Anyone from Denver move to Dallas (Houston, Austin: sales, 2014, home sales)

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

What does the racial makeup have to do with cultural diversity?

Ethnic diversity is the main factor of cultural diversity.

[oping00]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

I live in DFW and have visited Denver over a dozen times. I have multiple friends there, I go several times per year, and I think about moving there regularly. I can't imagine having a job offer to both cities, and not having some other tie such as family to one city or the other, and choosing Dallas over Denver. I simply can't imagine it. Denver has a plethora of things to do, gets a ton of sunny days, has a strong economy, is near beautiful mountains and features far more ideological diversity. A couple of above posters have suggested that Dallas has far more nightlife and bars, but I'm not sure that's true. Denver's beer scene blows away the beer scene in Dallas, and the LOHI district and the areas near city park are full of cool bars and creative restaurants. It's an incredible scene.

Dallas is literally one of the worst cities for outdoor recreation in America. I'm not exaggerating. Denver is one of the best.

If you picture yourself living in a vanilla suburb with no culture in the middle of terrible urban sprawl and you value having a 4,000 square foot house more than you value doing things outside, come to Dallas. If you are sane, go to Denver.

Last note: I've heard many people who know both cities well comment that there is a distinct difference in materialism between Denver and Dallas. In Dallas, there is much more of a "keep up with the Joneses" mentality. People care about having a big house and a luxury car. That's simply a big part of the culture. There is far less of that in Denver.

That seems like a fair accurate assessment from people actually lived in both. I'm originally from the midwest and I like scenery so I pick denver, but cost of living and opportunities say Dallas. I lived in Atlanta for a while and didn't like it and I've heard many comparisions between the two except dallas is flat and Atlanta metro is not.

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

Ethnic diversity is the main factor of cultural diversity.

I disagree. One's ethnicity and one's culture can vary independently. There are areas that are largely white yet very diverse, and there are areas with many ethnicities represented that are very homogeneous. Additionally, one must account for the level of integration in the city. Dallas does technically have a substantial black population, but much of that is in south Dallas. Does that add to the "diversity experience" for a white person living in north Dallas? Not in my book.

[oping00]

I'm also recently a single guy, which city would you guys pick if your looking for single women, but not really looking to get married. Thanks.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

I disagree. One's ethnicity and one's culture can vary independently. There are areas that are largely white yet very diverse, and there are areas with many ethnicities represented that are very homogeneous. Additionally, one must account for the level of integration in the city. Dallas does technically have a substantial black population, but much of that is in south Dallas. Does that add to the "diversity experience" for a white person living in north Dallas? Not in my book.

Dallas is very integrated so thats not much of an issue, though the black community does tend to segregate more so.

As for areas with many ethnicities represented, its always culturally diverse. Those area tend to celebrate each others cultures. Plano is like that. Different cultures have different festivals, restaurants, community centers, etc. and others in the community come out as well. That is how you gain exposure to different cultures.

It doesn't really matter though comparing Dallas and Denver. There is not one statistic that would show Denver being more culturally diverse than Dallas.

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

Dallas is very integrated so thats not much of an issue, though the black community does tend to segregate more so.

As for areas with many ethnicities represented, its always culturally diverse. Those area tend to celebrate each others cultures. Plano is like that. Different cultures have different festivals, restaurants, community centers, etc. and others in the community come out as well. That is how you gain exposure to different cultures.

It doesn't really matter though comparing Dallas and Denver. There is not one statistic that would show Denver being more culturally diverse than Dallas.

Right, but there isn't a statistic that would show Dallas is more culturally diverse than Denver....because it is very difficult to capture cultural diversity in a statistic. I cited my personal experience, and it's that Denver simply feels far more diverse than Dallas. Drive down Colfax or walk down the 16th St. Mall in Denver, and then drive through Plano. Plano is vanilla, and I don't care what the statistics indicate. There is far more heterogeneity of lifestyles represented in Denver.

Another problem with limiting "cultural diversity" to mean ethnicity is that is ignores things like religious and political belief. On both of those accounts, I find far more diversity in Denver. Denver County actually has a slightly higher percentage of Muslims (which surprised me) and a far larger percentage of atheists. One is far more likely to find someone who disagrees with him or her politically than in Dallas, which is very conservative. On a broad range of ideological issues, there is far more diversity in Denver. There are people who drive big trucks and love coal as well as tree huggers who just want to smoke some J and join PETA. There is a much larger vegetarian/vegan scene in Denver.

My point is that there are numerous ways of describing cultural diversity, and in many of them, I think Denver wins. In my experiences of the two, I believe I come across a greater variation in ways of life in Denver.

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Originally Posted by oping00

I'm also recently a single guy, which city would you guys pick if your looking for single women, but not really looking to get married. Thanks.

I would say it's a toss-up. Uptown in Dallas has a lot of single young people. Denver does as well. In both cases, it's more a matter of location within the city.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by oping00

That seems like a fair accurate assessment from people actually lived in both. I'm originally from the midwest and I like scenery so I pick denver, but cost of living and opportunities say Dallas. I lived in Atlanta for a while and didn't like it and I've heard many comparisions between the two except dallas is flat and Atlanta metro is not.

