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St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Cincinatti are way more cultured, unique, and "cool" then Denver LOL. Denver's allure comes from whats outside the city, not in.
What's "cool" is definitely subjective. Although it would be pretty disingenuous to say that Denver hasn't been more trendy than most of those places until fairly recently. Obviously Chicago has more of a cool factor and eternal trendiness than just about any city in the country, so of course this doesn't apply in that case.
Re-read that, they're actual saying that CO is different because people there wear flannels and have beards.
And maybe you don't see them in Seattle, but that's pretty wild to me. My wife and I frequently joke that the generalization fits. Grunge may have started the association with the look, but the weather makes a lot of sense as to why they're the unofficial outfit of the PNW as they can be worn all year round, even in summer. Of course people wear other items of clothing but I still see them all the time and in fact am wearing one right now.
That sounds baking hot if the day's going to hit 70-80 as it usually does. Or even in the 60s if you're walking anywhere, as people do here.
What's "cool" is definitely subjective. Although it would be pretty disingenuous to say that Denver hasn't been more trendy than most of those places until fairly recently. Obviously Chicago has more of a cool factor and eternal trendiness than just about any city in the country, so of course this doesn't apply in that case.
Good post. I can live anywhere and have lived in a lot of places. If I loved skiing, Denver would be a good spot.
But yes, to me in a lot of ways, it's not much better than say KC? And KC is half the price. Now, to be fair, Denver is viewed as cooler as it's downtown is pretty busy and was basically the first major city with legal weed.
Good post. I can live anywhere and have lived in a lot of places. If I loved skiing, Denver would be a good spot.
But yes, to me in a lot of ways, it's not much better than say KC? And KC is half the price. Now, to be fair, Denver is viewed as cooler as it's downtown is pretty busy and was basically the first major city with legal weed.
KC has infinitely worse weather across the board compared to Denver, especially heat and humidity. KC is also a big economic laggard for decades compared to the rapid growth of Denver. KC locals are fairly regressive and hate most any type of change regarding many types of development.
Good post. I can live anywhere and have lived in a lot of places. If I loved skiing, Denver would be a good spot.
But yes, to me in a lot of ways, it's not much better than say KC? And KC is half the price. Now, to be fair, Denver is viewed as cooler as it's downtown is pretty busy and was basically the first major city with legal weed.
I think there are some measurable ways that it’s better than KC, namely:
- nice views of mountains in the distance
- located in a solid blue state, which tends to be in lockstep with the west coast / northeast politically
- has a major international airport
- better climate, summers are much more comfortable
- all five pro sports (big four + soccer)
- more economic opportunity and higher wages across the board
- fitter and more active populace
That sounds baking hot if the day's going to hit 70-80 as it usually does. Or even in the 60s if you're walking anywhere, as people do here.
Wait, are you suggesting that either wearing a light long sleeve shirt or rocking a beard is somehow unusual in the PNW? I mean, yes, in the summer it can be warm- so I sometimes wear short sleeve shirts and shorts, but outside of high elevation, it's still generally much cooler than most of the country, both day and night. That was a huge part of the reason we moved back to Western WA- pleasant summers. And if I'm going anywhere on a hike, bike, paddle, etc. there are only a few days a year- even in the warmest stretches- that I flat out don't bring a hoodie, flannel, or shell with me, even if I don't use them when out.
I'm just saying that the climate here suits the flannel and jeans outfit fairly well for a good chunk of the year, as it often feels like fall in other areas. For reference, I work from home but primarily walk and bike as my main forms of transportation, and have lived in MD, FL, NC, and CO before returning to WA. So, sure if it's an 80 degree day I don't wear a long sleeve shirt, but that's a fairly narrow time period (that is now definitely over) and even our July averages are definitely on the cool side compared to most of the country (even most of CO).
Again, I've lived in both places, including Bellingham for the last nine years and CO for the previous five. I realize that there are a diversity of styles represented here, and that both the weather and culture are sometimes not what people in other parts of the country assume them to be, but there's also plenty of both that live up to the generalizations and representation in pop culture....
Long-sleeve shirts are common for work. The topic was flannel.
I walked over a mile to work for many years, though I WFH now. Around early June through mid-September I'd never take a jacket, just a golf shirt and jeans plus a baseball hat just in case.
None of that changed the rest of the year except I'd wear a jacket in the middle seasons and a bigger coat for December-February.
Obviously Chicago has more of a cool factor and eternal trendiness than just about any city in the country
That is a huge stretch - Chicago is a lot of great things and it is definitely the coolest city in the Midwest but cooler and trendier than just about any city in the country just doesn't ring even remotely true.
Long-sleeve shirts are common for work. The topic was flannel.
I walked over a mile to work for many years, though I WFH now. Around early June through mid-September I'd never take a jacket, just a golf shirt and jeans plus a baseball hat just in case.
None of that changed the rest of the year except I'd wear a jacket in the middle seasons and a bigger coat for December-February.
SMH, this conversation is bordering on absurd. I still see plenty of people in the PNW wearing flannels. They're still popular with many people, despite the fact that you don't personally wear them.
They were made a little more famous during the 90's when Seattle grunge bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains wore them, and many people around the country still kind of view them as a stereotype of the region, kind of an unofficial regional wardrobe. And for good reason. Again, part of my point is that flannels makes sense out here, as they frequently go well with the weather.
Anyway, I get that you don't like the stereotype, and want to make sure that everyone knows that plenty of people in WA also don't wear them, either. And that's true, too.
I usually agree with your posts, but this has to be one of the weirdest arguments I've had on C-D in a while. I"m just pointing out that people wearing flannels out here isn't a new or uncommon thing. It's still part of the culture, though to your point, not everyone likes or wears them.
They're also popular in Denver, where IMHO they make sense for much of the year, as well.
Speaking of Denver and going back to the original topic, this is an interesting one. I've seen some accurate and insightful observations so far in the thread-and my take is that CO is definitely a hybrid, not really like either the midwest or the west coast. The midwest connection is there- when I lived in Denver in the late 2000's/early 2010's during the big resurgence, the crowd that I got to know, as well as many of my fellow students I met in grad school in DU, was massively overrepresented by people from WI, MI, MN, and IL. Tons of transplants from places like Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, and the Twin Cities. They didn't seem to bring a ton of midwest vibes with them, though. In fact, everyone seemed to move to CO to be part of something different than where they came from. So I guess if pressed, I'd say that it probably aligns more, mentality-wise, with the west coast than it does with the midwest. But it really is more of its own thing.
Last edited by bartonizer; 09-26-2023 at 04:13 AM..
I'm mostly in the Seattle city limits. Probably different than Bellingham.
I said nothing about disliking the stereotype. The point was I don't see them that much.
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