A few observations on Denver

[Snodrifter]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Its hard to think of an area with thousands of houses and retail everywhere as practically the boonies. Now south of Lincoln is another story.

Sorry, I rarely leave Capitol Hill, the CBD, or other downtown areas, unless it's to go snowboarding, mountain biking or camping. My views maybe skewed...

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by steveco.

Those trail areas are required as part of any large development mostly in the newer suburbs usually its a percentage of land set aside vs. the land that gets developed. While its nice to have them to wonder through and ride bikes i think that it might cause sprawl to cover more land than needed

I think the impact on sprawl is probably minimal. I'd rather have 15% of a subdivision set aside as open space than have 15% less sprawl without any open space. It the virtually unbroken carpet of concrete and asphalt that I dislike about SoCal.

[EscapeCalifornia]

The girls at the Rockies game didn't get slutted-out like they do at an Angels game. I've been to many Angels games and always thought it was weird how hooker-like a lot of the girls looked. I mean, its a baseball game, not a night club. The girls at Coors Field looked more normal and respectable IMHO.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

I think the impact on sprawl is probably minimal. I'd rather have 15% of a subdivision set aside as open space than have 15% less sprawl without any open space. It the virtually unbroken carpet of concrete and asphalt that I dislike about SoCal.

I agree. I just got back from a trip to Virginia, where this is not as common. And the yards are small enough here, compared to the yards in most of the east and midwest, so it's still more compact than the suburban developments there. It is similar to parks in the big cities. It would be foolish to deny people parks and open space to control sprawl.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

My wife and I are considering a move to the Denver area and this was our 4th trip to the area. The purpose of this trip was to continue to familiarize ourselves with the Denver area, see what houses looked like across the metro at a given price point, see some friends, and check out the light rail. So here's a few observations from an outsider but not a total Denver newbie:

We only needed one trip to decide this was the place for us. We focused on SW Denver/Lakewood but ended up in Aurora.

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

115th Avenue, 115th Place, 115th Boulevard, 115th Court, and 115th Drive are all different streets and may exist within .1 mile of each other. Be sure to get the FULL address before you set off for your destination.

Try delivering pizza for a few months. I did not know this for awhile and went to the wrong house all the time. In California, remembering the odonym isn't necessary, you can simply go to 1000 115th.

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Lots of "no U turns". I've gotten to the point where I sort of know my way around the south metro but not to the point where I know exactly which lane to be in to make my turn without getting forced off on a side road 100' early. As a result, we missed a lot of turns and had to go around. But with all the "no U turns" we wasted a lot of miles finding a safe and legal place to turn around.

There are also a lot of left turns that don't say you can do a u-turn, but don't say you can't either. I take my chances.

I'd also like to mention, exits of freeways are designed differently, I don't remember how now, but I think it was the lane signs at the exits that threw me off.

Also, there isn't enough warning for construction zones. Sometimes the cones come out of nowhere and push you into the next lane.

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Rush hour is so much shorter here than in California. You can hop on I25 at 9:00am and pretty much fly through the city even during the week. The metro area is also much more compact than LA. From Park Meadows Mall to Baseline Rd in Broomfield (just about edge to edge of the metro if you don't count Castle Rock) took us about 40 minutes on a Saturday. Try driving 40 miles through downtown LA that fast except at 3:00am. Not going to happen.

Unbelievably, I believe most major cities throughout the country are like that, except for the really huge ones (like LA). Rush hour here is a joke compared to LA. I drive the morning rush hour and it is only "bad" in spots. Thornton and I-225 near DTC come to mind.

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

The light rail is a great way to get from the suburbs to downtown. We took it last night from the County Line station to Union Station for a Rockies game. It cost $16 round trip for the two of us but someone said parking would have been $20, not to mention the hassle. We stayed till the end of the game and the train going back south was PACKED. Leaving 15 minutes earlier or later probably would have made a big difference.

The trains are packed after the games, we took it a couple of weeks ago to the game and we had to stand most of the trip. The train is a great alternative, but driving and parking isn't much of a hassle either. I believe parking is $12. Getting in and out of Coors Field is easy, compared to the Angels and Dodgers.

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

The tap water is great. Don't bother with bottled water here. We've had the water in Denver, Aurora, Douglas County, Keystone, and Colorado Springs and its all equally tasty.

I thought the water and anything made from water tasted quite different here than in California, and it took a few days of getting used to.


Hurry up and make the move already, you know you like it here.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Hurry up and make the move already, you know you like it here.

Hehe we're working on it. I'm self-employed so I won't have much income right after the move. Our current task is to eliminate debt and put some money away for the move while I still have my California income. Once our financial house is in order, my wife should be able to make enough to support us in an apartment in Colorado while I rebuilt my business. Every time we come back from Colorado we miss it a little more.

[5starson23]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

A lot of neighborhoods are somewhat "weedy". The houses and yards appear cared for but you'll have huge weeds growing from between the cracks in the sidewalk or driveway. I'm pretty sure they sell Roundup in Denver but maybe not.

ROUND-UP is poison in every sense and is one of the most environmentally irresponsible products on the shelves. While what you may have observed is an indifference to the "weeds" (undefined) that some property owners might have, you may have also observed environmentally concious property owners who choose not to apply poison on the land on which they live.

"THOSE" types tend to live in places like Denver; and California too.

Perhaps they are environmentally responsible and just too lazy to pull the weeds. Or maybe they are not weeds at all; but you, being from California view them as weeds because you are not used to the local flora.

Other than the comment on poisoning the land, your post was otherwise insightful and interesting.