Denver the New L.A.? (Boulder: neighborhoods, school, income)

[zenkonami]

I know L.A. and Denver is NO L.A.!

As has been said above, so many American cities are suffering from the results of a runaway post WWII suburban expansion...an admittedly appealing prospect when it's not the norm and you're not tens of miles from the city proper, but an unsustainable and extremely inefficient one with current population trends.

L.A. just happens to be the poster child for this effect, though in part because there are so many major industries in L.A. in addition to it effectively being a port city. L.A. is an international city (and an excellent example of how uncontrolled regional growth can be as problematic as overcontrol of regional growth.)

But in L.A. you can spend 2 hours on a freeway going 2 miles (I've done it and more than once.) That's pretty unlikely in Denver. L.A. is very into being an international entertainment capital and every billboard and Macbook wielding Starbucks customer won't let you forget it. L.A. almost DEMANDS you drive a car...to the point where not driving is mocked in film and television (even though much of the population openly WISHES for better transportation alternatives and in spite of a fairly solid rail system.) L.A. people want everything at the highest quality, as fast as possible, as cheap as possible but rarely deliver on all three. It's a fun city (when you have the money and time to do anything), but it's extremely spread out. Sure there's things to do in Hollywood, in Santa Monica, in Pasadena, in Huntingdon Beach...but you will certainly never be in more than one of those places on a given day...

Frankly, there's more to do in Downtown Denver than in any one of those places by themselves, and you'd still have time to hit the mountains, lakes, and canyons. Denver is definitely having sprawl issues, but it IS trying to deal with those issues, and many of the communities in the area are trying (with varying degrees of success) to experiment with the best ways of dealing with satisfying people and their families without sacrificing the things that make Denver great. We are a bike culture, developing a transit culture (in my two jobs here I've known more people that use public transit, even occasionally, than I ever did on the west coast), a running / hiking / climbing culture. We pride ourselves on making our own entertainment for the most part. Many (not all) suburbanites may not (suburbs are suburbs...some more pleasant or with better schools or what have you) but generally those that live in the suburbs are looking for the something that can be found in any comparable suburb. I don't think Denver has an attitude the way L.A. does.

I think it was said best above that cities across the country have been experiencing explosive growth over the past few decades, with L.A. simply being a well publicized, rapid growth area that happens to distribute much of our national media (hence we hear a lot about it, where we don't hear a lot about how quickly Phoenix / Houston / Atlanta have grown.)

[whoisjongalt]

I lived in L.A. for 20 years before moving to Denver and I think I know what they meant. Although Denver is NOTHING like L.A. (thankfully!) it has become very hip to move here like it used to be to move to L.A. in the 60's - '80's. It's just not cool anymore to brag about moving to L.A. Most people would ask "Why would you move there??". On the other hand, it has become cool to move to Denver, Portland, Austin, Seattle, and maybe still New York and San Francisco. I think it is meant to be sort of a misguided compliment to Denver.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Yet people biatch over and over that we have no Trader Joes, In and Out Burgers, etc.

lol! I'd kill for a TJs in Denver! I don't eat crap fast food, so CA can keep In-N-Out. But I heard a rumor from a manager at a store in the Cherry Creek Mall that TJs is finalizing a deal this November for a store in Cherry Creek North, ground breaking early next year. I have no clue if this was a credible rumor though.

[thealansanders]

That would really stink if we finally got a Trader Joes and had to go into North Cherry Creek to visit it. Parking is almost non existent in that area as it stands. Sears ruined themselves when they developed what was a nice convenient surface parking lot and squeezed in that garage and Whole Foods if you ask me.

[OneMoreMove]

Denver has no chance of being the new LA
Man, sometimes I really miss LA!!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by thealansanders

That would really stink if we finally got a Trader Joes and had to go into North Cherry Creek to visit it. Parking is almost non existent in that area as it stands. Sears ruined themselves when they developed what was a nice convenient surface parking lot and squeezed in that garage and Whole Foods if you ask me.

TJ's seems to specialize in locations with marginal to crappy parking.

