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Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,749 posts, read 23,813,296 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John
Does it really take this long to say Denver, the obvious answer?
Denver.
Not really. As somebody that lives within a 6 hour drive and a frequent visitor to both cities, I don't see a whole lot of resemblance between Denver and Phoenix.
Not really. As somebody that lives within a 6 hour drive and a frequent visitor to both cities, I don't see a whole lot of resemblance between Denver and Phoenix.
I see a helluva lot of resemblance between the two. Lots of single family homes, lots of big box retailers, lots of Hampton Inns, lots of Wendy's, lots of this for miles on out, and reasonable plot homes in subdivisions, miles upon miles of this sort of sprawl.
Yeah Phoenix has got nothing like LoDo/16th Street/Downtown Denver but who cares? This 4-5 mile "difference" is like 0.0001% of the total land mass around these cities. You have 45,000 Denverities living unlike Phoenicians, wow, so impressive. The rest are living just like Phoenicians, going to the same AMC 30's, P.F. Changs, nonsense like that!
Plus neither are coastal and both are flat mostly with mountainous terrain on the outskirts, for Phoenix more mountains actually in the city, and that "semi-arid" look. Might as well go full arid, in my opinion.
I'm not trying to be rude or mean intentionally. My point is, look at it from my perspective. I live on the Atlantic Seaboard, they are practically the same to me. Only (minor) difference is Denver is more built up than Phoenix. Is that such a big enough reason for me to want to see it more than Phoenix? Nah. Especially because those 4-5 miles are such a microscopic part of these cities' existence.
I do question how large the evangelical base is in Phoenix due to GCU (we see their ads on local media here in ABQ). How large is Grand Canyon University and aren't they evangelical based? I wonder how much of an impact they have on the community there. That said I would guess the OKC is likely more socially conservative than Phoenix.
GCU is a small yet rapidly growing university just about ten minutes from my house on regular roads. What has partially harmed its growth is its location. GCU is in a neighborhood that is known for being a hub of cocaine, meth, etc. and it's pretty bad. A lot of people near the area want to have it quarantined because of it. Straight up dangerous part of town.
They have a really great BSN program, where once you are admitted into the school for nursing, you are FOR SURE getting a BSN. Not some Pre-Nursing bs. So their nursing impacts the surrounding areas. But because of its location, eh, not too much.
Actually,growing up in Tucson, if my memory serves me correctly, we'd get flurries in the valley once or twice a year, and snow that sticks to the ground probably once every five years. Of course, the foothills and Oro Valley get sticking snow every year.
I even remember waking up to a white Christmas in Tucson in 1987, and believe it or not, Tucson had a white Easter in 1999. Geeze, that makes me feel old...
We had a flurry last winter. I know that it used to snow a lot more down there. When my father graduated from the U of A in 1990 in December it snowed Hopefully in January when I'm down there again it'll snow!
But that global warming and stuff is making snow happen a lot less. Really unfortunate.
It always seemed weird to me too. It's not really near the Grand Canyon. If it was in the northern part of the state it would fit better. They're now basically University of Phoenix except with a small faith based campus. Weird. They also hired former NBA player Dan Majerle as their basketball coach to make a splash. Except Phoenix isn't a big college hoops town so I don't know how big a splash it'll be. People barely care about ASU basketball. Not like where you are. They love their hoops at The Pit.
It's like GCU is trying to one up U of A. Sorry, but you can't beat the Wildcats!
I see a helluva lot of resemblance between the two. Lots of single family homes, lots of big box retailers, lots of Hampton Inns, lots of Wendy's, lots of this for miles on out, and reasonable plot homes in subdivisions, miles upon miles of this sort of sprawl.
Yeah Phoenix has got nothing like LoDo/16th Street/Downtown Denver but who cares? This 4-5 mile "difference" is like 0.0001% of the total land mass around these cities. You have 45,000 Denverities living unlike Phoenicians, wow, so impressive. The rest are living just like Phoenicians, going to the same AMC 30's, P.F. Changs, nonsense like that!
Plus neither are coastal and both are flat mostly with mountainous terrain on the outskirts, for Phoenix more mountains actually in the city, and that "semi-arid" look. Might as well go full arid, in my opinion.
I'm not trying to be rude or mean intentionally. My point is, look at it from my perspective. I live on the Atlantic Seaboard, they are practically the same to me. Only (minor) difference is Denver is more built up than Phoenix. Is that such a big enough reason for me to want to see it more than Phoenix? Nah. Especially because those 4-5 miles are such a microscopic part of these cities' existence.
This is something I always though Phoenix lacked. Mill Avenue, the closest thing we got, is pretty pathetic in comparison. Maybe they could expand Mill? Or liven up Downtown? I don't know, but Phoenix is a very sleep metro. Bad if you're my age, as a single college student and all.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,749 posts, read 23,813,296 times
Reputation: 14660
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John
I see a helluva lot of resemblance between the two. Lots of single family homes, lots of big box retailers, lots of Hampton Inns, lots of Wendy's, lots of this for miles on out, and reasonable plot homes in subdivisions, miles upon miles of this sort of sprawl.
Yeah Phoenix has got nothing like LoDo/16th Street/Downtown Denver but who cares? This 4-5 mile "difference" is like 0.0001% of the total land mass around these cities. You have 45,000 Denverities living unlike Phoenicians, wow, so impressive. The rest are living just like Phoenicians, going to the same AMC 30's, P.F. Changs, nonsense like that!
Plus neither are coastal and both are flat mostly with mountainous terrain on the outskirts, for Phoenix more mountains actually in the city, and that "semi-arid" look. Might as well go full arid, in my opinion.
I'm not trying to be rude or mean intentionally. My point is, look at it from my perspective. I live on the Atlantic Seaboard, they are practically the same to me. Only (minor) difference is Denver is more built up than Phoenix. Is that such a big enough reason for me to want to see it more than Phoenix? Nah. Especially because those 4-5 miles are such a microscopic part of these cities' existence.
Well even Northeastern suburbs, Chicagoland, Tampa, the OC, and San Antonio all have long roads stringed with PF Changs/Hampton Inn/Best Buy kind of commerce so I don't see your point there. Also that type of commercial and residential sprawl is easily found in at least half of America's metro areas, if not more.
Differences between Denver and Phoenix, I see big differences in their economy, architectural style, year round climate, politics, demographics, the types of transplants they attract, even the mountains are different...VERY different. Phoenix has the Sonoran desert scenery with a much different ecosystem and desert vegetation, Denver has high alpine peaks and forests not far away descending into high plains. Arizona and Colorado are just very different in topography.
Phoenix doesn't have the hometown sports culture and fanfare that Denver does. Denver doesn't have the golfing scene or large scale resort development around the city like Phoenix or Scottsdale. Phoenix doesn't have any early 20th century bungalow neighborhoods like Denver's Washington Park, historic areas like Capital Hill, or college towns Boulder around it. Denver's core has a much more palpable sense of history and vibrancy around it and it's the focal point of the city something Phoenix lacks. You can minimize that I guess because it pales compared to Philly or wherever else back East but it certainly sets it apart from Phoenix in a big way in my opinion.
Phoenix has a closer kinship to SoCal, where Denver is more or less it's own vibe with an REI type outdoor culture.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 12-21-2013 at 10:23 PM..
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Hopefully in January when I'm down there again it'll snow!
