Park East - Boulder, CO

In 1861, the first bricks of Colorado University were laid in Boulder, and the town as well as the neighborhood of Park East grew up around the university. In addition to drawing people to the area, the university also set the city's cultural tone.

Its expansive arts scene draws from the university, which frequently showcases students' work at art shows, plays and concerts. Outside of the university, annual arts events include the Boulder Bluegrass Festival and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

In Boulder, Pearl Street hosts the largest array of restaurants, but if you want to dine in your own neighborhood, Park East has a host of restaurants along Arapahoe Avenue.

With a name inspired by a William S. Burroughs novel, Naked Lunch serves a wide range of sandwiches with toppings from hummus and olives to brie, apple, and turkey. The name of the restaurant captures the intellectual, arty vibe of the area, and the food appeals to the health conscious.

A product of the farm-to-table movement, Blackbelly features local, sustainable and organic food — much of it grown on the chef's own 150-acre farm, Blackbelly Farm. For something new, try the roast local beets, or dig into some roast bone marrow with shallot jam.

When night falls, East Park locals head inside to one of the area's many brew pubs. At the Fate Brewing Company, the brewers craft their own small batches of everything from black IPAs to classic American pilsners. They also stock brews from guest brewers such as Odells, Lost Highway and Boulder Beer.

Although you can kick up your heels at many of the Boulder bars, you typically do not find a large range of clubs in East Park or the rest of the Boulder area. Instead, head to Denver to experience clubs such as Charlie's Denver or The Church.

Free parking spots sit throughout the Park East neighborhood, and from this neighborhood in Boulder, drivers can reach Denver easily via Highway-36.

RTD buses run from the Boulder Transit Center to Union Station in Denver, delivering riders to Denver in approximately an hour and a half. Riders can link to other bus lines and light rail trains at both of these stations.

Buses also run through the city of Boulder, transporting locals around that city. Bicyclists enjoy a wide range of paths and bike lanes around the city, and if you live near Pearl Street, one of the commercial veins of the area, you can manage your transportation needs just by walking.

If you need a ride, cabs and Uber cars serve the area. At times, you can hail cabs in the commercial areas of Denver, but in most cases, you need to call in advance.

When locals crave outdoor recreation, they head to Scott Carpenter Park. The largest park in Boulder, it features large playgrounds, and to keep kids safe, the playground designed for small kids sits slightly apart from the one for older kids. The centerpiece of the playground, a large space rocket, invites kids to climb to its uppermost sections.

Paths run through the park as well, providing bicyclists and joggers with a spot to workout. Scott Carpenter Park also has a pool. You must pay to gain admission to this pool, and during the last few days of the season, you can even bring your dog to join you. Alternatively, you can take your dog to the Valmont Dog Park, which has a large fenced-in area for dogs to play off leash.

Annually, the Boulder Creek Festival near Boulder Creek welcomes summer to the area with Boulder's best-attended festival.

Living in East Park costs less than living in the Denver metro area. In Denver, landlords charge an average of $1,061 for one-bedroom apartments, but in East Park, they only cost $937 per month.

You can reach downtown Denver from East Park for the price of a $5 bus ticket, and if you opt to drive, gas costs 4 percent less than the national average at area gas stations. Beer in local pubs costs $4 to $7.

Shops exist throughout Park East as well as the rest of the city of Boulder. Willow, a popular boutique, sells items from emerging designers as well as established luxury labels. Look through a small collection of hand-selected items to find the perfect scarf or purse, or put together an entire outfit using Willow's offerings. Because the inventory comes from small shipments, you don't have to worry about being caught in the same outfit as someone else.

Rather than focusing on clothing, the Cruiser Boutique appeals to advocates of Park East's bicycle culture. At this boutique bicycle shop, you can find standard fixed-gear cruisers with stable fat tires, but you'll also find specialty gems such as cargo bikes that carry six bags of groceries, two kids, and more.

If you have kids, you need to check out Firefly. This boutique stocks upscale kids furniture as well as art supplies and decorations. With the items at this boutique, you can create the perfect living space for your child.

The majority of grocery stores in East Park are small, natural foods chains such as Trader Joe's, Sprouts Farmers Market and Whole Foods. You can also find large conventional chains such as King Soopers and small specialty shops such as India Bazaar — an Indian food market.