Why my family loves Boulder

I never dreamed I'd live anywhere other than Sydney, Australia.

When you've got a good job, a house you're constantly doing 'something' to, kids, dogs, routine... the last thing you think of is moving. Anywhere. Least of all to a country you've never been to before. But then I came home from work one day and Jed told me his start-up dreams weren't done with itechne. He had a bigger one. To go to the US and launch what was to become scribetribe.us.

And I said okay, we'll Skype and email.

But he had a different plan. He convinced me to take (another) chance.

We packed up and moved to Boulder, Colorado in August 2008.

Now, lots of people have written about the great things Boulder has to offer in terms of nightlife, culture, the outdoors and the tech scene. And it's all true and fantastic. I am loving being a part of all of those things. But above everything else, I'm a *proud* mum. And Boulder is an amazing place to raise kids.

Harry and Charlie are aged 8 and 11 and have come to Boulder with us. They have swapped their Sydney private school blazers and ties, frenetic life-by-the-clock, mum out teaching three nights a week, no friends within walking distance, and a home where they weren't allowed to play out the front due to the traffic - for this:

A lifestyle that is similar to that I remember as a kid. One I thought you couldn't give your kids any more, because "times have changed."

They'd never seen snow before we moved to Boulder. Here they love it.

On top of all that, the (public) school they go to has the best educators I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. They have been wonderful in helping my kids move to not only a new home, but a place where feet and inches, and American history are completely different for them. They've made the transtition incredibly smoothly - and it's largely due to the school. (I've already celebrated Bear Creek Elementary in an earlier post.)

For me? The start-up widow? I've swapped a lifestyle where the drive to work each day took an hour of fume-laden highways, teaching in this college at Granville:



For being a part of the University of Colorado, which is slightly more attractive.



And on top of everything else, my husband is throwing himself into his life's dream. He's happily working on seemingly endless adrenaline, at all hours. But he tries to take a run each day and instead of it being beside a road where it's simply not safe after a certain hour, it's up around NCAR where deer graze.

So I guess the thing is, when you think you're settled and couldn't think of moving, think again. A bit of unsettling could be the best thing you do for your family. Especially if Boulder is where you end up. If you're in tech and thinking about moving to Boulder, get in touch with the guys at Boulder.me.