Diversity in Denver (Colorado Springs, Kim: salons, law school, universities)

[cheric03]

This is a great thread. I am Hispanic and considering moving to the Denver area, so tolerance or whatever you want to call it, probably more so than diversity, is important to me. I visited Denver once about 10 years ago and didn't seem to have any problems. Diversity to me means a fairly integrated city racially, but I do agree that does not equate to a lack of racism. It's good to see however that most of the posts on this thread are quite positive, so I'm optimistic about what I would encounter there. We're planning a trip in August for a couple weeks there.

[abatardi]

I moved here from the Bay Area so the lack of diversity is a real shock for me. If you ask me we could and should have a lot more diversity. It might at least help with the food situation among other things. I'm sorry Denver area residents, but your mexican food here is not good (all the locals rave about how good it is). I have never even seen something common like carnitas on the menu. And when I'm at a Chinese restaurant, I expect to see chinese... not chinese, vietnamese, thai, and japanese all on the same menu... Jack of all trades, master of none from what I've seen so far. ;-)

- aba

[wanttomoveeast]

aba! lol, you are funny. Good Mexican food is very hard to find here. In Calif., it is all about red chili. I'm so sorry, but here it's all about green chili. I miss those good tacos too which you can't find here. Oh, and don't get me started on the seafood. : (

There are some very nice things about Denver. It's super safe, no bad areas, super clean, no trash.

[wanttomoveeast]

To Debbievance:

debbie, you remind me of my mom, who lives in an almost allwhite town. Sure, .1% may be black. But I guess I don't call that diverse. I do see your point (and my mom's!) but I do think some of it is being naive, some just experience, a lot of it is travel.

Sometimes I look at statistics to try to set my mind straight and not think everyone around me is white. Sometimes I think that each person has their own view of diversity and that depends on who they are (see my post above, are you white, black, other?), and how they were brought up.

That said, I must say, your cul-de-sac sounds interesting! My burb up north is nothing like that. So if I had my choice of burbs I'd pick yours! Thanks for your post. I think it's neat to hear others' opinions on the matter.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

While I'm new to this particular forum, I'm not new to Denver at all. I'm in my mid-30s, black was raised in a practically all-white town. I have spent the last 20 yrs. living in Denver.

So my question. There are a lot of mixed responses here about diversity in Denver. I'm wondering why the mix.

For the people that think Denver is diverse --- are you white? Other ethnicity?

The people that think it's not diverse -- same questions.

Just curious. Thanks everyone for your responses!

I am one who thinks it is fairly diverse. I would qualify that by saying it's not as diverse as some other places I have lived. I am white.

[enigmakairos]

Opinion of Denver: Not diverse.
Me: Black female.
Other places I've lived in or spent a good amount of time getting to know: Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Denver, Toronto, DC Metro.

Personal definition of diverse: enough of a percentage of various ethnic persons to influence the availability of variety/selection of/in restaurants, grocery shopping and cultural events. Additionally, a large portion of this population must not display traits of insularity; a relative amount of integration.

abatardi, I completely agree with you on the food situation. Someone answer me this: are ALL of the Pho places on Federal?????? What am I gonna do with that, considering I'm moving towards Castle Rock?

While I don't think Denver is anywhere NEAR diverse based on my definition, I do think I've experienced far fewer racially-motivated negative experiences here than in some other places I've been... Pittsburgh, especially, and that's despite a larger percentage of Black folks there.)

I do think that the racial attitudes that are prevalent in Denver show in other ways, i.e. the general view of areas like Green Valley Ranch and Montbello. I'm sure someone will attack me for this, but people act as if Montbello is a shanty-town. I lived there for two years. Never witnessed or heard of any crimes being committed against myself or any neighbors. I never ever would have determined it to have been a 'bad neighborhood' when living within it. I felt it was a suburb like any other suburb, some better parts some older parts. Sorry folks, but I really think these attitudes are due to it being a predominately minority area more than anything else.

