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Just got done with a snowboard trip to Co and stayed with family friends in littleton and boulder
Weather :Slight edge to sacto. Denver winters are cooler and Sac summers warmer, but sacs weather is extremely predictable, where Denver's weather is unpredictable and pretty crazy at times.We were in a crazy wind storm out there last week . Storms come in real quick and fast too.
Diversity:- Sac-obviously
Food:- Sac. Sorry Denvers food scene is just really not special. It is not bad, it just does not stand out at all. Very bland and lacking for a metro it's size. Not as many ethnic options as sacramento either. Very little soul food, not a lot of asian, sea food, mexican was lacking in predominately white areas, where as in sac even in white areas the ethnic establishments are plentiful and good. Guess that would be one of the good things that comes with diversity.
Outdoor activities:-Sac. Sac has less precipitation. Both metro areas have foothills and mountains close by, bike trails, but Sac sits on two rivers as well bringing water activities into the mix as well.You won't find girls in Bikinis boating or riding jet skis by downtown denver, but you will in sac.
Scenery: Denver. Hogbacks and flatirons beat the sierra nevada foothills ever day of the week.
Urban vibrancy-nightlife-amenities:-Denver, more nightlife, arts seemed equal, but Denver had larger museums. how ever it should be noted Denver has a good deal of decay as well. You wont find anything like Denvers 5 points neighborhood (where my friend was robbed and shot several years ago) in Sacramento .KU student injured in Denver shooting / LJWorld.com
Housing Prices- Sacramento. Both cities have similar median family incomes, but houses cost less in sac
Architecture: City-Denver. More skyscrapers and more urbane neighborhoods... but for the Metro Sac. Stucco beats prefab siding every time.
Jobs- Denver seems to be Gov't mixed with IT and defense. Lots of lockeed satalite parts being made out that way and areospace companies lured from California. Sac is mainly a gov't town. Way more Gov't jobs than Denver as the state is so huge. distribution/utilities/healthcare are the more secondary industries. Denver seemed to have a stronger light manufacturing presence. I would personally give the edge to Denver, but gooberment jobs seems to be a real shoe-in with the high life these days.
People/chill vibe: City-Sac . Metro- Denver. This is just a personal vibe, I find the people of Sac to be more diverse and interesting, but Denvers suburbanites I was around struck me as very pleasant down to earth people.
I am glad I got to check out Denver for a week, I would not mind living there at all. In fact I would love it. Even though I live in Ca I was not born there so I would not be bringing the infamous California attitude with me, my wife on the other hand...
Bump
Just got done with a snowboard trip to Co and stayed with family friends in littleton and boulder
Weather :Slight edge to sacto. Denver winters are cooler and Sac summers warmer, but sacs weather is extremely predictable, where Denver's weather is unpredictable and pretty crazy at times.We were in a crazy wind storm out there last week . Storms come in real quick and fast too.
Diversity:- Sac-obviously
Food:- Sac. Sorry Denvers food scene is just really not special. It is not bad, it just does not stand out at all. Very bland and lacking for a metro it's size. Not as many ethnic options as sacramento either. Very little soul food, not a lot of asian, sea food, mexican was lacking in predominately white areas, where as in sac even in white areas the ethnic establishments are plentiful and good. Guess that would be one of the good things that comes with diversity.
Outdoor activities:-Sac. Sac has less precipitation. Both metro areas have foothills and mountains close by, bike trails, but Sac sits on two rivers as well bringing water activities into the mix as well.You won't find girls in Bikinis boating or riding jet skis by downtown denver, but you will in sac.
Scenery: Denver. Hogbacks and flatirons beat the sierra nevada foothills ever day of the week.
Urban vibrancy-nightlife-amenities:-Denver, more nightlife, arts seemed equal, but Denver had larger museums. how ever it should be noted Denver has a good deal of decay as well. You wont find anything like Denvers 5 points neighborhood (where my friend was robbed and shot several years ago) in Sacramento .KU student injured in Denver shooting / LJWorld.com
Housing Prices- Sacramento. Both cities have similar median family incomes, but houses cost less in sac
Architecture: City-Denver. More skyscrapers and more urbane neighborhoods... but for the Metro Sac. Stucco beats prefab siding every time.
Jobs- Denver seems to be Gov't mixed with IT and defense. Lots of lockeed satalite parts being made out that way and areospace companies lured from California. Sac is mainly a gov't town. Way more Gov't jobs than Denver as the state is so huge. distribution/utilities/healthcare are the more secondary industries. Denver seemed to have a stronger light manufacturing presence. I would personally give the edge to Denver, but gooberment jobs seems to be a real shoe-in with the high life these days.
People/chill vibe: City-Sac . Metro- Denver. This is just a personal vibe, I find the people of Sac to be more diverse and interesting, but Denvers suburbanites I was around struck me as very pleasant down to earth people.
I am glad I got to check out Denver for a week, I would not mind living there at all. In fact I would love it. Even though I live in Ca I was not born there so I would not be bringing the infamous California attitude with me, my wife on the other hand...
Never been to Denver. But interesting comparison.
One more thing, Sac is growing in sophistication compared to a lot of the other more established cities. I think if Sac continues on its path of redeveloping it's urban core, and finally developing the Railyards, thus, doubling Sac's downtown area and bringing a great deal more urban vibrancy, it will be recognized more on the national stage.
