It’s the middle of May. You know what that means…. Boulder Startup Week is in town! Boulder Startup Week is a 5-day event that showcases the unique startup culture of Boulder. This post brings attention to the awesomeness that is Boulder along with some reasons why Boulder is a great place to live, work, and play.
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Thinking about moving to Boulder? You should reconsider simply because of the commute.
It’s the worst.
According to a report released by the ACS, more than a third of our nation’s ‘workers’ took 30 minutes or more to travel to work.
Today, commuting to work took from our apartment to downtown Pearl Street took more than an hour.
Our Story & Why We Moved Here
Ok – fine. So maybe the commute isn’t the worst. In fact, it’s far from the worst. But it did take more than an hour to get into the office today. Let me give you some background:
A month after starting Rafflecopter, our apartment lease in Atlanta expired. Open to the idea of relocating, we sat down and asked ourselves “where in the country could we move to that would 1) bring our company the most success and 2) bring us the most pleasure when we’re away from our desks?”
Many cities were considered. When the dust settled, Boulder CO was a clear first choice.
I can sit here and tell you how super-awesome Boulder has been for Rafflecopter from a business perspective. The amount of intelligent people that we’ve met and networked with in this town has been amazing hands-down. But let’s save that for another conversation.
The town is currently prepping for Boulder Startup Week, which runs from 5/16 to 5/20. In celebration, we wanted to share some thoughts around what you can expect from your morning commute should you be considering moving here.
Commuting In NYC & Atlanta…
I grew up in the suburbs of NYC, about 40 miles west of the George Washington Bridge. Every morning for 12 years, I watched my father drive 10 minutes to the closest NJ Transit, get on a train to Penn Station, hop on a subway, and finish the commute with a short walk to the office. You’re looking at 90 minutes (and that’s just a one way commute).
I went to college in Atlanta and lived there another 3 years after college. Nothing like inhaling a breath of fresh smog on your 20 mph death crawl on I-75 every morning.
…Compared To Your Boulder Commute.
If you’re a cyclist, a marathoner, a trail runner, or a hiker thinking about relocating to Boulder, this is for you. Here’s what a typical morning commute looks like for us.
Mile 1: Follow walking paths that eventually convert into hiking trails
Mile 2: Ascend up and over Mt. Sanitas (don’t forget to take in the views)
Mile 4: Cruise your way down West Pearl St, past coffee shops, all the way to Rafflecopter HQs @ 1200 Pearl St.
In Town For Boulder Startup Week? Grab Your Running Shoes!
While we would love to throw an epic party, feed you pizza, and compare each other’s business casual clothing, we’d rather do something different.
So leave your business cards at home. If you’re a trail runner, grab your best pair of trail shoes and throw on a pair of shorts and let us show you some of the best trails that Boulder has to offer.
On Saturday morning, we’ll be running a 7-mile loop at the Betasso Preserve Trails. We’ll depart from downtown Boulder around 8am (it’s about a 10 minute ride to the trailhead).
We’d love for you to join us! The loop is definitely hilly, but completely runnable. Expect the run to last an hour and fifteen minutes. Out of respect of other hikers and runners on the trail, let’s keep this event to 5-10 folks. We only have one vehicle, so if someone else wants to volunteer another car, that would be awesome.
If you’re interested, shoot me an email at greg@rafflecopter.com. Can’t wait to see you on Saturday!
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