That being said, the up side is that neighborhoods here have a small-town feel in that people wave when they're in front of their homes and a car passes by. I was driving through neighborhoods just looking for real estate recently and eventually my left arm got really tired waving back at strangers. I'm in the DC-area Maryland now and it doesn't get much more "diverse" The upside is that when one does make a concerted effort to branch out and make new friends, they're most likely going to be from darn-near-anywhere. However, none of my neighbors here speak to each other even if you're standing 3 ft. away. So the fact that the neighbor next door is black, 2 doors down in both directions are Chinese, 1 Vietnamese family, 1 mixed White/Nigerian, 4 and 5 houses down are both Hispanic, and directly across the street is an Indian family... means little. Personally, I rather have a bunch of White neighbors if they all wave, say hello, and bring me pastries to welcome me to the neighborhood. (I don't like chocolate much, in case any future potential neighbors are paying attention!! )

That being said, the ethnic diversity of an area is of great importance to me (specifically the Black and/or mixed race population) because I don't want to raise my children in an environment where:

A: there are few people to share/get feedback on/exchange cultural experiences that they may have... even for the really basic issues. (For instance, ladies: how often do you talk to a friend or co-worker about your hair routine or what you did to get that nice healthy salon glow? Well, it's kind of hard for a teenage black girl to get hair tips for natural hair when her routine is probably completely different and there's maybe one other kid in school to compare with.) These are very base level sociological experiences that actually have a profound impact on how children relate themselves to their environment and form a positive self image.

B: it is harder to show the vast diversity of the Black American experience to a Black or even mixed-race child when there aren't that many around, and those that are typically are of similar socioeconomic background. I hope that makes sense to some.

So that all being said, we've chosen to move to Denver despite its shortcomings when it comes to diversity. After all, we've gotta start somewhere. I've already started talking my Vietnamese best friend into coming here after law school. Probably won't work, but I'm trying!

[Katiana]

I actually think you will like it. There is less overt hostility towards people of color here, and a large hispanic community. I am sure there is racism I have not seen, b/c I am white. But I agree with the difference between here and Pittsburgh (where I am from). It's a breath of fresh air compared to that environmnet. Good luck with your move!

[enigmakairos]

Originally Posted by Katiana

But I agree with the difference between here and Pittsburgh (where I am from). It's a breath of fresh air compared to that environmnet. Good luck with your move!

Thanks! I've read some of your previous posts in this thread, so I remember reading that you're from da 'burgh. Now that I don't live there, I honestly miss it for the most part. I'll always have an affinity for it. (I moved there to go to CMU, made many good life-long friends... eventually got hitched and bought a house in McCandless, and worked out in Pine-Richland - so I became accustomed to being the only Negro around for a few...ok, 50 miles. But I have to also acknowledge some things you mentioned earlier:

What I really learned from Pittsburgh is that there are a gazillion different racial slurs for every corner of Eastern European immigrant, and they all hate each other (yeah, it may be better but it's still there). and from a University with a large Eastern Asian population: same deal. The Vietnamese, Chinese, S. Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese (etc) all have separate associations and don't ever accuse them of hanging out with each other. This is why I consider integration/anti-insular behavior critical to 'diversity.'

[mdattaray]

We are a black family, and I just received admission to CU Boulder Law. Diversity is a big concern for us. My daughters are young (under 7) and I want them to go to school with and or have diverse friends in their neighborhood. We are still undecided as to where to live, Boulder (CU family housing) or Denver Metro area. My wife will work full-time, probably in the Denver area, while I go to school. Just curious to know any recommendations for neighborhoods and where we are likely to get the best value for our money?

[wanttomoveeast]

[mod cut]
After great debate with my friends and loved ones, I've come to this conclusion: Denver is indeed diverse, just on an itty bitty scale. Unlike cities like L.A., you do not come across huge groups of other ethnicities. Even spots like the asian area over on Federal or the hispanic area on Federal or the black parts of Aurora/5 points, they are not on the scale of other major cities.

I think I always thought this, just didn't voice it correctly. Then I got blindsided when I said Denver is not a real city. No, that was not an invitation to argue. : )