Life in Boulder is expensive: tuition and books alone can be a nightmare before students add rent and groceries to the equation. So how do CU students find the right balance?
CU’s location is unique among other universities because of the diversity of activities that are available in and around the Boulder area; from the high life of the mountains to the night life on Pearl Street, there is never a lack of things for students to do, just a lack of funds with which to do them.
When asked what activity or pleasure CU students would never give up, recession or no recession, the answers varied as much the activities that Boulder has to offer.
Some CU students say they live for the outdoors and relish in Boulder’s proximity to several of the country’s best mountains.
“I would definitely not give up skiing,” said Hillary Newell, a sophomore open-option major.
Other students agree that outdoor activities come first for them.
“I love all outdoor stuff,” said Micah Starkey, a junior communication major.
Other students say they prefer indoor activities. Eating out and going to nice restaurants were the simple pleasures that Isaac Troiano, a senior communication major, and Andrew Kurtz, a sophomore economics major, say they would not go without. But for sophomore finance major Noah Rosen, the Internet is absolutely essential.
Still, others say they don’t care if the activity is indoors or outdoors, as long as there is sweat involved.
“I wouldn’t give up working out and going to the gym,” commented Andronik Mamayan, a senior finance major.
Of course, there are the students that could live without a ski season, Facebook and nice meals, but not without a good party.
“I would not give up going to the bars,” said Rifka Blum, a senior civil engineering major.
Blum is certainly not alone, there is so much to do and experience in Boulder that having a social life is a high priority for a lot of college students.
“I would say anything social, whether it’s getting drinks or getting coffee, I wouldn’t give up seeing my friends and having a social life,” said Tamara Berkman, a junior communication major.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Allison Doyle at Allison.doyle@colorado.edu.