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I lived in Denver and the white bread image I keep reading about here wasn't my experience of it at all. I think compared to the West Coast, almost any city will come up short, using their brand of liberalism as a yardstick.
Whole Foods was founded in Austin, Texas. Do you mean Wild Oats? They've merged with Whole Foods now, I think, or are planning to. It was only a matter of time. When I lived in Denver years ago the two stores were practically mirror images of each other then.
I travel to Denver a lot and I have a lot of family in the PNW, so here's my take on this thing.
Denver reminds me a lot of a West Coast city and it's suburbs, particularly the southern suburbs, remind me of a Sunbelt city. It seems to be a mix of both worlds. Urban Denver, as well as a number of surrounding communities, such as Boulder, reminds me a lot of Portland and Seattle in some ways. It has a very active downtown that stays open and vibrant after dark, it has a noticeable hipster/bohemian scene and ecclectic neighborhoods, it has a city and regional government that are progressive and planning for transit and infrastructure improvements due to a growing population, and the people in the city are generally progressive/liberal.
Although Portland is seen as a liberal city, there are a lot of surrounding suburbs that are fairly conservative. Denver's suburbs tend to be somewhat conservative as well. Littleton, Highlands Ranch, and the Denver Tech Center remind me a lot of the suburbs of Dallas or Atlanta with endless tract homes, strip malls, and gleaming new office towers.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think Denver is really an more conservative than Portland. Both have their unique attributes that greatly enhance the quality of life in both cities. Both are great cities for people who are active outdoors, and both places are beautiful. If your choice is between Portland and Denver, then consider yourself a lucky man and flip a coin. There are far worse cities to live in.
I'm in the process of relocating from portland (actually suburb of PDX, beaverton) to the Denver are. My job is transfering me to Westminster actually.
I've grown up in Portland nearly my entire life and only visited Denver less than a handful of times, but I've been doing a ton of research.
What I can tell you about Oregon and the PNW is this- It's beautiful and it's an excellent area to raise a family. You are near the mountains as well as the beach. And in eastern and southern Oregon it's very warm & desert-like.
We do have quite a bit more rain than Denver, as much rain as most coastal states/cities, less than Seattle, same as Charlotte, NC believe it or not. But the thing about it is that since we are so mild year round with much milder winters & summers, it just rains for such a long season. It makes everything amazingly beautiful and green. The summers are incredible, but the long winters with half as many days of sunlight or less as Denver can be a bit long, especially the first winter/fall. It may be a bit more boring in the town, but as I said, good place for a family.
We are very earthy and a bit more liberal. People are extremely friendly! The economy seems to be doing well. Restuarants and new chains from california & the east coast seem to be bringing much of that, but it does feel like there is quite a bit of competition for jobs I've been finding.
The cost of living is a bit high in Portland, but still much lower than California.
I definitely recommend Portland or a Suburb over the coast. THe coastal cities are retires primarily.
Hope that helps. It really does come down to what you prefer. For me it is time for a change More sun here I come!!! But I will always plan to come back to Oregon as home in the future. This is an excellent place to live.
Now, my turn?
The only negative thing I really read consistenly about Denver is traffic. My job will be in westminster which sounds like a suburb and a pretty ok place to live. But I'd also like a little culture, the ability to walk to shops, that sort of thing. Thorton or Northglenn over Westminster?
I would like a little culture, not more than a 30 minute commute, and still a good school for my son. Any feedback? I'm a single eurasian mom so a bit liberal wouldn't hurt either
"We do have quite a bit more rain than Denver, as much rain as most coastal states/cities, less than Seattle, same as Charlotte, NC believe it or not"
Sort of misleading b/c Portland drizzles and is mostly cloudy most of the year whereas Charlotte is mostly sunny most of the year but has tunderstorms where the equivilant of a month's worth of Portland rain can drop in one afternoon.
