Negatives about living in the Denver, CO area (Boulder, Lake City: moving, eat)

[HonestOne1]

1) Denver has a very long, very cold winter that is mostly overcast, and you are looking at brown lawns and leaveless trees and freezing your axx off.
2) Do we even need a 2? Weather dominates our lives. Anyone who says differently is lying to you.

And yes it is a fairly small city. I know it is all you've got, but call a spade a spade.

[mollygee]

Originally Posted by Kevlegs

My negative is that I am not there yet!!

I agree! Miss living in the metro Denver area a lot! So much to do!!

Mass Transportation is great!! Leave the ride to the bus/train driver. I fought I-70 for years; before I finally jumped on the bus and enjoyed reading on my way downtown. Live in a town, that mass transportation seems to be a dirty phrase...........

Botanic Gardens, Art Museums, oh, so much I miss.

[skins_fan82]

Originally Posted by HonestOne1

And yes it is a fairly small city.

I wouldn't consider Denver a small city. I mean it's not an "A-tier" city like New York, Chicago, LA, etc...

But Denver's metro is a little over 2.5 million, more of a "B-tier" city like Baltimore, Portland, Pittsburgh, etc. Though much of the area is kinda spread out in the suburbs, the city of Denver is big enough that you can live an "urban" lifestyle if you want.

Having lived in DC and Seattle before moving here (both cities are MUCH bigger than Denver), I was expecting it to feel small here. But that's not the case at all.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by HonestOne1

1) Denver has a very long, very cold winter that is mostly overcast, and you are looking at brown lawns and leaveless trees and freezing your axx off.
2) Do we even need a 2? Weather dominates our lives. Anyone who says differently is lying to you.

And yes it is a fairly small city. I know it is all you've got, but call a spade a spade.

Uh... I just spent 3 hours outdoors having a picnic with my kids at a playground last Sunday. It was something like 65 degrees and sunny. Can someone in Minneapolis or Chicago say they've done that recently? Yes, it gets cold. But it doesn't stay cold the entire winter. And if you think it's mostly overcast, then you live in an alternate reality.

And small? I don't even know how to respond to that one.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by HonestOne1

1) Denver has a very long, very cold winter that is mostly overcast, and you are looking at brown lawns and leaveless trees and freezing your axx off.
2) Do we even need a 2? Weather dominates our lives. Anyone who says differently is lying to you.

And yes it is a fairly small city. I know it is all you've got, but call a spade a spade.

awesome. It almost sounds like you've never been here.

By the way Phoenix is only a few hundred thousand bigger and feels much more suburban to me. No 100 year old neighborhoods with character. And you want to complain about brown lawns??? You live in the desert!!

[Prodigal Native]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

awesome. It almost sounds like you've never been here.

By the way Phoenix is only a few hundred thousand bigger and feels much more suburban to me. No 100 year old neighborhoods with character. And you want to complain about brown lawns??? You live in the desert!!

Didn't you read the other thread where people were saying Arizona is greener than Denver?

Reality is apparently not just subjective, it is purely optional.

FWIW, I would argue Denver is a big city, but not a BIG city. It is greener than it would be without irrigation, but not as green as places back east.

Denver isn't complete, it is quite dynamic and redefining itself continuously. It think that is one reason it is a popular destination for people who are looking for something different.

[bubbathedog]

Boy, if these are the negatives, I'm moving.

I presently live on LI, NY. If you want to hear about negatives, check out the threads on cd.com for Long Island. These days, that's all there is, negatives.

I go to Denver--on buiness--regularly, and have always enjoyed the city, the suburbs and mountains. What else to say? Sure, traffic can be a bear, but light rail and mass transit are a big help.

I'd definitely consider relo if the housing market, especially in the south-west suburbs, wasn't so stagnant. Prices are high for not so much house. We looked at Evergreen back in '04 and saw much better deals. Any one have insights into where to look?

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by bubbathedog

Boy, if these are the negatives, I'm moving.

I presently live on LI, NY. If you want to hear about negatives, check out the threads on cd.com for Long Island. These days, that's all there is, negatives.

