Have you lived Chicago or Seattle AND Denver? (Boulder, Golden: transplants, salaries)

[skittlesapril]

Hi!

My husband and I currently live in Chicago with our toddler. We also lived in Seattle for 1.5 years - I disliked it and we moved back to Chicago. Mainly the weather (the grey/cloudiness) and something I didn't anticipate, the "Seattle freeze" (essentially the unfriendly nature of people) bothered me. Seattle was great because of the smaller scale and nature vs. Chicago. Seattle allowed us to get more property (with a yard) while still being close to the city, and had good restaurants, cute areas to walk around, okay shopping, and was fairly liberal.

We are now considering a move to Denver or the Research Triangle in HOPES of gaining more of the positives of all of those things all in one place vs. Chicago. Are biggest concerns (loosely in the order of importance to us are): good scale (smaller than Chicago, but not suburban), need restaurants and stores that are unique and interesting (i.e., not chain), want people to be generally friendly (I consider people in Chicago very friendly, as a reference), weather (we can assess this one), able to get property with a yard while still being close to a city (say within 20 minutes), has natural beauty (trees, lakes, waterfalls, wildlife) within a few hours.


I hoping to hear from people that have actually lived in

CHICAGO or SEATTLE AND DENVER or THE RESEARCH TRIANGLE

If you've lived in three or more, all the better


If you'd post which of the cities you've lived in and and if you think Denver or the Res. Triangle would get us what we are looking for, in your experience, that would be FANTASTIC.

TIA, REALLY!

[synapse]

Well, I haven't lived in the Research Triangle, but I can tell you having moved from Chicago to Denver that most of the criteria you list are available in Denver. Denver's a major city - all four major sports, lots of restaurants, nice museums and culture - but not quite at the scale of Chicago. Plenty of nice restaurants and interesting boutiques and stores. Very friendly, much like Chicago - there's enough midwestern transplants here to assure that. Four seasons, but none of them as severe as Chicago's. Much less expensive. And drive for thirty minutes, and you're in the mountains.

[skittlesapril]

Thanks for your advice!

[skittlesapril]

We ARE actually moving to Denver in about a month!

[SkyDog77]

Welcome!

[skittlesapril]

thanks!!!

[DenverBound41]

Denver can be a wonderful city to live in and is getting better all the time. That said, it isn't nearly as urban as Chicago or even Seattle. The people are pretty friendly, though it can take some prodding. Basically if you love the combination of outdoor activities and city living it is a great place, if you aren't really into the outdoors there isn't anything particularly special about Denver vs other similar sized cities. The payscale vs cost-of-living is very out of whack too unless you are an engineer or some other professional that demands 6 figure salaries.

FYI- I've lived in Chicago-area and Denver, visited Seattle numerous times. Haven't been to Research Triangle area but I don't think it really compares to any of the other 3 areas. I hear it's nice though.

I would consider the Boulder and Golden areas, they will probably provide what you are looking for.

[ktqtp]

I think you made the right choice for yourself in moving here.
I personally would never want to actually live in Chicago for numerous reasons.
Seattle would be my #1 choice of those 3, but that's me. I'm pale and do best under lots of cloud cover.
I'm also partial to the PNW because it was my first home.

I lived in RTP for 4.5 years before moving here. The differences between RTP and here are vast.
Raleigh's downtown is like a postage stamp in comparison. You can drive through it in a flash.
Durham, which is technically the meat of where RTP is at, has a nice downtown - but there isn't enough going on as it is.

Granted, if you're not looking for the urban lifestyle, you will end up spending much less to live in RTP...

PS I would have to disagree that Seattle feels more urban than Denver. The layout is much different, but the population is relatively similar in the city proper. In fact it is almost identical.

[DenverBound41]

Originally Posted by ktqtp

PS I would have to disagree that Seattle feels more urban than Denver. The layout is much different, but the population is relatively similar in the city proper. In fact it is almost identical.

The populations of the cities may be the same(the CSA and MSA are another story) but population density isn't even close. Seattle has about 7,800 persons sq/mi while Denver has about 5,500sq/mi (that is if you exclude the airport area otherwise it's about 4,000 sq/mi). The downtown population of Denver is about half of that of Seattle. Denver is doing amazingly well in its quest to become a 24/7 urban city but it is far behind Seattle.

[ChrisFromChicago]

i lived in Chicago and now Denver.

Personally. . .I would pick Chicago if all things were even. Its closer to my family, the city is awesome, etc. They actually have tolerable pizza. . etc


Yet I have no issues with Denver. The weather is better. The outdoor activities are awesome. . etc