But I gotta check out Denver some time. Never been to Colorado. Would like to see how it's like. I've heard good things about Denver.
So as you see, Denver doesn't lack (even though it is isolated). And it doesn't need other cities for support (i'm not inferring that Sac does though).
I'd infer this. I think that the best thing that Sacramento has going for it is the proximity to Tahoe and vicinity as well as San Francisco. The city itself seems a little bland to me. I have family that lives there and every time I visit I think it's nice, some great riverfront areas, etc, but nothing special. I think it has a very similar feel to San Jose, though not quite as...dull.
I agree with Sacramento916 that when you make a comparison like this, it is fair game to consider all things within the immediate area (day drive distance, for example.) So the areas surrounding Sacramento make this a little more even, depending on the interests of the observer. Northern California/SF Bay Area is a tough act to top, but so are the Rocky Mountains immediately outside of Denver.
As for the immediate cities themselves, Denver by a decisive margin. It strikes me as a nicer, cleaner, and better city all around. I've never found Denver's food scene to be lacking, especially in authentic Mexican. There are a lot of unique dining options ranging from rustic game style (The Fort) to refined (Brown Palace) and all points in between. As a big sports fan, Denver hands down. Shopping options are probably about equal. Denver has a much nicer backdrop/cityscape. If you are a fan of the performing arts, the Denver Performing Arts Center downtown is the second largest in the country.
Over all I would take Denver over Sacramento, even when factoring in the surrounding areas, and ESPECIALLY when considering the cities themselves. Sacramento is not a bad town, but I feel like Denver is much better. Just my opinion.
Bump
Just got done with a snowboard trip to Co and stayed with family friends in littleton and boulder
Weather :Slight edge to sacto. Denver winters are cooler and Sac summers warmer, but sacs weather is extremely predictable, where Denver's weather is unpredictable and pretty crazy at times.We were in a crazy wind storm out there last week . Storms come in real quick and fast too.
Diversity:- Sac-obviously
Food:- Sac. Sorry Denvers food scene is just really not special. It is not bad, it just does not stand out at all. Very bland and lacking for a metro it's size. Not as many ethnic options as sacramento either. Very little soul food, not a lot of asian, sea food, mexican was lacking in predominately white areas, where as in sac even in white areas the ethnic establishments are plentiful and good. Guess that would be one of the good things that comes with diversity.
Outdoor activities:-Sac. Sac has less precipitation. Both metro areas have foothills and mountains close by, bike trails, but Sac sits on two rivers as well bringing water activities into the mix as well.You won't find girls in Bikinis boating or riding jet skis by downtown denver, but you will in sac.
Scenery: Denver. Hogbacks and flatirons beat the sierra nevada foothills ever day of the week.
Urban vibrancy-nightlife-amenities:-Denver, more nightlife, arts seemed equal, but Denver had larger museums. how ever it should be noted Denver has a good deal of decay as well. You wont find anything like Denvers 5 points neighborhood (where my friend was robbed and shot several years ago) in Sacramento .KU student injured in Denver shooting / LJWorld.com
Housing Prices- Sacramento. Both cities have similar median family incomes, but houses cost less in sac
Architecture: City-Denver. More skyscrapers and more urbane neighborhoods... but for the Metro Sac. Stucco beats prefab siding every time.
Jobs- Denver seems to be Gov't mixed with IT and defense. Lots of lockeed satalite parts being made out that way and areospace companies lured from California. Sac is mainly a gov't town. Way more Gov't jobs than Denver as the state is so huge. distribution/utilities/healthcare are the more secondary industries. Denver seemed to have a stronger light manufacturing presence. I would personally give the edge to Denver, but gooberment jobs seems to be a real shoe-in with the high life these days.
People/chill vibe: City-Sac . Metro- Denver. This is just a personal vibe, I find the people of Sac to be more diverse and interesting, but Denvers suburbanites I was around struck me as very pleasant down to earth people.
I am glad I got to check out Denver for a week, I would not mind living there at all. In fact I would love it. Even though I live in Ca I was not born there so I would not be bringing the infamous California attitude with me, my wife on the other hand...
What particular foods scene stand out in Sacramento? I haven't been there, but Its not to often that i here about Sac having a food scene. For a city of their sizes, they could both be alittle better, but what kind of food scene defines Sac? Denver has good Steak, BBQ, and (more widely known) Mexican food. Along with many other ethnic eateries (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Some Soulfood (Not alot), Hawaiian, Italian+).
I have friends who moved to Sacramento from Denver and before they moved out here we went for a 2-week long ski trip to Colorado a few years back.
Denver and the entire metro area is butt ugly in the winter. Only thing nice is the snow capped mountains. Very few trees in Denver. Most of Denver is in the plains.
Denver beats Sac in major league sports and art museums. Public transit-light rail is the same overall for the two cities.
I would not leave the attributes of the Sacramento-NorCal area for the Denver area, including the in-town attributes of Sac’s waterways for summer activities.
It would be hard to give up Sac’s connection to mountians, delta, bay, ocean, rugged coast, beaches, foods, and wine regions.
Sac’s climate is superior in my opinion including our summers.
Last edited by Chimérique; 01-10-2012 at 09:07 PM..
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