Denver was fun, but it's time to move on...Please read if you're a newcomer (job market, price)

[randomparent]

I imagine it can be rough for a young, single professional, who might want to look elsewhere. On the other hand, Denver has been wonderful for my family. We like it here, and my husband and I have lived enough other places in the country to make a fair comparison. Excellent jobs, nice neighborhood, great schools, and a beautiful setting. But, as they say, different strokes for different folks.

[blackmet]

I've been here since 1992, when I was 10. And just bought my first house. And STILL have mixed feelings about the place.

The summers are great. The winters have days that aren't that bad, like today. And while we've had a couple of pretty nasty storms, I don't feel like it's been all that harsh.

But they DRAG. ON. FOREVER. I've literally stopped buying tickets for Rockies games before Memorial Day...whenever I buy them, the weather is ALWAYS 42 and windy with flurries. And I had serious depression last May when we didn't see the sun for pretty much the entire month. The schitzo weather just screws with me more and more as I get older.

And, yes, the cost of living has gotten ridiculous. We finally decided to buy rather than deal with constantly rising rent prices. I like our house, and our neighborhood, and I'm glad we did. But I also know that for what we paid for this 40 year old house, I could get a brand new one in Phoenix. My job is also transferrable to there and my pay would not change.

OP is sort of right about the Denver gay scene. It's cliquey and insular, and has this really strange superficiality that's almost worse than what you'd see even in bigger metropolises. Not ONLY do you have to have the right clothes, the right job, the right car, the right beard length, and this weird-perfect-veneer-of-perfect-gayness...you also have to be a globe trotting mountain warrior! It's annoying, and I definitely haven't felt that in cities gay scenes (ABQ, Dallas, Houston). Somewhere like LA or NYC may be MORE superficial on the surface, but the scene is also much larger and has a bigger diversity in people. Denver...it's kind of one way or the highway. Lets just say I'm glad I'm a taken man. If I ever do find myself single again, I'll have to leave.

I also don't care about football or the Broncos at all. Went and got a haircut while the game was on last week. The woman at Great Clips looked at me like I had 3 heads. I'm a bad Denverite.

I like the safety of Denver. I love the friends I have here and the little bit of family I have left here. I like Standley Lake and dead malls and having cool dining and shopping options. But for the right opportunity for me and my partner, we're off.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by randomparent

DS, you're clearly unhappy here, so you should move. Life is too short to be miserable. I wish you well.

I don't think anyone on here can emphasize this enough. Denver IS NOT for everyone, neither is Colorado. If you find it is not, then the above is the best advice anyone can heed.

[beaste]

Y'all talk about the gay scene...I wonder what interracial dating would be like there ha!

[oping00]

Why does everyone say the singles scene is a aweful when the population keeps growing.

[Deezy303]

Originally Posted by blackmet

..I also don't care about football or the Broncos at all. Went and got a haircut while the game was on last week. The woman at Great Clips looked at me like I had 3 heads. I'm a bad Denverite..

Blasphemy

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by blackmet

don't care about football or the Broncos at all.

me too.
Donkettes can move to LA for all that I care.

[cgl77]

Like they say, different strokes etc. As a single late-50s gay man who has lived in several cities, it isn't easy to meet people for quality dating ANYwhere. Here too. Albuquerque too (lived there). Las Vegas too (lived there). San Francisco too (also lived there). One poster appears to want to go to Phoenix; a friend of mine here couldn't wait to get out of there. For me this is home. For others, well, go find out if you think another place will be better. I did and came back here.

[Dirty-Mill]

Originally Posted by oping00

Why does everyone say the singles scene is a aweful when the population keeps growing.

They are saying that from experience. Many of the people here are transplants and have experience dating in other cities. Also, I think a fairly high percentage of people moving here are couples or families.

I have tried dating here and found it rather easy to meet women if I was willing to date older, married women. As a straight guy I guess I could say my dating experience was similar to the OPs. As of late I have given up on ever meeting someone.

[caverunner17]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

all we heard was " oh it snows in the morning and is gone by noon" or "it snows in the morning and people are golfing by 2" or "its 50-60 degrees in Jan still and the snow melts as fast as it hits the ground." What lies. I haven't seen my road in 2 months because the damn snow wont melt. It has been utterly cold all winter just like Minnesota, I Barely see people outside even though we were told that people are out all year long, thank god I park in my garage or id be out scraping windshields, I hate shoveling but accepted that I would have to do it and the snow gods are hating on me this year, oh and 300 days of sun ?- what crap, barely seen the sun in the that 75 days so there goes that myth.

The weather in CO is weird this year, but nowhere near MN weather. I was in the Springs last week and it hit 50 1-2 days and upper 30's low 40's the rest of the days. I don't think it's cracked 40 here in Chicago in a month, and that's with much higher humidity (making it more bitter here in Chicago).

As far as being outside, the weather is what you make of it. I have no issues being out when it's dry and sunny out. But wet, sloshly and gloomy, I'll stay inside. When I've been in CO in the winter, it's completely different than any other Midwest winter I've experienced before...