Negatives about living in the Denver, CO area (Boulder, Highlands Ranch: transplants, hotels)

[Scott5280]

I wish Denver proper had some more variation in topography as it really does seem to lack any significant swaths of natural beauty. People are often mislead to believe that Denver is this beautiful mountain city with majestic views in all directions. I personally enjoy living here, but I do find myself thinking about moving to somewhere else surrounded by an abundance of natural beauty.

[jenalicious08]

I used to live in SW Ohio but have been in Denver for 10 years now. Some of the negatives to me are being far away from other large cities where there are entertainment choices, lack of greenery and trees that aren't oxygen deprived, having to water the grass so it doesn't die, dry skin, lack of lakes and rivers, all the homeless people that get stuck here.... BUT the pros do outweigh the cons, especially if you enjoy the outdoors like camping, hiking, skiing etc... Plus we have green chili here which is extemly good. The weather here is pretty amazing! Yes it can be all over the place in the winter, we don't really have fall (which I miss) and it looks like people don't take very good care of their yards because you have to do so much to maintain them here. Oh! And traffic is HORRIBLE! Sonds like a great place to move huh? It's ok if you have changed your mind, there are too many people here as it is.

[ajmac10]

Why is the common theme of this thread, "CO is not like LA for this reason . . . LA has this, why doesn't Denver have that?" blah blah blah

I've lived in about 3 or 4 different cities and learned to accept each one individually. I understand some people get transferred here for work and are used to a certain way of life. But for the ones that move here willingly, the negative chatter is not so prevalent. We all have the right to express our dislikes and pick apart little things that mean nothing to someone else. But don't sit here and complain that there is too much chain store saturation when you live in a place like Highlands Ranch. And don't complain about the traffic driving to downtown Denver every day from Castle Rock.

I understand this thread is about the "negatives of the Denver area" and it is a soundboard for such negative conversations and the like, but some of the reasons I've read are ridiculous, and I know there are a lot of people out there that will agree with me. Sure it took forever and a day to get an IKEA, but the Boston area got their first one a few years ago, and they are light years ahead in the city development department than Denver is. Besides, who the hell cares about IKEA anyway, it's just Lincoln Logs for adults. Get real furniture that will last longer and you won't have to keep buying IKEA furniture again and again spending more money over time than you would initially.

So for the group of you that like to vent how I-25 should be 7 lanes wide and retail plazas need to include Barney's and crap like that, I'm venting on how ignorant and most of you are who are saying those things. There's a reason why there aren't many stores like that, because the people around here just don't care about high fashion and wasting their money. And if you want people to stop judging you instantly, and actually take your opinions seriously, stop putting the word "THE" in front of an interstate highway number!

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by ajmac10

Why is the common theme of this thread, "CO is not like LA for this reason . . . LA has this, why doesn't Denver have that?" blah blah blah

I've lived in about 3 or 4 different cities and learned to accept each one individually.

Right on! My daughter, born and bred here in CO, went to college in Indiana for a couple years. She said she finally learned to like Indiana for Indiana. No mountains, but beautiful Lake Michigan beaches and sand dunes. ETC. If an 18 year old can figure that out, so can most adults.

[ajmac10]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Right on! My daughter, born and bred here in CO, went to college in Indiana for a couple years. She said she finally learned to like Indiana for Indiana. No mountains, but beautiful Lake Michigan beaches and sand dunes. ETC. If an 18 year old can figure that out, so can most adults.

I'm only 28, so I had to learn that lesson early on as well. It's good for ya, at first it's a little tough. Then you see people who grew up in the area and how they carry themselves so you learn how to adapt. I had a hard time looking at someone who grew up in RI and bashing their state right in front of them, and see the enthusiasm they had was a little humbling and contagious. Makes you think, even though a place like Indiana may seem like the last place on earth you want to live, there are people who genuinely enjoy it. Hard to bring them down for that just because you may not like it.

