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I found more than a few Denver vs Seattle posts but still would like to post mine cause it's really a tough choice! Let's see what we will have here given some of my personal criteria.
Family with 2 young kids. Asian. Will move with job and income don't depend on location (~100k gross). Will buy a 3-4br home with budget 400-550k in a better school district. We like big city suburbs which means both casual life style with less crowd as well as easy access to city amenities.
Things we really like:
- Seattle
Mild average temperature. Close to ocean.
- Denver
Sunnier. Lower house price and cost of living.
Things we are concerned:
- Seattle
Gloomy winter. High COL so might not get a house as good as what we can get in Denver.
- Denver
Winter and Summer temperature? (we are from Minneapolis and realized that we don't like both summer hot and winter cold). Lack of water? Too dry? If Denver had all these lakes as in Minneapolis we would feel much better probably.
We would really love to hear some comments based on these pros and cons. Thanks!
I'm friends with this couple. They have two kids and have been trying to find a 2-3br home for months. Their budget is roughly 400K and unfortunately, they haven't been able to find anything close enough to Seattle that they have been able to afford. I am rather inexperienced as I don't plan on buying anytime soon, but I feel more inclined to say that for what you're looking for, you may have to expect to maximize on your budget.
If you can afford it, look to the Eastside suburbs near Bellevue.
I'm friends with this couple. They have two kids and have been trying to find a 2-3br home for months. Their budget is roughly 400K and unfortunately, they haven't been able to find anything close enough to Seattle that they have been able to afford. I am rather inexperienced as I don't plan on buying anytime soon, but I feel more inclined to say that for what you're looking for, you may have to expect to maximize on your budget.
If you can afford it, look to the Eastside suburbs near Bellevue.
By a rough look at zillow map I was able to find some good homes at around 500k in the north suburbs - Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Bothell etc. East side is quite expensive indeed.
I wouldn't worry about summer heat in Denver. It gets hot, but it's not humid, so you don't really sweat. And it cools down to the 60s at night. Outdoor living is quite pleasant in Denver in the summer.
You might like the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver. It's new urbanism, lots of families with young kids/babies, lots of parks/trails, only about 15 min. from downtown Denver and all the urban ammenities, not too far from the airport, lots of community events, a farmer's market, good schools. You can get a new build or existing 3-4 bdr. house in the low $500Ks, I believe.
I wouldn't worry about summer heat in Denver. It gets hot, but it's not humid, so you don't really sweat. And it cools down to the 60s at night. Outdoor living is quite pleasant in Denver in the summer.
You might like the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver. It's new urbanism, lots of families with young kids/babies, lots of parks/trails, only about 15 min. from downtown Denver and all the urban ammenities, not too far from the airport, lots of community events, a farmer's market, good schools. You can get a new build or existing 3-4 bdr. house in the low $500Ks, I believe.
Thanks. It looks like a nice area. We were looking at northwest - between Denver and Boulder. I don't think we will have trouble finding a good home in Denver. Definitely more selections than Seattle.
I think now the only question in our mind is whether we will be missing the water and all the necessary humidity in the air from time to time. 300 sunny days is a little scary to be honest... With that much sun I am not sure whether we will be missing the rain every now and then.
I'm friends with this couple. They have two kids and have been trying to find a 2-3br home for months. Their budget is roughly 400K and unfortunately, they haven't been able to find anything close enough to Seattle that they have been able to afford. I am rather inexperienced as I don't plan on buying anytime soon, but I feel more inclined to say that for what you're looking for, you may have to expect to maximize on your budget.
If you can afford it, look to the Eastside suburbs near Bellevue.
I have a friend who bought a 2-bedroom detached townhome in Seattle. The townhome was never put on the market; he managed to broker a private sale.
The cost for a 2-bedroom townhome, approximately 1200 sq feet?
$450K ... that's not a joke. The home is on the record as being sold at the cost of $450k.
A townhome that sold about a month earlier cost the buyer $435k.
We are moving to Denver from Minneapolis in a few weeks as well...we are lake people too so I'm going to miss that, but I think the mountains will be a pretty awesome alternative! We are looking in the western suburbs.
