Even with the economic and housing woes, Boulder and the surrounding areas continue to rank high on national lists of areas that have a bright future. Louisville has repeatedly been on Money magazine’s list of small towns that are great places to live. Recently, Kiplingers gave a thumbs up to the Boulder area in its list of 10 Best Cities for the Future (http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/10-best-cities-2010-for-the-next-decade.html).
The article cites CU, the federal labs (NOAA, NIST, etc at the Department of Commerce labs and NREL) and the large number of small, entrepreneurial businesses in the area as factors in rating Boulder #4 on the list. There are also a number of larger tech, biotech and energy related companies in the area and moving into the area (Conoco Phillips in Louisville for example). The area’s reputation for a healthy lifestyle was also mentioned. All positive factors for our area in the next 10 years.
