Questions for those who are not/were not happy in Denver (Lakewood: sales, theater)

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I have always held that people who aren't happy here don't take advantage of the things that makes Denver different from other mid/large cities.

I think your list is excellent and forces folks to think deeper about what forms their opinions. That being said, having lived in Denver for four years in my late 20's and Colorado Springs for the last 10+ years, I'm going to gently suggest one other item for your list.

13. How many hours per week do you spend in your car?

Bear in mind, I think Denver is a GREAT American city, right up there with Portland and Seattle in the best cities of the West. My answer to the above question however was "JUST TOO FRICKIN MANY." It's a congested nightmare trying to get anywhere. This is true in many places, not entirely unique to Denver, but Denver has it pretty bad. In Colorado Springs, I live in the foothills with a sparkling view of the city lights and have a 12-15 minute commute to my downtown office. I have vast trails and open space literally a few steps from my house. I spend roughly 1/3 the time in my car here that I always seemed to have to spend in Denver doing all those great things on your list. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say the Springs is "better" than Denver, its just much more livable a place for me personally and my desire to minimize the number of miles I'm forced to drive per week/month/year/etc. I spend that time with my family and friends instead and I think I'm far better off than trying to figure how I can get from City Park to Leetsdale to my spouse's folks house in Aurora in less than 90 minutes on a Friday night for a mandatory dinner. I can literally get there faster from the Springs than I could from my old place down the street from St. Marks!

OK, tirade over. I like Denver alot, just can't stand driving in it. Makes me

[denverian]

Originally Posted by smdensbcs

I think your list is excellent and forces folks to think deeper about what forms their opinions. That being said, having lived in Denver for four years in my late 20's and Colorado Springs for the last 10+ years, I'm going to gently suggest one other item for your list.

13. How many hours per week do you spend in your car?

Bear in mind, I think Denver is a GREAT American city, right up there with Portland and Seattle in the best cities of the West. My answer to the above question however was "JUST TOO FRICKIN MANY." It's a congested nightmare trying to get anywhere. This is true in many places, not entirely unique to Denver, but Denver has it pretty bad. In Colorado Springs, I live in the foothills with a sparkling view of the city lights and have a 12-15 minute commute to my downtown office. I have vast trails and open space literally a few steps from my house. I spend roughly 1/3 the time in my car here that I always seemed to have to spend in Denver doing all those great things on your list. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say the Springs is "better" than Denver, its just much more livable a place for me personally and my desire to minimize the number of miles I'm forced to drive per week/month/year/etc. I spend that time with my family and friends instead and I think I'm far better off than trying to figure how I can get from City Park to Leetsdale to my spouse's folks house in Aurora in less than 90 minutes on a Friday night for a mandatory dinner. I can literally get there faster from the Springs than I could from my old place down the street from St. Marks!

OK, tirade over. I like Denver alot, just can't stand driving in it. Makes me

I agree on the traffic. Sometime in the past 20 years, Denver traffic got a lot worse. I suppose that's what happens when you add hundres of thousands of residents! I like the fact that Denver keeps becoming more urban and they keep filling in lots all over the city with apartments/condos and all the houses in Stapleton, but they're not keep up with the roads. And I think there's been a lot of poor freeway design as well. Like how I-25 narrows down to 3 lanes in each direction for a mile just south of downtown Or how 270, 76 and C-470 all only have 2 lanes in each direction. I-70 should have been widened east of downtown a long time ago, as should have the 225 (although they're finally widening it). If the freeways could handle the proper volume of traffic, there would be fewer people on the surface streets trying to avoid the freeways.

[bluescreen73]

Eh, after living in Dallas, traffic here is a breeze. It's a LOT worse down there.

[JD401]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

1. How many times did you go to the mountains on average in a winter?
Zero. Used to going skiing 15 days a year.
2. How many times a year did you go skiing or snowboarding?
Zero now.
3. How many times did you go to the mountains on average in a summer?
0-1
4. How many concerts did you see at Red Rocks in an average year?
Zero
5. Which outdoor sports did you try while living here? (camping and fishing can be counted in this)
camping, rafting, skiing
6. Did you live in the city proper or in a suburb? If a suburb, which suburb? If the city, which neighborhood?
City & County of Denver. Berkeley.
7. Did you have any favorite local restaurants/bars? If so what were they?
See Berkeley Neighborhood and slightly beyond - Denver
8. Which cities are you happier in?
If I had a lot more money, I think that Russian Hill in San Francisco would be perfect. A lot more $.
9. Where did you grow up?
White bread suburbs in New England and upstate NY.
10. Did you ever go to the Denver Center for Performing Arts?
Yes
11. How many live sporting events did you attend on average every year?
0-1
12. Were you employed and were you happy with your job?
Yes. Yes.

