Seattle or Denver for Young professional

[GatsbyGatz]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

Have you spent a good amount of time lately in both?

I'm not really disputing anything that you're saying, though it's worth mentioning that I spend plenty of time in Seattle, and have for years. I'm practically down there every weekend. I chose Bellingham for a different reason. Regarding Seattle, it has a very nice bar scene, and more diverse than Denver at that. I personally prefer it to Denver. I just think that Denver has a younger feel in general. Or, maybe the young people just have a different feel to them. Not better or worse, but more extroverted and raucous, to be sure. Seattle feels more reserved to me. Denver people are far more outgoing and loud, in general.

That's because Seattle is quite a magnet for DINKS who are living here just to make $$$. In general, you'll see folks in their late 20's to early 30's out and about. Only in the club district of Cap Hill do you see the young college-aged kids (who obviously don't make bank) drive out from the burbs to party.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

That's because Seattle is quite a magnet for DINKS who are living here just to make $$$. In general, you'll see folks in their late 20's to early 30's out and about. Only in the club district of Cap Hill do you see the young college-aged kids (who obviously don't make bank) drive out from the burbs to party.

That's a good point, and it actually goes along with what I'm saying. Colorado has a lot more young people willing to pack themselves into a house and scrape together funds for an Epic Ski Pass, while Seattle has a lot more people that want to make bank and excel at their jobs. CO has a lot more people on a vacation mentality- it's culturally acceptable-even in the corporate setting- to take Fridays off for Bluebird Powder Days.

Overall, CO has a lot more people coming out for the partying, outdoors lifestyle than Seattle. There are a LOT of people with very similar mindsets. That's good if you like the vibe of that community, not so much if you don't. Again, I love both states- we were just ready for something new (and it's smarter career-wise for me to be within striking range of Seattle). We love it here, WA has much more variation, both geographically and interest-wise. But given the OP's criteria, I feel pretty strongly that he would enjoy starting his career in Denver.

It's changing (and getting rapidly more expensive, or at least recovering to and surpassing pre-08 pricing) but I think of Denver as a much more manageable. lower-commitment starter city, whereas it's a little better to know who you are- and have skills to back it up- in Seattle.