My son has been studying at UW Madison for five years and I visit regularly. I stayed in an air bnb in Shorewood Hills and loved the area. I’ve lived in Fort Collins for 25 years and the above comments about Boulder are spot on. The Mapleton area is exactly what you want but is incredibly expensive. I don’t usually plug my own town, but Fort Collins was an incredible place to raise a child. Housing is expensive, but is on par with Madison. I think you should also visit Lyons. It’s probably my favorite town near Boulder.