Working on the "many electron problem" often requires writing code which is both readable and fast. Although Julia isn't the only language which can provide both these features, I use it often to research a variety of problems in condensed matter physics. In this talk, I'll discuss the sort of systems we would like to understand better, and why I've found Julia a useful tool to approach them. I'll also discuss what it is about the Julia community at large I feel is great for scientists (and non-scientists!), and how programmers of any skill level can get involved.