Is Colorado more like Kansas or Utah? (neighborhood, gated)
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Colorado has a reputation for being a mountainous state like Utah. But the eastern half of the state and where most of the cities are in the Great Plains which looks like most of Kansas. The question is Colorado more similar to Utah or Kansas culturally?
I'd say neither are remotely close....Colorado seems to be quite libertarian as a whole, while Utah & Kansas are religiously conservative. CO strikes me as more culturally similar to New Mexico or Oregon, at least comparatively to the other two.
I can't really say it looks like Kansas when you're within sight of the Rockies. Sure, when you look east it feels like the Great Plains (it's actually quite depressing in comparison), but all you need to do to fix that is turn around.
West of the Front Range, Colorado is more like Utah (in many ways much better than Utah) hands down. No part of Colorado is anything like Kansas east of I-135. There is even a striking difference between Colorado and Kansas on the plains: as soon as you cross the border into Kansas, you see a rapid transition from mostly dry land farming to more irrigated farming, you see more threatening signs about Jesus, and more people wave to you at stop signs.
The culture of urban Colorado is generally "General White American", there's nothing too significant about the culture here that would require any sort of tips or warnings, especially for your average Utahan or Kansan. There are some areas of Southern Colorado that stereotypically are more like New Mexico than anywhere else; they aren't as "plug and play" as the rest of the state.
The part of Colorado that's anything like Kansas is the smaller area east of Denver, although I would've voted Utah but Utah is almost entirely Mormon so I ended up choosing "In-Between".
The part of Colorado that's anything like Kansas is the smaller area east of Denver, although I would've voted Utah but Utah is almost entirely Mormon so I ended up choosing "In-Between".
Utah is about 60-62% LDS, which to me does not mean "entirely" even with the adverb "almost" in front of it. Idaho is 2nd, Nevada is 3rd, and surprisingly Washington and Oregon and SW Wyoming have healthy LDS populations as well.
If you ignore politics and religion it's more like Utah. But if you compare on the basis of politics and religion the state is somewhat closer to Kansas.
To the OP, eastern CO does look more the plains because it is part of the plains. No one said states were one or the other. Some states might look like 3-4 surrounding states.
Katz, what do you think of Sitake and Detmer taking over for Bronco? I think it's a positive change. I heard K. Whitt fired the WR coach. Also a good call. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are planning spectacular neighborhood parties in 2016.
MSR
Last edited by Mtn. States Resident; 12-27-2015 at 11:02 PM..
Colorado has a reputation for being a mountainous state like Utah. But the eastern half of the state and where most of the cities are in the Great Plains which looks like most of Kansas. The question is Colorado more similar to Utah or Kansas culturally?
It might depend on where the pot shops are. Otherwise, what is hard to realize Colorado is culturally different from the states it borders? Different populations in CO are different too. Most connect parts of CO and TX. Utah has a reputation for much better powder for skiing. Utah residents don't go to CO to ski, but CO residents do sneak off to UT to ski.
Grand Junction, Steamboat Springs, Gunnison etc. are much more like UT. I think Denver is its own place, as is The Springs.
There certainly won't be plain state trends in western CO. That is Rocky Mtn. High...without substances. Places like Telluride. Have you ever driven those roads and switchbacks? Those roads would never exist east of the Front Range. That area is different too.
Perhaps you could explain your definition of cultural. It would never dawn on me to connect the Redlands and Mtns. Of Utah with Kansas and Nebraska.
MSR
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