Denver / South California: differences of mentality

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by d74254

I agree 100 % with the comment about SoCal not being as laid back as Denver. Our family moved from Highlands Ranch to Orange county 3 years ago, and we want to move back to HR soon. To us SoCal may seem "laid back" on surface, the way people dress, the smiles, the surf culture etc... but on deeper level, the culture here can be quite insular, and in the fast paced SoCal business world people can be rude & selfish. It is hard to make true friends. In Colorado (we have friends all over the state, not just HR), if someone you just met suggests, "we should get together sometime", it means that you'll probably actually do something with this person in the near future. In SoCal, this typically will not happen. An especially sad lesson when you have kids, and those "let's have a play date" ideas do not materialize. We live in an area with a lot of native Californians, and they just seem very busy with their their family and friends they grew up with. I'm just saying that it is hard to come to SoCal as an outsider and try to connect with people. I would say the exact opposite of Denver/Highlands Ranch.

SoCal Flakiness is well known, I swear people say "let's get together soon" to sound nice and have no real intentions of getting with you. Funny thing is that I would actually follow-up with them and they would act surprised that I would remember them saying it. I would even set a date too boy that really got on their nerves.

There is "laid back" and then there are "flakes". I find most SoCal types to be flakes.

I'm so happy to be in Denver, it is very different imo.

[ghostwor1d]

I think Denver has a "small town" feel to it...particularly compared to southern California. People are friendlier, traffic is better, and there are more parks and open space for fun.

[bentstrider]

Originally Posted by ghostwor1d

I think Denver has a "small town" feel to it...particularly compared to southern California. People are friendlier, traffic is better, and there are more parks and open space for fun.

Driving a truck, I find the entire Denver metro area to be quite accepting of all career-paths as well.
Go to a restaurant or the 24 Hr Fit and you've got blue-collar and white-collar people hanging out and trading tales of whatever.

The traffic too is quite easy to deal with up there as opposed to SoCal.
An SUV driver on the 70 sees you need to get over, they let you do so.

710 going through Commerce, they're just itching to get hit for some quick money.

For now though, the desert here in CA is alright for the time being, but even though I'm the oldest kid, all my younger siblings have hit adulthood and it would be a little weird if I'm the only one still hanging around.

Perhaps a local, food-service trucking gig in the 303 is in order.

[smartaz]

Originally Posted by Mach50

Flip these 2 statements and you have my experience after living in OC and Denver. Sorry but I found Newport/Irvine to be the most superficial and rude place I have ever lived. That's saying something too because I have lived in LA, SF and NYC.

I guess it just depends on what type of person you are, I will leave it as that.

Gotta agree with that. I agree so much that I'm leaving OC in less than 3 days to move back to Denver. Of all the places I've lived in recent times, OC is the least friendly.
Just my rankings (based on number of "just met" people who hug or kiss, and who said let's meet and actually followed up):
1. Austin, TX (by far #1 in my experience)
2. Denver, CO
3. Dallas, TX - San Diego, CA tied
930759023. OC (ok, exaggeration on the number The only genuine people I met were from LA or places east of Pasadena.