5 top pros and cons (Denver, Arvada: neighborhoods, private schools, salaries)

[KittyGlitter]

What do you believe are the top pros and top cons in the greater Denver area. I would love to see all the different perspectives (or if everyone agrees for that matter)

[Nea1]

1. Weather
Pros 2. affordability
3. people
4. scenery
5. outdoor activities


Cons

1.smog
2.traffic
3. sorry only have two

[.gif]

here is a quick, first cut at your question. i'm probably forgetting something.

pros:
1. outdoor activities (hiking, biking, etc.)
2. downtown activities (ball games, bars, restaurants, museums, shops, concerts, zoo, etc.)
3. conveniences (stores, malls, extensive road/highway system, airport, etc.)
4. mild summers
5. mountain views

cons:
1. desolation, lack of greenery
2. bland, boring, crowded suburbs
3. cold winters and snow driving
4. cost of living
5. traffic

[RowJimmy]

I agree a lot with .gif a lot on just about everything, especially 1 and 2 in the cons. Not so much three though. I loved walking around Denver last winter with all that snow. It looked like a snow village the whole month of January.

The cost of living isn't nearly as bad as other cities, but it is getting higher as more people move in.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Nea1

1.smog
2.traffic
3. sorry only have two

Even your two cons are are way better than what I'm used to.

[OutOfSoCal]

Pro

You work to live not live to work. You get to slown down and smell the roses a bit.

great place to raise a family, far safer than Cali.

lower cost of living

clean everywhere, no graffiti or litter.

FAR less traffic

CONS

Don't know alot of people
leaving family behind
SNOW



One of the nice things about moving to a place where you know no one and no one knows you, you can reinvent yourself, become hwat you want to be both inside and out. No one knows you so they have preconceived notions about you, except those who will judge based on what you wear and drive those people suck anyway who needs them in your life.

[downtownnola]

Pros:

1) Seasons, weather changes. Colorado weather will never bore you!
2) A fun, lively downtown area
3) A great international airport: Easy to travel
4) Good shopping and restaurants
5) Nearby mountain activities (can't leave that one out)

Cons:

1) No ocean- sometimes feels land locked
2) Far away from other major cities- you can't really drive to another city for a weekend getaway
3) Dry, not alot of trees and greenery
4) Jobs market is highly competitive
5) Traffic

[dj32]

I agree with what downtownnola said almost word for word... so I'll try and expand a bit

Pros
1- weather- see 4 seasons here
2- outdoor activities- people are always active
3- great downtown with ever improving restaurants,bars, performing arts
4- laid back attitude, people do not burn the midnight oil working here

Cons
1- very short spring and fall, coming from the east coast our fall is not very vibrant and is very short
2- DPS school system (for those of us who live in Denver, this is frustrating and the private schools are highly competitive)
3- cost of living relative to salaries- the suburbs are very affordable but city neighborhoods are pricey
4- very boring suburbs... very vanilla, kind of brown outside of Denver metro w/ all the trees
5- for me, lack of family

[.gif]

Originally Posted by downtownnola

Cons:

1) No ocean- sometimes feels land locked

ah, i can't believe i forgot to list that as one of my cons. that is definitely one of the really big things that bugs me. we don't have an ocean... or even a decent river or lake in the area. the platte river really should be referred to as a creek.

[Katiana]

Things that haven't been said yet:

Pro:

Lack of humidity

Clean (for the most part)

Mind your own business attitude, not super politcally charged

Easy to get downtown for sports and arts events, lots of those events to get to

Several suburbs with interesting histories: Golden, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Louisville, Lafayette, perhaps some down south though I'm not familiar with the south area

Con:

People can seem kind of distant (sort of related to mind your own business)

Can get very hot in the summer

Lousy snow removal, even in the city

Hard to grow a garden

Kind of yuppie-ish overall