How "liberal" is Denver? (Colorado Springs, Boulder: houses, unemployment rate, neighborhoods)

[MissesAnna]

I have repeatedly heard opinions of Denver being super liberal. Why is Denver getting this reputation? I am currently living in LA and the "liberal" climate is a bit much! (for me) , how would Denver compare to that? I have also heard a few people describe Denver as being full of strip malls and soccer moms (whatever that is supposed to indicate), how true do you think that impression is?



Also....

How is the nightlife? Is it mostly beer bars, or is there great wine bars/lounges ect?

Thanks for input!

[boilingblacksea]

Where are you in LA? If West Hollywood, then Denver seems conservative. If you're way east, say in El Monte, then Denver's liberal.

There aren't the LA type strip malls here, because people walk in Denver. The suburbs are another story, full of power centers like the Inland Empire. Kids soccer isn't big, in fact I've never seen an organized game or practice in Denver. Colorado Springs is probably what you're describing. Nice and super conservative there too.

The nightlife is strong for such a small city. I'd venture that downtown Denver has more going on than downtown LA.

[cityfilms]

Denver is a relatively major city, but the types of people here you'll find more similar to a city of 100-200k people. Lots of sports obsessed fans, lots of jerseys, and fashion sense is about 30 years lagging. It's not the type of big city liberal you are used to, it's more of an Independent frontiers mentality, live and let live. Its main liberal draw is that federal government workers tend to be slanted towards the liberal direction, and there are tens of thousands of them here that have been here for 30 years and have a huge stake in the community. All those red light cameras and excessive police forces here aren't paid for by all the fortune 500 companies moving here... no, they are paid for by billions and billions of federal dollars pumped into the region. There are also plenty of young idealists who live in the region, lots of utopists.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by cityfilms

fashion sense is about 30 years lagging.

No. 30 years ahead. for example: Crocs. For example: Subarus. For example: shorts year 'round. For example: facial hair on men.

[hamster21]

I feel like certain aspects of various states or cities get amplified in terms of liberal or conservative,
and when one wins out over the other, even if just by a little, the area automatically gets
branded as being one way in a generalized fashion.

Well from my limited 2 month experience in Denver -

I guess Denver seemed pretty liberal in its own way.
For example, Denver seems pretty liberal with its pot laws.

It also seemed pretty liberal in terms of the huge amounts of homeless people hanging out
in hoards regularly in certain locations. Even next to little league baseball fields...Lots of young
people too on the streets asking for money, too.

Seemed pretty liberal in terms of the culture shared by the young crowd, I guess,
in the way they live and view life. I'm sure this doesn't speak for everyone there, but
just overall I got that impression.

LA is probably liberal in different ways. Just like Boston is liberal, but in different ways.
But all of these cities have their share of conservatively-minded people, too. People always say
Boston is liberal, but it definitely has its fair share of pretty conservative people. Most people
in Boston are just socially liberal, and it tips the scales to the whole state being branded as 'Liberal'
for some reason, even though it's saturated with people who, although they may be socially liberal,
are very conservative in their view on their own life goals and stuff like that.

Each of these areas vary in different ways. What is liberal in one area may not be liberal in the other
area, and certain aspects will get amplified and lead to generalizations of the whole area being this way or
that way. It leaves out a lot of important information that make all of these places so different. Each area
has its own feeling depending on what aspect of life you're examining.

As far as strip malls and all that, Denver itself has some nice neighborhoods, the historic ones seemed
pretty great. Lined with trees, nice architecture, nice people. Some parts weren't that amazing,
like Colfax ave which was kinda lame and felt run down/low end..

My biggest disappointment (aside from the terrible climate of blasting sun and dry air with desert scrub
vegetation) were the vast plots of cookie cutter suburban homes surrounding Denver. Annexed onto these
lifeless plots of houses were strip malls/malls. And that was pretty much it as far as surrounding
areas of Denver goes. It was pretty terrible to me, but some people love living there for other reasons.

[MissesAnna]

Thanks for the info everyone. Hamster, you make a good point about "liberal in different ways", I get that !

[GoneNative]

It's not nearly as liberal as you're used to. In fact, although it is reliably Democratic, it's more libertarian than anything else. It's more like "keep government off my back" rather than the sort of traditional coastal liberalism you're used to. Nevertheless, Denver is a middle-American city, and it is not nearly as left-leaning as places along the coasts. Moreover, here liberalism comes in small pockets, not large ones like the coasts. Denver and Boulder are liberal, but the rest of the state is fairly conservative. Denver's suburbs are also generally right-leaning, though not as conservative as Colorado Springs.

I went to school in Oregon about 10 years ago after growing up in the Denver area, and I found Oregon to be extremely liberal. So while the city of Denver might be, in some respects anyway, liberal, the rest of the state will be a lot more conservative than what you're used to.

In terms of strip malls and suburban sprawl, like I said, Denver is a rather generic mid-American city. There are a lot of WAl-Marts even within the city of Denver, and plenty more in the suburbs. It's a newer city, and a very family-friendly area, too, so much of life in the area is catered to families--that means a lot of Targets, soccer moms, Wal-Marts, Applebees, PTA meetings, etc. You can find a handful of neigborhoods in Denver if you want to avoid that, but that is the default "culture" in Denver. I think it tends to make the place a lot more attractive to businesses (although our unemployment rates continues to grow) and families, which is a good thing for cities.

[GoneNative]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

No. 30 years ahead. for example: Crocs. For example: Subarus. For example: shorts year 'round. For example: facial hair on men.

I don't think that "Crocs" can fairly be placed in the same sentence as "fashion."

Denver's not a fashionable city. Wearing Crocs and year-round shorts is not fashionable.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by GoneNative

There are a lot of Wal-Marts even within the city of Denver

Two counts as a lot?
Two in 154 square miles?
Smith Road and East Hampden Ave.

[GoneNative]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Two counts as a lot?
Two in 154 square miles?
Smith Road and East Hampden Ave.

Walmartstores.com: First Walmart Neighborhood Markets Open in Denver

The Wal-Marts are coming. The Wal-Marts are coming.