Is Colorado more like California or Illinois? (Denver, Colorado Springs: neighborhoods, universities)

[spicymeatball]

I think Denver itself feels somewhat like a West Coast city that was somehow placed near the middle of the country, but the other places I've been to in eastern Colorado have a Great Plains feeling that's quite similar to Kansas and Nebraska. I think Fort Collins has more in common with Lincoln, Nebraska than with somewhere like Bend, Oregon or Reno.

I'd imagine the mountainous/arid western 3/5 of Colorado are a lot like Utah and Wyoming and would definitely feel classically Western though I've only been to eastern Colorado.

[caliguy92832]

loads of Californians are moving to Colorado. here in SoCal i see Colorado license plates alot.

[famlife]

I really have a hard time comparing it to either..

[texdav]

I say neither; its quite different from both.

[iknowftbll]

Colorado is its own place. It isn't quite like any other state. Some places may have a similar feel to other cities in other states, but as a whole, Colorado has its own uniqueness.

With that said, a lot of California developers have designed and built a lot of the suburban neighborhoods in Colorado, so a suburban Colorado neighborhood may feel like a suburban California neighborhood without the palm trees. A lot of Californians seem to be moving to Colorado, too giving the state a more "west coast" feel.

Colorado sports rivalries generally are oriented to the west of the state. The Broncos play the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders twice a year. The Rockies play nearly half their annual schedule against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Arizona Diamondbacks. The states two major universities are in the Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences.

Greeley has a solidly "mid-west" feel to it more so than any other front range city.

Boulder is very much its own little world, but it does share some commonalities with other major university towns.

Pueblo feels like it could have been a city in New Mexico due to its climate.

Grand Junction feels a lot like St. George, Utah. Both cities are the most isolated major cities in their respective states, and both are set in some pretty impressive geography with some significant attractions nearby. Zion National Park is more impressive than Colorado National Monument, the concept for comparison is still valid.

Leadville is the country's highest incorporated city. In the winter it feels like the coldest place on earth. Conversely just a short drive south of Leadville is the Great Sand Dunes National Park, a place that on a mid-summer day feels as hot as the Sahara.

Eastern Colorado is classic "flyover country" with a "mid-west" feel to it.

There are so many more comparisons you can make between a specific place in Colorado to a specific place somewhere else. What makes Colorado so awesome is it ties these places all together in 103,000 or so square miles. There are world class resorts in Aspen and Vail to major cultural sites like Mesa Verde. There's bustling cities like Denver and Colorado Springs and there are small rural towns like Burlington and Rocky Ford. There's mountains, 52 of which surpass 14,000 feet, there's desert, and there's plains.

It all ties together to make Colorado a pretty special place.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by caliguy92832

loads of Californians are moving to Colorado.

Loads of Californians are moving everywhere.

Originally Posted by caliguy92832

here in SoCal i see Colorado license plates alot.

Wouldn't that mean they moved from Colorado?

I didn't vote either way because it's hard to compare in either case and needs to be divided down into smaller sections to make any kind of comparison.

[Hipchik]

Originally Posted by texdav

I say neither; its quite different from both.

I didn't vote because the answer is NEITHER.

[Count David]

I wish it had California's food and Illinois' green.

It is pretty much half way between California and Illinois, so in a way Colorado is a hybrid of the two, even if it didn't want to be.

That being said, I never really say, "that reminds me of California or Illinois", or anywhere else for that matter. However, looking east in any Front Range (or eastward) neighborhood will give you the feeling of being in the Midwest. -JMO.

[DressageRider]

Some things kinda like California. Some things kinds like Illinois. Big picture: neither.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Hipchik

I didn't vote because the answer is NEITHER.

I added a category for that, now you may vote.