I was going to post this originally on yelp but they have a limit on how long a post can be so I thought of where else I could post this review where it would actually be relevant so I thought I'd share it here. I've used these forums for years but never felt compelled to post until now.
These are just negative things I've come across while living here. The Denver area isn't horrible...but I don't think its as good as I hear many people saying it is. This is a long drawn out rant so you better like reading.
This is just my opinion I’m not trying to anger anyone in particular nor try to say don't move here. Again these are just things I've noticed while living here.
First off Denver isn't much of a city when it comes to comparing cities against each other. I should first say I hate cities and I would rather live in a less crowded area but I don’t have a choice at the moment. There isn't much of a music scene (many will contest this but trust me its weak), there isn't much of a night life, nor is there very much to do at any given time once you've been to all the local attractions. However even though Denver as a city is small, the metro area is PACKED. The 5 counties that make up the metro area is somewhere around 3 million people all crammed near the city moving outward. Its all very crowded and compact. Most jobs are going to be located downtown or in the tech center which creates clusters of intense concentrations of people. The only place I can think of where I have seen where people work outside of these two areas would be a few small pockets in Lone Tree.
The suburban sprawl out here is horrible. Expect long stretches of tightly packed houses that look exactly the same with little shopping centers in between. If I can jump from roof to roof on top of the houses then they are too freaking close! If you like looking out your window and seeing right into your neighbor's house then by all means spend $200,000+ to buy one of these gems. Relish the idea that your dark green house with its rectangular windows separates you from all the other tans, peaches, and mocha colored houses with square windows. Seriously look at major housing areas in Highlands Ranch, Centennial, or Aurora and you will see this. I've driven through these areas and seen the same 3 styles of house repeated endlessly where the only difference was where and how the windows were oriented. Sometimes not even the color varied. On the other side of the housing market are the people fascinated by dumpy places. Maybe there is a term for this but I don’t know what it is. People just like old run down places which many will tell you is because of the history these places possess. However it doesn’t matter if it’s a house, a restaurant, or a bar, if it looks like crap then it is crap. Don’t get me wrong there are quite a few awesome historical homes out here which have been preserved or tastefully updated. One area you can find homes like these is around Cheeseman Park. The problem is most of these homes are too expensive to be realistically considered.
Another aspect of living in the metro area is it is a very culturally diverse area. However it is also very segregated. For example in areas of Highlands Ranch you will be hard pressed to find anyone who isn’t white. You might find the occasional asian sprinkled in but that’s about it. It’s like this all over the metro area. You have heavy pockets of Mexicans to the north, African American to the east, yuppy white families to the south, and rednecks west of wadsoworth (I’m serious take C-470 to Wadsworth and turn left into any of the residential areas near there and you’ll see nascar pride). So you have to know the area and then pick a spot. It’s not like this in every area but there are parts just like in any metro area I suppose.
The bottom line for the infrastructure in Denver is that it can't handle the booming population. For years the city's main north south highway (I-25) was under construction to expand its lanes to ease congestion. However by the time they finished spending their millions of dollars they reached the point where they should have been when they started the project. It didn't help much. Major choke points help to eliminate any progress that would have been made anyhow. These choke points are:
C470: Why is this major east west road only two freakin lanes?!? It is backed up daily near I-25 and the surrounding exits. Some of the worst accidents I've seen in the metro area occur on this road probably because of the high winds, snow, and sun glare.
I225: This road goes from around 4+ lanes down to two heading north so it is choked daily from the Parker exit on up to I-70. Heading south the same thing occurs except in reverse. It goes from 2 lanes up to 4+ lanes at the parker exit. This would be a good thing if it weren't for how the onramps to I-25 were handled. The road splits into two lanes each way for the north and south onramps of I-25. In the morning I-225 southbound will be backed up from the I-25 onramps all the way to Parker daily. Northbound I-225 will be backed up from Parker to I-70 daily in the morning. In the evening southbound 225 is usually backed up in both directions.
