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According to City Data statistical site, the average age in Phoenix is 32.8 and the average age in Denver is 34.1. I love Phoenix myself and I like Denver a lot as well Overall, I prefer Phoenix.
Using Fact Finder on the census site, the median age for Denver County is 33.7 and 34.6 for Maricopa County.
You can flip the numbers around depending on how you want to divide up the area. Essentially the two areas are equal.
Maybe something other than young people can be discussed.
I'm not debating that people are moving to AZ, I'm debating your assertion that that a) people moving to CO are doing so because they have to, not because they want to, and b) Phoenix has has a brighter future because teenagers and retirees love the hot weather and want to move there.
The movers and shakers- and industries of tomorrow are calling Denver and the Front Range home, but there is very little to suggest that Phoenix is experiencing anything like that. The numbers that you posted do little to sway anyone's informed opinions.
Both states are growing, with CO at a slightly faster clip. But CO is rapidly becoming known for higher end job growth and is attracting educated millenials, while AZ doesn't seem to be doing anything along those lines and is much more of a traditional sunbelt metropolis. Again, on an economic level, Phoenix tends to be an underperformer, while Denver tends to overperform. If your criteria for a brighter future is number of tank tops, tract homes, and Buicks sold, then yes- I'll give Phoenix the nod. Otherwise, I'll stick by Denver in this competition.
This whole argument started because someone stated that PHX is only for retirees, at which point I said theyre dead wrong. I wouldnt disagree with you that Denver is creating better jobs, thats obvious that its attracting higher-end jobs with Phoenix. Im also in this argument because there are some very ignorant people saying young people dont want to move to Phoenix.
As for your wise crack about Buicks, thats just lame. Come hang with me in Scottsdale any night of the week and watch Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Viper's til your blue in the face. Not an day goes by where I dont see an exotic or super high end luxury car go by. Lets see that in Denver. Nah, nevermind, theyd be covered in snow anyways.
Using Fact Finder on the census site, the median age for Denver County is 33.7 and 34.6 for Maricopa County.
You can flip the numbers around depending on how you want to divide up the area. Essentially the two areas are equal.
Maybe something other than young people can be discussed.
I was comparing the city's of Denver and Phoenix. You are comparing the County of Denver with a population under 700,000 to a County of Maricopa of over 4 Million....my comparison was more relevant as it compared city versus city. But I agree the average ages in the metro areas are very similar and younger than the national average. We both have affectively refuted several posters comments that Denver was a young person's town and Phoenix a retiree town.
This whole argument started because someone stated that PHX is only for retirees, at which point I said theyre dead wrong. I wouldnt disagree with you that Denver is creating better jobs, thats obvious that its attracting higher-end jobs with Phoenix. Im also in this argument because there are some very ignorant people saying young people dont want to move to Phoenix.
As for your wise crack about Buicks, thats just lame. Come hang with me in Scottsdale any night of the week and watch Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Viper's til your blue in the face. Not an day goes by where I dont see an exotic or super high end luxury car go by. Lets see that in Denver. Nah, nevermind, theyd be covered in snow anyways.
Sorry, I couldn't resist the jab. AZ generally gives me the same vibe as Florida. But I am aware that places like Scottsdale are nice places to live.
In terms of your assessment of CO, it's now painfully clear that you have no idea what you're talking about. It's certainly not always the cold weather place that you've been led to believe, even in the winter. Have you ever been?
Denver's got plenty of money, and a much higher per capita income than Phoenix. And you can certainly find plenty of fancy cars, if that's your only barometer for the prosperity of a metropolitan area. Visit Cherry Creek or venture up to the mountains to visit places like Aspen, Crested Butte, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, etc. etc. and you can see millionaires, billionaires, and some of the highest priced real estate in the country.
But none of this part of the discussion proves that Phoenix has a brighter future, only that you have a wealthy enclave nearby.
And, FWIW, per the numbers that you provided one of top outflow migration destinations from AZ is CO. Just thought I'd point that out...
Last edited by bartonizer; 07-31-2015 at 02:50 PM..
This whole argument started because someone stated that PHX is only for retirees, at which point I said theyre dead wrong. I wouldnt disagree with you that Denver is creating better jobs, thats obvious that its attracting higher-end jobs with Phoenix. Im also in this argument because there are some very ignorant people saying young people dont want to move to Phoenix.
As for your wise crack about Buicks, thats just lame. Come hang with me in Scottsdale any night of the week and watch Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Viper's til your blue in the face. Not an day goes by where I dont see an exotic or super high end luxury car go by. Lets see that in Denver. Nah, nevermind, theyd be covered in snow anyways.
