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For people living in a western state,do you like it where you live?Also explain what its like where you live?I'll start off by saying that I live in Colorado Springs Colorado.When I first moved to The Springs I wasn't a big fan of it,but the longer I've been in Colorado Springs the more I like it.I actually really like living in Colorado Springs now.Its a city with a population of about 400,000 people.Its not the most diverse place in the world,but I feel that the population is becoming more diverse.Its about 60 miles from Denver.The Central part of the city is the oldest part.The Northside,which is broken into to parts Northeast and Northwest,is the newer side of town.Houses are anywhere from 0-25 years old.There is alot of growth on the Northside of town,they build alot of new houses and stores.They built a new hospital on the Northside called Memorial North Hospital.They are also are building another hospital called Penrose North Hospital.There is two malls in Colorado Springs,one the Chapel Hills Mall on the Northside and the Citidel Mall on the Southside.Colorado Springs is located very close to Pikes Peak.The reason Im only asking about western cities is because I want to see if they are like Colorado Springs.I would like to visit other western cities eventually.
The Seattle metro area is very liveable. I live in Lynnwood, Wa, a northern suburb. I'd say that parts of WA are quite similar to parts of Colorado. In many ways Denver & Seattle have alot in common- great recreational options, scenic locations, healthy & well-educated populations, relatively safe, more new areas than old areas, etc. Economy is fine as of now, to me. Although here the ocean rims many communities & and our winters are milder. Lots of trees here too, pleasant place to raise kids or grow old. In terms of demographics, mostly White, larger numbers of Asians but less African-Americans than other regions of the US. Probably about the same proportion of Hispanics than in parts of Colorado. But I agree, Colorado & Pacific Northwest states are generally very similar. However, although Colorado isn't the cheapest state to live in, I remember many daily things are pricier in WA overall.
Last edited by f1000; 01-28-2008 at 03:34 PM..
Reason: typo
I've lived in Denver and Phoenix, and I've been to Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Tucson, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Orange/Riverside Counties, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Reno. I love the west, and wouldn't want to live in any other region. Mountains, deserts, national parks, Martian-like landscapes, what more can you ask for? Each Mountain West, Desert Southwest and West Coast city is unique with its own flavor. Now, are some western cities better than others? Without a doubt. After living in Phoenix for four years I'm just about ready to give up on this place. Phoenix IMO is a severely underpowered city; the metro area is over 4 million people (all of Maricopa and Pinal Counties are now county as Phoenix MSA), and it has all the problems of a metro area that large, but the size and diversity of the economy and the urban amenities that Phoenix and its surroundings offer is more in line with a city of about 1-2 million people. The heat here is absolutely barbaric, even by the standards of the desert southwest. This so-called "Valley of the Sun" was a great location for agriculture but a lousy place to build a city IMO-- it's low elevation, paper flat, and not particularly scenic unless if your home happens to back up to a mountain. The city is VAST and has a scorched-earth feel to it, where it feels like every single square inch for miles and miles and miles in all directions has been defoliated, plowed over, gridded out, paved over, and artificially replanted with non-native plants. There used to be thousands of acres of orange groves in the area, and one by one they have been bulldozed to build subdivisions; in a couple of years, no agriculture will be left in the Salt River Valley, other than on the Indian Reservations. So to make a long story short, Phoenix sucks. Tucson, OTOH, is a beautiful city, and a better example of what a desert southwest city should look like.
CTownNative, I'm glad you're liking Colorado Springs more. Are you ditching your plan to move back to Cleveland or Detroit? Personally, I'd rather live in Denver than CS since the Springs is too conservative, too military-y, and not diverse enough for my tastes, but I'll admit, the Springs is a beautiful place.
I've lived in Denver and Phoenix, and I've been to Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Tucson, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Orange/Riverside Counties, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Reno. I love the west, and wouldn't want to live in any other region. Mountains, deserts, national parks, Martian-like landscapes, what more can you ask for? Each Mountain West, Desert Southwest and West Coast city is unique with its own flavor. Now, are some western cities better than others? Without a doubt. After living in Phoenix for four years I'm just about ready to give up on this place. Phoenix IMO is a severely underpowered city; the metro area is over 4 million people (all of Maricopa and Pinal Counties are now county as Phoenix MSA), and it has all the problems of a metro area that large, but the size and diversity of the economy and the urban amenities that Phoenix and its surroundings offer is more in line with a city of about 1-2 million people. The heat here is absolutely barbaric, even by the standards of the desert southwest. This so-called "Valley of the Sun" was a great location for agriculture but a lousy place to build a city IMO-- it's low elevation, paper flat, and not particularly scenic unless if your home happens to back up to a mountain. The city is VAST and has a scorched-earth feel to it, where it feels like every single square inch for miles and miles and miles in all directions has been defoliated, plowed over, gridded out, paved over, and artificially replanted with non-native plants. There used to be thousands of acres of orange groves in the area, and one by one they have been bulldozed to build subdivisions; in a couple of years, no agriculture will be left in the Salt River Valley, other than on the Indian Reservations. So to make a long story short, Phoenix sucks. Tucson, OTOH, is a beautiful city, and a better example of what a desert southwest city should look like.
CTownNative, I'm glad you're liking Colorado Springs more. Are you ditching your plan to move back to Cleveland or Detroit? Personally, I'd rather live in Denver than CS since the Springs is too conservative, too military-y, and not diverse enough for my tastes, but I'll admit, the Springs is a beautiful place.
Yeah,Im probably not going to move back to Cleveland since Im really starting to like it in Colorado.I was thinking about moving to St. Louis or Detroit too,but I ditched that plan also.I've been to Denver alot since moving to Colorado,and its a pretty diverse city.Also I've been to a couple basketball games up in Denver when the Cavs play the Denver Nuggets,and I think the Pepsi Center is very nice.Out of all those western cities you named the ones I wanted to visit the most are Las Vegas,Phoenix,and San Francisco.Las Vegas just seems like a cool place to see,especially at night when all the casinos have thier lights on.I'd like to see Phoenix because the metro area has 4 million people and its not that far from Colorado Springs.And I'd definetly like to visit San Francisco.I hear nothing but great things about that city.
Location: Originally Fayetteville, Arkansas/ now Seattle, Washington!
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I've lived in Seattle for the last couple years and its a nice place to live. I live in the international district right next to downtown and its very nice, some shady people but only late a night, lots of bums though :/ Seattle is beautiful, olympic mountians, cascade mountains, mt rainier, puget sound, beautiful skyscrapers, space needle, lots of neighborhoods with good, unique character. Only problem is its very expensive. gas is second to california, and rent is very hight. I pay about 1400 for a less than 700 square foot 1 bedroom apartment. Parking alone is 125 per month. There is also a high sin tax her, cigarettes, alcohol etc are very expensive. But the city is awesome, the weather is quite mild(gloomy, but not much snow, and awesome summer, 70's with no humidity.) I enjoy the feeling of just about all of the west, a feeling that i can't describe but once you come out here you'll know what i'm talkin about.
Ahh! This thread is making me what I like to call west-sick (n. to miss the western region of the U.S.).I was born and raised in Wyoming, but currently reside in St. Louis, which, don't get me wrong, is a great city, but I start to severely miss the west. I love all western states, and hope to explore each and every one of them. I consider Denver a second home of sorts since it's Wyoming's big city as much as it is Colorado's, plus my uncle lived there for many years, so I go there frequently. And a couple summers ago, I got to visit the Pacific Northwest, and I fell in love.
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