Climate-wise Dallas is much closer to Atlanta than it is to Denver, and the COL between Denver and Dallas is getting to the point where it's not that big of a deal. Dallas proper is about 8% cheaper than Denver proper, but Plano is on-par with Denver and Frisco is roughly 10% higher.

The biggest difference between the two metros is housing. Houses are considerably more expensive here, but property taxes and insurance are lower. Colorado also has a state income tax (flat 4.65%).

DFW is more diverse and has better food and shopping, but if you value outdoor activities it's no contest whatsoever - Denver in a landslide. Dallas has some outdoor recreation but the god-awful summertime weather is a limiting factor.

Denver gets hot occasionally, but Dallas is consistently hotter. Denver averages 33 days at 90 or above, and 1 day of triple digit heat.

Dallas, OTOH, averages 74 days at or above 90 and 18 days at or above 100.

Average Daily High (June, July, August)
Denver - 82, 89, 87
Dallas - 92, 96, 96

Average Overnight Low (June, July, August)
Denver - 52, 59, 58
Dallas - 73, 77, 77

In Denver you can open your windows at night during the summer. In Dallas? Not so much.

Winter? Dallas is milder, but since you've lived in Chicago, Denver's winters will also feel mild to you. Denver gets about 54" of snow per year but unlike Chicago it rarely sticks around more than a couple weeks at a time. We got almost 2 feet of snow the latter half of February and the grass is already starting to show through in some areas.

[oping00]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Climate-wise Dallas is much closer to Atlanta than it is to Denver, and the COL between Denver and Dallas is getting to the point where it's not that big of a deal. Dallas proper is about 8% cheaper than Denver proper, but Plano is on-par with Denver and Frisco is roughly 10% higher.

The biggest difference between the two metros is housing. Houses are considerably more expensive here, but property taxes and insurance are lower. Colorado also has a state income tax (flat 4.65%).

DFW is more diverse and has better food and shopping, but if you value outdoor activities it's no contest whatsoever - Denver in a landslide. Dallas has some outdoor recreation but the god-awful summertime weather is a limiting factor.

Denver gets hot occasionally, but Dallas is consistently hotter. Denver averages 33 days at 90 or above, and 1 day of triple digit heat.

Dallas, OTOH, averages 74 days at or above 90 and 18 days at or above 100.

Average Daily High (June, July, August)
Denver - 82, 89, 87
Dallas - 92, 96, 96

Average Overnight Low (June, July, August)
Denver - 52, 59, 58
Dallas - 73, 77, 77

In Denver you can open your windows at night during the summer. In Dallas? Not so much.

Winter? Dallas is milder, but since you've lived in Chicago, Denver's winters will also feel mild to you. Denver gets about 54" of snow per year but unlike Chicago it rarely sticks around more than a couple weeks at a time. We got almost 2 feet of snow the latter half of February and the grass is already starting to show through in some areas.

Thanks for the info, I always get calls about jobs from Tx not specifically Dallas, but in Denver I've tried for years and this potential opportunity is ok nothing great, but competition and slimmer diversity of jobs in Denver make me think twice about accepting if I do get offered.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by oping00

I'm also recently a single guy, which city would you guys pick if your looking for single women, but not really looking to get married. Thanks.

Both areas have lots of terrific ladies.


It's just one set of metrics and it's from 2012/13 data. But the trends break like this.

1. DFW has 2x the population of metro Denver.
2. DFW is growing faster than metro Denver.
3. DFW is growing at a faster rate than metro Denver.
4. Among professionals and others earning salaries pay is a good bit better in Dallas.

So between better pay for many, a lower cost of living for almost everyone and a lower tax burden for almost everyone Dallas is an easy winner on the economic side for many, many people especially most families.

As mentioned by someone else it's one thing to live in Denver and look at the mountains. Its another to live in Leadville, Estes Park or Vail or wherever and be in the mountains. Or to live in Denver and actually get out to El Dora (of whatever that close in hill is called and and actually ski or hike).

Twenty years ago my wife and I faced the discussion you have. We are both hardcore ski lovers and we came within an eyelash of moving to Denver. We didn't and it was the best move, well non-move, we ever made. Mostly, for educational reasons related to our kids and professional opportunities here.

As a single though you have a lot of great options. Why not move to Denver for a few years and see if it works for you?

Another thought might be to carefully weigh the financial side of the both offers. If you'd be long $6, 8K or more I'd pick Dallas. A single guy can take a couple of fine ski trips to Beaver and dive in The Caymans for less than that.

I was a working economist for a lot of years so I think about money, the time value of money, apparent and hidden costs, taxes, game theory etc. a lot more than most people. I understand the allure of living in a beautiful spot. If I could make a decent living there I'd throw my cell phone in The Trinity River and move to Hana Maui tomorrow. However, to my way of thinking if you can take home significantly more money one place over another over the course of several years and then many years that can easily/should translate into a life changing amount of wealth.



Dallas, TX - In Photos: America's 20 Fastest Growing Cities - Forbes