Is Denver less pretentious than other comparable U.S Cities? (cars, land)

[zenkonami]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

There may have been a time in the past when a BMW had more prestige, but nowadays its firmly taken a place in middle class America. There's a lot of "non-pretentious" vehicles in the same $35k - $60k price range (crewcab pickup trucks, various SUVs) and when you consider that price range is not much higher than other more "typical" middle-class cars, its not a great leap of faith to see how it has become integrated into middle class life.

So our definition of "pretentitous" probably has to be updated to keep with the times!

My bad then. My original reference in that was from living in Los Angeles where driving a black BMW seemed to be a sign that you had somehow "made it"...especially if you actually *hadn't*, but wanted all your clients to think you *had*.

[zenkonami]

Originally Posted by Fit4Fit

I have lived in Dallas and Miami...and yes this is spot on. Denver is not pretentious in that way, it's more about the notches you get from outdoor activities.

If you're a true city person, you won't fit in very well here. I meet people who do outdoor activities as well and seldom if ever extend an invitation to join. It's very closed in and with the same group of people they've always known.

What's funny is I live in a complex near the mountains and I rarely hear about people talk about going skiing, and the friends I know never talk about it either. So I really don't know who the hell are these people who are going. The ones who do, seem really insular about it and almost secretive.

Miami is not pretentious like that. You don't have to jet ski and waterboard to enjoy the beach. People make dates regularly just meeting up at the beach. It costs nothing. I went this past October and it was so much more accessible than any ski resort in Colorado. Because when you go to the beach, you don't have to go just to ski. You can shop, drink, stay in a hotel, bike, get a tattoo. You can bring a radio and cooler and talk about everything under the sun. You can't do **** all in Colorado mountain towns. If you're not there to ski you have no business being there.

I mean, minus hiking, camping, backpacking, picnics, rock climbing, birdwatching, hunting, etc...

[80skeys]

Denver is not pretentious but it is an aloof kind of city. The reason has to do with the transplants and also the history of the town as a Western town.

There are a lot of transplants, which means a large section of the population without ties in the community, without extended families. It puts a damper on sociability. They're newcomers, they don't have a big network of friends. Also a lot of people move to Denver from other states because they're looking for peace and quiet, to enjoy the outdoors, to get away from the congested cities of the coasts, or whatever their concept of Denver might be. In these cases people might not be looking to have a large social circle.

And then you need to be familiar with the history of the west. The "lonesome cowboy' image - apart from being just a stereotype - actually does reflect a lot of the mentality, the culture of the West. This is where some of the aloofness comes from.

If one were to 'stereotype' Denver one would say in general people are inclined to be polite but not necessarily go out of their way to try and make friends. They won't bother you, they will be respectful of your space, but they also expect the same in return. People from other areas might mistake this "aloofness' for "pretentiousness", but it's not.

[SJaye]

Originally Posted by Hipchik

How in the heck did you come up with those cities as comps?
Not even close.

If you are looking to compare on size than it seems like places like Kansas City, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Minneapolis, and Sacramento would be better comparisons.

[zoonik]

Compared to hyper-materialistic "keeping up with the jonses-ville" areas like Atlanta, Northern Virginia, and Southern California, Denver is certainly a breath of fresh air. The best way to describe the vibe, is that Denver is the most sophisticated city... within the Rocky Mountain West. That is: if you are seeking what some would consider a "pretentious" lifestyle and culture you can certainly find elements of it, however you never quite forget that you are located in a city built upon and surrounded by vast majestic open space. This area will never be Manhattan or Chicago. Denver remains somewhat true to its roots and wears its outdoors oriented "work to live" attitude on its sleeve. Yes, there are suit wearing, BMW driving, latte sipping people running around here; there are also plenty of scruffy faced dudes wearing shorts to the office on Fridays. The balance is somewhere in the middle,

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by zoonik

Compared to hyper-materialistic "keeping up with the jonses-ville" areas like Atlanta, Northern Virginia, and Southern California, Denver is certainly a breath of fresh air. The best way to describe the vibe, is that Denver is the most sophisticated city... within the Rocky Mountain West.

Change 'sophisticated' to 'only" .... But yeah, you're correct. Denver gives you an approximation of city life without the BS of the big cities.

This area will never be Manhattan or Chicago. Denver remains somewhat true to its roots and wears its outdoors oriented "work to live" attitude on its sleeve. Yes, there are suit wearing, BMW driving, latte sipping people running around here; there are also plenty of scruffy faced dudes wearing shorts to the office on Fridays.

That's true about Northern CA too.

[EdgeCity]

Originally Posted by Almeida93

Is Denver less pretentious than other comparable cities such as

Dallas
Miami
Houston


It appears Dallas, Miami, and Houston has more employment opportunities in the Accounting,Financial,and Banking sector, what good is that, if people there are more pretentious and conspicous consumption is more prevalent?

I live in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area, and have only been to Denver once (in 2009) but am applying for a job there. Not to mention the host of other unattractive aspects of South Florida. Other than missing my beloved scuba diving, I think I could be perfectly fine leaving South Florida.

The pretentiousness and phoniness of the ppl in this area is getting to me. There are pretentious people everywhere, but the ones in Miami, Dallas and Houston are particularly obnoxious.

[Gator_in_VA]

It's silly to even bring Atlanta into this discussion. Atlanta is neither high-end or pretentious, or sophisticated. (It maybe wants to be) Miami is easily the most image-conscious city in America followed perhaps by LA. (Miami is certainly more poser-ish than LA though)

I lived the past 15 years in Northern VA, and while I don't have a black BMW I will be moving out to Denver with my red Porsche soon. People may *view* driving a 911 as pretentious, but generally speaking I don't really care how others perceive me. I didn't buy the car for them, and they're usually surprised when the work-from-home unshaven dude with the old jeans, tshirt, and flip flops is the guy with 911. I like it that way.

Im looking forward to figuring out what Denver is all about, but I doubt it's going to happen on a message board.

[dude_reino]

Originally Posted by Gator_in_VA

It's silly to even bring Atlanta into this discussion. Atlanta is neither high-end or pretentious, or sophisticated. (It maybe wants to be) Miami is easily the most image-conscious city in America followed perhaps by LA. (Miami is certainly more poser-ish than LA though)

I lived the past 15 years in Northern VA, and while I don't have a black BMW I will be moving out to Denver with my red Porsche soon. People may *view* driving a 911 as pretentious, but generally speaking I don't really care how others perceive me. I didn't buy the car for them, and they're usually surprised when the work-from-home unshaven dude with the old jeans, tshirt, and flip flops is the guy with 911. I like it that way.

Im looking forward to figuring out what Denver is all about, but I doubt it's going to happen on a message board.

911 is in a class of its own and doesn't scream pretension (at least around here)...especially if it is the air-cooled version.

Its the large Lexus and BMW SUVs being driven around that scream pretension.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by dude_reino

911 is in a class of its own and doesn't scream pretension (at least around here)...especially if it is the air-cooled version.

Its the large Lexus and BMW SUVs being driven around that scream pretension.

So I take it my wife is pretentious because she drives a black BMW X5? We bought the car because it is an awesome car to drive, not for a status.