And there was one very ignorant person (can't remember who...hmmm.) who initiated the debate by spewing the following:
"Ive never run into a young person who thinks Denver is "more hip" than Phoenix. Unless theyre a pasty, heat-hating, Starbucks-type hipster, they wont choose Denver over Phoenix. "
Still waiting for you to provide that data...I can offer plenty to the contrary.
Last edited by DenverBound41; 07-31-2015 at 02:34 PM..
Sorry, I couldn't resist the jab. AZ generally gives me the same vibe as Florida. But I am aware that places like Scottsdale are nice places to live.
In terms of your assessment of CO, it's now painfully clear that you have no idea what you're talking about. It's certainly not always the cold weather place that you've been led to believe, even in the winter. Have you ever been?
Denver's got plenty of money, and a much higher per capita income than Phoenix. And you can certainly find plenty of fancy cars, if that's your only barometer for the prosperity of a metropolitan area. Visit Cherry Creek or venture up to the mountains to visit places like Aspen, Crested Butte, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, etc. etc. and you can see millionaires, billionaires, and some of the highest priced real estate in the country.
But none of this part of the discussion proves that Phoenix has a brighter future, only that you have a wealthy enclave nearby.
And, FWIW, per the numbers that you provided one of top outflow migration destinations from AZ is CO. Just thought I'd point that out...
The car comment was not a gauge of the future, simply a rebuttal to your Buick comment. Remember making that remark? But I will say places like Carefree, Cave Creek, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, etc, have homes up to $30,000,000. Lots of moolah there.
And yes, been to Denver a few times, even in winter. In fact I was up in Estes Park just a year ago, in October. I know its much higher elevation, but it was frigid. Telluride, Aspen, etc, are all second homes for filthy rich folks. Theres no jobs there, unlike Scottsdale, etc, where the money is made and the money stays. Im willing to bet some homes there are owned by at least a few Arizonans who fly up there to ski during the winter.
As a millennial, an ASU grad, and a former resident of Phoenix, I can vouch for the fact that Phoenix doesn't have a large appeal to millennials. That's not to say that there aren't millennials that move to Phoenix, but it is not a mecca for my generation. Denver, however, is a mecca for millennials.
That being said, ASU does attract millennials. However, most of them aren't looking to stay in Phoenix after graduation, unless they are from Arizona to begin with or have family there. Many graduates of ASU from my class set their eyes on Denver, Seattle, Portland, California (Northern and Southern), Chicago, NYC, Washington D.C., Austin, etc.
Addressing previous posts about Midwesterners moving to Phoenix and millennials moving to Denver, there is definitely a cross-section of millennial Midwesterners moving to Phoenix to escape cold winters. But the typical millennial doesn't have Phoenix on their radar, unless they are coming out for ASU.
The car comment was not a gauge of the future, simply a rebuttal to your Buick comment. Remember making that remark? But I will say places like Carefree, Cave Creek, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, etc, have homes up to $30,000,000. Lots of moolah there.
And yes, been to Denver a few times, even in winter. In fact I was up in Estes Park just a year ago, in October. I know its much higher elevation, but it was frigid. Telluride, Aspen, etc, are all second homes for filthy rich folks. Theres no jobs there, unlike Scottsdale, etc, where the money is made and the money stays. Im willing to bet some homes there are owned by at least a few Arizonans who fly up there to ski during the winter.
My Buick comment actually had nothing to do with the amount of money that people have in AZ, but more to do with the retiree population.
Again, the point that most people are making on this thread is that PHX is not on of the list of "hot" cities for an up and coming professional workforce, which is one of the reasons that most people are making the assertion that Denver has a brighter future.
Phoenix's reputation as a giant sprawling Republican retirement home in a sweltering desert does not help in this case. If Phoenix wants to see growth that cities like Denver, Portland, and Seattle are all experiencing it will need to work on it's image. For the city-lovers, Phoenix falls short whereas those three cities seem to offer a wealth of opportunities within the city. Phoenix has the outdoors part covered very well that can attract people in fact it's variety is almost unparalleled. It has to develop it's city. The light rail is a work in progress and is slightly increasing density in these areas but if Phoenix really wants to become a "trendy" city it needs to offer things that are unique and interesting that would make people want to live in Phoenix and not any other similar city like Las Vegas.
I see it the same way, too much old people. It needs start with getting rid of anything west of Peoria. Oh and Gilbert, tired of hearing everyone and their moms asking about Gilberts schools. Legalize MJ and vote yes on Prop 104, then they might be up to something
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But I will say places like Carefree, Cave Creek, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, etc, have homes up to $30,000,000. Lots of moolah there.
