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This is the Parenting forum. Post needs to be moved to either General U.S., or better yet, City v City.
That said, I used to live in Denver and think it's a great city. Hear wonderful things about Minneapolis as well. Search of those city sub forums and you will have lots of info.
Last edited by Texas Ag 93; 08-20-2017 at 07:37 PM..
How would you compare them in the following categories. Include both the main city and the burbs...
I've lived in Denver for these past 37 years; have lots of family in Minneapolis on both sides, plus our daughter lives there now and has for the past few years, so I feel qualified to talk about this. Of course, I know Denver better.
Hispanic/Asian population? Denver, by far for Hispanic, 31.8%. Mpls 10.7% Hispanic. Asian, Denver 3.4%; Minne 5.6%.https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...sota/PST045216
better zoo? I've never been to the Minneapolis Zoo; I've been to the Como Zoo in St. Paul. I'd rate Denver's better.
theme parks? I don't care for them, have no idea what Minne has. Denver has the iconic Elitch's, Lakeside, Heritage Square, maybe some others.
better next door state? Who cares? Seriously. It depends on what you like, I guess. Wyoming is the "wild west" with Yellowstone and Teton NP. Kansas/Nebraska are farm states. Oklahoma is OK. New Mexico is the desert southwest with artsy Santa Fe. Utah is desert, Mormon history, Zion NP. For MN, Wisconsin is very similar to MN, North and South Dakota are farming states with SD having the Black Hills thrown in, Iowa is a standard midwestern farm state.
better for families? Both have lots of family oriented activities. I don't know the state of the Minnesota Public Schools. Denver's are all over the place, from very high to low average. singles? I haven't been single for 37 years, was never a single in Denver. From what you read on the forum, Denver is "menver", but ask my daughter, finding a guy was difficult too. (She is married now.) No idea about Mpls.
more conservative? Denver, though it's more Libertarian than conservative. The city itself is garden variety liberal; I'm referring to the state as a whole. Very "live and let live". liberal? Probably Mpls, though see my comments about Denver. Outstate MN is pretty conservative, so are some of the suburbs, such as the one Michelle Bachmann resides in. moderate? If you had to say which was more moderate, I'd say Denver.
geography? Denver by a mile (high) . No comparison. Mountains, plains (to the east), beautiful topography and a MUCH better climate. Minne has some rolling hills and I will say a nice river valley, the Mississippi. Awful winter, summer can be hot and humid. Mostly flat.
job opportunities? Probably Denver. Second lowest UE rate in the country.
future prospects? Probably Denver.
shopping? They both have a lot. The Mall of American is in suburban Minne; it's nice. Denver seems to be going away from malls and into these open-air shopping areas. districts? Don't know what you mean. malls? See under shopping.
museums? Oh, grudingly, I'd have to say probably Minne, but then again. . . Denver has a lot. galleries? Don't know.
friendliness? Oh, you hear about this "Minnesota Nice", but some people say it's fake and hard to make friends there. Then again, some say Denver is a difficult place to make friends, some think it's friendly and some think the people there are aloof.
casinos? Legal in a few Colorado towns near Denver. No idea about Minne.
crime? Probably about the same. Denver doesn't have a lot. You can look up stats.
airports? Big complaint about Denver's is that it's so far from Denver. Big, lots of airlines. Minne-no complaints from me about the airport.
ETA: I agree with Texas Ag 93, but maybe the OP wants a different perspective.
Wow harsh on Minneapolis. Minnesota is consistently voted the best state (or one of the best) to raise children. The COL is great. It has some beautiful areas. Winters aren't awful, nor are summers. We have 4 amazing seasons. There is a lot to love about MN.
Never been to Colorado before...it was on our "maybe" list but there were plenty of negatives that scratched it off the list for us before we even decided to go see it.
For theme parks we have valley fair and there is nick world inside the mall of America. There are a lot of fairs in the summer that set up pretty big carnivals. We have several indoor water parks...indoors for use in winter The Dells is a 3 hour drive.
