Boulder or Longmont Commuting (apartment, to rent, homeowners association)

[p653968]

Hi Everyone,
I currently live in Australia but have accepted a job in North Longmont. It is in main st. I am a mid 20's guy who still likes to be social and enjoy the nightlife and weekend activities.
From all my research Boulder appears to be the more youthful place and Longmont is where you move once married with kids. Is this true?
I realise that Boulder is more expensive but the fun factor might be worth it.
What public transport is available and how long (roughly) will it take to travel to work if I live in Boulder? If I were to drive how is the traffic and how long would it take?
If I were to live in Longmont where abouts is the main restaurant/bar area?
Also I have been looking at places to rent and am unsure of the difference between an Apartment, Condo, Duplex (Triplex etc), Loft and Townhouse?

Much thanks to anyone who can help.

[chilaili]

Firstly, that impression of Longmont is not entirely accurate. There are a lot of younger singletons living here too. Eg; ME . Boulder has a younger vibe mostly due to all the students and related businesses. But I get your point.

There is an express bus from Boulder to Longmont and back daily called the Bolt. Once you get to Longmont you'd have to catch another bus to get to N Main Street and vice versa. Depending on where you work on N Main you may also have to do some walking back and forth. Driving will really depend on time of day and weather. It can take 20 minutes to Longmont and it can take an hour, especially if you are negotiating all the traffic lights along Main Street.

If you choose to live in Longmont, there are several places to hang out depending on your preference. There's the Pumphouse, Mike O'Shays or Dickens Tavern on Main Street, there's the Ribhouse down in Prospect, the Lefthand Brewery on Boston Ave, Martini's Bistro or Sugarbeet in Old Town.

As a fellow expat, let me try to define the accommodation options:

* An Apartment is a flat that you rent
* A Condo is a flat that you own - usually in a development with a homeowners association that you pay monthly dues to for things like landscaping, snow shoveling, etc.
* A Duplex is like a semi-detached house or a house converted into 2 separate flats (I think)
* A Loft is a flat with a loft (like a converted warehouse type place)
* A Townhouse is like a terrace house with a built-in garage, rarely any kind of garden and a homeowners association that you pay monthly dues to
* A House is a detached property with garden, garage, basement, etc that you are solely responsible for

Apologies to anyone if I got any of these wrong

[DressageRider]

I think your generalization of Longmont vs Boulder is fine. As Chilaili says there are plenty of singletons in Longmont and of course there are tons of families in Boulder. But there are way more restaurants and bars in Boulder.

I live in Longmont and work in Boulder so I deal with that commute every day -- not sure if the fact that I'm going the other direction would make a big difference time-wise. I live in Old Town and work in South Boulder. It takes me 35 minutes to drive. Almost exactly 35 minutes every time. (If you aren't driving during rush hour it takes a bit less.)

Longmont doesn't really have a main restaurant/bar area. It does have restaurants and bars, but it just isn't like Boulder. I think that you are smart to look into living in Boulder. Good luck!

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

I think you hit those on the head chilaili!

You can always consider the south, southwest part of Longmont, then you would have easy access to Boulder, but not too far of a commute to your job.

I agree that the traffic can depend on time of day and weather. The other two summed it up really.

[mark747]

Boulder is a college town. If I were single, I'd want to be in Boulder.
BUT Longmont is changing drastically. Lots of artsy people are moving out there. Prospect is a good community with a neighborhood scene. But it's nothing like downtown Boulder with all the coffee shops and bars.
Downtown Longmont is next to main street and it's pretty cute. But Main street Longmont is kind of depressing. It could be cute, but the city council out there just can't get it together.
You're going to have a better time in Boulder. If you're only here a short time on a work visa, enjoy Boulder. Get a condo downtown near Pearl Street. Walk to the downtown bus station and take the BOLT which goes along the divided highway to Longmont and down main street. You can totally get by without buying a car when you're in this country if you live in downtown Boulder. And then just rent a car once in a while to explore things. If you're trying to save US dollars while you're here so you can move back with some dosh, Longmont is cheaper and housing quality better. BUT US dollar is tanking against the OZ, so you'll probably get raped on exchange rates when you go back home anyway.

[davya]

P.S. The Bolt goes to Noth MainSt.