« 3. Colorado Discussions

Hi Eugene,

Good to have you here. This is exactly the reason we made this group -- to get the slice of IxD in Colorado, to network, to find jobs and to announce jobs. Some of the IxDers here might be hiring. You saw Laurie's IBM job announcement. I expect more to come.

I think Boulder and Denver are your best bets to check for moving. Boulder is nice University town to live, next to the mountains with a few startups. 

Oleh

Hi Eugene,

I think we are a few years behind the coasts in the amount of IxD work here. However, I've definitely seen in increase in the past year and expect there to be a growing recognition to the value brought by IxD expertise. Boulder does seem to be ahead of Denver in that regard, also.

Yes, the cost of living here is lower than the Bay Area (really, is there anywhere else higher?). Just don't expect to see the same size salary here as you would there, either. It is markedly cheaper to live outside of Boulder proper and make a 10-20 minute commute than to live in town. Though, with the housing prices you are used to seeing, I'm sure Boulder will still seem a bargain.

It's fair to say that a good number of people are here for the outdoor lifestyle and are willing to make certain sacrifices for that. Housing prices are just slightly above national average, salaries can't compare to the big cities but aren't awful. No one comes to Denver for the food. It's not bad, but it's not a culinary mecca like SF, Chicago or NY. Things move a little slower, but not too slow. Commute depends on where you live vs where you work. Getting from the north side of Denver to the south side is a mess during rush hour, other commutes are reasonable. Public transportation is marginal. The weather is great, but extremely variable. Sunny and 70 degrees one day, snow the next. Keeps it interesting.

I've been here 20+ years (grew up in NYC) and wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, Google talked to me about moving to Mountain View last year and I said no.

Eugene,

I live in Boulder, smack in the middle of town, and I LOVE it. Weather permitting, I bike everywhere. I once had a .7 mile commute to work. It’s sunny almost all the time, except for this week, it seems. More and more companies are hiring full-time IxDers – take a peek at boulder.craigslist.com and you’ll see a few. There are quite a number of start-ups in town as well, if that’s your thing.

As for food, Kim is right – there are lots of places that are decent, but there are quite a few that are so good that you’ll keep going back there, like Sun Deli and Mountain Sun, to name a couple.

If you have any questions about places to live and/or work in Boulder or the surrounding area, let me know and I’ll see if I can help.

This Newsweek article (What Does Your City Say About You? How new 'creative classes' are changing cities around the world. http://www.newsweek.com/id/124550) posted to the global IxDA list mentions the increased specialization of different regions in the US and in the world:

"...money, innovation, and distinct personality types increasingly clustering in the world's major metropolises... New York is great in fashion design and investment banking. San Francisco's great in software. L.A.'s great in entertainment technology. And Nashville is the epicenter of music production. So if you want to pursue a given career, it's not just that you can make it in any big city, because now there is a smaller number of big cities that will be the key places for you."

I was trying to define Colorado with a single metaphor from the 'creative classes' perspective and failed (either I am not creative enough, or not a good class representative). Is there one? Colorado is great for "..."?

One interesting observation in the article was that "Barack Obama appeals to people in the spiky centers, Hillary Clinton appeals to the people in Ohio being left behind, and John McCain appeals to people who are outside and resentful of this kind of change." Colorado went for Obama over Clinton. So the 'creative classes' prospects look bright here (at least until general elections). 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the helpful repies. I'm hoping to make a trip out sometime this summer and will plan to focus on Boulder. (I've been there bunches of times, but not so much for scouting). I did take a look at Craigslist Denver. Seemed like there was a fair amount of web site design/agencies, a lot of UI work tied to either engineering or graphic design, some small boutiques, IBM...

Is it possible to sustain as a freelance interaction designer? Do you know many people doing this?

Eugene