Denver vs Seattle (Colorado Springs, Arvada, Westminster: house, school, living in)

[imrwklein]

I am planning to relocate from Pensacola Fl., either to a north Denver suburb, probably Arvada or Westminster, or north of Seattle, around Marysville. The summer heat & humidity in Florida makes me wringing wet, and I just can't breathe anymore. The bugs in Florida rule as well. But another thing that really "bugs" me in Pensacola is the 75% or more republican conservative political slant, and all the religious people who make it very uncomfortable for anyone who doesn't believe exactly what they do, to live comfortably.

I am concerned that the political landscape in Pensacola seems very close to Colorado Springs, and I would prefer a less-conservative area, thinking closer to Denver & Boulder might be ok. My other choice is Seattle, where it also is a beautiful area, with less conservatism, but my wife strongly thinks the long gloom & wetness would be worst than the long months of cold & snow. I have heard that Colorado has other issues such as bad summer storms with hail & tornados, and the land tends to be "mushy".


I am tired of Florida's thick humid air, plus the bugs- fireants, millipedes, centipedes, American cockroaches, brown Recluse & Black Widow spiders, pine-tree scorpians, spittle bugs, and termites. There's GOT to be a better place than Pensacola! Maybe someone has some input.

[south-to-west]

Residents of the Denver area have a broad spectrum of political beliefs. Douglas County and other south metro suburbs are fairly conservative while Boulder and other outlying communities are fairly liberal. Boulder, of course, is very liberal with both "granolas and yuppies". The city of Denver is very liberal as well with a well-established bohemian community around the Capitol Hill/Uptown area. Apart from the Colorado Springs area, conservatives/Republicans out West are not the "Bible-thumper/moral majority" types that you typically find in the South and thus have a more libertarian political outlook. I would say that the Denver area as a whole is 50/50.

The city of Seattle is very liberal as well, but the eastern suburbs tend to be more conservative or moderate.

The great things about both metros is that the people in general have a "live and let live" attitude. You can believe whatever you want, as long as you don't push your beliefs or infringe on the liberties as others. It's the typical libertarian attitude that defines the West.

I live in the South currently (Atlanta), but I have traveled to both areas extensively and I plan on moving out West in the near future. The big difference between the South/East and the West is that you don't see too many petty differences between people out West. It's a lot let pretentious and people are very respectful of each others beliefs and lifestyles. No place is shran-gi-la, but the West definitely has the upper-hand when it comes to a laid-back, accepting environment.

[BabyBoomers2]

One thing is for sure, Seattle gets the rain! But, then again, one thing is for sure, Denver metro can get the snow in the winter. Just sold our house in Parker, CO (28 mi. south/southeast of Denver) and moving to NC to get away from their "so called" mild winters that Denver metro can get. And, in Denver metro, unless you have school age kids or relatives living there, people aren't "that" friendly. Denver metro isn't a "small town" environment by no means......people don't walk out of Wal Mart and say "good morning" to you as you walk in (only the people working for Wal Mart will say that to you). It seemed to us like a lot of people, even in Parker, moved to the area from L.A.
where people are totally afraid to say "Hi" or "good morning".
This is just our opinion. We lived in So Calif for a number of years, so we know the way people acted there. And, Denver metro is going the same way....people NOT real friendly at all.
Good Luck!!

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

One thing is for sure, Seattle gets the rain! But, then again, one thing is for sure, Denver metro can get the snow in the winter. Just sold our house in Parker, CO (28 mi. south/southeast of Denver) and moving to NC to get away from their "so called" mild winters that Denver metro can get. And, in Denver metro, unless you have school age kids or relatives living there, people aren't "that" friendly. Denver metro isn't a "small town" environment by no means......people don't walk out of Wal Mart and say "good morning" to you as you walk in (only the people working for Wal Mart will say that to you). It seemed to us like a lot of people, even in Parker, moved to the area from L.A.
where people are totally afraid to say "Hi" or "good morning".
This is just our opinion. We lived in So Calif for a number of years, so we know the way people acted there. And, Denver metro is going the same way....people NOT real friendly at all.
Good Luck!!

Beleive me it rains more in Florida than ANYWHERE in Washington, the close call might be Olympiathe Washington. I live in Denver, and used to live in the Seattle area. Marysville is SOOOOOOO beautiful. Your family wont believe you when you describe it. The front range of Colorado is not nearly as pretty as the western Pac NW, but you can quickley travel into the mountains for some scenery that does rival the beauty. I love all the sunshine with out the humidity. I know humidity, I lived in Floridea in my Navy Days, Spent 5 months from apr to oct in Austin Tx, went to school in Mississippi. The sunshine here in Denver, or just about anywhere in Colorado is fantastic. You don't have to worrie about rain in the pac nw, you have the overcast skies for about 7-9 months. You will get sunny days in those months but its kinda like 1 day every 2 weeks. Sure it snows in Colorado, but you can turn that into a fun thing you know. You cant go....yeah, its clowdy, lets go clowd tubeing. I could live in any of your choices, even with the clowds. Florida, and for that matter, the midwest and south, absolutely are uninhabitable to me.

