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I lived in Denver for several years, I've never lived in Vancouver but I have visited plenty. I prefer Vancouver, BC for several reasons. The weather IMO is better. I love how the mountains are so close and combined with smokey looking clouds and the lush green forests contrasted with the glass and steel high-rises all over the city, it makes for a surreal setting. I prefer the compact built environment of Vancouver and the overall urbanity/density is in a whole different league. Denver has decent density and several walkable neighborhoods, but for me it isn't a very close comparison.
There are great things that I love about Denver, but there isn't much that Denver offers that Vancouver can't at least match.
The things that Denver does offer are sports (football), so many fire Mexican restaurants. Vancouver has Denver beat in Asian cuisine, but I'll take Mexican over Asian 9/10 times. Red Rocks amphitheater is another very unique and desirable point of interest in the area. There are times when the low humidity on the front range makes for great summer nights.
While Denver is getting more expensive, Vancouver is absolutely over-priced imo. Right now the average 1br in Vancouver is $2,020 while in Cheesman Park, my old stomping grounds is at $1,835. Not a wicked big gap, but $200 a month might be significant to some people.
OP's criteria:
quality of life - Vancouver/subjective
economy - not sure
nightlife - Not a priority for me.
Scenery - Vancouver by a decent amount
daytime activities/events - Vancouver
entertainment venues - Denver, it's hard to beat Red Rocks
shopping - see nightlife
transportation - Skytrain beats RTD light rail by a lot, imo. LTR in Denver isn't really for the neighborhoods at all, it's great for commuting though.
overall vibe - Vancouver
Damn, now this is a close one. Denver, but just by a very, very slight margin, just because I like a dryer climate. If you ask me tomorrow, I might say Vancouver. When I lived in Denver, I still use to go to Whistler/Blackcomb occasionally. lol. The nice thing about Vancouver is you have the ocean, AND the mountains. Jeez, maybe I need to change my vote!
Damn, now this is a close one. Denver, but just by a very, very slight margin, just because I like a dryer climate. If you ask me tomorrow, I might say Vancouver. When I lived in Denver, I still use to go to Whistler/Blackcomb occasionally. lol. The nice thing about Vancouver is you have the ocean, AND the mountains. Jeez, maybe I need to change my vote!
Vancouver takes most of the criteria accept Economy and perhaps nightlife/Entertainment venues. I haven't had the chance to visit Vancouver, but it's on my list. Very beautiful. I will say that I think I’d prefer Denver though because of the culture, demographics and cost of living.
That is a big one for sure. I'm really on the fence on this one. I've lived in Denver, but never lived in Vancouver, but have been there a lot. Still, not the same thing I know.
This is Vancouver vs. Minneapolis all over again. Vancouver is on a very different level in terms of urbanity, transit, diversity, etc.
Absolutely.
Denver is a fine city with great upside. But, this is not even close. Vancouver is world class. Denver is merely a fast growing American city.
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