Hmm, this is an interesting one. I'll admit that obviously, having lived in Tampa the past 6+ years, I know it much better than I know Denver, which I've only effectively spent one day in since 2006. I'll also be the first to admit that some of these criteria that I'm picking Denver for are fully subjective, and not necessarily shared by a majority of people. I'm also gonna try to be objective in that I get my opinions from data sources, rather than just going off feeling, etc.; at least for categories where that is doable.
Architecture/housing stock: Don't know enough to comment. I'm assuming Denver has more multi family? But that by itself doesn't make it better.
Economy: This is
Denver based on any metrics I can find. Denver area was at $85K median household income vs. $59K for Tampa. Denver area has a lower poverty rate. Denver is several years younger in median age. It also seems to have a larger corporate presence/Fortune 500 within metro, and has a decently larger GDP.
COL: Tampa isn't all that cheap anymore either, but
Tampa is cheaper than Denver. According to Zillow, Denver's median is $646K currently. By comparison, Tampa metro's current median is $375K. A huge jump, for sure, and a larger jump 36% vs. 23% for Denver over last year (insane!), but still a huge gap between the two. It's a shame, as Denver would be a city I would strongly consider, were it not so expensive.
Climate: I like
Denver's better. Now, obviously, Denver gets quite hot at certain times in the summer too, but I get the sense that, at least for the most part (whether varying every few days or so), or cooling down in evenings and mornings, it doesn't stay that way as much. Obviously, I would have winters to contend with in Denver, but I get the sense that due to the sunnier weather overall during winter months, combined with modestly warmer daytime temps, that it wouldn't always be quite as intense a winter as we see back east.
Scenery: For my tastes,
Denver. Denver isn't necessarily my favorite either, as it is somewhat semi-arid; that being said, I'm definitely more of a mountain than a beach person. There's just so much you can get to hiking, etc. wise from within a few hours of Denver. Really incredible.
Sports:
Denver objectively speaking. You have all 5 Pro Sports present in the market compared with NFL/NHL/MLB for Tampa Bay. College Sports is a little trickier, Tampa does have USF right in town, but CU-Boulder by distance (30 minutes from Denver's downtown to campus/Folsom Field, one of the best settings in all of college football), is basically in the metro area, and is Pac 12/Power 5. You also have University of Denver which is tied with Michigan currently as the most successful college hockey program.
Arts/Culture: Honestly, without going too deep into it, because I don't know as much about Denver's, I would say the two are somewhat comparable here, with the caveat, that as an entire region inclusive of St Petersburg and Sarasota, I would say that Tampa Bay probably has more. It's hard for me to compare, because, I don't exactly know what to do with a more polycentric region vs. a single core that serves as a hub for state, and multiple states in either direction, for that matter, and because I truly just don't know enough about Denver's scene to comment intelligently. I can speak to Tampa area's though, and as said, I think Sarasota specifically might push
Tampa over here.
Parks:
Denver. Parks are one thing that I think Tampa could stand to focus more on. Sure, there are nature reserves, the beaches are IMO, pretty strongly maintained, and what St. Pete and now Tampa have done with their waterfronts is excellent. But, holistically: When I look up park and bike infrastructure in Denver, literally almost the entire map lights up green. This is further evidenced when I look at cycling ratings. Out of the 5 American cities which the League of American Cyclists has given a platinum rating too, two are basically in the wider Denver region: Boulder and Fort Collins. Numerous other Denver area cities get gold and silver ratings too. People For Bikes just came out with a city rankings system a few days ago. Denver ranked 127th out of 1105, and 22nd out of large cities. Tampa came in at 616th and 69th out of large cities.
I'm not meaning to pile on, on this one, but this just shows regional priorities, and, well, Colorado I think generally ranks as one of if not the fittest state out there, and it's kinda both ways for them. Just take a look at:
Tampa Parks Website
Denver Parks Website
It's a difference in priorities. It's apparent Denver prioritizes parks infra in a way Tampa simply doesn't at this point. I get the sense the Bay Area in general kinda coasts on beaches as the form of recreational infrastructure, and while I get those are nice for some.. more, much more, would be nice.
City Park, Denver
Museums: Again, this is one where I have limited expertise, and I think it can be difficult to compare a polycentric region to a singular core. Just Tampa would almost certainly lose to just Denver. But, Tampa is probably the tertiary, not primary or secondary, museum hub of the Bay Area. Sarasota and esp Saint Petersburg strengthen Tampa Bay's cause significantly.
Shopping: I'm not much of a shopper, but Denver and Tampa both appear to have enough mid and high end shopping to satisfy whatever I could want, and it doesn't look to be a meaningful distinction between them as they are both at comparable populations.
Tampa again, probably has more spread through the whole area though I'm not 100% on that either.
Dining: I'm not even gonna begin to approach here. I'm sure both cities have some really good and celebrated dishes and ethnic cuisines, it's just that I can speak to Tampa Bay's, but other than perhaps knowing Chipotle originated there, Mexican/New Mexican, and assuming Denver might have a modestly better Asian food scene, while Tampa certainly has better Latin American overall, as well as seafood, and Greek, and perhaps Southern/Creole style, I'd be going somewhat blind. I'm sure I could eat very well in both.
Crime: Honestly in looking at the rates for the one primary city in Denver region and two in Tampa-it's relatively comparable, and not great, but not terrible. Just avoid the areas that aren't great and don't go looking for trouble, and you should be fine.
Education:
Denver area appears more educated, but, there are good educational options in both regions and states.
Urban cores (include St. Petersburg to make this a fair comparison): Again, it's so hard to do that though, isn't it? I mean, St. Pete definitely does a number of things well as a downtown that Tampa just doesn't. But, it's hard again here to compare a polycentric region with what, in downtown Denver, is an unquestioned regional hub. Honestly, Denver core and adjoining neighborhoods felt bigger to me than anything there is in Tampa currently, but at the same time, there's a reason for that. I would say that
Denver's urbanism where it happens is perhaps more vibrant and dense overall, but
Tampa Bay has more urban nodes overall, and that is probably why. P.S.: As good as Denver's downtown core urbanism looks overall... that absolute parking crater south of downtown with Elitch Gardens, stadiums, and Metropolitan State University: Yikes!
Suburbs: Don't know enough to comment on Denver's. Tampa's vary widely-I like the Pinellas ones better than the Hillsborough ones.
Traffic: Honestly, neither are too bad, although I think Tampa might have a greater number of regular bottlenecks (beach traffic) than does Denver. That's avoidable though. Denver doesn't have an Orlando on the other side of it, so that probably helps the cause of driving out of the wider region.
Transit:
Denver by miles, from everything I understand, and pretty much any metric or data point you could find.
Location: Ahh... you got me with this one lol. I think I might honestly say Tampa just because of how profoundly isolated Denver is to other major cities. At the same time though, it sure makes up for that though with the proximity it has to natural splendor, and from Denver, you could be in Chicago or Houston in 2-3 hours, but you could also be on the west coast in that amount of time flying. Food for thought. I've never lived out west before, so honestly, I really don't know what that would be like.
Where Would You Rather Live: Not sure. Family is in Tampa, and its not all bad, but for certain elements of my taste, I think there are places that would suit my interests and personality better. Denver does look like a pretty cool area to be sure... but its SOOO expensive.
Where Would You Rather Visit: For sure
Denver lol. I live in Tampa now.
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