Which City Has A Brighter Future: Denver vs. Phoenix (Chicago, market, states)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I gotta agree here, Phoenixs biggest problem is that State Politics paint a negative image to millenials. The median age is low in AZ, but I'd be willing to wager there's a large population of Snow Birds who establish a domicile out of state, and a large population of Hispanics who tend to have a lot children.
I'd love for Phoenix to actually be sought after by millenials, but at this time Denver blows it out of the water in that regard. Jan Brewer was pretty effective in scaring a lot of people away. Now that our universities are very expensive, yet mediocre overall, they don't attract the same level of out of state applicants like they used to either.
But every post about DT Phx and DT Tempe is right, these two cities are taking progressive approaches to urbanization with Public Transportation and street facing projects. I truly believe that the councils in Phx and Tempe are beginning to understand the issues these cities face as they density. A prime example of the old mentality in Phx is Arizona Center, a dated inward facing mall. Why would you go to a generic mall downtown? That's what you do in the suburbs and it leaves ugly long beige walls on 3 of the streets while reducing foot traffic. This and the fact that Phoenix built itself 3 separate downtowns (DT, Midtown and Camelback) making it a mini metroplex instead. But I'm optimistic things are happening for the better here.
That's great that you love Phoenix. But I'm calling bullocks on your assessment, including the college desires of high schoolers. I think you've confused CO with Kansas. You apparently don't realize that it's an extremely popular vacation destination. People are flocking to CO, and it's not because they have to. You can't be serious if you're thinking that, but it's hilarious if you do.
CO is a much more popular brand right now and has a much stronger cultural cachet. Legal weed, a huge beer scene, the top skiing/snowboarding destination, etc. etc. etc. - all the colleges have waiting lists, rent and real estate prices have doubled in the last 5 years. Again, people are migrating en masse intentionally, not because they're forced to go to a city they hate. People are moving to PHX because it has a cheap cost of living for the west. And while I realize that there are some young professionals there, it's absolutely nothing like what's happening in Denver. For millenials there's no contest, and even the overall metro is growing faster in Denver than it is in Phoenix. Here's another article for you: Metro Denver ranks first in economic, job growth in new report
On the business side of things, the overall GDP of the Denver-Boulder area is about the same as Phoenix, which has over a million more people. There's absolutely no comparison when you look at per capita GDP. Phoenix is not even in the same league. Same goes for the educational level. The bottom line? Denver outperforms for it's size, and Phoenix drastically underperforms.
That's cool that you guys have a growing central business district, but Phoenix's downtown has to catch up with places like Omaha and Des Moines' before it can set it's sight on Denver in that category. Again, I'm glad things are changing, but it's been historically unimpressive up to this point.
I don't mean to sound obnoxious, but you can't just say things and make it so.... It's easy to look things up on Google. Overall, Phoenix has more people, but that alone doesn't make their future brighter. The type of industry and type of person that Denver is attracting in droves is totally different than the person moving to Phoenix. I've not seen anything to suggest otherwise. And considering that there's zero competition from any other city in the region, Denver should continue to punch way above its weight class for some time to come....
Most people prefer warm weather, and thats a HUGE draw here in AZ, and the reason PHX's population has boomed. Do you have any idea how many people here are from Colorado? Its insane. I cant drive a mile w/o seeing a CO license plate. I know CO has many draws, and so does AZ, its no different. And if you think its "cheap" here, Id disagree. Sure its cheaper than San Fran and LA, but its no Tennessee or Alabama. Cities that have boomed (ie Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, etc) are way expensive (not unlike Littleton, CO). Sure there are places like Buckeye, Surprise, etc, that are "cheap", but theyre no means bargain basement pricing specials, either.
Most people prefer warm weather, and thats a HUGE draw here in AZ, and the reason PHX's population has boomed. Do you have any idea how many people here are from Colorado? Its insane. I cant drive a mile w/o seeing a CO license plate. I know CO has many draws, and so does AZ, its no different. And if you think its "cheap" here, Id disagree. Sure its cheaper than San Fran and LA, but its no Tennessee or Alabama. Cities that have boomed (ie Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, etc) are way expensive (not unlike Littleton, CO). Sure there are places like Buckeye, Surprise, etc, that are "cheap", but theyre no means bargain basement pricing specials, either.
Notice he said "cheap cost of living for the west" so I'm not sure how Tennessee or Alabama are relevant. The median sales price in PHX is about half of that in Denver right now, which isn't even in the same ballpark as expensive as LA or SF, so yes I would say PHX is pretty darn cheap compared to the rest of the large cities in the west.
BTW, I know of several people here in Denver who are moving to PHX because the wage scale is similar and the cost of living much more affordable. Phoenix is a nice place, and you can get a lot of bang for your buck right now. I do believe Denver has a brighter future though.
Ive never run into a young person who thinks Denver is "more hip" than Phoenix. Unless theyre a pasty, heat-hating, Starbucks-type hipster, they wont choose Denver over Phoenix. I dont see tons of kids running to Denver to go to college. Im pretty sure 9 out of 10 would take ASU any day over Denver, as its youthful, extremely hip, and has much more mild weather, which most people prefer.
I'm kind of shocked to read this. Maybe it's because I'm from the Midwest, but lots of my friends are either relocating to Denver or Colorado in general, or at the very least have expressed an interest in doing so. I never hear people talking about going to Arizona. With that said, I think I'd prefer the desert over the mountains.
I'm kind of shocked to read this. Maybe it's because I'm from the Midwest, but lots of my friends are either relocating to Denver or Colorado in general, or at the very least have expressed an interest in doing so. I never hear people talking about going to Arizona. With that said, I think I'd prefer the desert over the mountains.
He's pretty out of touch with reality. Although to be fair his primary argument involves recent high school grads, so perhaps it is true for the 18-19 yr old crowd. But for recent college grads or young professionals, Denver is BY FAR the preferred choice.
I'm kind of shocked to read this. Maybe it's because I'm from the Midwest, but lots of my friends are either relocating to Denver or Colorado in general, or at the very least have expressed an interest in doing so. I never hear people talking about going to Arizona. With that said, I think I'd prefer the desert over the mountains.
Seriously? AZ is the mecca for Midwesterners (and Coloradans alike), more so than Denver.
What industries are all of the lucrative jobs of the Phoenix area in? I still don't understand Phoenix's economy and why Phoenix is growing as fast as it is...What companies are relocating there that draws people?
Seriously? AZ is the mecca for Midwesterners (and Coloradans alike), more so than Denver.
Dude, enough. Maybe if you poll retirees... but you seriously are out of touch. In my life I've literally heard nobody under 40 say they desire a permanent move to Phoenix. Economic reasons may drive some younger people there, but it's NOT a desirable market for a majority of people under 40.
Last edited by DenverBound41; 07-30-2015 at 07:27 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
