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And yet Denver is still the Number 1 most fit city in the nation year after year! Go figure!
And it usually is at the top of the "most desirable cities" lists as well. Of course, those lists are often subjective. Still the reality is the Denver is a city in which the way of life encourages rugged self-reliance, pioneer spirit, fitness and health activities, hiking and outdoor activities, and general wellness. This is blended with the refinements of the country's second largest performing arts center, fine fine restaurants, leading universities, and world class sports/venues.
Having grown up in the Bay Area (spending plenty of time in Sacramento, Davis and Tahoe) and lived in Denver for 4 years - Denver definitely takes the cake when it comes to being populated by outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Residents of Sacramento are certainly active, but somehow Denver takes it to a whole new level.
Well my friends from Denver who moved to Sacramento (a young couple with a 5yr old) would not agree. They are climbers and skiers and they are happy with the Sierra's, and they love Sacramento for it rivers and lakes.
They jet ski on the Sacramento River. Water ski on Folsom Lake. Kayak and raft the American River in Sacramento and in the foothills(for first class white water rafting).
They surf in Pacifica and take hikes in the coastal mountains. They Duck hunt in the Sacto River Delta, and deer hunt in the higher foothills of the Sierras.
They didnt do anything of the aqua activities until moving to Sacramento. Nor did they surf or duck hunt until moving to Sacramento, go figure.
Last I heard they will be taking diving lessons either in Monterey Bay or some place way north of SF (Gualala).
Last edited by Chimérique; 01-11-2012 at 02:21 AM..
Sacramento does give you easier access to the coast and the water recreation that comes with it. But if I am choosing California over Colorado for that reason, I would choose something that is actually coastal, like Monterey or San Francisco. If I'm paying California prices to live here and the coastline is a factor in my decision, I'm going all in and not settling for a city that is nearly 100 miles inland!
Here's a good site:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
I have it on "cost of living" right now, but you can explore other comparisons like health, crime, climate, etc... Plus you can throw in other city comparisons as well. Given that much of this is simply data, Denver comes off looking pretty good to an unbiased observer. Then you add in the intangibles and the preferences of the individual and there is really no telling how/what/why a place appeals to someone over another place because everyone is different.
That really is part of what makes this country so awesome. There is something here for everyone.
Sacramento does give you easier access to the coast and the water recreation that comes with it. But if I am choosing California over Colorado for that reason, I would choose something that is actually coastal, like Monterey or San Francisco. If I'm paying California prices to live here and the coastline is a factor in my decision, I'm going all in and not settling for a city that is nearly 100 miles inland!
Solid. My thought exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chimérique
Well my friends from Denver who moved to Sacramento (a young couple with a 5yr old) would not agree. They are climbers and skiers and they are happy with the Sierra's, and they love Sacramento for it rivers and lakes.
They jet ski on the Sacramento River. Water ski on Folsom Lake. Kayak and raft the American River in Sacramento and in the foothills(for first class white water rafting).
They surf in Pacifica and take hikes in the coastal mountains. They Duck hunt in the Sacto River Delta, and deer hunt in the higher foothills of the Sierras.
They didnt do anything of the aqua activities until moving to Sacramento. Nor did they surf or duck hunt until moving to Sacramento, go figure.
Last I heard they will be taking diving lessons either in Monterey Bay or some place way north of SF (Gualala).
Lol, that's great for your friends, but the statistics and reputation of each city tell the real story. Refer to my previous post (and those of others) for statistical evidence-- as far as reputation, Denver has a national reputation for its outdoor opportunities and residents who take advantage of it! The only people who would say the same about Sacramento are probably...well, Sacramentans. NorCal is AWESOME for the outdoors, overall even better than CO, but the Bay Area leads the way well above Sac when it comes to residents who reflect that.
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.
Denver being ugly is pretty cliche. How about talking about what its like when its not Winter? Denver has Beautiful scenery in Spring when everything comes back to life and Fall when the leaves change bright beautiful Colors (something that you don't see in Sacramento). Also Sac isn't as close to the mountains as Denver is. I do like the proximity to Yosimite National Park and Lake Tahoe though.
Well my friends from Denver who moved to Sacramento (a young couple with a 5yr old) would not agree. They are climbers and skiers and they are happy with the Sierra's, and they love Sacramento for it rivers and lakes.
Funny you mention your friends. My sister who races mountain bikes competitively moved to Boulder, Colorado after graduating from UC Davis because of the more robust and competitive outdoor scene.
