I may be moving to Colorado, (Boulder area)

[cally]

I would love some information and ideas about where to live. I've lived in the SF Bay Area all my life with only a few years spent elsewhere. I spent last week in the Boulder area and I have many concerns. This would be a forced move for work but I'm trying to get excited about the move. Some of the amenities I want to find are good dog walking areas, farmer's markets and local food, views, and to get out of the college town area of Boulder. I'm concerned about the air pollution, fire risk, and water supply---are some areas better than others (I've worked on these issues in the past but know little about Colorado)? It seems like some of the towns may have fewer restrictions on development than others. The surrounding communities appear to be much cheaper but I'm not sure if there is development restrictions or enough water supply for the new deve lopment.

Any information or advise is appreciated.

One more thing, I would like to get involved in campaigns for the Fall election so I would like to know information on that.