Over and over, Boulder has been named one of the best places to live.

Livability alone has awarded our quirky town one of the best spots to live for five straight years, rating it especially high in categories like social causes, outdoor rec, health care, entrepreneurial start-ups and (of course) microbreweries (which, apparently, calculate into making somewhere a great home base; we can’t argue).

With a population of just over 105,000 and a thriving university community, Boulder is just big enough to be exciting but small enough to retain a charming, homey feeling.

We know, it’s not cheap to live here. The demand to live here is high and the housing supply is short. But there’s a good reason there’s limited land to build on. Boulder values its open space and is surrounded by a buffer of green. The city manages about 45,000 acres of protected areas that provide Mother Nature a spacious home, no matter how the rest of the state builds out. This keeps Boulder like nowhere else in Colorado.

Here’s a glimpse at what it’s like to live in Boulder.