Denver is obviously lacking any sort of ocean access, however there are quite a large number of lakes and reservoirs that are used for recreational use along the Front Range. I don't think there's anything as heavily used as the Delta, Lake Folsom or Lake Tahoe however.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chimérique
Denver being ugly is pretty cliche. How about talking about what its like when its not Winter? Denver has Beautiful scenery in Spring when everything comes back to life and Fall when the leaves change bright beautiful Colors (something that you don't see in Sacramento). Also Sac isn't as close to the mountains as Denver is. I do like the proximity to Yosimite National Park and Lake Tahoe though.
I agree that Denver is much prettier than Sacramento in the Spring and Summer months. Denver's brownness during the winter is similar to Sacramento's brownness during the summer and fall. Denver and Sacramento are similar in the fall however, as most leaves in Sacramento change colors and fall. Additionally, I think Denver and Sacramento are about the same in terms of proximity to the mountains, however given the height of the peaks near Denver they are much more visible from the city. It takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to get Summit County from Denver, which is about the same from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe.
Lol, that's great for your friends, but the statistics and reputation of each city tell the real story. Refer to my previous post (and those of others) for statistical evidence-- as far as reputation, Denver has a national reputation for its outdoor opportunities and residents who take advantage of it!
One thing that I think is important to remember is that a lot of people tend to normalize things based on their own views/preferences. This is why it can sometimes be hard for some to see how/why another person has a different opinion and more importantly, to respect that person's opinion.
There is no way I would ever choose to live in Sacramento if Denver was one of my choices (all other variables being equal, of course). But that's just a matter of my own personal preference. I see Denver as a cleaner, more pleasant, and all around better city for me. But for every opinion there is an equal and opposite opinion. I certainly give full credence to Chimerque's anecdotal evidence regarding his friends and their experiences.
I will say this: I've heard Denver's food scene described as "nothing special" when compared with cities like New York and Chicago. I would adamantly disagree that it is "nothing special" when compared to Sacrament as has been suggested on this discussion. Denver does have a diverse and eclectic food scene. Options range from Mexican to American to Ethiopian to Middle Eastern and Inexpensive to white table cloth refined. Denver is certainly not a top 10 "food city" in the U.S. But I would guess it's easily a top 20.
One thing that I think is important to remember is that a lot of people tend to normalize things based on their own views/preferences. This is why it can sometimes be hard for some to see how/why another person has a different opinion and more importantly, to respect that person's opinion.
There is no way I would ever choose to live in Sacramento if Denver was one of my choices (all other variables being equal, of course). But that's just a matter of my own personal preference. I see Denver as a cleaner, more pleasant, and all around better city for me. But for every opinion there is an equal and opposite opinion. I certainly give full credence to Chimerque's anecdotal evidence regarding his friends and their experiences.
I will say this: I've heard Denver's food scene described as "nothing special" when compared with cities like New York and Chicago. I would adamantly disagree that it is "nothing special" when compared to Sacrament as has been suggested on this discussion. Denver does have a diverse and eclectic food scene. Options range from Mexican to American to Ethiopian to Middle Eastern and Inexpensive to white table cloth refined. Denver is certainly not a top 10 "food city" in the U.S. But I would guess it's easily a top 20.
Sure, I see what you're saying about opinions. I lived an hour south of Denver for 15 years, so I won't pretend my views aren't slanted, like everyone else's! Keeping this in mind, i DO generally try to bring forth moderate views on here and don't respond to everything I disagree with, but when I see someone posting 5 or 6 times in a row representing an extreme viewpoint (see last couple pages of this thread), I'm inclined to argue. For me, that also casts doubt on that anecdotal experience- especially on an anonymous thread. For better or worse
I'd say for the size city, Denver's food scene is pretty good, but not amazing. Due to its size and somewhat diverse pop there are some good places, but not enough IMO. There aren't really any regional cuisines with a strong representation (i.e. Asian food in NorCal, Mexican in Texas/SoCal) and "foodieness" doesn't seem that engrained in the culture. But admittedly I didn't appreciate good food when I lived around there as I do now
This poll from last year places Sacramento in the bottom. But to be fair and to give an idea of how subjective these are, this also places Seattle in the bottom while the above link has it at #3 in the country! This Is The Worst U.S. City For Dining Out, According To LivingSocial
Here's a fun one comparing America's 35 "most favorite" cities across a wide range of categories including food scene. Unfortunately Sacramento is not listed so there will be no "head to head" comparison, though you can see how Denver stacks up against other cities. Ironically, this indicates Denver's food scene is not as good, relative to the other cities on the ranking. http://www.travelandleisure.com/amer...te-cities/2011
Last edited by iknowftbll; 01-11-2012 at 06:23 PM..
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