Denver or Atlanta

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by Apple Tree

"300 days of sunshine" is a myth. It was a marketing gimmick created by a 1800s rail baron. It is more like 250 days of sun. Still good, but considering Atlanta has 220 days of sun, not all that different. But I guess 30 days is 30 days.

This is correct. If you must have 300 days of sunshine a year, then you MUST move to Yuma, Arizona. There are no other options for that. No other city in the US will offer you that, or even come close. Denver gets 245 days of sunshine. Atlanta gets 217 days. A better comparison though: Denver get's 69% average possible sunshine. Atlanta gets 60% average possible sunshine

Neither city is particularly sunny. Atlanta has about an average amount of sunshine for the US. Denver is just slightly above average. Pueblo is the only city in Colorado that has a remarkable amount of sunshine.

RANKING OF CITIES BASED ON % ANNUAL POSSIBLE SUNSHINE

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by Apple Tree

I am going to play a little devil's advocate. Someone needs to, you posted this on a Denver board after all. What would you expect -- people to tell you to move to Atlanta?

Diversity: Atlanta has a big advantage here. Atlanta Metro is just 55% white. The Northern Colorado area (Denver, Boulder, etc.) is about 76% white. Another 19% are hispanic. That leaves just 5% of all other ethnicities. Read into that what you will, but someone who was looking for more balance might prefer Atlanta.

Proximity: Yeah, Denver has beautiful mountains a couple hours away. But beyond that, you are looking at 8 hours to SLC, or 8 hours to Omaha. Not a lot around there besides, uh, Denver. But Atlanta is other major cities within a couple hours... Birmingham, Charlotte. The south end of the Blue Ridge mountains begins just an hour or so away. Great getaways like Asheville are 4 hours away. The beach is a mere 3 1/2 hours to get to Tybee Island. If you move to Denver, you better be OK being limited to Denver and Mountains. For many on this board, that is fine... after all, the mountains are beautiful. Just want to be sure it fits for you.

A couple of very salient points to consider.

[Undecidedatlordenver]

Yes they are. But I guess diversity doesn't matter to me. Michigan isn't that diverse so I got used to ignorance. I've traveled a lot and the other places I've been have always been better. And as far as travel is concerned Denver had a great airport. I checked out some prices and they're better than here by a long shot.

[Mezter]

Originally Posted by Phil P

I'm a guy, and it's kind of depressing. There just aren't many young (under 40) single females. Not at work, not in the apartment complex, not on the rail, not at the Alice in Chains concert... They're hard to find.

Denver traffic is bad. I can't believe that Atlanta could be much worse, because it's always crawling in Denver.

Denver has bad traffic, but it hardly ever makes worst traffic lists. Atlanta will always be on one.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by Mezter

Denver has bad traffic, but it hardly ever makes worst traffic lists. Atlanta will always be on one.

It makes the lists. But even if it didn't make the lists, with the current growth rate, it's just a matter of time before it will.

City: Atlanta Denver
World Rank: 93 103
US Rank: 15 22
Congestion level: 24% 22%
Morning peak: 45% 35%
Evening peak: 59% 50%
Highways: 17% 15%
Non-highways: 30% 26%

Tom Tom Traffic Index

[bowlersp]

One thing is for sure, the traffic is not getting better any time soon and I predict its traffic rank will surpass Atlanta soon.

"Denver metro drive times will likely lengthen if transportation funding continues to lag behind population growth. In 2010, about 2.5 million lived in Denver, Aurora, and Lakewood. The population in those areas is now 2.7 million, and it's expected to add 200,000 by 2020."

(How Denver commute times compare to national average)

And this is census data only taking into consideration growth in those 3 areas. News flash, growth is happening everywhere surrounding Denver so to not include the surrounding areas is a bit misleading and not seeing the big picture. To consider how bad traffic will be as a whole in the Denver metro you must encompass all neighboring counties which people commute from which are Douglas, Jefferson, Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder etc...

[Bickinbackbeinbool]

Atl