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Seattle has a "new city" feel with a growing tech economy, but the weather would bring me down. More expensive than Denver (I think) and kind of remote, but seems smarter and more focused on the future and more of a destination. Good career opportunities, but can I ever go to the beach again if I live there? Further from family.
Denver seems to have the same "new city" feel with the mountains and lots of people moving in. Slightly cheaper than Seattle and kind of isolated. How are the schools? Is it a "smart" city or are folks just worried about going skiing? Decent career opportunities and a growng economy? Still far from my family, though wife has some famly in Golden and in the city.
I'll try and respond to your full question soon, but a quick point is that both cities are actually pretty remote in different ways. Seattle is 3 hours from both Portland and Vancouver, so it has closer proximity to other big cities than Denver. However, it's in the corner of the country while Denver is closer to the middle (albeit, with not much around it).
Seattle does have beaches, but the water is cold and the season is short (except for this year). Both have mountains, but I would argue for them being prettier from Seattle. Denver has more sunshine, with wild fluctuations of temperature during much of the year. Both cities have good job opportunities, but you are correct Denver is less expensive. Transplants are pretty equal. Culture, probably a nod to Seattle, but again pretty close call.
As far as "smarter and more focused on the future," I would say the two cities are equal. In fact, I would say these two cities have quite a bit in common and you cannot go wrong with either.
You seem to be leaning to Seattle from your post. Why not go? What is holding you back?
These two cities have been compared extensively on other threads. If you use the search feature, you should find some threads with lots of information.
Seattle is the more urban and dynamic of the two cities. More expensive than Denver, but the salaries (and number of high paying jobs) in Seattle are generally higher (especially in tech/medical).
Having moved from Southern California, I can't say the weather bothers me. I enjoy the weather quite a lot here as a matter of fact.
I do too. I like a few hot days, (the key word being "few", but for the most part Seattle has great summers with daytime highs between 75-82, with low humidity). The winter is grey, there is no denying that, but as has been said over and over, "you don't have to shovel it".
When snow does occasionally hit, it becomes a holiday. The kids go wild. Metro goes into emergency mode, and everyone loves it for about 48 hours, at which point it melts.
I don't believe that to be true, but I do remember connecting through the old Stapleton Airport in the 80's, and yes, almost every traveler seemed to be a skier. Perhaps I hit spring break, but that is my memory. BTW, Stapleton was not a terrible airport. But I understood why it was replaced. For those of aviation interest, the old control tower still exists in the new Stapleton development where the airport was once.
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