where are the least politically divided, middle-of-the-road areas of Colorado? (Denver: house, school)

[Tex?Il?]

I'm curious. I lived out west for two years. Laramie, WY specifically. I was going to school there. It was a good experience, although the fact that Fort Collins was an hour away, and Denver two hours away made it much better, since Laramie was a nice college town, but still rather small.

I live in Illinois now (outside Chicago), where I'm from, and its fine with me, but I've always kept open the possibility to moving back the that region of country. I'm definitely an outdoor person who does a lot hiking, and some fishing and camping. Although I also like access to "civilization" so being along the Colorado Spring-Denver-Fort Collins Front Range is where I would move to.

Thing is though, the one thing that has always turned me off about the area, is that you come across more extreme political views whether liberal or conservative often more than elsewhere. I am a very staunchly middle-of-the-road, mixed views, anti-reactionary/alarmist views. I know however that there are areas that are more like this, because I met many people who were laid back and middle of the road, but I'm wondering what areas are more so.

I tend to stay away from and dissasociate myself from the stereotypical "hard core environmentalist - capitalism is evil and destroying the earth no matter waht." and I also tend to stay away from the "Gun-toting, evangelical, military base, Colorados getting too crowded-we have to move to Idaho mentality."

Keep in mind I'm not trying to offend anyone. I listen to both liberal and conservative views and consider both. But I don't for people who don't do the same to a degree.

So where areas of Colorado are the least politically one way or the other?

From what I remember Fort Collins and Denver are more like this. Whereas Colorado Springs and some Denver suburbs and exurbs are more to the right, whereas Boulder and certain ultra-scenic foothill communities are more to the left.

BTW: On a side note: How is the bark beetle situation. I know it was getting serious when I moved from there in 2006 and has gotten worse. But I've also heard that a couple cold snaps and the fact that most of the mature lodgepole pines have already been eaten, and the worse may be over. Well, I guess those are the consequences of 100 years of fire supression!

[Mike from back east]

Beetle problem is bad, no one knows the outcome yet.

IMO, best bet is the Denver area for middle of the road "live and let live" attitudes though there are a few extreme people from all ends of the spectrum there as anywhere.

[LisaCACO]

I dunno, arapahoe county is middle of the road. if you look at the stats of how they voted, it's pretty down the middle.

//www.city-data.com/county/Arapahoe_County-CO.html

pretty much every other house is republican/dem/repub/dem lol. I know cuz I walked the area over and over and over the last election for months

a few more of the suburbs around denver are probably like this.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by LisaCACO

I dunno, arapahoe county is middle of the road. if you look at the stats of how they voted, it's pretty down the middle.

//www.city-data.com/county/Arapahoe_County-CO.html

pretty much every other house is republican/dem/repub/dem lol. I know cuz I walked the area over and over and over the last election for months

a few more of the suburbs around denver are probably like this.

I think most of the Denver area burbs are like this when you get to know the people. Northern Colorado, except for Ft. Collins, is fairly conservative, e.g. it usually elects a conservative to congress, and Betsy Markey is in trouble right now. The Colorado Springs area is conservative, but not monolithically so.

[Josseppie]

I have been thinking about this question and IMO the most polarized cities in the state are:

1. Boulder
2. Colorado Springs.

Boulder is to the left what Colorado Springs is to the right.

That being said I have friends who live in Boulder who are conservative and friends who liver in Colorado Springs who are liberal and they love it. So my point is I think any city in Colorado that is of decent size, about 75,000 people or more, would be fine to live in no matter what your political leanings are.

There is one caveat and that is what you want from a city you live in. For example if you are a person that likes a city to invest in itself then there are some major differences in the cities in Colorado. Cities like Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland and Pueblo tend to spend time and money improving its downtown while Colorado Springs takes more of a market approach and spends less time and money.

[zenkonami]

I work in the Denver area with liberals who love their guns and conservatives who covet their mass transit. I've had people disagree with me on things firmly but never ended up in a heated discussion over anything. We continue to enjoy civil discussions on all kinds of topics.

Bluntly, Denver and the surrounding area may be the least polarized place I've ever lived as an adult (Phoenix, L.A., Kansas City, Las Vegas.) Can't really speak for the rest of the front range.

[Tex?Il?]

Thanks everyone. I guess its largely Colorado Springs and Boulder that dominate that misconception of mine. Sorry if I sounded like I was generalizing!

[Josseppie]

Its kind of interesting to see what happens when in the case of Boulder the far left has control of a city and in the case of Colorado Springs the far right has control of a city. Here have been my observations:

Boulder:

They have kep Boulder from growing and that has driven up prices making it a elitist city.

Colorado Springs:

They have had growth at any cost and that combined with a unwillingness to raise taxes for almost any reason has left they city unable to pay for basic services. They, also, do not want to spend any of their money to try and improve their city with such facilities as a convention center or baseball stadium in downtown. Thus, they have a city that is so spread out it covers more of a area then the city of Denver.

[tfox]

I'd say Fort Collins. What you're looking for is a city where there's political balance but also large numbers of independents and a culture of civility. Fort Collins strikes me as all three.

Denver, too, would come up to mind as very politcally balanced, but it is worth pointing out that the city itself is heavily Democrat, while some suburbs (Douglas County) are heavily GOP. Jefferson and Arapahoe counties are just about 50/50.

[COflower]

I live in C Springs and unless you actively seek it out, you don't have discussions one way or the other.

I've lived in Denver (what is now Centennial) and Grand Junction spent most of my life in C Springs. Personally, I like Grand Junction the best out of them all for a "live and let live" attitude. The economy is worse over there but if I could, I would move back in a heartbeat.