Denver's Cultural Identity (Aguilar: 2013, home, university)

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by tcbelvis

IS the back up capital

Backup?
You mean takeover.

[davidv]

Originally Posted by skins_fan82

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but all my friend nationwide (Cali, ohio, DC, FL), think of marijuana when I tell them "Denver."

Yes, I am aware that Denver offers much, much more than that. But that's all they see.

Maybe you should start hanging out with grownups and not overgrown Frat boys.

[ayoitzrimz]

Originally Posted by davidv

Maybe you should start hanging out with grownups and not overgrown Frat boys.

Strongly Disagree, just face the facts - Denver is the weed capital of the country. Whenever I travel back to NYC - literally everyone I run into / talk to/ somehow tell I'm from Denver immediately asks me about the pot. How the heck should I know? , I tell them, I don't partake. But the question ALWAYS comes up. People are curious but also misinformed - usually the second question that comes up is about living in the mountains and how cold does it get- to which I say we don't live in the mountains and it doesn't get that cold....

[TCHP]

Which is what I said back on page 2. Prior to 2012, most people thought we were a mountain locked community and everyone here was a skier. Now, its weed. Its a simple, convienant, compartmentalized outlook that is forefront on a lot of people's minds.

No doubt there are many places in the US where misplaced perceptions pervade the view people have of a place, such as New Yorkers are rude, Los Angelinos are all movie stars, everyone in Minneapolis talks like characters from Fargo. In Colorado, we all smoke weed now.

[SQL]

Until recently, cow town. But it's grown a whole lot since I moved here in 2008 (almost a decade ago, wow!).

So much of the city is new development. There are transients everywhere. Denver has become a melting pot of sorts. As for culture, I'd say it highly revolves around skiing/snowboarding, fitness, outdoorsy lifestyles (there are a bunch of lumberjack-looking dudes here), weed, beer, booze in general.

Denver has a lot of big city amenities without being super big. When I walk around downtown, I often times recognize faces of people who I've seen before. I can walk around the entire downtown CBD in probably a quarter of a day.

[SQL]

Originally Posted by davidv

Maybe you should start hanging out with grownups and not overgrown Frat boys.

Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz

Strongly Disagree, just face the facts - Denver is the weed capital of the country. Whenever I travel back to NYC - literally everyone I run into / talk to/ somehow tell I'm from Denver immediately asks me about the pot. How the heck should I know? , I tell them, I don't partake. But the question ALWAYS comes up. People are curious but also misinformed - usually the second question that comes up is about living in the mountains and how cold does it get- to which I say we don't live in the mountains and it doesn't get that cold....

Agreed with ayoitzrimz. I'm from Michigan and everyone there immediately thinks snow and pot when they find out I'm from Denver. Even though other states have legalized it or decriminalized it in some form, Denver is still the pinnacle of the pot mecca. It is essentially the Amsterdam of the US from an outsider's perspective.

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by davidv

Maybe you should start hanging out with grownups and not overgrown Frat boys.

Good reply! That may also apply to some others on this Thread as well.

[Scott5280]

Anecdotally, In the Coastal So.Cal. surfing community; Denver is known as the Nug capital. Know more than a few that switched out their Stewart custom long boards for Snow boards, large trust funds and vaporizers in tow.

[SQL]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

Good reply! That may also apply to some others on this Thread as well.

It's generational. Depending on your age, it's easy to understand how marijuana isn't particularly a prominent aspect of your life. My 73 y/o grandma isn't going to know much about the pot culture, because pot wasn't much of a thing during her childhood, at least not as big as it is now with all the legalization that's going on.

I'd go so far as to say that if you're under the age of 40, and not living in the boonies somewhere, you're probably well aware of the pot culture in Denver as there is a marijuana dispensary located about every mile apart like they're Starbucks. Just look for the green crosses.

[Count David]

What people think we are:
Buried under snow for 9 months, and (a mile) high all the time.

What I said on the CA forum in regards to Denver culture:

the culture here is: Broncos, weed, beer (in no particular order). People tend to settle for a lot less (not as American dream/upwardly mobile-focused), and don't ask as much of themselves, their kids, or their friends/acquiantances. There is a native/transplant divide that I'll never understand. Many people fit some sort of stereotype (racial/ethnic, yuppie, hipster, etc), thinking/living outside the box here just isn't as accepted/expected.

The signature culinary dish IMO is a burrito with unmashed pinto beans (Chipotle, Qdoba, Illegal Pete's). Honorable mention goes to "green chile slopped on everything". Also on the list were "mediocre Mexican food" (i.e. Bubba Chinos, Santiago's, Chubby's), yuppie burgers (Smashburger, Larkburger, or burger joints that also have taps), and microbreweries.