"I Dream Denver" - 2/16/09 New York Time Article

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by reginhild

Interesting that folks who grew up in/around NYC say many people want to live there. I guess they didn't stick around in the areas (20 different states) where I have lived - because I have never heard anyone say to me they wanted to live in NYC (in over 40 years). Makes the 45% statistic very questionable in my mind...as I stated above. In fact, I think I'll start a poll of people from Colorado on this website!

I agree. 45% is too high, 20million people in NYC is a drop in the bucket of the 6+billion in the world

[DenverAztec]

Ever since I was a kid and saw King Kong carrying Jessica Lang up the World Trade Center towers in the 70s flick, I wanted to live in NYC. Family needs and roots have kept me in Denver and now that I am older, it just seems easier to stay and just travel there to visit my high school friends that now live in Manhattan.

I don't question the stats for that age group as NYC is attractive to many on many levels. From the arts/entertainment industry to the financial world, NYC is a magnet for young and agressive professionals from all over the world.

Denver meets my needs now on many levels and it will probably be my home permanently. I like the pace and the relaxed environment with minimal daily challenges. NYC's weather and fast pace would have been much more manageable to me in my 20s.

[formercalifornian]

I realize I'm risking castigation here, but I think Denver is terribly over-hyped. I like living here fine, but there are other great places to live. I suspect many of the people surveyed are in love with the idea of living in Denver without really knowing much about the city.

For example, how many people from other parts of the country fail to understand that Denver is a plains city east of the mountains and not actually in the mountains? How many times here at City-Data do we see posts from somebody who has decided to move here sight unseen and wants to know where he can buy a four-bedroom/three bath house for $150k within twenty minutes of downtown, room for horses, and next-door to a ski resort? Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit...but not much!

I guess my point is that we shouldn't put too much stock in the article, because I think it reflects the Denver of fantasy, not reality.

[bhcompy]

over-hyped maybe, but the romanticism over it recently is well deserved. i cant think of any other relatively inexpensive major city/metro area that offers what denver offers in amenities natural and otherwise(like sports and such). ive looked at salt lake city, couer d'alene(sp?), las cruces nm, el paso tx, vegas, and others, and denver provides one of the best balances of climate, jobs, real estate cost, taxes, amenities, and home type diversity(rural, semirural, suburban, urban, etc) ive seen.

all im saying is that regardless of the article, its one of the most desireable places because of what it does provide in reality at the cost of which it provides it at. for example: the so cal basin provides many of the same amenities, but at a price that is at least doubled.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by formercalifornian

I realize I'm risking castigation here, but I think Denver is terribly over-hyped. I like living here fine, but there are other great places to live. I suspect many of the people surveyed are in love with the idea of living in Denver without really knowing much about the city.

For example, how many people from other parts of the country fail to understand that Denver is a plains city east of the mountains and not actually in the mountains? How many times here at City-Data do we see posts from somebody who has decided to move here sight unseen and wants to know where he can buy a four-bedroom/three bath house for $150k within twenty minutes of downtown, room for horses, and next-door to a ski resort? Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit...but not much!

I guess my point is that we shouldn't put too much stock in the article, because I think it reflects the Denver of fantasy, not reality.

I completely agree, fc! +3 rep for you. Many of the people we hear about on this forum dreaming of moving to Denver have never even been to Denver, or if they have it was just a transit stop on the way to their vacation in the mountains. I understand people who have spent time researching Denver, know what it is they want, understand realistically what Denver has/ doesn't have/ costs, and then rationally decide they want to live in Denver. It's the people who really don't know a thing and make their plan of moving to Denver something that's going to spiritually enlighten them or something. Or they work themselves into a frenzy about how supposedly horrible their current location is and how lousy their life is, and then assume that Denver will be 100% opposite of their current place, with none of the same problems.

Another way to put what you already eloquently expressed is this: Denver is a pretty good place to live. It has its benefits and problems, but it does have a lot going for it. But it's not the end all, be all of places to live either. And there sure is no special "spiritual" quality about the place either; it's just an average but well executed Middle American city with some neat land masses nearby.

[suzco]

What Denver has is a good urban environment close to a spectacular natural environment.

For those who are truly and only urban creatures, who thrive on the best and a multitude of museums, theater, restaurants, serious music venues, and the like, Denver will be lacking. For those who want to live in the mountains, Denver is just plain wrong.

But for those of us who enjoy both the urban and access to a mountain playground, the Denver metro area offers both. It is not the ultimate or most convenient of either, but we can have both, and they're both "good enough."