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Both are bland, sprawling, car culture/chain store cities. Denver is more vibrant, but still pales in comparison to any major coastal city. Climate is the only real significant difference between them, with Denver having a less extreme climate overall.
Hmm, I agree and disagree. IMO, Denver is not "that" vibrant.i was talking about this on the Denver forum, and they came back with the restaurants all being packed and having 1 hour waits. But guess what? Restaurants I've been to in Des Moines Iowa and Bismarck North Dakota have also had lines out the door. Nobody wants to cook these days, so of course.
But, when I look deeper...the bars, nightlife and stuff are more often than not half full. When it is full, it's the same people all the time. And if you're looking for something to do during the week, there's not enough action going on. Work is dead and slow for me, and many neighborhoods....people are parked in the driveways or streets smoking weed and staying home. Denver is dead as a door knob as far as I'm concerned. It looks busy if you have a family, commute to work all the time, and eat out every night. It's dead after 10 pm.
Weather wise....very extreme here. The fall and winter we get hurricane force winds, but that's usually before or after the subzero temps hit. Summers are rough and tough because many older residences don't have central a/c. Winters are awfully dry...without the furnace going.
So long as you are close to the mountain range, Denver is an amazing area. I like Colorado Springs area as well. But the key is being close to the mountains or more specifically in the foothills. Facing the other direction, the high desert is UGLY. Not a naturally planted tree and barely a tumble weed in sight. No trees means a lot of wind too. I mention this because the outskirts of Aurora isn't my cup of tea.
People who live in cold weather realize that the sun can make 30 degrees feel like 50; child's play. Like PHX, Denver enjoys a lot of incredible sunny days. Because of the sun and mild winter temps, the snow melts quickly. Just as 95 degrees in PHX with dry heat feels like 82 in the Midwest, a sunny day at 30 degrees in Denver feels like 50 degrees in Arizona. Take away the sun and 30 degrees feels like 30. Now in Buffalo NY, that is the worst of the worst winter weather. In Denver, it's really nothing even for the wimps (I am now a winter weather wimp). I'm not talking about Evergreen Colorado which is commutable to Denver. At the higher elevation it is colder, more snow, and less sun (but more beautiful). We looked closely at Evergreen and passed because it was too cold and a terrible drive anywhere you want to go.
With that said, PHX is soooooooooooo much nicer in the winter months than Denver for most people. I strongly considered moving to Denver year round. We chose AZ because I stole a house here for $52 a square foot. But if I had to pick a year round spot, Denver would be on my short list. Continuing with the weather, Denver is nearly ideal (dry heat) but a little windy for my tastes.
The economy in Denver is ideal. The schools are fantastic (both colleges and K-12), a diverse job market, less prone to economic downturn, also a lot to do year round (but AZ is better). But every time I go to Denver (5 times a year) the traffic is conjested because of road construction.
As so many other people have recommended, spend a week or 2 in the summer and make your final decision. As a side note, Denver won't refuse re-entry even if you learn that you made a mistake.
We like AZ...have lived here for 28 years and counting. I would love to move up to Flagstaff BUT there is no employment in my line of work up there. IF we were to move, Denver is on the short list along with Washington (Seattle), North Carolina (Raleigh), Texas (Dallas or Austin) and if the opportunity arises, I would love to move the family to London for a year or two, just to be able to explore Europe a little without trying to jam it all into a week of running around. I think it would be a great experience for the kids.
As far as CO is concerned though, I liked Ft. Collins better than the Denver area.
So long as you are close to the mountain range, Denver is an amazing area. I like Colorado Springs area as well. But the key is being close to the mountains or more specifically in the foothills. Facing the other direction, the high desert is UGLY. Not a naturally planted tree and barely a tumble weed in sight. No trees means a lot of wind too. I mention this because the outskirts of Aurora isn't my cup of tea.
People who live in cold weather realize that the sun can make 30 degrees feel like 50; child's play. Like PHX, Denver enjoys a lot of incredible sunny days. Because of the sun and mild winter temps, the snow melts quickly. Just as 95 degrees in PHX with dry heat feels like 82 in the Midwest, a sunny day at 30 degrees in Denver feels like 50 degrees in Arizona. Take away the sun and 30 degrees feels like 30. Now in Buffalo NY, that is the worst of the worst winter weather. In Denver, it's really nothing even for the wimps (I am now a winter weather wimp). I'm not talking about Evergreen Colorado which is commutable to Denver. At the higher elevation it is colder, more snow, and less sun (but more beautiful). We looked closely at Evergreen and passed because it was too cold and a terrible drive anywhere you want to go.
With that said, PHX is soooooooooooo much nicer in the winter months than Denver for most people. I strongly considered moving to Denver year round. We chose AZ because I stole a house here for $52 a square foot. But if I had to pick a year round spot, Denver would be on my short list. Continuing with the weather, Denver is nearly ideal (dry heat) but a little windy for my tastes.
The economy in Denver is ideal. The schools are fantastic (both colleges and K-12), a diverse job market, less prone to economic downturn, also a lot to do year round (but AZ is better). But every time I go to Denver (5 times a year) the traffic is conjested because of road construction.
As so many other people have recommended, spend a week or 2 in the summer and make your final decision. As a side note, Denver won't refuse re-entry even if you learn that you made a mistake.
