DC or Denver? (Boulder: fit in, power lines, transfer)

[sdepauw8]

Hi, I'd like to get everyone's thoughts on the differences, goods, and bads between these 2 cities. I'm female, 30, single, a doctor, love the outdoors (hiking, camping, kayaking, just gazing at beautiful scenery), and also like a bit of city 'sophistication' (drinking a martini in a chic lounge, taking dance lessons, eating at trendy restaurants, being surrounded by an educated and liberal clientele). I prefer to live surrounded by green but would like to be within an hour's reach to the city. I grew up in Rochester NY (about as depressing as it comes), lived in Atlanta (very nice but didn't feel like I fit in), and NYC (hated it). Thoughts?

[Mike from back east]

Spent 57 years in Baltimore & DC. Worked 31 years in DC area. I'm in COL SPGS now, ain't going back - except for crabcakes.

Denver is it. Come on out. Don't look back. DC can't compare to this place.

s/Mike

[NickMan7]

Originally Posted by sdepauw8

Hi, I'd like to get everyone's thoughts on the differences, goods, and bads between these 2 cities. I'm female, 30, single, a doctor, love the outdoors (hiking, camping, kayaking, just gazing at beautiful scenery), and also like a bit of city 'sophistication' (drinking a martini in a chic lounge, taking dance lessons, eating at trendy restaurants, being surrounded by an educated and liberal clientele). I prefer to live surrounded by green but would like to be within an hour's reach to the city. I grew up in Rochester NY (about as depressing as it comes), lived in Atlanta (very nice but didn't feel like I fit in), and NYC (hated it). Thoughts?

You can live almost anywhere in the Denver area and be within an hour of the downtown district. There are many nice bars (some cater almost exclusively to martinis ) and eateries in downtown (the most notable being the LoDo district) and in the Cherry Creek district.

If you're into the outdoors as you say, there are few cities with Denver's access to all things nature. You can even kayak in Denver (on Cherry Creek) if you don't want to go to the mountains.

Denver and Boulder are both well educated and finding a job in healthcare shouldn't be much of an issue.

Are you planning to commute to work? Car? Public transportation? Traffic can be bad, but if you're wanting to know the difference between Denver and DC when it comes to traffic, Denver (HANDS DOWN) is a Sunday drive in comparison. DC has some of the worst traffic I have ever seen.

I don't know much about DC other than that, so that's all I can give you when I compare the two!

[vegaspilgrim]

"Surrounded by green"? Denver is not surrounded by green, it is surrounded by a sea of yellow-brown prairie grass on 3 sides, with rocky mountains (think evergreen pine trees, not green leafy trees) on the other side.

[Katarina Witt]

Doctors have time to do all that? Wow! Seriously, I lived in the DC area for a short time (actually my parents lived there while I was in college), and while I found it vibrant, and all that, I like Denver better. Especially the weather. Now, unlike Mike From Back East, my BFF's husband got a transfer out here, and they (she) decided they (she) didn't like it as a place to live. So he got transferred back to DC. Go figure.

[nelumbo]

What did you hate about NYC? That might help make a judgement.

My bias - I grew up in the DC area (20+ years), in CO for 2+ years, with a stint in Boston in between.

Traffic: Denver has much less, DC has horrid traffic. That said, it is easier to live in DC proper without a car.

Public transport - DC wins, hands down. Denver is only beginning to get their act together with public transport.

Size: The greater DC area has about twice the population as the greater Denver area. Good/bad - up to you.

Green: DC wins. Denver is pretty arid, the plains are brown much of the year. Native plants are grasses, shrubby things, and some cacti. DC is much more lush, since it rains there.

Climate: depends on your preference. The average temperatures aren't that far off from each other - frequent 90s in the summer, some snow (more in Denver) in winter. Denver has colder night temperatures and much much lower humidity than DC. It is also very sunny in Denver, and rain is infrequent.

Food: I'm going to give the win to DC on this one, although the food scene in Denver is apparently improving. Denver might win a mexican cuisine battle with DC, but DC's asian food easily trumps Denver.

Outdoors: Win to Denver, esp for winter/mountain activities. DC has more water activities due to things like the Potomac, Chesapeake, and Atlantic Ocean. Denver has a large mountain range. A *lot* of people in and around Denver are very into outdoor activities. Very.

