IMO Denver has become much less desirable over the past 10 yrs (Parker: fit in, home)

[emm74]

Originally Posted by aries63

Main difference between now and the 60's that is true all over the West (and that I didn't see mentioned in a quick speed-read) is the incredible sprawl. I am bummed out about sprawl in Albuquerque until I drive up to Denver and realize how much worse it is there, and how far outside Denver the traffic bogs down on the I-25 mega-highway (about 12 lanes across and still bumper-to-bumper in the early p.m.). And I hear long-time residents complain about it even compared to 20 years ago. Yes, there are lots of great things to do and see in Denver, if you can get there.

That's why a lot of us choose to live in Denver itself rather than in the suburbs. Not that I never have to deal with traffic, but the vast majority of my activities can be easily accessed via local roads. Highways are a maybe once a week thing, if that.

[ayoitzrimz]

Originally Posted by emm74

That's why a lot of us choose to live in Denver itself rather than in the suburbs. Not that I never have to deal with traffic, but the vast majority of my activities can be easily accessed via local roads. Highways are a maybe once a week thing, if that.

Agreed! We made it a point to buy in Denver proper. Now I can bike to city park, central park, and can take a local road downtown. If I had to take I-25 daily I think I might have moved out of Denver by now

[Hschlick84]

There is nothing wrong living in the suburbs. What I get out of some people is the anti suburb vibe coming from some members on this forum.

[DenverBound41]

Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz

Agreed! We made it a point to buy in Denver proper. Now I can bike to city park, central park, and can take a local road downtown. If I had to take I-25 daily I think I might have moved out of Denver by now

I just moved from City Park to up near Reunion. While I'm not quite regretting it yet, I will say the drive to downtown via 76 and 25 is pretty horrible. If I leave at 5:00 AM I can make it in 20-25 minutes, leave at 6:00 AM and its more like 45-55 minutes. Leave at 7:00 AM and its easily an hour +.

If it gets worse I can see myself leaving Denver in 5 years.

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

There is nothing wrong living in the suburbs. What I get out of some people is the anti suburb vibe coming from some members on this forum.

You are taking it wrong.

People complain about sprawl and highway traffic which are intrinsic of living in a suburb.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by aries63

Main difference between now and the 60's that is true all over the West (and that I didn't see mentioned in a quick speed-read) is the incredible sprawl. I am bummed out about sprawl in Albuquerque until I drive up to Denver and realize how much worse it is there, and how far outside Denver the traffic bogs down on the I-25 mega-highway (about 12 lanes across and still bumper-to-bumper in the early p.m.). And I hear long-time residents complain about it even compared to 20 years ago. Yes, there are lots of great things to do and see in Denver, if you can get there.

Perception of sprawl is completely relative. Denver really isn't all that sprawly compared to a place like Dallas-Fort Worth (which is roughly the size of the entire state of Connecticut).

[emm74]

Originally Posted by Mach50

You are taking it wrong.

People complain about sprawl and highway traffic which are intrinsic of living in a suburb.

Exactly. Someone complained about it taking to long to get to things in Denver. For a lot of people, the solution to that is to live in Denver. If your choice of activities is primarily things outside of Denver, then you are better off picking a location that makes those activities easier to get to. I'm not anti-suburbs, I'm anti-sitting in traffic and long commutes!

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by Mach50

You are taking it wrong.

People complain about sprawl and highway traffic which are intrinsic of living in a suburb.

I prefer the suburbs over living the city because of high density, cost of living and less freedom. People complain about traffic because Colorado infrastructure is behind where it should be compared to other states. Colorado doesn't spend enough money on its roads and bridges in my opinion.

[skins_fan82]

Yeah...I'm sick of the city. Lived in DC for 18 years, which feels a lot more urban than the city of Denver does. Spent nearly 3 years living in Seattle (proper) before moving here to Denver. Forgive me if I want my space LOL

I have no issue with the folks here on CD, nobody means any harm. But some of my hipster friends of the same age tell me about how cool it is living in the city. Mind you, many of them are from small town America (one guy is from rural Wisconsin, one guy is from Eugene, Oregon, and a third dude is from Oklahoma City). But now that they live in the city, they're so proud and excited to be living the "urban lifestyle," that they're always giving me a hard time about living down south in Parker. Dude, i'm born and raised in Northwest DC. I'm more "city" than any of you could ever imagine being LOL.
I try not to bust their bubbles, though LOL.

I work smack downtown at 18th & Broadway, but I commute home to Parker every day. Forgive me and those like me who choose not to live in the city. I've had enough city living for one lifetime. I like the open space behind my house in Parker LOL.

[randomparent]

Originally Posted by Mach50

You are taking it wrong.

People complain about sprawl and highway traffic which are intrinsic of living in a suburb.

Not necessarily. We live in Centennial and can get around just fine without driving on the highway. Everything we need on a daily basis, work included, is available within just a couple of miles using only surface streets, and we can comfortably walk to much of it.