Probably leaving CO, so some observations (Denver, Arvada: ski resort, credit, limousine)

[xeric]

Originally Posted by frameofmind

Nope.

See:
Northampton, MA
Provincetown, MA
Ogunquit, ME
New Hope, PA
Wilmot Manors, FL
Palm Springs, CA

All vastly smaller than the population of Boulder, and there is even a slew of comparable mid-sized cities with higher rates of LGBT. Boulder doesn't even crack the list. Visible gay culture is not a function of having a large population base. It's a function of having a safe and open social liberal culture. The Colorado Brandâ„¢ would never allow it.

https://www.dallasvoice.com/dallas-1...s-1087040.html

The cities that I know something about in that list have been popular with gay people for decades (way before the very welcome general acceptance that we have now). But if you think that Colorado is intolerant to the LGBT community I'm not going to change your mind. I will note, however, that our next governor will most likely be a gay man.

[frameofmind]

Originally Posted by xeric

The cities that I know something about in that list have been popular with gay people for decades (way before the very welcome general acceptance that we have now). But if you think that Colorado is intolerant to the LGBT community I'm not going to change your mind. I will note, however, that our next governor will most likely be a gay man.

Wait, has Boulder been a liberal hotbed "since the 1960's", or have they just recently got on board with LGBT acceptance? Because, it can't be both.

[LHS79]

Originally Posted by xeric

The cities that I know something about in that list have been popular with gay people for decades (way before the very welcome general acceptance that we have now). But if you think that Colorado is intolerant to the LGBT community I'm not going to change your mind. I will note, however, that our next governor will most likely be a gay man.

Hang on to your wallet.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by frameofmind

All vastly smaller than the population of Boulder, and there is even a slew of comparable mid-sized cities with higher rates of LGBT. Boulder doesn't even crack the list. Visible gay culture is not a function of having a large population base. It's a function of having a safe and open social liberal culture. The Colorado Brandâ„¢ would never allow it.

https://www.dallasvoice.com/dallas-1...s-1087040.html

Confused about you assertion that the "Colorado Brandâ„¢" wouldn't allow a visible gay culture and then you post a list with Denver being one of the gayest cities in the US.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Confused about you assertion that the "Colorado Brandâ„¢" wouldn't allow a visible gay culture and then you post a list with Denver being one of the gayest cities in the US.

Someone needs to up their troll game. Maybe frame could take lessons from Rambler21/Best_Coast.

[JrzDefector]

Cost of living wasn't really anything I paid attention to in my decision to move here. I was coming from Jersey, where expenses were pretty high. Still, that said, I have found food to be more expensive here.

Restaurants here are kind of weird compared to what I'm used to, though the service is usually great. I feel like it's hard for locally owned nonchain restaurants with mid-range pricing to survive here. I'm not sure I understand why. But it's disappointing because those are my favorite kinds of places, and there's not a lot to choose from here. My favorite one just shut down and no one I knew who ate there thought it was anything less than excellent.

I've found tradespeople here to be a bit disappointing. After having been burned or witnessed some sheer incompetence, I'm very wary. I think with all the influx of new people, reputation doesn't mean as much as it would in an area where locals are more entrenched. I'm the kind of person who will stick with someone who does good work, and I've kind of been aghast at the indifference I've been treated with as a customer. I had a misfiring cylinder in my truck years ago and one of the top-rated shops in the area couldn't figure out what was wrong after several visits. A buddy came over with his diagnostic and correctly figured out the problem in 20 minutes.

I mean, I'm not used to being treated like a princess or anything, but there's a different set of standards and I don't think it's a cultural difference between the east coast and Colorado - I think it's just an area adapting to a huge influx of new people.

I also find myself kind of mystified by the social (not financial) gap between those with college degrees and those without. It's almost like the two demographics (if that's what they can be called) don't even mingle here. It's WEIRD. My friends from home are a total mix of people with degrees and people without, as is my family, and here almost everyone I know is college educated except for a few people. Back home, my friend with a PhD is seriously dating a construction worker and no one finds it odd, and here it seems like that's not something that would normally happen. Here my friends from working class families comment on how well I "relate" to and fit in with their extended families, where it would not even be commented on in my hometown because it would be assumed. I could be totally wrong about that and maybe it's just because the transplants are generally more educated than the average population and that's who I tend to run into, but I dunno. It's just something I've noticed.

All of that said, I really enjoy it here and haven't regretted my move for a moment. There are just some things I wonder about.

[zach_33]

Originally Posted by qfrost

Another item - Boulder is not liberal, it is conservative. Very conservative. The reason is the amount of money that's there.

Interesting. Never been to Boulder but I have often thought the exact same thing when I visit the Bay area. They are liberal on paper, I guess, but a far cry from the hippies at Woodstock.

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by frameofmind

Wait, has Boulder been a liberal hotbed "since the 1960's", or have they just recently got on board with LGBT acceptance? Because, it can't be both.

I'm a bit confused by your post, but if you are asking how long Boulder has been welcoming of LGBT people, then Boulder was the first city to issue same sex marriage licenses way back in 1975.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by frameofmind

Nope.

See:
Northampton, MA
Provincetown, MA
Ogunquit, ME
New Hope, PA
Wilmot Manors, FL
Palm Springs, CA

All vastly smaller than the population of Boulder, and there is even a slew of comparable mid-sized cities with higher rates of LGBT. Boulder doesn't even crack the list. Visible gay culture is not a function of having a large population base. It's a function of having a safe and open social liberal culture. The Colorado Brandâ„¢ would never allow it.

https://www.dallasvoice.com/dallas-1...s-1087040.html

Some on that list are a bit disingenuous:

--New Hope, PA: Part of the Philadelphia metro area of 5 Million people.
--Palm Springs: Los Angeles county, the next county over has 10,000,000 people. Everyone knows it's a weekend hot spot for gays from other parts of SoCal and vacationers from much farther abroad.
--Wilton Manors (not Wilmot Manors) part of huge South Florida metro area.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by zach_33

Interesting. Never been to Boulder but I have often thought the exact same thing when I visit the Bay area. They are liberal on paper, I guess, but a far cry from the hippies at Woodstock.

Bay Area people are liberal when it comes to tax increases and minimum wage increases and not making government accountable for its spending. Any tax increase viewed as a trivial cost will be passed, Minimum wage increase? They're all for it--Most upper middle class liberals aren't business owners in low profit margin industries who actually have to pay it...but ask them to make real trade offs like building more housing (which would help the poor and middle class a lot more than minimum wage increases) and it's "Yeah, we need to build more housing....just not in my neighborhood". I think some people label this hypocritical behavior as conservative because there's this perception out there, perpetuated by liberals, that only conservatives can be greedy and self interested. It comes as a shock to some that liberal people can be just as bad or even worse than conservatives as they're often more two faced about it.