Como zoo and Minneapolis zoos are both really good. The science museum is really nice...I wish they would have more temp exhibits. The childrens museum is doing a huge remodel and opens up soon. Hoping it is better for all ages of kids then before.
I don't think Minneapolis has as much to do as many big cities, though. Or maybe I just haven't found them. I live in Rochester so I only go occasionally.
With all that said...you couldn't pay me to live in a big city again.
I've lived in Denver for these past 37 years; have lots of family in Minneapolis on both sides, plus our daughter lives there now and has for the past few years, so I feel qualified to talk about this. Of course, I know Denver better.
Hispanic/Asian population? Denver, by far for Hispanic, 31.8%. Mpls 10.7% Hispanic. Asian, Denver 3.4%; Minne 5.6%.https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...sota/PST045216
better zoo? I've never been to the Minneapolis Zoo; I've been to the Como Zoo in St. Paul. I'd rate Denver's better.
theme parks? I don't care for them, have no idea what Minne has. Denver has the iconic Elitch's, Lakeside, Heritage Square, maybe some others.
better next door state? Who cares? Seriously. It depends on what you like, I guess. Wyoming is the "wild west" with Yellowstone and Teton NP. Kansas/Nebraska are farm states. Oklahoma is OK. New Mexico is the desert southwest with artsy Santa Fe. Utah is desert, Mormon history, Zion NP. For MN, Wisconsin is very similar to MN, North and South Dakota are farming states with SD having the Black Hills thrown in, Iowa is a standard midwestern farm state.
better for families? Both have lots of family oriented activities. I don't know the state of the Minnesota Public Schools. Denver's are all over the place, from very high to low average. singles? I haven't been single for 37 years, was never a single in Denver. From what you read on the forum, Denver is "menver", but ask my daughter, finding a guy was difficult too. (She is married now.) No idea about Mpls.
more conservative? Denver, though it's more Libertarian than conservative. The city itself is garden variety liberal; I'm referring to the state as a whole. Very "live and let live". liberal? Probably Mpls, though see my comments about Denver. Outstate MN is pretty conservative, so are some of the suburbs, such as the one Michelle Bachmann resides in. moderate? If you had to say which was more moderate, I'd say Denver.
geography? Denver by a mile (high) . No comparison. Mountains, plains (to the east), beautiful topography and a MUCH better climate. Minne has some rolling hills and I will say a nice river valley, the Mississippi. Awful winter, summer can be hot and humid. Mostly flat.
job opportunities? Probably Denver. Second lowest UE rate in the country.
future prospects? Probably Denver.
shopping? They both have a lot. The Mall of American is in suburban Minne; it's nice. Denver seems to be going away from malls and into these open-air shopping areas. districts? Don't know what you mean. malls? See under shopping.
museums? Oh, grudingly, I'd have to say probably Minne, but then again. . . Denver has a lot. galleries? Don't know.
friendliness? Oh, you hear about this "Minnesota Nice", but some people say it's fake and hard to make friends there. Then again, some say Denver is a difficult place to make friends, some think it's friendly and some think the people there are aloof.
casinos? Legal in a few Colorado towns near Denver. No idea about Minne.
crime? Probably about the same. Denver doesn't have a lot. You can look up stats.
airports? Big complaint about Denver's is that it's so far from Denver. Big, lots of airlines. Minne-no complaints from me about the airport.
ETA: I agree with Texas Ag 93, but maybe the OP wants a different perspective.
Minne? Minnesotans everywhere cover their mouths in horror
In all seriousness though, both are fantastic places to raise a family, be a young and/or single person, etc. - can't go wrong with either. I think it really depends on your tolerance for cold weather, if you'd like to be close to the mountains or are fine with lakes/forests/etc. for outdoor recreation, and what kind industry you work in, although both economies are among the strongest in the US. Both are also rather isolated from other big cities, although I'd give the nod to Minneapolis for being more accessible.
What's harsh about what I said? I gave my opinions and I was diplomatic.
It just felt Denver slanted...but its your home so it makes sense.
MN is not mostly flat, doesn't have terrible winters, or bad summers. It has 4 lovely seasons. Yes, we sometimes have bad weather. And some times of the year it isn't super pretty out. But mostly its quite nice Colorado never does have bad weather?
