Denver / South California: differences of mentality (Boulder, Highlands Ranch: living, stores, moving to)

[french paris]

Hello mt friends,

I would like to know the main differences mentality between South California and Denver ( way of life,acceptation of diversity,friendly people etc..)

Thanks for your answers.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by french paris

Hello mt friends,

I would like to know the main differences mentality between South California and Denver ( way of life,acceptation of diversity,friendly people etc..)

Thanks for your answers.

I am from Southern California and I have been living here for 12 years. I find it very similar in thinking and tolerance. Then again, there is a lot of us Californians out here.

[blobbin]

The southern metro area is basically southern California.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by blobbin

The southern metro area is basically southern California.

So?

[blobbin]

So nothing, they are pretty much the same mentality as far as I can discern. Quite a few people from SoCal in that area as well so it makes sense. There was a post over the holidays that showed the ingress and egress patterns of migration from the metro area and this confirmed that observation.

[GoneNative]

Denver is basically a midwestern city that looks and feels a lot like parts of southern California. That's an oversimplified characterization, but it answers your question. Denver is less diverse, tolerant, etc, etc, etc. But it is similarly easy-going and casual. It's like asking the difference between Dallas and, say, Houston. For all of the similarities, there are just as many differences.

Douglas County, for example, is a less urbanized version of Orange County. And there are many similarities between San Diego and Denver, though Denver is considerably less laid back.

[downtownnola]

Originally Posted by GoneNative

Denver is basically a midwestern city that looks and feels a lot like parts of southern California. That's an oversimplified characterization, but it answers your question. Denver is less diverse, tolerant, etc, etc, etc. But it is similarly easy-going and casual. It's like asking the difference between Dallas and, say, Houston. For all of the similarities, there are just as many differences.

Douglas County, for example, is a less urbanized version of Orange County. And there are many similarities between San Diego and Denver, though Denver is considerably less laid back.

How in the heck is Denver "less tolerant" than southern California? I'm a gay man and I have found this city (suburbs included) to be extremely tolerant and accepting.

[hammertime33]

Originally Posted by GoneNative

Denver is basically a midwestern city that looks and feels a lot like parts of southern California. That's an oversimplified characterization, but it answers your question. Denver is less diverse, tolerant, etc, etc, etc. But it is similarly easy-going and casual. It's like asking the difference between Dallas and, say, Houston. For all of the similarities, there are just as many differences.

Douglas County, for example, is a less urbanized version of Orange County. And there are many similarities between San Diego and Denver, though Denver is considerably less laid back.

Not sure where you get off saying Denver is less diverse:







The heterogeneity of the (racial) populations of Denver, LA, and San Diego are very comparable.


This is just based on 4 short visits to San Diego, but I find Denver to be more tolerant than San Diego. Personally I find San Diego to be too conservative and too Ken & Barbie superficial for my liking. I've find Denver to be more laid back.

[Scott5280]

On a more superficial level. No other major city in the US has the level of interchangeable skate/snowboard culture mentality of Southern California than Denver. Look at surf/skate/snow outlet stores like Billabong,Volcom ect,and where they are located..in the Colorado high country and Denver/Boulder area. We have alot of that narly dude big air mentality here. While Colorado is truly land locked..our beaches are America's top tier winter resorts. Colorado has become an incubator for everything So. Cal..just on a more micro level. It's becoming more and more this way everyday..the affluence, the same hip eateries,the congestion,the diversity....good and some not so good IMO.

Even though it's in Aspen and not Denver..the X-Games pretty well represents the edgy outdoor sports culture of the front range/southern cal youth. Go to the skate park in downtown Denver or Scott Carpenter Park in Boulder at any given time..other than the lack of a boardwalk w palm trees..the gathering could just as easily be in Venice Beach.

[Mach50]

In my short time in Denver (6 months) I think Denver is more tolerant than SoCal. However, SoCal is a very large place in relation to Denver. OC for example is not tolerant towards gays or racially, San Diego is fairly conservative, but in LA anything goes.

Denver is very different than SoCal for me. There is a more of a middle class in Denver, more balance across all the races. In SoCal there is an extremely large gap between High and Low classes. That breaks the balance and unfortunately in SoCal it is mainly mexicans and south asians that are poor so it is easy to distinguish racially, and therefore classism blends into racism.

SoCal has by far more of the "keeping up with joneses" vibe over Denver, but again I don't live in Highlands Ranch where all the SoCal people live, so it could be pretty bad down there.

Finally, I think as you start moving towards Bloomfield, Lafayette and into Boulder it becomes more of a NorCal vibe.