My views of Denver after 6 months. (Lakewood: live in, zip code, cars)

[wilberry]

Go Denver ....ALBQ....too bad for you

[sacite]

Originally Posted by NickMan7

Glad you're enjoying living here, Brian. I work (16th/Wewatta) very near to where you live and I can attest to all of the changes that have happened in this part of downtown in just the past 5 years or so.. it's incredible. Most of what's along Wewatta and Chestnut between 15th and Park/23rd (boundaries are kind of odd in this area) wasn't even imagined yet and Union Station was still a ghostly shell - it reopened as it is now in 2014. As a Denver native (yes, something I am proud of) and a daily commuter from the northern suburbs to downtown for 18 years now, I've enjoyed watching the city evolve through the years into what it is today. I am also looking forward to seeing what it will become - there is a lot of excitement for the future here and people I chat with generally seem keen on it. I don't always care for the architecture of the new construction - I think there is a distinct lack of character - but then I'd rather see new construction and a booming population than a wasteland of "been there, done that".

Another great thing about the development is that Denver has brought major grocery chain players into the downtown market; something you don't often see in cities of similar size. King Soopers opened during the summer of 2015 and Whole Foods is setting itself up to open on November 15, 2017. A new CVS is also opening along Wewatta between the two stores, along with numerous restaurants already opened.

While I love living away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown area in my quiet suburban neighborhood, working down here is a lot of fun and I really enjoy seeing new people move in and enjoy the city I've always considered my home. There's an exciting feeling to this city and I'm glad I'm still here to experience it.

The growth I’ve seen via Youtube is crazy. The skyline alone is very impressve.

[Brianmedia]

Originally Posted by sacite

The growth I’ve seen via Youtube is crazy. The skyline alone is very impressve.

Yeah it's nuts. Union Station wasn't even redone back in 2012. Today it has 2 bars, 6+ restaurants, shops, etc all INSIDE of Union Station. Even the entire area behind union station was just dirt, now it's home to 8+ large apartments, businesses, restaurants, etc. including King Sooper grocery store and opening next week a flagship Whole Foods.

cool aerial of before and after: https://denverinfill.com/blog/2016/0...rspective.html

The before and after pics of Union Station are amazing too...

[Ankhharu]

Originally Posted by N610DL

And it's rare to find people that are super career oriented like on the coasts.

Why would you want to be around people who only care about work or work all the time? Pretty sure our purpose in life isn't to toil away in an office building making the rich richer.

[sacite]

Originally Posted by Brianmedia

Yeah it's nuts. Union Station wasn't even redone back in 2012. Today it has 2 bars, 6+ restaurants, shops, etc all INSIDE of Union Station. Even the entire area behind union station was just dirt, now it's home to 8+ large apartments, businesses, restaurants, etc. including King Sooper grocery store and opening next week a flagship Whole Foods.

cool aerial of before and after: https://denverinfill.com/blog/2016/0...rspective.html

The before and after pics of Union Station are amazing too...

Ya sounds awesome. I have been intrigued by that city since about age 10. That’s great that it us developing a complete urban core and cosmopolitan vibe. That’s a really interesting mix with the weather, nature and mountains to go along with it. Looks lke a flood of people are moving to tye downtown area.

[wilberry]

Washington park area is the best

[DougStark]

OP Brianmedia, you'd rank Chicago #3? Wow, you're generous. Chicago proper is actually LOSING population (as is the entire Chicagoland metro area.) Read some of the posts on the "Chicago" and the "Chicago suburbs" listings. It's very sad.

If you're willing to overlook their lousy winters, corrupt politicians, a near bankrupt state government, miserable public schools, and sky-high property taxes, Chicago does have some cultural and institutional gems to its credit.

[Brianmedia]

Originally Posted by DougStark

OP Brianmedia, you'd rank Chicago #3? Wow, you're generous. Chicago proper is actually LOSING population (as is the entire Chicagoland metro area.) Read some of the posts on the "Chicago" and the "Chicago suburbs" listings. It's very sad.

If you're willing to overlook their lousy winters, corrupt politicians, a near bankrupt state government, miserable public schools, and sky-high property taxes, Chicago does have some cultural and institutional gems to its credit.

I haven't lived there in almost 15yrs, but at the time i was single, had a good job and lived in the heart of Gold Coast. I loved it minus the winter. I wasn't thinking about public schools, property taxes, or govt. It was just extremely fun. That was my measuring stick. Might be different now if those things were factored in.

[Brianmedia]

Another observation I've just had...

The left turn signals at major intersections here are terrible. At least most of the ones i've encountered. They give you like 3-4 seconds to go then turn red, add that to the fact that some people aren't paying attention, so maybe 2-3 cars get thru.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[NW4me]

Originally Posted by Brianmedia

I don't know how to really describe it, but I hear people say Denver is not a major player and can't compete with other bigs like SF, Chicago, etc. but i somewhat disagree. There is something here that feels electric and part of a big city. All the parks, the museums, the neighborhoods, I just generally get a great feeling about living in Denver and wanting to be here. For instance, SF is an amazing city, but i have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the idea of going there and doing things, but once i'm there, there's so many things that are extremely frustrating. From traffic, to being extremely dirty, the out of control homeless epidemic (way worse than denver), the parking, the lines, the... all that just gets overwhelming. And i could never live there or the bay area again.

Overall Denver is in my top 3 places I've lived, with enough to want to make it our permanent home. (Honolulu #1, but WAY too expensive, Denver #2, Chicago #3) I feel too many of the threads here ending sounding negative about Denver, so I wanted to share my positive story.

Denver is the hub of the entire Rocky Mountain region.