My first job out of college (unless you count my temp job removing staples all day for several months) was at Denver’s then largest public relations firm. I knew I wanted to work there the day I interviewed for my internship because it was massage day. A masseuse came in once a month and gave free massages to every staff member. What I didn’t know is that so often people were so under the gun that they didn’t have time to actually get the massage.

Perks are what companies hold out when they describe their culture be it free massages or half-day Fridays (we had those too). But perks do not make a culture. Culture isn’t that Trada pays for my gym membership to One Boulder. Culture is that no one at Trada cares if I leave for more than an hour to take a gym class because they know I’m a grown up and trust me to get my job done.

As my boss Bill Quinn said, “All I’ll have to do is treat you like a grown up to win your respect.” A former agency man himself he understand that agencies are full of micromanagers and people who tended to sweat every single small thing. That was the culture.

One of the trademarks of my first company was that they had a program where you could pay money to wear jeans on Monday to Thursday in our business casual environment for $5 a day. Each quarter the company would donate the proceeds to a charity that we would choose as a staff. Which sounds heartwarming until you think about it.

As Rob said, “So wait…they made a policy they felt mattered but told employees they could pay to break it and then financially benefited by getting tax credit for donating to charity by charging you a ‘jean tax’?”

Well, when you put it like that, yes.

Culture is letting employees wear what makes them feel comfortable and trusting them to know what’s appropriate depending on what they’re doing and who they’re meeting with.

I’m grateful for the years I worked at the agency. My co-workers were incredibly sharp, the clients were fun and my boss Brandy Radey was (and is) an incredible mentor. But I’m glad that I work at a Boulder startup that doesn’t charge me a “jean tax.” Because that’s what constitutes a culture.

If you’re interesting in working at a place with a “No Jeans Tax”, Trada, SendGrid, Gnip and Occipital and pretty much every startup in Boulder is hiring like crazy. Apply at Trada for a dev/engineer position, and free coffee is on us at Atlas Purveyors.

But lists don’t capture the spirit of Boulder and the tech community. Even if Boulder was named one of 8 Fabulous Winter Wonderlands by Where to Retire magazine. Lists don’t capture how much work goes into making this community thrive.How you can show up to numerous events and meet incredible, intelligent people who are open to helping you and the community out. If you’re looking to connect with entrepreneurs, VCs, bloggers or just those passionate about social media, you have your choices:

• Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup
• Silicon Flatirons
• WordCamp Denver
• Denver and Boulder Ignites
• Boulder Open Coffee Club
• Bloggers and Beer
• Social Media Club
• Podcamp
• TechStars
• Front Range Blogger Meetup
• Chicks Who Click
• Venture Capital in the Rockies
• Front Range Girls Geek Dinner
• Glue Conference and the list goes on.

Lists don’t capture what it’s like to wake up to 300 days of sunshine a year, go on a hike after work, to walk into a coffee shop and instantly know people. The New York Times might ask is “Florida, the Next Hotbed of Venture Capital?” but the Front Range is building a community to be reckoned with.

So to capture the essence that is this community, Boulder.me would love to get the bloggers to contribute a blog post on what it’s like to work and play in Boulder (and Denver too). Something that captures the spirit of Boulder and the greater tech community more than just a list can. Write a blog post and e-mail it to us at eellis at metzger.com, and we’ll compile a list of the blog posts. We’d love to get entries by March 15, so send us the link once you post.

Our first entry is Making Your City an Innovation Hub by Andrea Meyer!

Our second post is from Denise Smith on “These are a few of my favorite things.”

Our third post is from Jason Mendelson on “What Boulder Means to Me.”

Our fourth post is from Dave Taylor on “Why I like living here in Boulder, Colorado.”

Our fifth post is from Grace Boyle on “Dear Boulder.”

Our sixth post is from Dirk Shaw on “Living, Working and Playing in Boulder.”

Our seventh post is from Jacqueline Malan on “Boulder, Boulder.”

Our eigth post is from Tara Anderson on “How I love thee Boulder.”

Our ninth post is from Ryan Wagner on “Why Boulder is a Fantastic Place (especially for Foodies).”

Our tenth post is from Nicole Glaros on “Boulder is the Best.”

Our eleventh post is from Sopan Greene on “Boulder Influence.”