Doesn't Aurora sort of compare to Mesa or Gilbert, both are big sprawling suburbs?
Doesn't Aurora sort of compare to Mesa or Gilbert, both are big sprawling suburbs?
I'd say Aurora=Mesa maybe not politically but in form.
It's a large bedroom community that has some bad nicknames and reputation (cough* Saudi Aurora), especially along Colfax St., Mesa is pretty known for having some really rough areas as well. It's by far Denver's largest suburb like Mesa and it's nice at the fringes like Mesa.
It's not really like Gilbert at all.
I'd say (and this could be debatable) but I figure it's worth a shot!
Aurora=Mesa
Lakewood=Glendale
Boulder=Tempe
Broomfield=Chandler
Centennial=Gilbert
Thornton=Peoria/Avondale
Westminster=Morphing of Gilbert/Glendale/Scottsdale
Cherry Hills Village=North Central
Cherry Creek=Encanto/Willo
we are moving from Denver to PX.
We put $ down on a new house should be done by Feb.
About DIA, its so large it takes forever to park, shuttle, checkin, security, go to gate, etc.
Sky Harbor is a breeze in and out in half the time compared to DIA.
PX is much cleaner, and you wont slip on any ice..!
No thanks, I don't like dying in the heat and having even less rain and snow.
lol dude, you're from Texas.
You DO realize it feels hotter in Dallas area than it does in PHX in the summer, right? We have virtually no humidity in PHX so 110 in PHX feels like 95 in Dallas. My friend is from Fort Worth and said that the summers in Texas are way worse than PHX.
In terms of rain and snow, it rains here but I agree the lack of rain in the city is not ideal.
Denver is more unpredictable, and has occasional stretches of brutal weather, but it isn't an extreme climate overall. There are times you can wear shorts in Denver in January.
And then the next day face -30 temps with blizzard like conditions. If thats not extreme I dont know what is. Denver's climate is the pits! Ive been there in late April and it was snowing out like a mofo.
To the OP, what are some other places you have lived besides Denver and what were the pros/cons of each? If you really feel that you would like to make a change and there's nothing tying you down to Denver, then just go for it... you only live once. Right now the cost of housing in Phoenix is much less than Denver for both real estate purchases and rentals (although back in the mid 2000s before the bubble crashed property values were higher in Phoenix than in Denver), so if you can secure a good job in Phoenix that alone could make the move worth it for you. Careers are probably the #1 things that keeps me in Denver. I can't speak for others but I personally have a great career going here. Just based on what I've seen/heard it seems like the job market in Denver is a lot better than Phoenix right now. In my company we're growing like crazy and having trouble finding enough qualified applicants.
I'm from Denver, went to ASU from 2004-2008, then lived in LA and Reno for a brief while each, then moved back to Denver in 2010 and been back since. I still toy around with the idea of moving back to Phoenix. I've been visiting at least once a year every year since I've left and always have a great time. Just came out a few weekends ago and spent the weekend in Scottsdale hanging out at the pool and going out at night to Old Town. I love the bar scene and Old Town Scottsdale and prefer that hands down to downtown Denver's "LoDo." OT Scottsdale feels like you're at a Mexican beach town resort... without the beach. I love the open air set up with the misters so you can sit outside even when it's hot. I also think that Phoenix/ Scottsdale OWNS Denver when it comes to food. Phoenix actually is one of the most underrated food cities in the country, IMHO. The food in Denver is.... well let's just say that nobody comes to Denver for the food. Of course, I understand that visiting somewhere is not the same as living somewhere. And living somewhere as a college student isn't the same as living somewhere as a working adult.
I like Phoenix's overall location as it's positioned in the southwest much better than Denver's location and I like the Sonoran desert infinitely more than the Great Plains... however, Denver has world class skiing within 1 1/2 hrs of downtown; Phoenix doesn't. Skiing doesn't just help get me through the winter... it actually makes winter something to look forward to. Maybe skiing isn't your thing though. During the summer in Denver I can drive 45 minutes from my house (I live in the southeast part of the city) and be at 9-10k feet in elevation where temperatures can be 20-30 degrees cooler. In Phoenix you have to drive much further to get the same effect and during the middle of summer even the Mogollon Rim country of northern Arizona still does not get as cool as the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
I think it's actually easier to meet people in Phoenix than in Denver. Phoenix people are a little bit more friendly and since it's a more transient city (relative to Denver... which itself is very transient compared to a lot of places) there are less established social networks going back decades... easier to break into. Denver is starting to develop a snotty, self-absorbed culture of "localism" kind of like what Portland is stereotyped for... and it's sucks, IMHO. The new trend now is for bicyclists wearing spandex with the Colorado "C" flag logo all of the place, and Colorado "C" flag hats. I'm sick of seeing it, and I am a third generation Coloradan. Phoenix people generally like where they live but aren't in your face about it.
About the casual/ flip floppy/ rough... something that I dislike about Phoenix and it also applies to other warm sunbelt locations... southern California, Las Vegas, Florida... are all the lower class dudes who dress like total slobs walking around with wifebeaters on (or even no shirt at all), displaying their tattoos. You do get this in Denver too in the summer months but in the warmer climates you see more of it. Whatever happened to the days of "no shirt, no shoes, no service" signs that I used to see years ago?
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