Denver isn't for me anymore (loft, money, park)

[RotseCherut]

Some cities die economically and other cities die spiritually and culturally.. Don't get me wrong, many cities of the Rust Belt can only improve considering its current condition. But, not every economically stagnant city in America has a war-like, post-apocalyptic atmosphere like Midwestern Rust belt cities. I will take the economically depressed Portland of the 80s and 90s over the snobby, uppity, politically polarizing, homeless/drug infested and traffic-ridden Portland of today. Yeah, it was grittier, there wasn't as many high paying white collar jobs and you didn't have as many amenities to accommodate the yuppies from the opposite coasts, but the town was friendlier, more homely and there was a sense of community and belonging.

Yet, I was working as a dishwasher at a restaurant and then at Round Table Pizza when I was young and was able to afford a nice $500/mo, 1 bed apartment with a view of downtown Portland in the Hawthorne district. To enjoy that same lifestyle today you need to make over $70,000 a year and the same apartment will be $1,500/mo, if not more. So, yeah hurray for higher paying jobs, but the irony of it all was you didn't need a high paying job to make in the Portland of the 90s. You just had to be willing to work and not wait for the government to give you your handout.

Too many very wealthy and not so wealthy people moved there. The wealthy people blasted the price of housing, but all the not so wealthy moved there with some naive vision that they could make it in Portland like I did in the 90s. Then they demand more taxes, regulations, rules and it ends up increasing unemployment and making it more miserable for the Middle Class to survive.

[SirJohnHarington]

A lot of cities are "boomimg"... Denver isn't even "booming" the most....

Here is a list of the current unemployment rates:

https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm

Here is a list of home price increases in 2018:

https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/real-...reas/index.php

Here is a list of the fastest growing metros:

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/pres...ro-county.html

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

Some cities die economically and other cities die spiritually and culturally.. Don't get me wrong, many cities of the Rust Belt can only improve considering its current condition. But, not every economically stagnant city in America has a war-like, post-apocalyptic atmosphere like Midwestern Rust belt cities. I will take the economically depressed Portland of the 80s and 90s over the snobby, uppity, politically polarizing, homeless/drug infested and traffic-ridden Portland of today. Yeah, it was grittier, there wasn't as many high paying white collar jobs and you didn't have as many amenities to accommodate the yuppies from the opposite coasts, but the town was friendlier, more homely and there was a sense of community and belonging.

Yet, I was working as a dishwasher at a restaurant and then at Round Table Pizza when I was young and was able to afford a nice $500/mo, 1 bed apartment with a view of downtown Portland in the Hawthorne district. To enjoy that same lifestyle today you need to make over $70,000 a year and the same apartment will be $1,500/mo, if not more. So, yeah hurray for higher paying jobs, but the irony of it all was you didn't need a high paying job to make in the Portland of the 90s. You just had to be willing to work and not wait for the government to give you your handout.

Too many very wealthy and not so wealthy people moved there. The wealthy people blasted the price of housing, but all the not so wealthy moved there with some naive vision that they could make it in Portland like I did in the 90s. Then they demand more taxes, regulations, rules and it ends up increasing unemployment and making it more miserable for the Middle Class to survive.

Most of us would prefer to go back to the 80s and 90s. The middle class choke-out is a systemic problem, and I personally think we’re seeing that “a rising tide raises all boats” is a farce. You can’t find a nice 1 bed apartment for $500/month even in the cheapest parts of the country.

[BarryK123]

Originally Posted by N610DL

I grew up in Northern NJ as well. Denver and Colorado in general is a bargain compared to most parts on property taxes alone (except maybe "The Pine Barron's"). I'm also convinced that wages in NJ don't keep up with the COL out there either.

Your illiteracy is so poor, it's funny.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Barrens_(New_Jersey)

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal

Neither a Denver native or a Colorado native, but the OP stated they moved to Denver in 2014. I've been in Denver since 1998. So can I gripe that the OP is the reason I've seen housing costs jack up in the 21 years I've been here?

Well, those that were living there since the 70s. Can they gripe it's you? There was a real nice recession in the 80s too. Bust and boom.

[LHS79]

"Neither a Denver native or a Colorado native, but the OP stated they moved to Denver in 2014. I've been in Denver since 1998. So can I gripe that the OP is the reason I've seen housing costs jack up in the 21 years I've been here?"

The West Coast/East Coast (and of course Chicago) folks with all of that equity from over-priced real estate markets sure do have a lot to do with it.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by LHS79

"Neither a Denver native or a Colorado native, but the OP stated they moved to Denver in 2014. I've been in Denver since 1998. So can I gripe that the OP is the reason I've seen housing costs jack up in the 21 years I've been here?"

The West Coast/East Coast (and of course Chicago) folks with all of that equity from over-priced real estate markets sure do have a lot to do with it.

I’d venture to say that most people who have moved here in the past 30 years did so without home equity. In fact, I’d say most moved here in order to build home equity.

Housing costs are increasing like crazy all over the nation. It’s simple supply and demand. We can’t increase the supply of land, but the demand for property in the US is increasing, with our national population increasing by 3 million a year, which is mostly natural increase. Secondary tech centers like Denver, Portland, Austin, Raleigh, and even Pittsburgh and Nashville, are popping up because the economics of crowding have forced everyone’s hands.

[twowilldo]

Originally Posted by Let's Go Here

Anyone else feel the same sentiment?

Yes.

After spending an entire lifetime (60 years) living in and near the metro area, Mr. twowilldo and I didn't like the direction we could see our formerly rural area (NW of Denver) was taking. It wasn't even so much the crowds of people, but the hit and miss planning and mismatched pockets of development types. Plus we felt as though the resources and infrastructure along the Front Range are being stretched too thin and will not be sustainable in the long run.

Many people have moved there for various opportunities for employment, quality of life, outdoor opportunities (don't blame them). We've seen cities in bad shape and are well aware that Denver is still a superior place to live in many respects.

We've been gone for almost a year now and I still miss my family and the familiarity of my home place. I will probably return when I get a bit older, but it won't be anywhere near the Front Range...

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by twowilldo

Yes.

After spending an entire lifetime (60 years) living in and near the metro area, Mr. twowilldo and I didn't like the direction we could see our formerly rural area (NW of Denver) was taking. It wasn't even so much the crowds of people, but the hit and miss planning and mismatched pockets of development types. Plus we felt as though the resources and infrastructure along the Front Range are being stretched too thin and will not be sustainable in the long run.

Many people have moved there for various opportunities for employment, quality of life, outdoor opportunities (don't blame them). We've seen cities in bad shape and are well aware that Denver is still a superior place to live in many respects.

We've been gone for almost a year now and I still miss my family and the familiarity of my home place. I will probably return when I get a bit older, but it won't be anywhere near the Front Range...

Just please remember, not everywhere along the Front Range is the same.

[maciesmom]

No one place is ideal for everyone. That's a good thing.


Do I get worried about the high cost of housing and real estate - sure. I've got kids who are young adults. But honestly, my parents worried about the same thing (via sky high interest rates) when I was a young adult. It works out one way or another. I also find the crowds driving I70 into the mountains every weekend a bit depressing - we rarely go up anymore. But all in all, I can't think of anywhere I'd rather live. Those parts of the country with lower housing costs? They're lower for a reason. Fewer good jobs, bad weather, undereducated populace.....no thank you. You couldn't pay me to live in a high humidity, buggy climate after 25 years here. No interest in long cold winters with months of not seeing the sun and watching a huge pile of snow in parking lots grow larger and dirtier until April or May. Nope. Been there done that, not doing it again.