[Scott5280]

I enjoyed living in as diverse locations as San AntanioTX, Columbia SC, Hollywood CA,Newport Beach CA, and quite a few other Colorado mountain towns. I never compared them to where I grew up and just enjoyed what they individually had to offer. You are much happier when you adapt to your new surroundings until you decide it's not where you see yourself staying.

To all those considering a move from Los Angeles; Denver is far from what you are used to out West. For good or bad.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by ajmac10

Why is the common theme of this thread, "CO is not like LA for this reason . . . LA has this, why doesn't Denver have that?" blah blah blah

I've lived in about 3 or 4 different cities and learned to accept each one individually. I understand some people get transferred here for work and are used to a certain way of life. But for the ones that move here willingly, the negative chatter is not so prevalent. We all have the right to express our dislikes and pick apart little things that mean nothing to someone else. But don't sit here and complain that there is too much chain store saturation when you live in a place like Highlands Ranch. And don't complain about the traffic driving to downtown Denver every day from Castle Rock.

I understand this thread is about the "negatives of the Denver area" and it is a soundboard for such negative conversations and the like, but some of the reasons I've read are ridiculous, and I know there are a lot of people out there that will agree with me. Sure it took forever and a day to get an IKEA, but the Boston area got their first one a few years ago, and they are light years ahead in the city development department than Denver is. Besides, who the hell cares about IKEA anyway, it's just Lincoln Logs for adults. Get real furniture that will last longer and you won't have to keep buying IKEA furniture again and again spending more money over time than you would initially.

So for the group of you that like to vent how I-25 should be 7 lanes wide and retail plazas need to include Barney's and crap like that, I'm venting on how ignorant and most of you are who are saying those things. There's a reason why there aren't many stores like that, because the people around here just don't care about high fashion and wasting their money. And if you want people to stop judging you instantly, and actually take your opinions seriously, stop putting the word "THE" in front of an interstate highway number!

I take THE 70 to THE 25 every day to get to work. This isn't Boston where you drive in "high" ways, you know

But seriously, different parts of the country refer to roads in different ways. Who cares? I could never refer to a freeway as a highway, just as I could never seriously say "y'all".

[CTC]

[quote= Where is my Barneys or Gucci? /QUOTE]

Denver is about Cloudveil, Marmot,Carhart and North Face, not penny loafers from Gucci

[Cupcake77]

Originally Posted by CO_Transplant

.

The homes here are bland and dreadful. At least the homes in Phoenix and Las Vegas have tile roofs providing a unique, regional flavor! The homes here could be in Indianapolis, Kansas City, Fargo.... I just get so bored driving around here.

That's the only thing I agree on. The houses here are very bland and outdated. We call them brady bunch houses because they look like they are from the 70's and everyone has the same house!
When I first came back I rented a house in Highlands Ranch. Great place to live because everything is close, also a horrible place to live because it's nothing but a sea of houses with no yard. Some areas are so bad it looks like a military base. Parker you can find some custom homes and land. I choose castle rock because it's close to my Dad and my Best friend. it's not as bad out here but some areas do look the same as well.

With that said, I love it here and never leaving again. Learned my lesson and I feel like I lost years of my life living in a horrible bland backwards state.

The rest I can't agree on. I am from Colorado and took it for granted so I moved to Dallas for the cheap big houses. I ended up getting stuck there longer than I intended and if you want to talk about a horrible place to live, go to Texas! I used to complain on a daily basis and what they told me was if you don't like it, leave. That's probably what you should do to.

[ajmac10]

Originally Posted by denverian

I take THE 70 to THE 25 every day to get to work. This isn't Boston where you drive in "high" ways, you know

But seriously, different parts of the country refer to roads in different ways. Who cares? I could never refer to a freeway as a highway, just as I could never seriously say "y'all".

I guess maybe that's my little pet peeve

But you also make a good point, I could literally NEVER say "y'all" but other people don't know how to talk without it.