The only negative thing I really read consistenly about Denver is traffic. My job will be in westminster which sounds like a suburb and a pretty ok place to live. But I'd also like a little culture, the ability to walk to shops, that sort of thing. Thorton or Northglenn over Westminster?
I would like a little culture, not more than a 30 minute commute, and still a good school for my son. Any feedback? I'm a single eurasian mom so a bit liberal wouldn't hurt either
The traffic isn't that bad, unless you are driving quite a distance. If you want a more cutured place w/in 30 min of Westminster, try Boulder. Better yet, try Louisville. Cheaper than Boulder, yet close enough to attend concerts, symphony, etc. Lsvl is about a 20 min drive to Westminster, depending of course, on beginning and end points. LSvl has some little shops in downtown, plus a library, and a bandshell/ice skating rink, depending on season, in the downtown area. Thornton and Northglenn are clones of Westminster. All suburban cities. Schools are decent in all these areas, you would have no worries with any of them.
Put aside politics, family-friendliness, mountains vs. coast, etc. for a minute and think about the fact that you've lived in very sunny locations (300 days give or take) but here in Portland you can count on about 144 sunny days. 9 months of grey with or without drizzle and 3 months that will be mostly sunny and dry. Think about running the heat well into June (during the day) like we did this year. This stuff may or may not matter to you, but I thought I'd mention it. I have lived in San Francisco, Denver, Portland, and Miami. Portland is great, better than even SF in some ways, if you can take the grey. I found Denver to be OK, kinda average/semi-bland on all counts. I have a six year old and I do find Portland to be pretty family friendly but I would advise you to choose your neighborhood carefully if you're looking in the city.
you guys get mixed up only cause its cloudy in oregon doesnt always mean that its gonna rain. POrtland oregon is cloudy 222 days of the year and and Denver is 120 days of the year, lol . And if your talking about that portland is really thay wet well it aint there is other bigger cities like ST. LOUIS BOSTON ORLANDO SEATTLE PHILADELPHIA BALTIMORE NEW YORK HOUSTON NASHVILLE ATLANTA MIAMI NEW ORLEANS that get more rian, there was alot of other citer but i just got the bigger ones lol
you guys get mixed up only cause its cloudy in oregon doesnt always mean that its gonna rain. POrtland oregon is cloudy 222 days of the year and and Denver is 120 days of the year, lol . And if your talking about that portland is really thay wet well it aint there is other bigger cities like ST. LOUIS BOSTON ORLANDO SEATTLE PHILADELPHIA BALTIMORE NEW YORK HOUSTON NASHVILLE ATLANTA MIAMI NEW ORLEANS that get more rian, there was alot of other citer but i just got the bigger ones lol
Well, that means Denver has approx. 1/2 the cloudy days of Portland! And a cloudy day in Denver isn't usually overcast the entire day. The NWS defines "cloudy" as 60% + cloud cover. In Denver, most of those days barely make the cut! I have seen very few days of 100% overcast in 27 yrs here. Probably could count them on the fingers of both hands if I kept track of such things. Yes, Portland probably gets fewer inches of rain than the cities you list, but I'd be willing to bet Portland has more cloudy days than most of them, maybe all of them!
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 08-04-2007 at 02:11 PM..
Reason: typo
Portland doesn't rain hard- it mists and drizzles for months on end. Portland is a great city, don't get me wrong, but for people from other parts of the country, it is very unusual to not even see the sun for weeks (or months).
Portland doesn't rain hard- it mists and drizzles for months on end. Portland is a great city, don't get me wrong, but for people from other parts of the country, it is very unusual to not even see the sun for weeks (or months).
Jake- I purchased and read the book you suggested it was very good, could have covered things a little better with more concise oversight but still good reading. You're making me want to go out for a cup of Latte, given the light drizzle picture
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Moving from Portland to Denver!
More sun here I come!!! But I will always plan to come back to Oregon as home in the future. This is an excellent place to live.
