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Between Denver and Seattle, I actually found Seattle's winters to be much more miserable. Denver's winters are very capricious, it's not unusual for it to snow and then be near 60 F and sunny three days later, so it's actually not all that bad. Although, it's not exactly unusual for the opposite to happen either, and it can be below 0 for a week straight or something. Denver is just very random. Seattle is more temperate but it has a solid 4-5 months of almost nothing but overcast, and combined with the shorter sunlight hours being further north, it's a very dark place.
Also, the cost of living is much lower in Denver. My apartment in Capitol Hill would have probably been around 1.5 to 2 times more expensive in a comparable neighborhood in Seattle. Also, Denver's public transit is amazing, much better than Seattle's (unless Seattle has changed significantly since I lived there 8 years ago or so) and the flatness has the advantage of making the city much more bike-friendly.
I've never lived in Raleigh, so I can't comment on that.
One good thing about Seattle winters is Summer. Summers are dry and and long days Usualy July, August , And September are perfect weather and long summer days. I guess a little bright.
For me, I would rank them in order of desirability Denver, Seattle, Raleigh. I like Raleigh but the other two are just more desirable.
Between Denver and Seattle, that is very tough. I've looked at both cities and thought (dreamed?) of relocating to both. The advantages of Denver would be the cost of living, weather, and more centralized to visit my family. Speaking of traveling, rates out of Denver seem cheaper to everywhere. I'm not sure why. The weather in Seattle is fine. Everyone knows it is mild with frequent rainfall, predominately in the winter. Thinking about it specifically though it seems less attractive to me. Temps in the 40s with rain isn't that appealing to me. Cold temps when it is damp or humid seem to penetrate to your bones. Denver gets much colder but with the low humidity and plentiful sunshine, it's normally not bad. I kinda like snowfall too. I used to live in SLC and miss the snow so Denver is similar.
Cost of living is huge though. I'm gay and both Seattle and Denver both have very gay friendly neighborhoods named Capitol Hill. I can search craigslist for apartments and find many for less than 800. To get the same level of choices in apartments in Seattle, You need to up the price to around 1200 or higher.
Traffic is much better in Denver as well. Seattle is well known as a traffic nightmare. Denver is fairly logically laid out and easy to get around.
I find the area around Denver beautiful but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I like the variety of plains meeting the mountains. I actually even love the plains all by themselves which isn't something everyone likes. There is no contest though in that Seattle is much prettier. The green hills, the water, the distant mountains. It is a location tough for anyone to beat. On a negative note, when you look at streets in Seattle on google maps street view, it appears to be the power line capital of the world. Power lines are fugly but I wouldn't let that be a determining factor. I only find it surprising.
Denver is a little faster growing too (than Seattle) and I like that. I like the newness and the feeling of it being a city of the future. Seattle and Raleigh but fit this too with Raleigh growing faster than Denver. I think all three have bright futures.
People in Denver are very friendly, nicer than Seattle. Seattle has the infamous Seattle freeze thing going on. Never been to Raleigh but I would think people would be friendly there.
If the cost of living between Denver and Seattle were then same, I'd probably pick Seattle. The COL isn't the same and I don't feel the pluses of Seattle are worth the price over Denver. Denver has the Broncos too. I love NFL and the Denver Broncos have always been my team. Even people who don't like football can like the Broncos since Eric Decker is the hottest man on earth.
Seattle is the 6th fastes growing city in the nation according to forbes magazine according to the latest statistics. Denver is not even in the top ten there ranked 16th?
Seattle is the 6th fastes growing city in the nation according to forbes magazine according to the latest statistics. Denver is not even in the top ten there ranked 16th?
I didn't check Forbes. I went by the census.gov site numbers for the metro areas. Denver is growing faster.
Seattle's transit has improved in the last 8 years and several new lines are under construction. Unlike Denver, Seattle's Light Rail is mostly underground or grade-separated, which is a big plus. Seattle also has a much better bus system (and twice the bus ridership), and I would argue it is a much more pedestrian friendly city than Denver. All that said, currently Denver's light rail has better coverage and is superior. But I don't think that will last for long.
Seattle has a higher bus ridership because it's about 1 million people larger, so that's obviously going to have an affect on ridership numbers. Denver has the 13th highest bus ridership in the nation, which is good for it's population. The lightrail ridership numbers are also in the top 10. I don't think Denver's a slouch when it comes to public transportation. I don't really see what's so good about Seattle's lightrail being underground considering it's not a heavy rail though.
Some great responses here, i did not expect the poll to be so even either! I probably will be moving to one of these ares in a few years so keep the posts coming. im trying to learn as much as i can about these places and their contrasts. i also do plan on visiting all three someday to see for myself. Seattle has the amazing geography and pretty cool city life. Denver seems more outdoorsy and rugid, also with more extremes (heat, cold, dryness.) The Triangle seems to be a good place for young people as well but the unemployment and taxes in NC are nothing to be happy about.
If you're socially liberal, Raleigh might not be the best place. It's a red state. I've been there and it's nice, but it's growing so rapidly that its infrastrcuture can't handle it...lots of traffic. Denver offers the best of both worlds - all the amentities of a city but in just a few minutes you can be in the country hiking, biking or even skiing.
Never heard of that before. Raleigh has a democratic mayor, there state was blue not so long ago. They seem to be getting more progressive
Seattle has a higher bus ridership because it's about 1 million people larger, so that's obviously going to have an affect on ridership numbers. Denver has the 13th highest bus ridership in the nation, which is good for it's population. The lightrail ridership numbers are also in the top 10. I don't think Denver's a slouch when it comes to public transportation. I don't really see what's so good about Seattle's lightrail being underground considering it's not a heavy rail though.
I recently saw public transit ridership number as a percentage, and Denver was not ranked in the top-10. The thing about Denver's light rail, moreover, is that it's largely a park-and-ride-based system. So if you have a car and are willing to pay for the park-and-ride parking fees, then it is indeed a great way to get downtown. But it is in no way the kind of system that you can just take to get wherever you want to go. Most people who take light rail in Denver still spend a good bit of time driving as part of their commute. Denver's is not really a viable public transit system, although it is a way of avoiding traffic and parking if you are headed downtown from any of the park-and-rides.
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