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I think the mentality of Denver is so much more like that of California than that of anywhere else I have lived. What bothered me the most is the "hey, its ok... everything will be alright and everything will take care of itself" attitude that seems to be common out there. I grew up in Minnesota, son of generations of farmers and I believe my work ethic is top notch. I go in early, I stay until thee job is done and don't take unnecessary breaks in between. This is also how i choose to live around my own home and out and about. So living in Denver drove me batty. I don't know if I would really call it a lazy atmosphere because that will surely offend most, but it is just ultra relaxed and no high sense of urgency for anything there. Everything from going to the bank, shopping at stores, dining out, my mail man, whatever it was it seemed like it moved in slow motion without concern for safety to security. Or it was what seemed like backward thinking. i want to share a long story, but ill sum it up.
Before I left town I sold a truck to a guy, a business owner of a very large company in the area. We went to his bank to cash the Business check he wrote me. with him standing there, the teller literally got the manager and called the company to verify that the check was valid. Although I appreciate the security measure, He was standing next to me. So when he answered his phone to verify it (which seemed like a bad episode of Abbott and Costello) they hung up and continued to finger print me, make me fill out a tax form (why? not sure because it was a sale of a vehicle) and the made me write down my social security number on a piece of blank paper in front of everyone. Which after i threw a fit about and finally agreed to as long ass everyone would step aside, the teller called some phone number to run my social but didnt type it in... no she said my whole social out loud in front of the whole bank and everyone in it. WOW, I was not pleased. She then tossed the blank paper with my social in the garbage can behind her..... not cool. I made her give me the paper back so i could dispose of it. So after almost 1 hour and 45 minutes.... i finally got my money. the business owner apologized up and down etc. It was not his fault though. What was even better was when after the transaction she had the nerve to look me in the eyes and ask me if i was interested in opening an account..... HUH, Seriously I asked and then proceeded to explain to her everything she did wrong in that whole transaction in detail and even a few privacy laws she broke.
Anyway, this was just one example of the many bad business transaction that took place in Colorado.
I think people that love it there are extremely proud and that is great, but they should really just keep it to themselves and not embellish the facts to others looking for honest advice. Even about the weather....
Man I have more in common with Minnesota folks than I thought! Cut from the same cloth as far as these frustrations go. People do appear as they aren't in any sort of a hurry and that gets annoying as well. Sorry but I don't always have time for the "stop and chat" when I'm at a Starbucks.
This is another point I wanted to bring up regarding business transactions. I had a bad car breakdown where my alternator went out and AAA towed to a garage that was certified with AAA. It's a European car so it needs a little TLC and had an awesome mechanic out in L.A. They dropped it off and the shop overcharged me and didn't bother to replace the battery so it kept draining. I literally flipped out at them when it kept breaking down quoting they told me it would be "road worthy again" and it's wasn't. When I dished it out and threatened to report AAA and them to the BBB they toned down. Of course AAA Colorado is ignoring my calls but that's a whole other issue. They flat out lied and I get zero compensation.
I do think there is this friendly, overly chill vibe when dealing with vendors out here. When you criticize them for being wrong they don't take it well. As for work ethic, that's something backwards out here that I flat out don't understand. I might strike people as socially awkward at the office but that's because I'm there to do work and not play ping pong and drink beer and appear as aloof (literally my last job was just this). My work ethic is strong and direct so that might be the opposite that Colorado people appeal to. Don't be fooled - in L.A. people work their asses off and I straight up don't see here at all.
As far as being angry is concerned, I think for me it's more of a deep down stressful one - not a visual or tone based one. Like I said, I get along with lot's of people out here just fine. It's the occasional few that I rub the wrong way more than I did in California. And it's probably because being loud and opinionated is considered "intense" out here and goes against the "Colorado Chill" code too much. I've seen transplants from MN behave the same way actually.
As far as sarcasm, please people get real. Native CO people are very sarcastic. Have we forgotten the most offensive cartoon on for nearly 20 years made by people from Colorado?! (South Park!)
^ Your experience is very similar to what many of my East Coast co workers say about Denver. Where I live in Highlands, there are a lot of East Coast transplants. Tons of NY, Mass, NJ, MD, VA plates. And it is so easy to point out the East Coasters at the grocery store, whether driving around the parking lot, or how they stand in line at the cashier. I'm one of those people that likes to leave plenty of space between myself and the person in front of me. Like if someone is picking fruit at a cooler, I like to patiently wait for them to finish, and stand a few feet back until they are done. So many times I'll have someone brush right up against me, and just push their way next to the person to grab the same item. Or waiting in line, if I'm not standing like 1" away from the person in front of me, the second they move forward, someone always manages to push their way in front of me. It's almost like they can't help it. They see an open space and they NEED to fill it. Usually if I call it out they move back, so it seems to be done subconsciously.
As for your experience, I lived in Minneapolis myself for awhile, and I felt like many aspects of the city were just as laid back as Denver...at least more so than Milwaukee where I grew up. But most of my experiences are in more social environments.
Not to disagree, but I completely disagree. I actually am very patient with things and people. I just don't have a problem expressing my displeasure if it is warranted. Im not from nor have i lived in the upper-east coast so id prefer not to be categorized as an "east coaster" Charlotte NC is not really in that category, but ill let that go.