I have been to Denver and looked at it extensively and I like it. But I think I would rather live in the Seattle area.
-The Seattle is slightly more diverse with a much larger Asian minority and Denver has a much larger Hispanic minority.
-Seattle is a lot greener, much more lush with trees, grass, lots of lakes , Puget Sound. Denver is more arid and sparsely treed.
-Seattle has views of mountains to the East and West, Denver just to the West and plains to the East.
-Both places are about the same distance to the mountains. Colorado has better skiing, but WA is no slouch and the resorts are smaller and less commercial.
-Seattle feels more international and cosmopolitan.
-Seattle has a larger and more vibrant downtown core.
-Seattle is closer to other major metros (Portland 2 hrs, Vancouver 2.5 hrs). Denver does not have any major metros very close.
-I think Denver housing is slightly cheaper, but not by as much as you would think.
-WA State has no state income tax which is a nice savings.
-Denver has a lot more sun in fall/winter/spring. Seattle has a lot of grey skies and gloom 8-9 mos a year. I personally think Denvers summers are too dry and hot for me. Seattle has amazing summers from mid June to to mid Sept, near perfect weather.
-Seattle probably has more premium companies with headquarters (Amazon, MSFT, Zillow, Boeing, Starbucks, Costco, T-Mobile, Gates Foundation, and tons of other smaller companies...very entrepreneurial culture)
-Denver has a more "classic American West" feel with expansive vista's & big sky, great sunsets. Seattle is much more heavily treed and you get less of those long vistas, but you do get them.
Overall I think Seattle is a prettier city and area, and feels more vibrant & cosmopolitan overall. But as I said I like Denver too. The one major downside with Seattle is, can you handle the gloomy skies much of the year.
Thanks. It looks like a nice area. We were looking at northwest - between Denver and Boulder. I don't think we will have trouble finding a good home in Denver. Definitely more selections than Seattle.
I think now the only question in our mind is whether we will be missing the water and all the necessary humidity in the air from time to time. 300 sunny days is a little scary to be honest... With that much sun I am not sure whether we will be missing the rain every now and then.
It rains for a short time on many summer days. The nice part is that once it rains, it cools off nicely. The 300 sunny days is 300 days when the sun is out for some period of time. They're not all beating down 100% sunshine days.
I have been to Denver and looked at it extensively and I like it. But I think I would rather live in the Seattle area.
-The Seattle is slightly more diverse with a much larger Asian minority and Denver has a much larger Hispanic minority.
-Seattle is a lot greener, much more lush with trees, grass, lots of lakes , Puget Sound. Denver is more arid and sparsely treed.
-Seattle has views of mountains to the East and West, Denver just to the West and plains to the East.
-Both places are about the same distance to the mountains. Colorado has better skiing, but WA is no slouch and the resorts are smaller and less commercial.
-Seattle feels more international and cosmopolitan.
-Seattle has a larger and more vibrant downtown core.
-Seattle is closer to other major metros (Portland 2 hrs, Vancouver 2.5 hrs). Denver does not have any major metros very close.
-I think Denver housing is slightly cheaper, but not by as much as you would think.
-WA State has no state income tax which is a nice savings.
-Denver has a lot more sun in fall/winter/spring. Seattle has a lot of grey skies and gloom 8-9 mos a year. I personally think Denvers summers are too dry and hot for me. Seattle has amazing summers from mid June to to mid Sept, near perfect weather.
-Seattle probably has more premium companies with headquarters (Amazon, MSFT, Zillow, Boeing, Starbucks, Costco, T-Mobile, Gates Foundation, and tons of other smaller companies...very entrepreneurial culture)
-Denver has a more "classic American West" feel with expansive vista's & big sky, great sunsets. Seattle is much more heavily treed and you get less of those long vistas, but you do get them.
Overall I think Seattle is a prettier city and area, and feels more vibrant & cosmopolitan overall. But as I said I like Denver too. The one major downside with Seattle is, can you handle the gloomy skies much of the year.
Denver also gets frigid cold in the winter!
I choose Seattle for year-round-mildness, no extremes.
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We are looking in the western suburbs.
