Table Mesa

The many neighborhoods of South Boulder including the Table Mesa area known as SoBo. There is SoBo and North Boulder. Table Mesa is the last major road and intersection before heading south out of town towards Golden and I-70, it is the way to the ski slopes:) Table Mesa is also a mesa (a flat topped hill) at the south foot of the Flatirons. NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) sits pretty with it adobe pink colored buildings atop the mesa and is a visual landmark in and area Boulder.

The neighborhoods of the Table Mesa area are pretty and they back up to the mountains, make many great schools and the Table Mesa shopping center has a lot of options (King Soopers, restaurants, climbing and hiking stores, Pharmica and a Savers). Two of my favorite restaurants in Boulder (Tandori Grill & The Southern Sun) are in the shopping center.

There are so many amazing hiking trails into the flatirons from Table Mesa and people drive and bike from across town to start at its trailheads. There are also bears, deer and sometimes mountain lions that 'grace' the residents backyards and trash cans. I have friends who have such a loyalty to the south Boulder neighborhood I think that is because the prices are relatively reasonable compared to central and north Boulder and because many of the SoBo neighborhoods feel more like traditional American neighborhood relative to the more stylish almost Euro neighborhoods downtown or the more eccentric mountain town feeling hoods up north.

I personally have lived in Boulder for almost 20 years and have not lived in the Table Mesa area, it is kind of out of town and is a long long walk to downtown or at least a small trek on a bike. I like north Boulder better, but like I many would disagree. There is kind of a friendly north versus south Boulder rivalry in town just like the downtown Boulder High School versus the south Boulder Fairview High School rivalry. It is all in fun and south, central or north Boulder is amazing no matter how you cut it.

For students or renters there are a lot more affordable options in south Boulder than central or north. If you want really cheap though you will need to either get lucky or move to Gunbarrel or Lafayette.