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I suppose that's one way to look at it, but there are people that felt like total idiots for believing all the hype and then leaving because the door essentially hit them in the a** on the way out. Things were positive for career but other things such as damage to my savings account, BS in the workplace, horrible condo association, and just observing many 30 year olds who act like teenagers it just got on my nerves if anything.
I'm in that ~transient millennial~ demographic. I have bounced around to a few different cities, and know others in other "trendy" cities.
I don't think your experience is unique. In my own experience, Denver seems to have the largest amount of disappointed transplants. People will live in a car, have 5-6 roomates, or even stay in a bed bug infested hotel just to try to make it here. Those mountain views put stars in a lot of 20-somethings eyes...especially if they are born and raised in a flat place. This is the only place I have lived where I have to find a new group of friends every 9 months. People REALLY love it at first, and then a few months in, start to wonder why they put up with it all.
I don't see the same thing happening in places like Seattle, Minneapolis, Nashville, Austin, or even DC. In my circle, the people who have moved to those places fall in love with it, and stay in love with it enough to start dating, buying a house, kids, etc. I just think Denver doesn't really have any sense of community. And that is something people depend on as a support system. You can't build a community when so many people are constantly moving in and out, or when huge sections of a neighborhood are literally getting torn down every few months.
It's weird how even a place like Seattle, which is going through a very similar phase of gentrification/urbanization, has a much stronger sense of community than Denver. But honestly, I can't pin point exactly what that difference is.
I'm in that ~transient millennial~ demographic. I have bounced around to a few different cities, and know others in other "trendy" cities.
I don't think your experience is unique. In my own experience, Denver seems to have the largest amount of disappointed transplants. People will live in a car, have 5-6 roomates, or even stay in a bed bug infested hotel just to try to make it here. Those mountain views put stars in a lot of 20-somethings eyes...especially if they are born and raised in a flat place. This is the only place I have lived where I have to find a new group of friends every 9 months. People REALLY love it at first, and then a few months in, start to wonder why they put up with it all.
I don't see the same thing happening in places like Seattle, Minneapolis, Nashville, Austin, or even DC. In my circle, the people who have moved to those places fall in love with it, and stay in love with it enough to start dating, buying a house, kids, etc. I just think Denver doesn't really have any sense of community. And that is something people depend on as a support system. You can't build a community when so many people are constantly moving in and out, or when huge sections of a neighborhood are literally getting torn down every few months.
It's weird how even a place like Seattle, which is going through a very similar phase of gentrification/urbanization, has a much stronger sense of community than Denver.
Definitely see this, too, with younger gens specifically. Not sure if it has to do with Denver, or if it's a symptom of being young and figuring things out in the modern age where jobs and living circumstances are more fluid.
I've gone through several friends groups here as well. Most of them spend a few years here and move back home or elsewhere for another opportunity. Last month, we had a 'couple' friend that moved to LA to pursue a career in Hollywood. Another 'couple' friend is considering moving back to Maine to be closer to family now that they have children. Although I did have a friend move to Seattle, who moved back to Denver for some time, and complained about something called the "Seattle Freeze". It's apparently a cultural phenomenon where locals aren't very receptive or open to new people. It's kind of like that up in Michigan, too. But to your point, a lot of that is a result of fewer transplants. People with established ties somewhere generally aren't out seeking new relationships. In Denver, it's much easier to meet friends with the large pool of transplants coming in at a given moment. However, as soon as you establish any strong ties, it seems like they move on as quickly as they moved in.
I'm in that ~transient millennial~ demographic. I have bounced around to a few different cities, and know others in other "trendy" cities.
I don't think your experience is unique. In my own experience, Denver seems to have the largest amount of disappointed transplants. People will live in a car, have 5-6 roomates, or even stay in a bed bug infested hotel just to try to make it here. Those mountain views put stars in a lot of 20-somethings eyes...especially if they are born and raised in a flat place. This is the only place I have lived where I have to find a new group of friends every 9 months. People REALLY love it at first, and then a few months in, start to wonder why they put up with it all.
I shake my head when people say it's hard to make it in Denver. You "make it" in places like Hollywood or Manhattan, not Denver.
From what I see, people move there running away from something or somebody. They're already disjointed, and Denver will either live up to their aspirations or they'll simply move somewhere else.
That said, it's going around. 180K people left Colorado last year.
"Although I did have a friend move to Seattle, who moved back to Denver for some time, and complained about something called the "Seattle Freeze"."
Yeah same thing as "Minnesota Nice." It's that culturally rooted German / Scandinavian influence where locals are nice to your face but will stab you easily in the back. Denver had this a little bit too, but not sure if it's organic or if people brought it with them...?
I shake my head when people say it's hard to make it in Denver. You "make it" in places like Hollywood or Manhattan, not Denver.
From what I see, people move there running away from something or somebody. They're already disjointed, and Denver will either live up to their aspirations or they'll simply move somewhere else.
That said, it's going around. 180K people left Colorado last year.
"Although I did have a friend move to Seattle, who moved back to Denver for some time, and complained about something called the "Seattle Freeze"."
Yeah same thing as "Minnesota Nice." It's that culturally rooted German / Scandinavian influence where locals are nice to your face but will stab you easily in the back. Denver had this a little bit too, but not sure if it's organic or if people brought it with them...?