I-25: In the southern areas the road is nice and wide however it chokes down to fewer lanes the closer you get to downtown. Add in a few sharp turns which add to the choking points and I-25 slows down a lot. I don't use this road to commute very much so I can't comment on specifics or what its like north of downtown either.
E-470: Get rid of the toll on this road so this can be a legitimate road to take to get to the eastern part of the metro area. Maybe then it will see more growth.
Denver is constantly packed full of traffic (traffic and congestion is one of my major gripes if you can't tell). Every major road in every place of the metro area has tons of people on it at any given time day or night. Expect to jump on a highway and come to a stop during 11:00 AM "rush hour." If your city uses traffic lights at the onramps to highways thats never a good sign. What may confuse people is that the population of the area isn’t very high but don’t be fooled its because everything is so tightly packed around the city. The entire state is wide open though if you want to escape this.
Californians and Texans are migrating here like crazy. To Californians the housing out here seems cheap so they can sell their California houses they can’t afford anymore and get whatever they want out here. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to that just have nothing good to say about Californians. However being an out of stater myself I was not aware of the problem. However after living here for 4+ years I can safely say that most Californians drive like crap. I have made up a term for one of the most prominent driving techniques I've discovered while living here.
The California Speed Up: If someone puts on their blinker or acts like they are going to get into the lane in front of you it is your duty to speed up and try to block them. It doesn't matter how far back or slow you are going. Slam on your gas and block their hostile takeover. After all just because you aren't where the other car is turning into it is space you COULD BE occupying isn't it?
Drivers out here also love to ride your bumper like they are looking for something small that they dropped on it. How dare you only go 10 miles over the speed limit! Doesn't matter how fast or slow you go they will just sit there all day long. People used to wave when you let them get in front of you but with each passing year it has decreased and become a rarity.
The condition of the roads out here are horrendous as well. When you drive out of the state heading in any direction as soon as you cross the border there is this bump and then ahhhhh smooth roads. Potholes, cracks, black holes and other unexplainable phenomena destroy the roads out here. I’ve heard all sorts of reasons from the snow, lack of money, to ground swelling…yea the ground swells out here I suppose. In defense of the city I’ve actually seen road repairs occur however. Yea it comes in the form of a guy driving a truck. He doesn’t ever leave the truck mind you he just operates a robotic pump that dumps this sludge of rocks and black tar into the pothole. This is only a temporary fix and within a few days it will be like the giant robot truck was never there at all. So expect your suspension to be completely shot within a few years and also be wary of scraping the underside of your car repeatedly while entering and leaving parking lots and driveways.
If you’ve gotten this far you are either finding all of this amusing or maybe you’re just curious at how offended you can get from this review. You might be saying “Oh but it’s such a beautiful city. You are so close to the mountains, you can look at the mountains, you can go play in the mountains oh the mountains, the mountains….” The mountains are nothing more than a cruel torture of how much the city sucks. You can look at it but you won’t get to enjoy it very much. People try to get up there however. Unless you can take time off of work during weekdays then getting up to the mountains through I-70 is horrible. You think you are getting out of the city to a more rural and serene place but 3 million other people are thinking the same thing. Expect to go sit in traffic in the mountains just like in the city while trying to get to wherever you are going. Then once you get to wherever it is you are getting away to expect to sit in traffic there as well. If you are going skiing or snowboarding expect to park half a mile away from the actual park and hoof it through the snow. Expect to wait in long lines everywhere and expect to pay $20 for some slop in a tortilla called a burrito. Also expect to shell out large amounts of cash to enjoy any of these pleasurable activities. However if you are willing to drive over 2 hours you can actually get away from these maddening crowds. Heading south for example can be amazing and a glimpse into what Colorado is all about. However unless you are moving into an actual mountain town don’t use the mountains as a reason for moving to Denver because it isn’t in the mountains. Its in a bowl in the ground next to them.
That’s all Ive got. I'm making the best out of being out here but I was just curious if anyone out there had similar opinions.
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A Review of the Denver Metro Area
Ignore it, hopefully he will move away.
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