Been here 8 months. LOVE IT. (Denver, Aurora: ski resort, houses, neighborhoods)

[NaomiNick]

Thank you, City-Data Fora, for your fabulous insight and advice.

My family and I moved here in June and have thoroughly enjoyed SO MUCH of what Denver has to offer.

A bit of background: I am originally from the Mid-Atlantic- DC, VA, East Coast whatnot. My hubs and I moved to Reno about 7 years ago and lived there for WAY too long a time.

A job opportunity came up for the hubs and after much research we agreed to move to Denver.

We currently live in the DU area (which is rather overpriced for the houses, but it IS central AND suburban enough to accommodate the dogs and their love of parks).

I am from an area replete with free museums, much nightlife, rolling hills and lovely green. The hubs is from the San Francisco area and enjoys drier weather, sunny days and a more laid back attitude than the east coast could possibly afford.

It has been a perfect blend of both of us. Denver, while semi-arid, has true, real, natural grassland and rolling hills (kinda). The urban neighborhoods offer tree-lined streets and the dry climate makes for a comfortable day in the shade. Denverites are chatty, polite, laid-back and friendly. I have made some dear friends here in such a short time.

As compared to Reno, Denver has a multitude of museums, parks, attractions and events that can entertain us every weekend. There are a variety of different, cheap restaurants for us to enjoy. It's awesome.

OK, traffic can truly suck sometimes. I work in Aurora and my husband works in Lakewood. 6th Ave freeway can get really backed up as can I25, 225 and Parker Road during rush hour. It's RUSH HOUR. Overall it's not so terrible.

I do not regret moving here, it's amazing. I am so happy to be here. Some folk can be a little pretentious with their Kombucha and organic toilet paper, but Denver (and my) overall attitude is: live and let live.

My favorite thing about Denver? SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING.

[Mach50]

Another happy customer!

Originally Posted by NaomiNick

My favorite thing about Denver? SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING.

It is pretty awesome, my bin is fully packed every pickup day.

[Mach50]

Also, if you really the recycling program here in Denver you may want to join the

Denver Recycles Action Network

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Thanks for the feedback, Naomi. Glad you are happy. It's always nice to hear from someone after they actually make the move.

[vegaspilgrim]

I don't love Denver, but I sure agree with you that it BLOWS AWAY Reno. I wasted less than a year of my life in that town. What a depressing town. Only thing better about Reno is the mountains are ridiculously close, so the scenery is better and the access to recreation is better. When I lived there I was a 23 minute door to door drive from my house to Mt Rose Ski Resort. Here, it's a solid 1hr 15min bare minimum to get to Loveland, the closest ski area to Denver. But other than that, pretty much everything is better here.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

I don't love Denver, but I sure agree with you that it BLOWS AWAY Reno. I wasted less than a year of my life in that town. What a depressing town. Only thing better about Reno is the mountains are ridiculously close, so the scenery is better and the access to recreation is better. When I lived there I was a 23 minute door to door drive from my house to Mt Rose Ski Resort. Here, it's a solid 1hr 15min bare minimum to get to Loveland, the closest ski area to Denver. But other than that, pretty much everything is better here.

I agree with you about Reno being a depressing town. Hell the entire state of Nevada is pretty damn depressing. I spent about two years in Reno when transitioning from Denver to the Bay Area. But I did spend most of that time traveling. So I actually wasn't there that much.

I think the mountains around Reno are pretty comparable to around Denver. Yeah, the ski areas are slightly closer to Reno. Google Maps says 30 min. from Downtown Reno to Mt. Rose. Otherwise the mountains are about the same. I don't think the scenery or access to recreation is better in Reno. Though Lake Tahoe is pretty damn impressive. But thats not Reno. Most of it is not even in Nevada. Anyways the Colorado Rockies have plenty of spectacular places.

Some of the pluses for Reno. 1. The weather. It's more like what Denver weather claims to be like. The snow in Reno actually does melt in a day. Reno can be in the middle of a blizzard, and two hours later the sun will be out, the temperature be 50 degrees, and the snow melting fast. Yeah, I know the Denver Visitors Center makes the same claim about Denver's weather. But I never actually saw it happen in the 30 years I lived in Denver. 2. Reno is a better size then Denver, and doesn't have the traffic problems Denver does. You can drive anywhere you want in Reno or Sparks, in 10 - 15 minutes anytime of the day.

Of course the negatives. There is absolutely nothing to do in Reno. Unless you enjoy sighing your paychecks over to the Casinos every Friday afternoon.

[Snikt]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

I don't love Denver, but I sure agree with you that it BLOWS AWAY Reno. I wasted less than a year of my life in that town. What a depressing town. Only thing better about Reno is the mountains are ridiculously close, so the scenery is better and the access to recreation is better. When I lived there I was a 23 minute door to door drive from my house to Mt Rose Ski Resort. Here, it's a solid 1hr 15min bare minimum to get to Loveland, the closest ski area to Denver. But other than that, pretty much everything is better here.

You can get to Echo Mountain in 35-45 minutes

[Mike from back east]

Naomi, thanks for a great report, we love it when newbies give us a first-person perspective.

I too am from the Baltimore-DC area, 57 years worth, and really like this place, though a Pike Place Market (Seattle), good crabcakes (Baltimore) and cable cars (San Francisco) would make Denver into THE BOMB.

[NaomiNick]

We can debate the benefits and deficits of Reno vs. Denver til the cows come home. Amongst the many things I DID NOT like about Reno: it was freaking windy 90% of the time. It had NO cloud cover. I've found myself NOT wearing my sunglasses out and about in Denver more than a few times since moving here. I realize that last June was an anomaly what with the rain and cloud cover, but the winter here has been fantastic too... I LOVE cloudy days.

The fandamily and I have only had time to go on a short hike in Evergeen ONCE (we've been busy) and I loved the alpine green and the enormous grasses that sprung up.

The mountains in Reno (we lived over in Hidden Valley) are much, much drier. The only natural grass there is cheatgrass which springs up in May and stays green for about two weeks. Then it gets dry and yellow and the seeds cling to your socks and get in your shoes and cause misery. There are a billion goatheads to devil your dogs' paws. And it's just HOT. Hot, sunny and dry. Nosebleeds were a regular occurrence.

The social life in Reno was meh. I mean, there were definitely friendly people, but lots of super talented people fled that town during the time I lived there. It was frustrating.

Reno is a fine town for those who like cheap land and can handle the sun and enjoy being in their houses. Or, perhaps if you like four-wheeling or shooting, it might be the place for you. There is TONS of open land out there, but I never felt at home there, always felt too isolated for such a small town and just never quite got comfortable. That was my experience.

I have no idea what's going to happen to those who live in the far away suburbs of Reno with the rising gas prices. Three years ago when gas was getting close to $4 per gallon folks in a northern suburb were siphoning gas from parked cars.

Anyway- Denver is more established, has a more socially conscious mindset and just has more around it. The variety of experiences is very rewarding. I have a two year old and two dogs and we love to hike or walk to any of the many parks nearby or drive up to Li'l Monkey Bizness to romp. Denver is very kid and dog friendly. I remember once taking my kid to the Reno airport because it was a relatively cheap and safe place to let him run around. Of course we were shooed away from the slot machines (which must be enticing to a small child- sparkly lights!) in the middle of the airport.

I cannot advocate Denver enough. I am so happy we moved here and am grateful every day.

[skins_fan82]

Great post, Naomi. Glad you like it here.

We recently moved to Denver in May of last year ourselves, and the City-data forums were so helpful when doing our research on the area.

I am originally from the DC area as well, Silver Spring.