[_Charles_]

In reality Denver is just Kansas City with mountains west of it. Denver’s economy has been lack luster going back decades. My entire family lives in CO (all around the state) and I spent a good portion of my life there before moving away after college (in CO).
Denver does not have SoCal’s economy and never will. Our country does not have that kind of economic engine anymore. Denver and Colorado has long been typified as having suburban Chicago’s cost of living and Mississippi’s wage and salary scale.
Most people move to CO for aesthetic reasons and then reality sets in when they go to look for jobs and that was in good times.
CO has jumped in population from around 2 million in 1970 to nearly 6 million now. That is a huge relative increase and most of it has been within 100 miles of downtown Denver.
SoCal had 8 million in 1970 and nearly 16 million now (not including San Diego or counting illegal aliens). And CA’s total population is pushing 38 million more than 6 times CO’s population.
The Denver metro area is much larger than it was 4 decades ago and folks will continue to come to CO looking for their rocky mountain high. And managing urban sprawl on the Front Range is a major issue. However Denver is not now and never will be another LA.

[thealansanders]

Your numbers are mysterious & wrong by the way, Colorado has about 5 million people in the state as of this year. I don't understand why you are comparing a state with a region, and then with a state again, moreover one that is much larger in size and with larger cities and then making something out of how quickly population grows as if that somehow correlates with Denver becoming LA?

What confuses me most of all is your broad generalization in comparing the two economies without making any specific mentions about what they are. Of course at its base both Denver and the much larger region you are referring to called Southern California are going to be different. That does not have much of anything to do with anything and nothing to do with the superfluous statement of "our country not having that kind of economic engine anymore", notice that we now just moved from comparing a city to a region to somehow working the entire country into this debate?

Furthermore, if the Denver economy has been so lackluster for decades what explains the inward migration from out of state workers? We are a very large center for Federal work, the aerospace industry, the cable industry and even still the telecom and networking industry. It is true that our state has lost some headquarters to other states in recent years, but this has more to do with them being wooed by tax incentives the state and local government, you could argue, were wise to shy away from that were granted by the places they moved to.

[_Charles_]

Originally Posted by thealansanders

Your numbers are mysterious & wrong by the way, Colorado has about 5 million people in the state as of this year. I don't understand why you are comparing a state with a region, and then with a state again, moreover one that is much larger in size and with larger cities and then making something out of how quickly population grows as if that somehow correlates with Denver becoming LA?

What confuses me most of all is your broad generalization in comparing the two economies without making any specific mentions about what they are. Of course at its base both Denver and the much larger region you are referring to called Southern California are going to be different. That does not have much of anything to do with anything and nothing to do with the superfluous statement of "our country not having that kind of economic engine anymore", notice that we now just moved from comparing a city to a region to somehow working the entire country into this debate?

Furthermore, if the Denver economy has been so lackluster for decades what explains the inward migration from out of state workers? We are a very large center for Federal work, the aerospace industry, the cable industry and even still the telecom and networking industry. It is true that our state has lost some headquarters to other states in recent years, but this has more to do with them being wooed by tax incentives the state and local government, you could argue, were wise to shy away from that were granted by the places they moved to.

The numbers are not mysterious though 6 million is a little high for CO in 2010.
(Though there is no official count of illegals and CO has many in and around Denver.)
There is no need to be defensive about Colorado or Denver - not with me. Colorado will be a part of my life till the day I die. All of my family is there.
In short I know of what I speak when it comes to Colorado. And I think it is a good thing Denver will never be like LA. Present day LA is not a desirable place.
LOL if you want to be a Colorado booster go for it.
I for one would not want to see half the country moving to Colorado but that is neither here nor there as it where.
No offense but cool your jets and read more carefully.
And save the chamber of commerce stuff for those who ask - just a suggestion.
LOL -there will not be anything you can tell me about Colorado.
Nor is the any need - not in my case.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by _Charles_

In reality Denver is just Kansas City with mountains west of it. .

lol! I grew up in KC and no, Denver's no KC, thank gawd! The culture is different, it's not humid and buggy here, and Denver (metro area) has about 50% more people in the same area as KC, so much denser. But no, Denver will never become L.A. But if you squint at the downtown skyline on a smoggy day, you'll see the resemblance