As far as Minneapolis being laid back, maybe I can see that to a point. It certainly isn't as work efficient today as it seems like it was 10 years ago, but i think it is night and day with Denver. The only thing that is similar is that ugly kind of industrial-trying to be trendy look and feel of the city. but as far as the people, they still mean business. Polite, blunt, to the point, and expecting hard work of others. That is why it is harder to get a job in Minneapolis than Denver. Not because there isn't a load of jobs, but they are much more selective of who the hire. I work with hiring managers all day and hear the same thing from all of them. They would rather go short than hire the wrong people. In Denver they seemed to take anyone who would sign their name to a piece of paper. I won't disclose employers, but it was a common theme. This doesn't mean SOME people in Denver aren't qualified, just that employers aren't as thorough which brings in talent that may not be qualified for the positions they are hired for. I saw this in Washington DC too. Often the problem is that applicants know that if they want, they can walk out of a job and go across the street and have another one. This creates a lax work force. I I took notice a lot and it was disappointing in Denver because we had an opinion formed that it may be a lot like Minneapolis (where we grew up) as far as people, work, work/life balance, atmosphere, etc
Not to disagree, but I completely disagree. I actually am very patient with things and people. I just don't have a problem expressing my displeasure if it is warranted. Im not from nor have i lived in the upper-east coast so id prefer not to be categorized as an "east coaster" Charlotte NC is not really in that category, but ill let that go.
As far as Minneapolis being laid back, maybe I can see that to a point. It certainly isn't as work efficient today as it seems like it was 10 years ago, but i think it is night and day with Denver. The only thing that is similar is that ugly kind of industrial-trying to be trendy look and feel of the city. but as far as the people, they still mean business. Polite, blunt, to the point, and expecting hard work of others. That is why it is harder to get a job in Minneapolis than Denver. Not because there isn't a load of jobs, but they are much more selective of who the hire. I work with hiring managers all day and hear the same thing from all of them. They would rather go short than hire the wrong people. In Denver they seemed to take anyone who would sign their name to a piece of paper. I won't disclose employers, but it was a common theme. This doesn't mean SOME people in Denver aren't qualified, just that employers aren't as thorough which brings in talent that may not be qualified for the positions they are hired for. I saw this in Washington DC too. Often the problem is that applicants know that if they want, they can walk out of a job and go across the street and have another one. This creates a lax work force. I I took notice a lot and it was disappointing in Denver because we had an opinion formed that it may be a lot like Minneapolis (where we grew up) as far as people, work, work/life balance, atmosphere, etc
Curious as to your perspective, what do you make of the whole "backstabbing" thing in the workplace in Minneapolis? I worked at a company based there and witnessed a lot of passive aggressiveness and high turnover especially for the remote offices. Is this just a segment of people and not the real "office" culture up there? I had kind of a rough experience, but I also heard working corporate at Target HQ is a huge nightmare as well.
Don't be fooled - in L.A. people work their asses off and I straight up don't see here at all.
In LA there is more of a needing to work to survive culture. They will drive 2 hours in each direction to work for goodness sakes, AND they think it's normal to do so.
In my experience, more people here (a higher percentage than LA) could care less whether they work or not.
In before:
Spoiler
Well, if you love LA so much, why don't you go back there?
In LA there is more of a needing to work to survive culture. They will drive 2 hours in each direction to work for goodness sakes, AND they think it's normal to do so.
In my experience, more people here (a higher percentage than LA) could care less whether they work or not.
In before:
Spoiler
Well, if you love LA so much, why don't you go back there?
Never know - I chalk it up to experience of having lived out there molded me more. The problem with L.A. overal is it's just mundane and it's easy to get complacent and lazy. I'm probably still working my way out of that shell 10 months in. A lot of people I went to college with out there have left and went to other parts of California or elsewhere.
Personally if I ever did it would be to the beach cities: Hermosa, Redondo, Playa Del Rey etc. Not metro L.A. where I moved here from.
Never know - I chalk it up to experience of having lived out there molded me more. The problem with L.A. overal is it's just mundane and it's easy to get complacent and lazy. I'm probably still working my way out of that shell 10 months in. A lot of people I went to college with out there have left and went to other parts of California or elsewhere.
Personally if I ever did it would be to the beach cities: Hermosa, Redondo, Playa Del Rey etc. Not metro L.A. where I moved here from.
I left So Cal pretty young, at age 20 to be exact, but even then I knew I didn't want to fight for the same piece of bread that everybody else seemed to be fighting for.
I've propped the door open to go back there once maximum wealth (self-supporting) is achieved.
And to that, I would say that's a pretty "hick" mindset to have.
Easy pal. I work all over the country from D.C. to Philly to Kansas City to San Diego. Hicks don't climb mountains or ski. They go hunting and drink Bud Light.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the climbing gym during my lunch break from my $300K a year job. I would go tonight, but the rodeo is in town.
P.S. I still wonder what this dark sarcastic thing you are taking about is.
Easy pal. I work all over the country from D.C. to Philly to Kansas Casino to San Diego. Hicks don't climb mountains or ski. They go hunting and drink Bud Light.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the climbing gym during my my lunch break from my $300K a year job. I would go tonight, but the rodeo is in town.
Where is Kansas Casino? Could you imagine the hicks they have there?
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