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Bollocks.
Yeah, you read right. Bollocks. That’s what I have to say to all you kids that keep saying how expensive Boulder is. I understand that to an outsider, there are dozens of anomalies walking down the street proving me otherwise: the gal with dreads dropping triple digits at the Kitchen, men in expensive suits riding even more expensive bikes to work, the college student in organic cotton sipping Starbucks with whipped cream. But these are just that—anomalies. Boulder is only as expensive as you make it, as my mom always says.
In fact, you could spend an entire 24 hours in Boulder and spend under twenty bucks. Forty Dollars A Day ain’t got nothin’ on me.
Tip #1: The Farmer’s Market starts back up this weekend. Although you could easily spend a small fortune in the food court portion, you should know that sampling is totally acceptable. Cheese, granola, kombucha, smoked salmon, bread and olive oils—sounds like a pretty indulgent breakfast to me. And if you don’t make eye contact with the vendors, they forget who you are within a matter of minutes, making it all the easier to go for seconds.
Tip #2: Seek out what I like to call “free-vents” (free events, get it?). I don’t know nearly enough people who take advantage of things like the Conference on World Affairs, the Boulder Creek Festival, and even walks down Pearl Street. And here’s a way to kill two birds with one stone: if you volunteer for the Bolder Boulder you get a free entry. Double whammy! Community service karma and you don’t have to dish out the $42.00.
Tip #3: They call it Happy Hour for a reason. Happiness is cheap drinks, cheap food, and enough dough left over for a gracious, date-impressing tip. But you might gather from the deep smiles and off-balance diners, Happy Hour isn’t that big of a secret.
So stop complaining and don’t let Boulder’s obnoxiously visible identity crisis scare you; you don’t have to keep up with the battle of Hip vs. Hippie. There are plenty of ways to enjoy the bubble’s charming lifestyle without turning your day into a Visa commercial.
Contact CU Independent Opinion Columnist Stacy Parkinson at Stacy.parkinson@colorado.edu.
