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Old 05-20-2009, 10:12 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,525 times
Reputation: 10

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I've lived in LA for 26 yrs. I spent about 3 months in Denver a yr or so ago--loved it (the people, the green spaces). I'm seriously considering relocating to Denver (somewhere in the downtown area), weighing some pros/cons (as I see them). I'm wondering if there are any former So Cal residents who may be able to share their experiences making a similar move, give me their perspectives regarding the issues/concerns I've listed below-- Thanks!!

A bit about me--
-48 yr old single, female, educated professional (Accountant)
-enjoy the outdoors, but also enjoy restaurants, museums/arts, music
-down-to-earth (grew up in Chicago), tired of LA attitude and BS
-love SO Cal weather, not sure whether I would enjoy Colorado's seasons
-very liberal, politically speaking
-currently unemployed (laid off last Dec)

(For a very long time) looking to leave LA because:
-Housing (in areas I consider desirable) is unaffordable
-Traffic/daily 1-way commutes of 60+ mins
-tough city for "singles"
-feels frenetic, crazy, hectic, too busy, too many people
-not much quality of "life" (working 10+ hr days, commuting 2+ hrs...)

Things I already know I like about Denver:
-Affordable housing
-LOVE the people of Denver (they make Denver feel like "home" to me)
-love the green spaces, parks, bike paths (at least during the summer)
-close (enough) to my son and grandkids who live in Co Spgs
-seems like a sane, relatively non-hectic environment

Concerns:
-How is the work environment/economy (are people still losing jobs, companies laying off? are things beginning to level-off or turn around?)
-Is Denver a conservative/republican environment?
-Could I learn to forgo the 70 degrees, walks along the beach and appreciate the seasons (especially the cold)?
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Old 05-21-2009, 01:26 AM
 
Location: Mile high city
795 posts, read 2,409,247 times
Reputation: 266
Quote:
Originally Posted by zen042 View Post
I've lived in LA for 26 yrs. I spent about 3 months in Denver a yr or so ago--loved it (the people, the green spaces). I'm seriously considering relocating to Denver (somewhere in the downtown area), weighing some pros/cons (as I see them). I'm wondering if there are any former So Cal residents who may be able to share their experiences making a similar move, give me their perspectives regarding the issues/concerns I've listed below-- Thanks!!

A bit about me--
-48 yr old single, female, educated professional (Accountant)
-enjoy the outdoors, but also enjoy restaurants, museums/arts, music
-down-to-earth (grew up in Chicago), tired of LA attitude and BS
-love SO Cal weather, not sure whether I would enjoy Colorado's seasons
-very liberal, politically speaking
-currently unemployed (laid off last Dec)

(For a very long time) looking to leave LA because:
-Housing (in areas I consider desirable) is unaffordable
-Traffic/daily 1-way commutes of 60+ mins
-tough city for "singles"
-feels frenetic, crazy, hectic, too busy, too many people
-not much quality of "life" (working 10+ hr days, commuting 2+ hrs...)

Things I already know I like about Denver:
-Affordable housing
-LOVE the people of Denver (they make Denver feel like "home" to me)
-love the green spaces, parks, bike paths (at least during the summer)
-close (enough) to my son and grandkids who live in Co Spgs
-seems like a sane, relatively non-hectic environment

Concerns:
-How is the work environment/economy (are people still losing jobs, companies laying off? are things beginning to level-off or turn around?)
-Is Denver a conservative/republican environment?
-Could I learn to forgo the 70 degrees, walks along the beach and appreciate the seasons (especially the cold)?
Denver's economy is much better than LA's right now. Denver is around 7% unemployment, LA 11%

Denver's economy has a large government workforce (second largest outside DC)

Where did you get the notion that Denver is republican? It voted a higher percentage for Obama than LA county - 76% to 69%

The city has been quite liberal leaning for some time. Of course there is a mix of libertarian laws i.e. no helmet law, same day gun purchase w/ no FBI background, and legalized pot in the city.
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Old 05-21-2009, 08:12 AM
 
Location: Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
14,164 posts, read 27,213,588 times
Reputation: 10428
I think you'd like it. We moved here from Orange County and love it after 3 years in Denver. It's liberal, downtown is great (you'd be close to so many things to do), and the benefit of being able to visit family on weekends.

Weather is my only issue. I don't care for winter, even though it's not that bad. There are plenty of warm (ish) days in winter, and summer is similar to L.A. - low humidity, cool nights, warm to hot afternoons.
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Old 05-21-2009, 10:08 AM
 
369 posts, read 966,036 times
Reputation: 436
The weather would probably be the big issue for you. The temps aren't too bad, we get some really cold snaps a couple times a year (below zero), but it's usually sunny. You can go out and get sunshine most days of the year. The bigger thing for me is that everything is brown and dead for ~5 months out of the year. Back in California things would pretty much stay green if they were watered. And winter just meant some rain, so things would just green up rather than go dormant. I do really like the distinct change of seasons, it really enjoyable to experience.

The attitude is *very* laid back, much moreso than California. People tend to not dress up that much or be flashy - there are, of course, people like that, but overall it seems less so than CA (certainly than LA). Status is more around how green you are or how much outdoors stuff you do. It's the "$2K bike on a 200 dollar Subaru" kind of mentality.

The economy is not great, but better than most other states at this point. It's a lifestyle state, meaning people move here for the lifestyle - like CA was 30 years ago. Some employers won't set up shop here because the workforce expects a work/life balance favoring life. The downside to that is that it's not a "change the world" or "make tons of money" kind of place. I had to initially adjust because things were geared for 9 to 5ers and I was used to everyone doing at least 10 hours a day and obsessing over work.

Another thing that will likely come up is that Denver is a semi-arid desert, there's not much in the way of water. There are some reservoirs in the area that aren't especially pretty and I would consider small, but are the biggest bodies of water available. So you have to come to appreciate the mountains instead of the ocean as the 'giant natural thing that awes and inspires'. Honestly, I'm still working on that, I miss the ocean and I've been here 10 years.

BTW, unemployment in Denver proper is 9%, according to Mr. Google:

LA v. Denver Unemployment

Edit: It is a liberal town, but not like Seattle or SF. It's more libertarian than "everyone must think and agree with me" kind of thing.
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Old 05-21-2009, 12:22 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,525 times
Reputation: 10
Huge thanks to Denver-hacker, Denverian and D-town720! Your feedback was EXTREMELY helpful and provides me with most of the information I need to make an informed decision about whether to make the move to Denver. Thanks again! Enjoy Denver!!
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Old 05-21-2009, 12:26 PM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,436,952 times
Reputation: 7586
Quote:
Originally Posted by zen042 View Post
Huge thanks to Denver-hacker, Denverian and D-town720! Your feedback was EXTREMELY helpful and provides me with most of the information I need to make an informed decision about whether to make the move to Denver. Thanks again! Enjoy Denver!!
Before you make any decisions, visit in July and again in January or February. You might be surprised how nice 35 degrees can be.
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