My name is Jamie and I live in Boulder, Colorado.

That statement is still pretty unreal to me, as I never really imagined I’d live somewhere like this.  For my friends and family visiting this blog you pretty much know the story, but I’ll share a little more information for everyone else.

I grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania and have lived in places such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Durham, NC…all on the east coast.  My only knowledge of places like Boulder came from the movies and the incredible stories I heard from my friends in graduate school that spent way more time backcountry camping and floating down rivers than I ever have.

Then I got lucky.  While working on my masters degree I somehow managed to land a summer internship with a sustainability consulting firm in this gorgeous little city.  In the 12 weeks I spent here I fell in love.  I made amazing friends and came back to visit as often as I could.  After graduating with my masters degree in environmental economics and policy I looked for a job…for a long time.  I applied for jobs literally all over the world, from California to Amsterdam.  And the one I finally got? In Boulder…

So here I am, counting my lucky stars that I somehow did something right in my life that I have the incredible fortune to be embraced by this magnificent town.  And I don’t get to just live here, I get to actually work for the city!  As a Business Sustainability Specialist I get to earn a living by working with the businesses here to help the city meet its climate action plan and waste reduction goals.  Hopefully I will help to create initiatives and programs that can be a model for other cities!

So why the blog? Well, most of my friends and family are also on the east coast, and many of them have never seen Boulder.  There are many stereotypes that accompany this town, some of them true, some of them not.  (For the record, the Subaru and cycling thing is totally true.)  I wanted to find a way to at least attempt to describe for everyone what it’s like to live here: the quirks, the kindness, and the absolutely breathtaking beauty.  I may even have some guest posts from other amazing people that have landed here.

Enjoy the stories, and please come visit!