You will never get it. Just because you don’t think Denver is worthy of having to “make it”, doesn’t mean that’s the case for people who value the mountains. You never immersed yourself in the local culture because you don’t find value in it. That’s your loss.
That said, it's going around. 180K people left Colorado last year.
Yeah, that's an alarming number considering the states population is only around 5.5 Million.
Sure, the state is fine now because in-migration is able to keep up, but what will happen during a recession? The out migration will probably stay constant while in-migration slows. That might hurt the economy which is currently so dependent on growth and speculation.
No no, I don't think Denver will bust
As far as "Seattle freeze" or "Minnesota Nice", I think it's all BS nowadays. I made it in Minneapolis just fine. Any city that is gaining in population will have some transplant base to latch onto. Just don't be a dick and make an effort to pursue new friendships by mutual events or activities. I think the one difference would be that you can't make friends in a bar there like you could in other places.
Yeah, that's an alarming number considering the states population is only around 5.5 Million.
Sure, the state is fine now because in-migration is able to keep up, but what will happen during a recession? The out migration will probably stay constant while in-migration slows. That might hurt the economy which is currently so dependent on growth and speculation.
No no, I don't think Denver will bust
As far as "Seattle freeze" or "Minnesota Nice", I think it's all BS nowadays. I made it in Minneapolis just fine. Any city that is gaining in population will have some transplant base to latch onto. Just don't be a dick and make an effort to pursue new friendships by mutual events or activities. I think the one difference would be that you can't make friends in a bar there like you could in other places.
It needs to keep up - if a recession hits that will help bring real estate / rent prices down. But I would fear many wouldn't want to keep up with it and there will be lot's of moves to Dallas, Houston, Phoenix etc. where there are jobs. The fact that it's already happening (and doesn't get reported all that much or ignored) makes me wonder.
As far as MN nice goes, you were probably used to it. That and some I've met go out of their way to be the complete opposite of that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyDog77
You will never get it. Just because you don’t think Denver is worthy of having to “make it”, doesn’t mean that’s the case for people who value the mountains. You never immersed yourself in the local culture because you don’t find value in it. That’s your loss.
Agree to disagree then. Make what in the mountains? You go there for fun and then leave. That's not making it, that's not culture, that's called recreation.
Agree to disagree then. Make what in the mountains? You go there for fun and then leave. That's not making it, that's not culture, that's called recreation.
Originally Posted by N610DL View Post
I shake my head when people say it's hard to make it in Denver. You "make it" in places like Hollywood or Manhattan, not Denver.
From what I see, people move there running away from something or somebody. They're already disjointed, and Denver will either live up to their aspirations or they'll simply move somewhere else.
That said, it's going around. 180K people left Colorado last year.
"Although I did have a friend move to Seattle, who moved back to Denver for some time, and complained about something called the "Seattle Freeze"."
Yeah same thing as "Minnesota Nice." It's that culturally rooted German / Scandinavian influence where locals are nice to your face but will stab you easily in the back. Denver had this a little bit too, but not sure if it's organic or if people brought it with them...?
You failed to mention while over 180K people left Colorado last year, over 220K moved here at the same time. The population is still increasing. One of the big reasons people are leaving here are housing prices.
Like SkyDog said, you'll never get it.
It wasn't hard for me to "make" it here in the Denver Metro area and I definitely wasn't running away from something or somebody.
I "made it" in Denver. In my heart, I truly believe I would have never "made it" in Los Angeles. There's too many people trampling over you there, and I didn't want to "make it" there anyway.
I saw a study recently that showed migration out of Colorado. The #1 destination was King County, WA. To me, that is completely laughable, because the problems we have here are only compounded multiple times over up there. Frozen pan into freeze IMO.
I personally have never experienced the Seattle Freeze, but I know what it is, and I agree that it exists. I'm a weirdo though, and I've always felt that I fit in Seattle just fine. In my experience, Denver has more of a freeze. Both cities do have a reputation for the need to live up to trendier expectations, but the expectations are more settled and decided in Seattle, whereas in Denver things are much more superficial and fluid. This may be why Seattle has more of a sense of community (I 100% completely agree with MN_Ski on this), and it could be that Denver is just the happenin' thing right now for whatever reason(s).
Go place yourself in any random suburban part of metro Denver (even within the city), and then remind yourself that every other western city also has mountains nearby. Go park your car in Applewood, Centennial, Westminster, or Hampden. Get out, look around. Breathe in the air. Take a walk down the street. Now ask yourself, is what is here any different than what is anywhere else? Is there a unique character that can only be found here? These are the places most people live, and they by and large are Any Boring Suburb, USA.
You can do this same exercise in Wash Park, Cheesman Park, LoDo, etc. All other functional cities have these places too, they just have different names.
The things that we can point to that make Denver unique aren't THAT special if we're being honest with ourselves. Don't tell me about Red Rocks, 14ers, or the Broncos. They don't make the culture and the feeling of this place unique, and whatever does, seems kinda phony, lame, superficial, or even forced.
We didn't really have these discussions 10 years ago. Denver had more character back then, and wasn't completely diluted by things yuppies, hipsters, and stoners like. We had an almost admirable homeiness, and we were a city that was just trucking right along. And while Denver is still a very nice place, can't it simply rest on that laurel alone (if one can afford it )?
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