Raleigh vs Arlington NoVA vs Denver Areas (compared, population, people)
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Denver is regarded as pretty cool and I think a lot of midwesterners want that association. This happens in a lot of different situations. Some Atlantans here believe Atlanta is the east coast. It's not. A lot of posters here state that DC is in the south. It's that association that's coveted, sometimes to raise your region's profile but often times to denigrate the referenced city as well.
Because it technically is per this map which is a representation of what the US Census Bureau considers "The South".
(Yes it's a link to a Wiki article, bite me. You can find the PDF that outlines each region and subregion by going to the Wiki about the Census Bureau and locating reference 18 where it lists DC, along with Maryland and Delaware, as part of the South).
But back to the OP's topic, of the three I'd stay away from NoVa for sure. Denver's gone pretty downhill over the last 5 or 6 years, and I don't know enough about RDU to make an opinion. I'd toss out Atlanta and DFW as possible alternatives to consider.
East Coast states are those along the Atlantic coast. The two close calls are Vermont, which gets in due to location, and Pennsylvania which has access to the Atlantic Ocean and Philly’s other ties to the region. East Coast cities, broadly, are cities in East Coast states. Pittsburgh is probably a judgment call for most people. Atlanta is not.
Atlanta is in the south. Jacksonville may be on the east coast, but nobody lumps it in with the east coast cities. Same with Raleigh. According to CD posters, DC is southern, Atlanta is east coast. Gee, I wonder why?
Atlanta is in the south. Jacksonville may be on the east coast, but nobody lumps it in with the east coast cities. Same with Raleigh. According to CD posters, DC is southern, Atlanta is east coast. Gee, I wonder why?
Atlanta and Raleigh are both Southern and on the East Coast. Like Boston is New England and East Coast.
But back to the OP's topic, of the three I'd stay away from NoVa for sure. Denver's gone pretty downhill over the last 5 or 6 years, and I don't know enough about RDU to make an opinion. I'd toss out Atlanta and DFW as possible alternatives to consider.
I'd be curious to see why you think Denver's "gone downhill." The only people I know who say stuff like that are conservatives who hate how liberal Denver's gotten so they "escape" to lily-white Trumper strongholds like Grand Junction.
Have you ever actually lived in DFW? OP said they want a mix of indoor and outdoor activities. Unless you're really into grimy lakes, DFW sucks for outdoor recreation. Plus the weather in the summer isn't a ton better than Dubai. Sure, it's cooler, but it's still hotter than hell (and humid to boot).
Last edited by bluescreen73; 06-04-2021 at 08:10 AM..
I'd be curious to see why you think Denver's "gone downhill." The only people I know who say stuff like that are conservatives who hate how liberal Denver's gotten so they "escape" to lily-white Trumper strongholds like Grand Junction.
My ultra left friends are saying the same thing, that Denver's gone downhill with statements such as "if there were this many homeless people when I came to visit in 2016 I would have never moved from LA" and "I'm so sick of these upscale New American Bro bars" and "my bus on Colfax went from bad to godawful"... This is limited to downtown. And it's not unique to Denver, people in Atlanta literally have the same beef about downtown districts there. But downtown is a bigger part of Denver's identity than other cities, because of how much the cities focused on it. And 2020-21 has really just trashed most every big city in the nation
I'd be curious to see why you think Denver's "gone downhill." The only people I know who say stuff like that are conservatives who hate how liberal Denver's gotten so they "escape" to lily-white Trumper strongholds like Grand Junction.
Not a conservative whatsoever, in fact most of my friends would call me at least liberal friendly and my opinion on Denver is not politically motivated at all. Just lived in Colorado for 24 years (Boulder County) and watched Denver grow from a relatively decent and fun city by the mountains into a heavily polluted, overly expensive, crowded, crime ridden, dingy, homeless hot spot. Denver used to be reasonably expensive and not terribly crowded. Now it's horribly crowded, the traffic sucks, and it's one of the most expensive inland cities in the nation. Oh, with air pollution on par with the LA metro. If you don't believe me... https://denver.cbslocal.com/wp-conte...1/DSC_0051.jpg
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Have you ever actually lived in DFW? OP said they want a mix of indoor and outdoor activities. Unless you're really into grimy lakes, DFW sucks for outdoor recreation. Plus the weather in the summer isn't a ton better than Dubai. Sure, it's cooler, but it's still hotter than hell (and humid to boot).
I have spent much time in DFW over the years, even more now that I live relatively nearby. This is a situation where OP is likely going to need to compromise on what they want or shuffle around their priorities a little. Dallas lakes are far from the worst you could find, plus there's tons of biking and hiking along the Trinity River and elsewhere.
Last edited by zenith32; 06-04-2021 at 09:21 AM..
Reason: broken links
Not a conservative whatsoever, in fact most of my friends would call me at least liberal friendly and my opinion on Denver is not politically motivated at all. Just lived in Colorado for 24 years (Boulder County) and watched Denver grow from a relatively decent and fun city by the mountains into a heavily polluted, overly expensive, crowded, crime ridden, dingy, homeless hot spot. Denver used to be reasonably expensive and not terribly crowded. Now it's horribly crowded, the traffic sucks, and it's one of the most expensive inland cities in the nation. Oh, with air pollution on par with the LA metro. If you don't believe me... https://denver.cbslocal.com/wp-conte...1/DSC_0051.jpg
I have spent much time in DFW over the years, even more now that I live relatively nearby. This is a situation where OP is likely going to need to compromise on what they want or shuffle around their priorities a little. Dallas lakes are far from the worst you could find, plus there's tons of baking and hiking along the Trinity River and elsewhere.
Not a conservative whatsoever, in fact most of my friends would call me at least liberal friendly and my opinion on Denver is not politically motivated at all. Just lived in Colorado for 24 years (Boulder County) and watched Denver grow from a relatively decent and fun city by the mountains into a heavily polluted, overly expensive, crowded, crime ridden, dingy, homeless hot spot. Denver used to be reasonably expensive and not terribly crowded. Now it's horribly crowded, the traffic sucks, and it's one of the most expensive inland cities in the nation. Oh, with air pollution on par with the LA metro. If you don't believe me... https://denver.cbslocal.com/wp-conte...1/DSC_0051.jpg
A running theme I notice is that a lot of ex Denver residents are upset that the city grew. Most of that stuff, although not great, is no different than what a majority of rapidly growing cities are experiencing.
Last edited by Gfitz1010; 06-04-2021 at 10:11 AM..
I have no experience with Raleigh although I’d like to check it out soon. I’ve lived in DC and Denver and had a wonderful time in both. I would probably suggest Northern Virginia overall since it does have more international flight connections. But only if climate isn’t a big factor because that DC heat/humidity in the Summer is no joke! Have you considered other places? Perhaps Chicago?
Last edited by Gfitz1010; 06-04-2021 at 10:12 AM..
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