y ago

> although the housing prices skyrocketing is going to affect whether the younger people who are less financially established, will come in the same numbers as before. It's been mindblowing how much housing has gone up over the Front Range even in the last ten years (median price of a single family home in Boulder is now over $1M whereas ten years ago I think it might have been a third of that). Much of the affordable housing for northern Colorado means being all the way up in Larimer or Weld county if you're interested in a single family home. I think this is only going to get way worse, with a number of companies like Google and Amazon significantly growing their footprint around Boulder and Denver.

blackguardx 9y ago
Weld county is affordable because it there aren't a lot of jobs there. As people move further and further out for cheaper housing, traffic gets worse and worse. The Front Range is basically like Nebraska: You can basically build in any direction without geographic limits. It that happens, the traffic will be worse than LA as people zig zag across the Front Range to commute to their jobs in different suburbs. As a Boulder resident (renter), I think Front Range cities need to have a pro-growth mindset to allow people to live closer to their jobs. We shouldn't repeat the same mistakes as LA and Silicon Valley.
- davidw 9y ago
  > As a Boulder resident (renter), I think Front Range cities need to have a pro-growth mindset to allow people to live closer to their jobs. We shouldn't repeat the same mistakes as LA and Silicon Valley. Bingo! My near-miss with Boulder is what got me interested in how cities (don't) work in the US and the people interested in fixing them. It's a pretty interesting movement, with people all over the ideological spectrum, from environmentalists to libertarians. Since it's local, I think it's possible to make more of a difference than with national politics. Here are some good ones: * http://www.sfyimby.org/ http://www.sfyimby.org/ & https://www.yimbydenver.com/ https://www.yimbydenver.com/ * http://www.strongtowns.org/ http://www.strongtowns.org/ * http://marketurbanism.com/ http://marketurbanism.com/

jdcarter 9y ago

> although the housing prices skyrocketing is going to affect whether the younger people who are less financially established, will come in the same numbers as before. But at least you can just go East here. The towns surrounding Boulder--Superior, Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont, etc.--are great places to live, costs are far lower than in Boulder proper, and your commute is still only 15-30 minutes. I live in Lafayette and commute into Boulder; it takes 20 minutes and it's mostly on 2-lane roads going past farmland. And as an added bonus, when I'm missing a part for one of my electronics projects, I can always stop by SparkFun. :)

davidw 9y ago
It strikes me as something of an "own goal" that the "green belt" in Boulder has had the effect of putting a lot of people in that area out of reach of public transportation or bicycling as viable transportation options, requiring more cars and parking and traffic and pollution. Instead of growing out a little bit (god forbid they build 'up' or 'in'), people just drive even further out.
- blackguardx 9y ago
  The green belt worked in Boulder's early days before many people commuted in. Unfortunately, Boulder's anti-growth mindset these last few decades has priced people out, forcing them to "jump the gap" in the green belt. I think the green belt is a really good thing for Boulder to prevent sprawl (and traffic), but it needs to be coupled with a pro-growth mindset. There are shifting attitudes in Boulder as NIMBYs get more competition from younger people like myself. I hope it isn't too late because at this point, Boulder is in danger of turning into Aspen or Santa Barbara.
  - davidw 9y ago
    I get the reason for it and it makes sense to me - but the unintended consequences are causing problems. Oregon has a similar thing, the 'Urban Growth Boundary', but those expand over time so that cities can expand.
- 9y ago

w00tw001 9y ago

IBM is definitely not the only reason there is so much talent. Don't forget about the numerous government research centers.