Cost of Living: Win to Denver, esp for housing costs. Food is a bit spendier in Denver than DC, but housing more than makes up for it.

Do you want an east-coast metropolitan flavor? Go with DC.
Want to spend most of your weekends hiking or skiing? Go with Denver.


My personal preference is strongly for DC (to provide some contrast with MFBE ) - but like I said, I'm biased.

[sdepauw8]

Thanks for all of your replies. It sounds like they both have pros and cons and I'm having a hard time deciding! As for why I hated NYC, where do I begin?? The superficial, fashion and money obsessed people, the lack of customer service, the cement jungle, the cost, the lack of green, living in a box that 1/2 my salary went to, being smashed into a subway every day, the rat-race mentality, lack of freedom to get out of the city because I couldn't afford to keep a car there. I can keep going if you like.. The DC traffic is intimidating to me--after being carless for 3 years, I'm dying to get a car for its freedom and convenience (I'll get a hybrid, of course).

I know DC has lots of trees and I find it generally pretty. Is Denver like that? How close is each city to more remote areas for hiking and such?

[steveindenver]

Doctor as in real doctor or one of those phunny degrees?

Expect to earn less out here -- often quite a bit less, outside of a few specialties.

[nelumbo]

Originally Posted by sdepauw8

... the cost, ... living in a box that 1/2 my salary went to, being smashed into a subway every day, the rat-race mentality, lack of freedom to get out of the city because I couldn't afford to keep a car there.

Hmmm...the above are things that are rather similar between DC and NYC. One of the better things about DC is that you can live there without a car (one of my goals is to move back there, live next to the metro, and not own a car). If you want to live further away, where you need a car, the traffic can really be killer in DC if you need to commute, or really drive anywhere except in the middle of the night. Traffic and its avoidance can be a huge factor in living in and around DC, although it is possible to carefully plan where you live to make it less of an issue. Also, the expense of housing in DC is quite high, although not as high as Manhattan.

Denver and eastern CO in general only has leafy deciduous trees in irrigated areas, which includes within the city. Outside of the city, it is mostly brown plains that turn green for about two months in the spring if it rains. Dry spring = brown all year. Some neighborhoods in Denver have tree-lined streets (see some of the photo tour threads). DC has areas of the city and surrounds with lots of trees, and also areas with few trees. The urban trees in CO are not as big as some of the really big trees you will find in older areas around DC. But then sometimes the really big trees in DC fall on your house, or the power lines.

There are county and state parks with hiking within 30-40 minutes of downtown DC, some are areas where you can hike for hours and not see other people (in my personal experience), but these are in smallish parks that are wooded not mountainy. There are also places in DC, like Rock Creek, and the Ntl Arboretum, where you can walk in wooded areas but will probably run into other people. For more remote areas, you can drive to the Blue Ridge/ WVa in about two hours for the Appalachian trail and tons of other trails in the midatlantic.

Denver also has lots of opportunities for hiking, with bigger mountains a lot closer. Some of the popular parks are kinda crowded (don't get me started on the offleash dogs either), but I'm sure you can find some pretty remote areas within an hour or so drive from downtown. I'm not as familiar with hiking around CO as in DC. (I actually did a lot more outdoor stuff when I lived near DC than I do living here. How weird is that?)

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I'm also someone who grew up in DC and I have lived in Denver for over 30 years. The biggest difference is that Denver still has that casual Western feel, not the Eastern sophistication. I was raised that going to a concert or the theater was a special event, where you dressed up. In Denver, people go in their jeans and shorts with flip flops. And everyone wears hats inside; I still haven't gotten over that!

If you are looking for green, you won't find it here. Like others have said, Denver's climate is semi-arid. Getting things to grow takes lots of irrigation, and the plants that do really well are not the showy plants you find in the humidity of the east coast. Denver does not do Spring like back East, we just kind of leap from winter to summer (and sometimes back again). Our tulips and daffodils usually get covered by several inches of snow.

You will notice that you see the sky more here in Colorado (DUH, because there are fewer trees). The sky is the bluest you'll find anywhere.

People are generally nicer here than in DC and a LOT nicer than NYC.

Hey, Mike from Back East -- remember Mike's Crab Shack on the western shore of the Bay? My favorite!!!!!!!!!