[JayZ750]

Having not lived in either Seattle or Denver, but having visited both multiple times, and wanting to move to Colorado someday, another thing to note is each cities geography relative to the rest of the country.

I imagine if you are native to Seattle, it isn't such a big deal, but if you're not, and you have family eslewhere in the country, just keep in mind Seattle is way up there. Yes, California is also really far from the east coast, but Seattle is not only far west, but far north.

Just look at a map. Seattle is pretty-much the northern most major city in the continental US, and the western most (about same as San Francisco). The average flight from Miami to Seattle, for instance, is over 6 hours (similar to NY). Heck, it's 2 and a half hours from Los Angeles.

Again, for a bunch of people this may not matter, and for many it is probably ideal. And having only been to Seattle in the late spring/summer months, I can't comment on the weather. It's been absolutely beautiful everytime I've gone. Going back and visiting the Olympic Peninsula, and Victoria, and Vancouver and Vancouver Island, etc. is high on my to do list. But I couldn't really ever move there...it's just too far away.

By contrast, Denver to Los Angeles is also about 2.5 hours, but it's also 2.5 hours or less to Texas, just over 2.5 hours to Seattle, around 4 hours to NY and Miami

[BabyBoomers2]

Fun thing??? Not necessarily if you are older, in your 50's plus. You fall, you don't heal as fast or may need surgery (like I did). Denver snow is beautiful until one those nice snowstorms or blizzards hit.......then look out. Like I said, "grab that shovel and have at it". And, if you don't snow ski/board, living in snow at an older age can be a real HEADACHE.

Originally Posted by sberdrow

Beleive me it rains more in Florida than ANYWHERE in Washington, the close call might be Olympiathe Washington. I live in Denver, and used to live in the Seattle area. Marysville is SOOOOOOO beautiful. Your family wont believe you when you describe it. The front range of Colorado is not nearly as pretty as the western Pac NW, but you can quickley travel into the mountains for some scenery that does rival the beauty. I love all the sunshine with out the humidity. I know humidity, I lived in Floridea in my Navy Days, Spent 5 months from apr to oct in Austin Tx, went to school in Mississippi. The sunshine here in Denver, or just about anywhere in Colorado is fantastic. You don't have to worrie about rain in the pac nw, you have the overcast skies for about 7-9 months. You will get sunny days in those months but its kinda like 1 day every 2 weeks. Sure it snows in Colorado, but you can turn that into a fun thing you know. You cant go....yeah, its clowdy, lets go clowd tubeing. I could live in any of your choices, even with the clowds. Florida, and for that matter, the midwest and south, absolutely are uninhabitable to me.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by JayZ750

Having not lived in either Seattle or Denver, but having visited both multiple times, and wanting to move to Colorado someday, another thing to note is each cities geography relative to the rest of the country.

I imagine if you are native to Seattle, it isn't such a big deal, but if you're not, and you have family eslewhere in the country, just keep in mind Seattle is way up there. Yes, California is also really far from the east coast, but Seattle is not only far west, but far north.

Just look at a map. Seattle is pretty-much the northern most major city in the continental US, and the western most (about same as San Francisco). The average flight from Miami to Seattle, for instance, is over 6 hours (similar to NY). Heck, it's 2 and a half hours from Los Angeles.

Again, for a bunch of people this may not matter, and for many it is probably ideal. And having only been to Seattle in the late spring/summer months, I can't comment on the weather. It's been absolutely beautiful everytime I've gone. Going back and visiting the Olympic Peninsula, and Victoria, and Vancouver and Vancouver Island, etc. is high on my to do list. But I couldn't really ever move there...it's just too far away.

By contrast, Denver to Los Angeles is also about 2.5 hours, but it's also 2.5 hours or less to Texas, just over 2.5 hours to Seattle, around 4 hours to NY and Miami

I for one like the fact that I am far away from pain in the butt family. Away from the drama. Unlike friends, you cant just avoid them as easy when they tick you off.

[JayZ750]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

I for one like the fact that I am far away from pain in the butt family. Away from the drama. Unlike friends, you cant just avoid them as easy when they tick you off.

Like I said, to each their own. Just a factor to keep in mind, be it good or bad.

[dj32]

I agree with Jay, about the family. We spent a few months in CA on a temporary move from Denver for work a few years ago. It was amazing but CA felt SOOO much further from our east coast family than Denver does. Every time I wanted to call, it felt like it would be too late with the 3 hr time difference. It was hard to fly from there. It just felt further. you are right, Seattle would be a really far distance. I think it is about 3 hrs to fly to Seattle from Denver- it's up there !

[tfox]

Denver (the city) is probably equally Democratic as Seattle (the city), if not actually equally liberal. I actually find the population of the city of Denver to be leftward-leaning, but still very moderate and well within the political mainstream. I think people of any political stripes would be happy here.

The suburbs are a mixed bag. The southern suburbs are overwhelmingly Republican, on par with the Springs. Many of the Boulder county suburbs to our northwest tend to be Democratic, like Boulder itself. The other suburbs (north, east, west), tend to swing one way or the other depending on national climate.