I go to Denver--on buiness--regularly, and have always enjoyed the city, the suburbs and mountains. What else to say? Sure, traffic can be a bear, but light rail and mass transit are a big help.

I'd definitely consider relo if the housing market, especially in the south-west suburbs, wasn't so stagnant. Prices are high for not so much house. We looked at Evergreen back in '04 and saw much better deals. Any one have insights into where to look?

I wouldn't say there aren't things to like about Denver. There are plenty. And that's the problem.

The weather is great, there are plenty of outdoorsy things to do. And more people have realized that over time and have moved here. In the meantime, I am of the opinion that Denver's job market has not been able to keep up with the sharp influx of new residents in most fields. I have lived here for five years. I have applied for numerous jobs. I have only been hired by firms based in the Midwest that have regional offices here. There are a few select, elite industries here that I think you can do well in: healthcare (all the hospitals here), government admin (you're in the state capital), and DoD engineering. Otherwise, I feel that most other industries here are pretty weak.

In addition to the weak job market, the COL (housing primarily) is relatively high. There are pockets of low-income housing (Cap Hill) surrounded by neighborhoods with $500,000+ homes (Gov's Park, Congress Park, City Park, Wash Park). And when you think that suburbs might be a better option, think again. In cities like Westminster, Thornton, Littleton, and Northglenn, little ranch-style houses go for $250,000+. The COL isn't so bad if you're single and making $65k+, DINKs, or a highly paid professional (doctor, lawyer, engineer, or exec). Otherwise, if you're making $50k or lower, and financially responsible, you are probably not going to like what you see. And the reason I note financially responsible is because there are plenty of people who are moving here now to live close to the mountains by any means necessary. They are poor, paying 50%+ of their income towards rent, and working low paying retail or F&B jobs. This has lead to a significant spike in rent costs in the last five years or so.

[bubbathedog]

Based on your handle, Tekkie, I would gather your field is in technology. Isn't technology growing in the Denver area, especially up in Boulder, where start-ups have turned the region into Silicon Mountain? Or would you say the supply far exceeds the demand... for skilled labor?

Originally Posted by Tekkie

I wouldn't say there aren't things to like about Denver. There are plenty. And that's the problem.

The weather is great, there are plenty of outdoorsy things to do. And more people have realized that over time and have moved here. In the meantime, I am of the opinion that Denver's job market has not been able to keep up with the sharp influx of new residents in most fields. I have lived here for five years. I have applied for numerous jobs. I have only been hired by firms based in the Midwest that have regional offices here. There are a few select, elite industries here that I think you can do well in: healthcare (all the hospitals here), government admin (you're in the state capital), and DoD engineering. Otherwise, I feel that most other industries here are pretty weak.

In addition to the weak job market, the COL (housing primarily) is relatively high. There are pockets of low-income housing (Cap Hill) surrounded by neighborhoods with $500,000+ homes (Gov's Park, Congress Park, City Park, Wash Park). And when you think that suburbs might be a better option, think again. In cities like Westminster, Thornton, Littleton, and Northglenn, little ranch-style houses go for $250,000+. The COL isn't so bad if you're single and making $65k+, DINKs, or a highly paid professional (doctor, lawyer, engineer, or exec). Otherwise, if you're making $50k or lower, and financially responsible, you are probably not going to like what you see. And the reason I note financially responsible is because there are plenty of people who are moving here now to live close to the mountains by any means necessary. They are poor, paying 50%+ of their income towards rent, and working low paying retail or F&B jobs. This has lead to a significant spike in rent costs in the last five years or so.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by bubbathedog

Based on your handle, Tekkie, I would gather your field is in technology. Isn't technology growing in the Denver area, especially up in Boulder, where start-ups have turned the region into Silicon Mountain? Or would you say the supply far exceeds the demand... for skilled labor?

Yes, I work for an IT firm based out of the Chicago area. I am on the operations side of things. If you are an engineer of some sort, you can probably live fairly well out here (Denver-Boulder), though competition is surely tight. But as far as professional operations and admin jobs, I do not see a lot of these jobs available here.