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Two metro areas roughly the same size, both fast growing, both appealing to very different lifestyles. Which do you prefer?
COL
Economy
Climate
Crime
Education
Food/Cuisine
Housing
Downtown areas
History
Transportation
Livability
Culture
Location
Shopping
Sports
Things to Do
Scenery
Outdoor Activities
Sports
Better Future/Potential
I like Denver a lot, but it's just gotten too expensive with no end in sight. Plus it's more landlocked than I'd like. But I do like its 4-seasons, it's a beautiful area, and there's a lot to do.
I lived in Orlando in the mid-2000's and loved it. Very underrated and misunderstood by a lot of people (including me before I moved there). Very livable with an enormous amount to do. Tourist areas and residential parts of the metro are generally apart from each other. Affordable. I love the tropical climate and the Atlantic AND Gulf beaches are not far away. Though it does have a tourist-heavy economy, there is a good tech and healthcare industry there that helps diversify things some. My wife and I have no desire to move from where we are now (Charlotte area), we love it here so much. But if we were to go anywhere else outside of the Carolinas, it would be somewhere along the Orlando/Tampa Bay corridor. We loved it that much. So my choice in this case would be Orlando.
COL: Orlando
Economy: Denver
Climate: Tie. Both have their negatives. Snow in Denver and extreme humidity on Orlando.
Crime: I think Denver's crime rate is lower
Education: Denver
Food/Cuisine: Orlando
Housing: I hate the way so many Florida homes look. Denver
Downtown areas: Denver, although I hear Orlando's is nicer than people would expect
History: Denver?
Transportation: Denver
Livability: Tie
Culture: Denver
Location: Orlando
Shopping: Orlando, it has everything
Sports: Denver
Things to Do: Orlando for all it's attractions
Scenery: Denver for mountains, but Orlando for it's greenery and abundance or lakes/pine forests. Tie for me
Outdoor Activities: Denver
Better Future/Potential: Both have a lot of potential
COL: Orlando
Economy: Denver
Climate: Tie. Both have their negatives. Snow in Denver and extreme humidity on Orlando.
Crime: I think Denver's crime rate is lower
Education: Denver
Food/Cuisine: Orlando
Housing: I hate the way so many Florida homes look. Denver
Downtown areas: Denver, although I hear Orlando's is nicer than people would expect
History: Denver?
Transportation: Denver
Livability: Tie
Culture: Denver
Location: Orlando
Shopping: Orlando, it has everything
Sports: Denver
Things to Do: Orlando for all it's attractions
Scenery: Denver for mountains, but Orlando for it's greenery and abundance or lakes/pine forests. Tie for me
Outdoor Activities: Denver
Better Future/Potential: Both have a lot of potential
This is pretty spot on.
And you’re right, Downtown Orlando is much, MUCH nicer than a lot of people would assume. I’d rank it above Denver if it had a bit more in terms of retail.
COL: Orlando
Economy: Denver
Climate: I prefer Denver
Crime: Denver
Education: K-12, assuming Denver, but Orlando has UCF within city limits, Rollins nearby, Valencia which is exceptional, and more and higher acclaimed public universities within state. Also, Orange Schools recently won a National award.
Food/Cuisine: Different but comparable
Housing: Both have varied housing stock
Downtown areas: Orlando is way better than people perceive it to be, but yet Denver is still leagues more ostensibly urban and vibrant. Denver is my favorite western US Downtown area so far
History: Denver has more* in a sense. But the impact of KSC and Disney, while not considered quite yet as history.. is immeasurable to anything in Denver. Denver does have more character though.
Transportation: Denver
Livability: By metrics, Denver, generally subjective though
Culture: High culture? Definitely Denver
Location: Depends on taste. I’d like being out near mountains.. but Orlando is a lot less isolated
Shopping: Orlando
Sports: Denver
Things to Do: Depends on what you like
Scenery: Denver/Subjective
Outdoor Activities: Again, I personally prefer Denver, but it’s subjective
Better Future/Potential: Denver
I won't go through the details, but you could not pick two extremely different locations. I live in Denver now, but I lived in West Palm Beach, FL for a while, and have been to Orlando many times. The real factor is climate. FL is HOT, and humid. Denver is not. Yes it can get hot in the summer, but it is dry, and cools off dramatically at night. That is a huge factor to consider.
COL: Orlando
Economy: Pretty close. But due to Orlando's reliance on tourism, Denver wins.
Climate: Denver
Crime: Orlando
Education: Denver
Food/Cuisine: Orlando
Housing: Denver, but Orlando cheaper housing now
Downtown areas: Denver by a mile
History: Denver
Transportation: Denver
Livability: Denver--Rockies within half hour, lakes, snow, sun, skiing, less humid, no gators lol
Culture: Denver
Location: Orlando
Shopping: Denver
Sports: Denver
Things to Do: Denver for me, but Orlando has tons of things to do too.
Scenery: Denver
Outdoor Activities: Denver
Better Future/Potential: Both really good. But edge to Denver due to a more diverse economy.
Denver wins this comparison.
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