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It just feels ugly and I've heard it's pretty ghetto too. It has a "rust belt" feel to it despite being on the west coast.
Have you been to Tacoma to test the waters yourself? It's unwise to only go based off things that you've heard. And I've had a completely opposite experience. Some of it is gritty and industrial but that's part of the appeal. It has it's own creative artsy culture and vibe with unique neighborhoods and it is beautiful. (In my opinion)
Definitely these 2 cities are at the top of my list. Seattle is more beautiful and I believe a bit more expensive although Washington has no state income tax so if you're income is over $200K, it will probably make up the difference in housing cost between Seattle and Denver.
I prefer Denver's climate due to the amount of sun. Both have great hiking nearby but I prefer Colorado because the drier air is easier to deal with for most of the year. However, if you're moved by lush greenscape, Seattle is gorgeous.
I'm not moving to Denver but if I were picking before I moved, I probably would pick Denver because of the gray winters in Seattle which depress me. I just make sure I get out of the PNW awhile every winter. as far as the Seattle Freeze, I think it's pretty real but then, I fit in that freeze. One thing I don't care for about Denver is there is a bit of Rocky Mountain arrogance which I don't like.
If you like a great football team, gotta go with the Seahawks!!!
Have you been to Tacoma to test the waters yourself? It's unwise to only go based off things that you've heard. And I've had a completely opposite experience. Some of it is gritty and industrial but that's part of the appeal. It has it's own creative artsy culture and vibe with unique neighborhoods and it is beautiful. (In my opinion)
Lived in both, including the Seattle area twice. Also lived in Boston, Germany, and Oklahoma, so I have a frame of reference when it comes to places to live. Only Oklahoma wasn't fantastic, just merely nice, especially the very nice people. Seattle wins for me on aggregate, with a great combination of outdoor/city life, a mild climate, and the most beautiful forests in the world. Denver is sunny and dry and the prairie is much more enchanting than you might imagine. The Rockies are spectacular and the high country forests are as grand as the Northwest. Can't lose eirher way.
I'd go with Seattle. One of my biggest pet peeves and something that worried me a lot before moving out to Denver was the lack of diversity of outdoor recreation. You have the mountain and water activities in Seattle. Seattle also has more of an urban feeling. It doesn't feel like a massive suburb. Denver is nice, but if I could go back and redo my decision I would have moved to Portland or Seattle. The PNW is like the UP of Michigan, but with a larger population, on steroids geographically, and much milder winters.
Love your (New) Mexican in Denver! Love your attractive Canadian, Los Angeles transplant, New Yorker transplant or Asian in Seattle! I prefer the latter. There is more sunny weather in Denver, but it can go from 70 to (-16) in the same day (not joking!) and mist and strange weather often moves in off of the High Rockies in the plains. Denver is not in the mountains, it's in the plains. I've had days in Aspen as low as -40 (not including wind chill) which is a great town for people who like money and gorgeous landscapes and ski trails in style. Major forest fires (you can smell it in the air), major deforestation due to beetle infestation, and major flooding around greater-Denver area, again not joking! Extreme temperature drops on I-70 can present with very interesting weather from snow to sand storms in a given 4-hour trip! Colorado is often a test against the forces of mother nature! Subarus (actually not powerful enough for the ski towns), SUVs, Jeep AWDs or bust! Oh, and the drivers are terrible! Mexicans crash for cash! Worse than LA or other west coast cities!
Move for an experience but don't buy a house in Denver now. The sellers want way too much, and I don't understand or see the values at all except property taxes are much less than in a lot of states. The markets are so suggestible. It's almost irresponsibly naive what is happening now because I don't think the state has the employment infrastructure to support the price tags.
Denver is still a cow-town in its growing pains to become a safe haven 'city' for runaways between coasts. The first people I met were civil servants, blue-collar workers and surprisingly rich types associated with agro-wealth. There is no pulse to Denver although there is a definite vibe in Seattle, and sports still reign supreme (Seattle is now usurping Denver in Football, etc.). The art culture is crafty albeit cool and improving. More traveling performances from Broadway to ballet troupes are stopping in Denver, but there is so much more in Seattle which rightfully compares its art scene to that of San Francisco. Denver is a bit of a 'sad' city (the homeless situation is improving but still tragic) in the middle of nowhere Homeland-USA, and most people (even from the ever-touting-itself Cherry Creek , or *crack*) are accurately described as 'Walmarters'. Saks closed its department store in 2011, Neiman and Nordstroms are nothing like their flagship stores. Nothing but farmer-towns abound outside of the greater-Denver area. Aspen is very international-transitory-real estate mogul-gambling-prostitute. Boulder is semi-untouchable, elitist-confused, quasi-academic, identity-challenged, mental. Same with Denver, although Denver has much less ego. CO Springs is banal and conservative. Pueblo, etc...expect even less! The state is filled with many ski-mountain 'resort' towns appropriate for a day or overnight maximum. Getting on a plane to get out of the Denver plains is necessary often to keep any sanity and to remember that the rest of the country and world exists...(and what moisture does for rapidly aging bodies)! The altitude takes quite a toll on the mind and body! Dryness and less oxygen...it's true!
I've lived in major cities (3 million plus), and Denver was a disappointment born from major depression...but it kept improving. My choice of home made it quite bearable as it was full-service, and I could see the entire Front Range and an attractive urban-scape every morning.
I'm in contract to buy a condo in Seattle, where real estate is about to rock. I miss my lungs, skin and moisture. Also, Denver has no major employers of higher-education types like Boeing, Microsoft, Nintendo, REI, North Face, Nordstroms, Amazon, multiple toiletry and health-savvy manufacturers, etc. Denver just manufactures beer, burritos and there are satellite offices of all the companies in America who have their headquarters mainly on the coasts or in Chicago. Very condescending to be a 'corporate professional' Denver...terrible and confusing, actually.
Oh and beware of FL trash in Colorado...but that's a whole other response.
Last edited by Adventurist_Me; 12-22-2014 at 08:13 PM..
Love them both, but for you, id go with Seattle. More green, better city, better metro. The only downfall is the weather and real estate in comparison to Denver.
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