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I've only been to Denver, so I can't compare it with Seattle or Phoenix. With that said, I found Denver to be kind of vanilla. Bland, nothing really exciting. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it would be a good place to live, but it wasn't anything memorable. When I was there in December a few years ago, the landscape was brown, dry, and flat. Semi-arid or dry climates don't really appeal to me.
Based on my climate and scenery preferences, I think Seattle would win hands down. So my choices would most likely be:
1) Seattle
2) Denver
3) Phoenix
Phoenix is way too hot and sunny. But I'm sure there positive things about it. I'll have to go see for myself someday.
What surprised me was despite Denver's light rail expansiveness, more people don't use it. I wonder why that is?
Interestingly enough, all 3 cities have relative decent access to ski resorts, but wonder how all three stack up in terms of outdoor activities? Anyone can chime in for this.
The light rail only reaches the southern suburbs at this point. One line goes along I-25, one splits off to go up I-225 for two stops, and one goes along US 85 to Highlands Ranch.
It eventually will serve the northern, western, and NW suburbs, along with Boulder, Longmont, Aurora, and the airport. We're talking several years out though. They are currently working on the western line.
IMO the LR isn't currently a major time saver as an alternative to traffic. The trains are packed at rush-hour though.
Re: Denver's outdoorsiness, people are outside all the time here. Lots of joggers, bikers, people with dogs, cross-country skiers after a good snow, etc. Downhill skiing, rock climbing, hiking, etc are also popular (but can't exactly be done in town).
In Seattle, I think people get outside because they are simply happy to see the sun (at least that's what I noticed during the summers I spent there).
What surprised me was despite Denver's light rail expansiveness, more people don't use it. I wonder why that is?
That's because Denver's light rail doesn't really go anywhere useful besides DU, sports venues (Mile High, Pepsi Center), Auraria Campus, and Union Station/LoDo. The SW Line goes to Littleton, the SE Line goes to Aurora and the DTC. Seattle and Phoenix were smarter for connecting their light rail systems to their major airports from the get go. Denver won't have rail service to DIA until 2016 or something. You would think after building the most expensive airport in the world, Denver would want to have a way of getting people from the airport to the city. With the exception of Wash Park, none of Denver's urban neighborhoods like Capitol Hill or Highlands will ever have access to light rail, it's pretty much just for suburbanites with the majority of stations being park n rides. Denver's system may be expansive, but it's very poorly designed IMO. I would have connected DIA and Boulder to Downtown Denver before building any of these other lines.
I would say that Denver's cherry creek area (zoo, museums) is part of downtown Denver. (is that a stretch) IF they could have light rail that connects these neighborhoods that links the zoo area( Colorado b) with downtown I think it would be quite impressive. To take the freeway would be insane. (its a very short drive). Inglewood is a screech but you can access substantial ( commercial stuff) mall from light rail.
I've lived in Seattle for 10 years now and hate most of it aside from a handful of friends. On a sunny day there are very few places I'd rather live. It's beautiful. The climate is mild. Overall, it's way too gray and liberal for me. Since I've stopped listening to the news and caring about the sports here, it has been more positive.
I've been extremely fortunate to have traveled to the Phoenix area and to Denver. I cannot give a fair assessment of the Phoenix area because it was April, and I'm sure that's a nice time to be there. But it's just like any other suburban area in the West. Nice wide streets, affordable, sprawl. I did like the hikes around there though. So peaceful.
I was in Denver last summer. I thought it was a little cleaner than Seattle. Colfax Ave. seemed about on par with your average Seattle street. But I felt 16th? (the no car street?) and the surrounding areas were cleaner. The west side of town where all the antique stores are was dirtier.
I loved that in Denver you didn't have to wear a helmet when bicycling and rode a Schwinn cruiser all over the place. Drivers didn't seem to be as passive/aggressive as in Seattle. (Though I'm sure if I were on vacation in Seattle and rode the Burke-Gilman trail, I would say the same thing about Seattle.) I never knew riding a bike could actually be such a pleasurable experience after being in Denver.
Denver doesn't have as much water, though that kind of cesspool river park they have going is kind of neat.
All three have great outdoor opportunities.
I don't know if they can really be fairly compared. I think all three appeal to different types of people. If you were to put them all on a habitable Mars-like planet with no real geographical difference, what would be the difference really? I guess it would depend on if you like to drive etc.
I would say that Denver's cherry creek area (zoo, museums) is part of downtown Denver. (is that a stretch) IF they could have light rail that connects these neighborhoods that links the zoo area( Colorado b) with downtown I think it would be quite impressive. To take the freeway would be insane. (its a very short drive). Inglewood is a screech but you can access substantial ( commercial stuff) mall from light rail.
Huh? The Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science are located about a mile east of downtown in City Park, while Cherry Creek is located about a mile south of Downtown Denver.
My question to you is this: which of these metro areas would you live in the most? What do you think, overall, has the best quality of life? What scenery do you prefer? What climate do you prefer? What city has the best urban amenities?
Denver. Seattle (if you make above $70k, otherwise probably one of the other two). Seattle. Phoenix. Probably all three are about the same.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastSideMKE
Huh? The Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science are located about a mile east of downtown in City Park, while Cherry Creek is located about a mile south of Downtown Denver.
In other words put a light rail line going down Colfax (subway ever better, but a pipe dream) and another one going down Speer Blvd. Like you said, the light rail is good for suburban commutes to downtown and nearly useless for getting around the city of Denver itself. Denver has got good urban bones that cities like Phoenix could only dream of, they should capitolize on that. Seattle's light rail routes seem logical and tunnelled/subway through the most dense/urban parts of the city. Riding rails in Phoenix just seems like an afterthought.
I like this picture!
To some of the earlier posters who said that Seattle is more beautiful than Denver ore Seattle...thats your opinion...because I would argue that The only thing Seattle has over the other two when it comes to Natural beauty is More trees and A water front (that you can't even see when you're driving around the city).
My order to live in would be...
Denver, Phoenix, and then Seattle.
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Huh? The Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature and Science are located about a mile east of downtown in City Park, while Cherry Creek is located about a mile south of Downtown Denver.