Como Zoo is *free* and still awesome. Minnesota Zoo is nice but pricey (like so many are). There are several little mini-zoos around that are super cool because you really get to see the animals upclose and in more natural settings.
Housing is 36% cheaper in Minneapolis. With the COL being 14% less then Denver (and even more so outside of the city)
Minnesota is #9 for best employment rates v. Colorado being #16
Minnesota is almost always in the top 5 states to raise a family, Colorado is 15th or so.
About the same rankings for education, where Minnesota is ahead by about 10 slots.
*note, Minnesota is also one of the best states for educating special needs children. In these rankings, they are based on test scores. But MN is excellent working with kids of all needs, which brings down test scores...they don't focus on them at all. They also offer tons of services in school to kids who are low income. More then I have ever seen.
Minnesota is #3 in health care and the Mayo Clinic is 90 minutes from the cities, which is oftenand on most lists rated #1 hospitals in the country (and they have branches around plus some amazing metal health facilities and UMN is great). Colorado is #10 and doesn't have a top hospital that I could find.
I am actually sure Denver is a great place to live. Hey, pot is legal! If it weren't for the COL, it would have been higher up on our list. Even though my husband and I make a pretty good living, we wouldn't have made more (and maybe less) in Denver and didn't have any desire to downsize. But people often put down a lot of things about MN that just is not true. Its a very family oriented, future focused, honest and great place to live.
MN is not mostly flat, doesn't have terrible winters, or bad summers. It has 4 lovely seasons. Yes, we sometimes have bad weather. And some times of the year it isn't super pretty out. But mostly its quite nice Colorado never does have bad weather?
Como Zoo is *free* and still awesome. Minnesota Zoo is nice but pricey (like so many are). There are several little mini-zoos around that are super cool because you really get to see the animals upclose and in more natural settings.
OK, weather is in the eye of the beholder. Sure, CO has bad weather.
However, most of this:
Quote:
Minnesota is #9 for best employment rates v. Colorado being #16
Minnesota is almost always in the top 5 states to raise a family, Colorado is 15th or so.
About the same rankings for education, where Minnesota is ahead by about 10 slots.
*note, Minnesota is also one of the best states for educating special needs children. In these rankings, they are based on test scores. But MN is excellent working with kids of all needs, which brings down test scores...they don't focus on them at all. They also offer tons of services in school to kids who are low income. More then I have ever seen.
Minnesota is #3 in health care and the Mayo Clinic is 90 minutes from the cities, which is oftenand on most lists rated #1 hospitals in the country (and they have branches around plus some amazing metal health facilities and UMN is great). Colorado is #10 and doesn't have a top hospital that I could find.
Just who "voted" (post #6) that MN is the best place to raise kids? I don't recall voting in such election. Those "lists" are always, and I mean always, written by advocacy groups who look at certain metrics. Ditto lists about best places for singles and best places to live. I answered the OP's questions to the best of my ability.
Who says MN is #3 for health care? And you couldn't find a top hospital for Colorado? You sure as H*E*double hockey stick didn't look very hard. I will provide a link, which you did not: https://www.usnews.com/info/blogs/pr...best-hospitals
Note #15. I will submit that there's not much difference on these lists between #1 (which is not the Mayo hospital, and #20.
I am actually sure Denver is a great place to live. Hey, pot is legal!
Don't use it, didn't vote for it, and I am absolutely sure you don't mean the bold. Heck, you say you've never even been here! I wouldn't begin to comment on a place I'd never been, and just cherry pick links to prove my point. I answered the poster's questions, honestly. And yes, Minneapolis is mostly flat, as is the surrounding area for at least 500 miles except for the Black Hills of S. Dakota and a little hill country around Duluth.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 08-22-2017 at 11:45 AM..
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. No comparison. Mountains, plains (to the east), beautiful topography and a MUCH better climate. Minne has some rolling hills and I will say a nice river valley, the Mississippi. Awful winter, summer can be hot and humid. Mostly flat. 
The Dells is a 3 hour drive.