So what do you do then? Other than spending time on message boards of course.

I can't imagine living in a city that has all 4 major sports, plus a host of others, and only attending 0-1 events per year!

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by smdensbcs

I think your list is excellent and forces folks to think deeper about what forms their opinions. That being said, having lived in Denver for four years in my late 20's and Colorado Springs for the last 10+ years, I'm going to gently suggest one other item for your list.

13. How many hours per week do you spend in your car?

Bear in mind, I think Denver is a GREAT American city, right up there with Portland and Seattle in the best cities of the West. My answer to the above question however was "JUST TOO FRICKIN MANY." It's a congested nightmare trying to get anywhere. This is true in many places, not entirely unique to Denver, but Denver has it pretty bad. In Colorado Springs, I live in the foothills with a sparkling view of the city lights and have a 12-15 minute commute to my downtown office. I have vast trails and open space literally a few steps from my house. I spend roughly 1/3 the time in my car here that I always seemed to have to spend in Denver doing all those great things on your list. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say the Springs is "better" than Denver, its just much more livable a place for me personally and my desire to minimize the number of miles I'm forced to drive per week/month/year/etc. I spend that time with my family and friends instead and I think I'm far better off than trying to figure how I can get from City Park to Leetsdale to my spouse's folks house in Aurora in less than 90 minutes on a Friday night for a mandatory dinner. I can literally get there faster from the Springs than I could from my old place down the street from St. Marks!

OK, tirade over. I like Denver alot, just can't stand driving in it. Makes me

Absolutely should be on the list. I definitely think that a lot of my happiness comes from living a 10 minute bike ride (and soon to be moving to a 10 minute walk) from my office.

That said I am 500 miles in to a 1000 mile week in North Dakota right now. I do not recommend this state.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I admit that I think this is a great place to live, but I also understand that it's not for everyone. Just trying to understand the people who didn't like it here.

I have always held that people who aren't happy here don't take advantage of the things that makes Denver different from other mid/large cities.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

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1. How many times did you go to the mountains on average in a winter?

Never, you couldn't pay me enough to go to the mountains in the winter.

2. How many times a year did you go skiing or snowboarding?

Never.

3. How many times did you go to the mountains on average in a summer?

About once a week.

4. How many concerts did you see at Red Rocks in an average year?

Not that often.

5. Which outdoor sports did you try while living here? (camping and fishing can be counted in this)

Hiking.

6. Did you live in the city proper or in a suburb? If a suburb, which suburb? If the city, which neighborhood?

Englewood and Littleton.

7. Did you have any favorite local restaurants/bars? If so what were they?

Just the hole in the wall places, Japanese, Chinese etc. I think the Twin Dragon on Broadway is still around.

8. Which cities are you happier in?

The Bay Area, because as you know I don't like Denver's weather.

9. Where did you grow up?

North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Salt Lake City and Denver.

10. Did you ever go to the Denver Center for Performing Arts?

A few times.

11. How many live sporting events did you attend on average every year?

Never. I'm not into sports. But the victory parades Downtown were always fun to go to.

12. Were you employed and were you happy with your job?

Yes. As happy as I could be for crappy jobs.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by JD401

So what do you do then? Other than spending time on message boards of course. I can't imagine living in a city that has all 4 major sports, plus a host of others, and only attending 0-1 events per year!

1. Lie around imitating a slug.

2. Walk 2+ miles about 4-5 times a week.
3. Eat in restaurants.
4. Cook.
5. Read. A lot.
6. Build websites. MarketingTactics - website design, SEO and PPC in Denver, CO
7. Watch HGTV and FoodTV and the Commie Network (MSNBC).

I really dislike professional sports.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by denverian

I agree on the traffic. Sometime in the past 20 years, Denver traffic got a lot worse. I suppose that's what happens when you add hundres of thousands of residents!

Hundreds of thousands is a bit of an understatement. The Denver/Boulder area population has increased by over one million in the last 20 years. It will add another million in the next 20 years.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Eh, after living in Dallas, traffic here is a breeze. It's a LOT worse down there.

Give it a bit more time. It will get there. It will get there.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by KaaBoom

Give it a bit more time. It will get there. It will get there.

You are ignorant of trends.
1. Mileage driven is stagnant to declining and car sales are not increasing.
Calculated Risk: U.S. Light Vehicle Sales decreased to 14.9 million annual rate in April


Calculated Risk: DOT: Vehicle Miles Driven declined 2.9% in December


2. "Pie in the sky" is closer than you think.
Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar
Google's Driverless Car Is Just One of Many Looming Disruptions - Forbes