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Mainly because of the barrenness of the land for hundreds of miles once you get east of the city. It just feels like an outpost in the middle of nothing, especially driving or flying in from the east.
Seattle is further from the rest of the lower 48, but it feels less isolated because it is a gateway to the Pacific and Alaska. Watching the ships and ferries come in makes the city feel more like a center of things than isolated. So does relative proximity to Vancouver, Victoria, and Portland.
From a distance, I can understand why Denver feels less isolated as its airport is centrally located. But actually arriving and staying in the city felt much more isolating than being in Seattle.
Mainly because of the barrenness of the land for hundreds of miles once you get east of the city. It just feels like an outpost in the middle of nothing, especially driving or flying in from the east.
Seattle is further from the rest of the lower 48, but it feels less isolated because it is a gateway to the Pacific and Alaska. Watching the ships and ferries come in makes the city feel more like a center of things than isolated. So does relative proximity to Vancouver, Victoria, and Portland.
From a distance, I can understand why Denver feels less isolated as its airport is centrally located. But actually arriving and staying in the city felt much more isolating than being in Seattle.
This sums up my feelings and impression as well. When you are in Seattle or Portland, it's easy to picture why the cities were settled. Very lush areas with a lot of green vegetation. Waterways to the ocean. It's easy to imagine early settlers deciding to set up industry and what not in those locations.
Denver on the other hand feels very much like a place where early settlers had traveled very very far already and were like 'yeah, we need to stop and set up camp here before taking on the mountains further west'. I don't know if 'desert' is the correct term for it, but Denver is almost completely surrounded by drier lands, even to the north in Southern Wyoming.
Mainly because of the barrenness of the land for hundreds of miles once you get east of the city. It just feels like an outpost in the middle of nothing, especially driving or flying in from the east.
Seattle is further from the rest of the lower 48, but it feels less isolated because it is a gateway to the Pacific and Alaska. Watching the ships and ferries come in makes the city feel more like a center of things than isolated. So does relative proximity to Vancouver, Victoria, and Portland.
From a distance, I can understand why Denver feels less isolated as its airport is centrally located. But actually arriving and staying in the city felt much more isolating than being in Seattle.
Completely agree with this. Seattle is bigger than Denver, and feels like it with activity and vibrancy in the area. Portland and Vancouver are 2-3 hours away, and that's a super fast car ride--and a plane ride is what, 45 min max-ish?
Denver has Colorado Springs and Boulder within 1-2 hours, but those are smaller to mid sized cities. The Rockies make Denver feel far, far away. Add in the plains to the east, and there's a lot of nothing-ness, feeling.
It is a looong way to any other large metro areas driving from Denver--Albuquerque at about a million people metro is still 6 1/2 hours away by car--oof. That's isolation.
I've visited Denver twice in the past 5 years, and I love the city. I considered moving there in 2020. But I do have to say, Denver is a 3 million person metro in the middle of a land with nothing even close to that large population.
Drove from Seattle to Vancouver late yesterday afternoon, and two and a half hours later we're at the Vancouver Celebration of Light with a throng of people on the beach and enjoying some drinks. It's not even dark yet. Try doing something like that in Denver.
I also agree with the other poster about seeing and hearing all the ships around Seattle on Puget Sound and feeling like you're in civilization. Seattle-Tacoma is one of the largest container ship ports in the country. And everyday there are several massive cruise ships docked in the city and going up and down the sound.
You could argue that Denver is more connected to the US than Seattle. But Seattle is far more connected to the world, even without Canada, with better air connections, far more immigration, a more international population, and a lot of globally-focused companies.
And cruise ships of course. I believe Seattle is second in the US for cruise traffic behind the Miami juggernaut.
You could argue that Denver is more connected to the US than Seattle. But Seattle is far more connected to the world, even without Canada, with better air connections, far more immigration, a more international population, and a lot of globally-focused companies.
And cruise ships of course. I believe Seattle is second in the US for cruise traffic behind the Miami juggernaut.
The OP asked which is more isolated from the rest of the US though. Denver has no competition anywhere near it but it’s closer to every major US city with the exception of SF, Sacramento and Portland. Denver’s even closer to LA (Another West Coast city) than Seattle is for reference. For me it would be different if the question was which is the more isolated city in general.
Have any of you people actually ever been to Portland Maine? There’s nothing there. No college. No teaching hospital. A summer-only tourist economy. The airport is tiny and Boston/Logan is 2 hours. If you’re not in healthcare or a public sector worker, the job market is lousy. It’s not like you’re going to drive to Boston several times per month to be somewhere with a pulse.
Have any of you people actually ever been to Portland Maine? There’s nothing there. No college. No teaching hospital. A summer-only tourist economy. The airport is tiny and Boston/Logan is 2 hours. If you’re not in healthcare or a public sector worker, the job market is lousy. It’s not like you’re going to drive to Boston several times per month to be somewhere with a pulse.
That is a very fair comment. I have never been to Portland, so I really cannot judge how isolated it "feels" to me. But from a distance, less than 100 miles from the start of the Bos-Wash Megalopolis, still seems to be much less isolated than Denver's location.
I won't lie, I did not read the first comment of the thread, nor even notice it said Portland Maine on the poll, and thought it was talking about Portland, Oregon since the other 3 mentioned are major cities. Portland, Maine is smaller and with a smaller more isolated city means you are going to have to possibly travel a good deal further for healthcare specialists, major cultural events, and other things normally only found in major cities. To me, that in it of itself, makes you feel more isolated and 'out there'.
The OP asked which is more isolated from the rest of the US though. Denver has no competition anywhere near it but it’s closer to every major US city with the exception of SF, Sacramento and Portland. Denver’s even closer to LA (Another West Coast city) than Seattle is for reference. For me it would be different if the question was which is the more isolated city in general.
You make a good point.
Denver is actually closer to Los Angeles at 862 miles (despite Los Angeles being on the same coast as Seattle). Just goes to show how large the west is.
Someone mentioned Maine being isolated, but it really is not. Maine is very close to the most populous places on the east coast. Portland, Maine is barely 100 miles from Boston. Portland, Maine might "feel isolated" isolated at times. It only feels that way when you are on the east coast.
The Boston-WA corridor has nearly 60 million people. At least a 1/4 of the population lives a stones throw away from Portland. Furthermore there are no real geologic and natural barriers separating Maine from the most populated places in North America.
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