Minneapolis vs. Denver??

[enteravalue]

I live in Minneapolis and have been thinking about moving to Denver at some point. I know a bunch of people there, and I've been there quite a few times, also have lived elsewhere in the West (as well as the South and East). But I've spent most of my life in Minnesota, primarily Minneapolis but also Duluth.

I agree with almost everything everyone has said. It's not always cloudy in the winter in Minneapolis, but winters are distinctly *not fun* unless you really enjoy some winter sport. People who love to fatbike or snowboard or cross-country ski like winter. I, however, do not. To me, winters are dark, cold, snowy, long, full of hassles and occasionally dangerous.

I suspect Minneapolis culture -- music, art, theater, restaurants, clubs, literary -- is probably a little more plentiful and sophisticated. But Denver isn't a backwater; it probably has enough of that stuff to satisfy many people.

And yes, Denver seems way more relaxed than Minneapolis. Whoever said it's hippie vs. hipster got it right. The drier Denver climate is both a plus and minus: fewer mosquitoes, but lakeless.

So I think it mostly comes down to this: Which is more important to you, a nice climate or a hopping arts and culture scene? For me, I think the first is more important as long as there's at least some of the latter.

So I'd probably be better off in Denver. But then comes the job problem. I have work here, am not sure whether I could find work there, and don't want to move without first having a job.

[mr roboto]

The Wall Street of the west is SF.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by mr roboto

The Wall Street of the west is SF.

I've heard people use it about Denver and Salt Lake City, too. Pretty soon every city in the west will be or have its own self-declared "Wall Street of the West"!

[rzzzz]

Denver has an edge if you are in STEM that isn't medical related.
The weather is much nicer although it gets very windy. Housing costs are a lot more expensive. Only like 20% of people in that area are "natives" so it has a much different vibe.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I've heard people use it about Denver and Salt Lake City, too. Pretty soon every city in the west will be or have its own self-declared "Wall Street of the West"!

LOL (I hate that term but "whatevs" ) at SLC or Denver as the "Wall Street of the West"! If it's anywhere it's SF, since it's the HQ of Wells Fargo and has a fairly major stock exchange, but I still wouldn't call it that. What are the major banks in both cities anyways? Do either have a national HQ of a top 10-15 bank? I'm not sure why that term was used as any kind of positive for a city anyways, since Wall Street has many more negative connotations than positive ones anymore.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by rzzzz

Denver has an edge if you are in STEM that isn't medical related.
The weather is much nicer although it gets very windy. Housing costs are a lot more expensive. Only like 20% of people in that area are "natives" so it has a much different vibe.

Housing in Denver is only slightly more than in Mpls, 4% more.
Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

LOL (I hate that term but "whatevs" ) at SLC or Denver as the "Wall Street of the West"! If it's anywhere it's SF, since it's the HQ of Wells Fargo and has a fairly major stock exchange, but I still wouldn't call it that. What are the major banks in both cities anyways? Do either have a national HQ of a top 10-15 bank? I'm not sure why that term was used as any kind of positive for a city anyways, since Wall Street has many more negative connotations than positive ones anymore.

Denver actually is considered the financial center of the Rockies. Major banks in Denver are Wells Fargo, First Bank and Bank of the West among others. I have no idea for SLC. SLC is much smaller than Denver. The city proper isn't even 200,000 people, compared to Denver's 600,000. The metros are 1.4 million and 2.7 million respecitively. In other words, the Denver metro is almost twice as large.