Why Boulder, Colorado is voted Happiest City in the US with Dan Mackin

It was great to interview Dan Mackin of The Millennial Real Estate Investor Podcast about Boulder, Colorado. Dan grew up in the area and loves the outdoor culture. Although you may think of snow when Colorado is mentioned, there are over 300 days of sunshine in Boulder. With so many sunny days, the locals love to play in the parks and hike the trains. In this episode, Dan will share the best things to do in Boulder, Colorado, so you can make the most of your vacation.

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The Hotel Boulderado.

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder has been voted the happiest city in America by National Geographic. But what makes the locals so happy? Between the sunny days and laid back lifestyle, there’s a lot to like. Abundant hiking and outdoor activities are always within reach and the downtown area is extremely walkable. There’s something for every budget thanks to the mix of affluent residents and college students that live in Boulder.

We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out the Boulder Convention & Visitors Bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.

Plenty of fun activities in Central Park

Best things to do in Boulder

• The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse (reviews)
• Chautauqua Park (reviews)
• Eben G. Fine Park (reviews) – Family Oriented. Great place to play, swim in the creek or go/watch tubing on the creek. Parking can be a hassle.
• Flagstaff Mountain (reviews) – Steep switchback drive with an awesome view at the top overlooking Boulder. Can stop on the way up and watch rock climbers on the boulders.
• Pearl Street – Walking Pearl Street – Family oriented. Great shops, street performers and architecture.
• University of Colorado Boulder (reviews)
• Valmont Bike Park (reviews) – Sports oriented. One of the best bike parks in the country with everything from x-country to full downhill trails. Make sure to get a rental bike first.

Best places to eat in Boulder

• The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse (reviews) – It’s right on the creek and is a great place to take a break and have a good drink.
• Foolish Craig’s Cafe (reviews) – Any Crepe here is good
• Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery (reviews) – Mountain Sun/Southern Sun – Great local brewery and restaurant. No specific item here since it’s all good, but they do have “Stout Month” in February where they serve over 30 stout beers rotating throughout the month.
• Village Coffee Shop (reviews) – This is the local’s breakfast spot. It’s a diner that is 800 sq ft with big portions, tight quarters and a thing they call the “Village Virgin”. French toast is awesome.

Best places to stay in Boulder

• Hotel Boulderado (reviews) – A historic hotel
• St Julien Hotel & Spa (reviews) – For the most activity you will want to stay closer to Pearl Street. The cost may be a little higher, but most activities in Boulder happen near there so a car is less needed. Don’t stay East of 30th if you want to be able to walk to activities.
• Best Western Plus Boulder Inn (reviews) – Located across the street from the University of Colorado and close to shopping.
• Holiday Inn Express Boulder (reviews) – Comfortable bed and close to downtown.
• Boulder Marriott (reviews) – Located only a short drive to Pearl Street and within walking distance of the university.

Getting around Boulder

Although Boulder has a municipal airport, no commercial flights travel there. To fly commercially, the best airport is Denver International Airport (DIA). Denver’s airport is about 45 miles from Downtown Boulder. The cheapest option is the SkyRide bus (schedule), which is only $10.50 each way.

Dan says that, if you’re staying downtown, there’s no need to rent a car. Uber and Lyft are excellent ways to get around, but most people walk or ride bikes everywhere they go.

If you need to rent a car, click here for the best offers from Avis, Budget, or Hertz.

For when you only need a car for a couple of hours, rent one by the hour with Zipcar. Join now to get $25 loaded into your account.

Make sure you stop for a cup of joe at Village Coffee Shop

Places we talked about on the podcast

Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Dan Mackin about Boulder, Colorado. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.

• Red dots = best places to eat in Boulder, Colorado
• Green dots = best things to do in Boulder, Colorado
• Yellow dots = best places to stay in Boulder, Colorado

Who is Dan Mackin?

Dan Mackin is a real estate expert that helps people create long-term income through real estate investing. His style and delivery are focused on the Millennial generation, but the knowledge from his episodes is worthwhile no matter how old you are. Whether you are looking to make some side income to supplement your 9-to-5 job or are ready to jump into real estate investing full time, you should subscribe to the Millennial Real Estate Investor Podcast.

Here are a few of my favorite episodes of his podcast:

• Partnerships, Flipping and BRRRR to Financial Freedom With Ian Reeves
• Everything You Need to Know About Financing Your First Rental
• Utilizing BRRRR to Acquire 10 Rentals in 2 Years With Jenny Bayless

As you can tell, Dan and his guests are very knowledgable about real estate investing. I’ve used the BRRRR strategy for several of my rental properties, and I absolutely love the strategy behind it. Dan’s podcast covers all of the various types of real estate investing, so I’m sure there’s an episode that will interest you if you want to learn more about it.

You can connect with Dan Mackin at his website and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Check out The World Travel Guy for more awesome videos like this one.

Big thanks to today’s affiliate partner – AwardWallet

This episode is brought to you, in part, by AwardWallet. Using airline miles and hotel points makes travel affordable, but keeping track of all of those loyalty programs can be a challenge.

That’s why I use AwardWallet to track my miles and points balances, reservations, and special goodies like free hotel night certifications and airline companion passes.

Having everything in one easy to use dashboard helps ensure I don’t let any rewards expire and makes logging into my accounts super easy. Go to WeTravelThere.com/awardwallet to start your free account.

Stay tuned for our next episode

Listen to the next episode when David Pere of From Military To Millionaire shares where to watch the best sunrises in Hawaii in Kailua, Hawaii. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.

What’s your favorite part of Boulder, Colorado? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!

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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.

Related episodes

To learn more about Colorado, listen to these other episodes:

• American Beer Festival, US Mint & Unsinkable Molly Brown in Denver, Colorado
• Best Things to Do in Denver, Colorado with Michelle Jackson
• Garden of the Gods, Pike’s Peak & Massive Biscuits in Colorado Springs, Colorado