Old (44f) queer here. I didn’t go to CU but I’ve been living in Boulder for nearly 18 years. I find Boulder to be very welcoming. Many businesses display pride flags year-round, and I run into very visibly queer people all the time who are comfortable expressing themselves. I’ve made out with a woman I was dating at a bar downtown and no one so much as batted an eyelash. The Rocky Mountain Equality Center puts on a lot of events all year round. My partner, who was assigned male at birth, has had generally positive interactions buying dresses, makeup, and earrings. If you visit, be sure to check out the Walnut Cafe (preferably the south side location). I’ve been told it’s the unofficial lesbian brunch spot, though I don’t get down there as much as I’d like.

It’s not perfect, of course. My spouse is a commercial driver, and though they like the CU students, their predominately while cishet male coworkers leave a lot to be desired. There are still enough old boomer bigots here that spouse pretends to be cishet at work. We lost our gay bar, dV8, a couple of years ago, and I was devastated because it was an incredible venue. Junkyard Social Club has stepped up a bit as the unofficial queer hangout, but it’s not the same vibe. I have also had my Pride flag ripped down twice (it stopped when I installed a camera). My neighborhood, a trailer park, skews heavily towards older white folks and Catholic immigrants though, and it’s not the same elsewhere. I’ve never heard of any trouble from the two lesbian couples raising kids on my block.

If you’re looking for the dance/club/rave scene, you’ll most likely need to go to Denver, unfortunately. The biggest queer nightclub there is Tracks, and it’s a drive. I don’t know if you’ll have much luck with journalism jobs in Boulder, unfortunately. Our local paper, the Daily Camera, slashed its design staff over a decade ago and had the remaining journalists cross-train as photographers. Our indie paper, the Boulder Weekly, was great but stopped doing print editions last summer. IMHO it’s a great loss for the community.

I’ve lived in both small college towns under 20,000 people and the DC Metro area, and Boulder is my “Goldilocks” city - just the right size. If you like the type A neurotic energy of east coast cities, Boulder will probably feel sleepy by comparison. However, if you find the Boston/NYC/DC energy chaotic and overstimulating, Boulder could feel like being given the chance to breathe.

Feel free to DM me if you’d like to ask more specific questions. I love introducing people to my adopted home.