Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would like to hear what people who have lived in Denver think of living in Seattle vs. Denver (and also Boulder area and Ft. Collins). I moved to Seattle about 1.5 years ago and I like it a lot here and have had a very positive experience, but the lack of sunshine may be a deal killer for me. I'm not sure I can deal with the sheer number of overcast days here. Denver, Boulder and Ft. Collins is the top area on my list if I decide to leave. I work from home so no need for local employment. I know Denver has it's downsides, but it does have sunny winters. I love the mountains...hiking and skiing, so Colorado offers this similar to Washington.
I don't know if you know my back story, but I spent my childhood summers in Everett, and have lived in Denver since 2007 (aside from a 6 month stop in Spokane during that time).
They share a lot in common, but are very different. Different enough to be apples and oranges really.
Traffic is worse in Seattle. Seattle is more expensive. Seattle is more dense.
Denver is drier, and totally looks the part. No forests here, we ARE on the "Great" Plains. The amount of sunshine here is completely overblown, but you won't develop SAD here, that's for sure. I've been disappointed with how few days I've been able to see Mount Evans from my house over the past month (too many clouds, but it IS that time of year {rain/T-storms/4X weekly hail/tornado warnings}).
If you can develop a fondness for an almost Midwest-like landscape, with a mountain backdrop, and NO water around to speak of, you'll be fine. Oh yeah, and 60+ inches of snow.
When I left my native Southern California, I had the choice of anywhere to go. I have always loved Seattle/environs, but I wanted to experience winter and snow. Seriously, even as someone who doesn't do snow sports, I LIVE for the winters here. They are absolutely awesome. Otherwise, Denver is mostly on the good side of okay.
I grew up in the Denver suburbs, Graduated from CU Boulder,and now live in the Seattle area so I think I fit your question perfectly. I’mmore familiar with Seattle the city than Denver the city simply because I livedin the Seattle city limits for a few years. I could write many pages on thesimilarities and differences of the two so feel free to PM me if you havefurther questions.
For me, the move from Denver (Boulder, really) to Seattlehas been awesome. As soon as I got here I knew I never wanted to go back. Thereis less sun here in Seattle but not as bad as many people who complain aboutit. Most grey winter days will still have a sunbreak or two. We’re lucky to getsnow once a year so you may miss that, but the hills here make it difficult todrive in slick road conditions. Winter days are pretty short in Seattle, if youwork more than 9-10 hours per day you’ll be commuting each way in darkness.However, summer days are very long with light lingering in the sky as late as10 pm. Summers here are heaven; days are rarely above 85 and it’s rarely muggy.I hated how hot and ultra-dry Denver summers were.
The skiing here in the PNW is not as good as the Rockys. Thesnow is wet and heavy. There are still some great days to be had in themountains though. I think the hiking is better. More foliage. Speaking offoliage, there is green ALL OVER Seattle. I couldn’t believe how brown Denverwas when I visited last summer.
The city of Seattle itself blows Denver out of the water.Downtown is more vibrant, and the layout of Seattle is much different. Seattlehas lots of “close-in” neighborhoods that are big on walkability. Lots of core “mainstreets” with shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Denver only has a few areas thatcan compare to these areas of Seattle.
Seattle is very expensive to live in. Real Estate is goingcrazy here right now and rents are on the rise.
Sorry this was a bit long-winded, but there’s so much totalk about!
Thanks David and Garfunkle524. I think you are both right on. I'm visiting Colorado right now as we speak. Denver is not even in the same class as Seattle as to the beauty and coolness of the city. Seattle has the lakes, the sound, is more hilly, so much more lush and green. Seattle also feels more international, cosmopolitan and has much more of a European city feel. Seattle has a nicer looking stock of homes in it's core. Denver is arid, flat and pretty average. More like Kansas City or something. There are some pretty cool downtown neighborhoods in Denver, but wow, the generic looking sprawl surrounding Denver is massive & endless. It is also very hot and sunny even in late May (high 80's today). But I do love the sun here and I love the twilight hours...evenings are so nice here. There's something about the "quality of the light", like they say about New Mexico. It's so bright compared to Seattle. I think the real beauty of Colorado is when you get up into the Rockies. The front range cities are all pretty average if not overrated, but once you get up into the real Rockies it is knock your socks off gorgeous (to me better then the Cascades).
Garfunkle524, I have to ask you how long have you been in Seattle? The reason I ask is a lot of people new to Seattle shrug off the overcast the first few years, but then it becomes a deal killer and they have to leave. My first winter I was very positive about it and liking it since it was new. But now I really don't think I can do a whole winter in Seattle again. No matter what anyone says, Seattle has a ton of overcast days. October to March is terrible, so many dark gloomy days. The only good thing about Oct-March is skiing, nothing else is good! Even half of May, June and Sept can be overcast, but that I don't mind as it's warmer and leaves are out. Probably 70%-75% of Seattle days are mostly cloudy to completely overcast. To me it is just too much. Even if you don't have SAD, it affects you psychologically when it is that gloomy day after day. This is why Seattle-ites are know for the freeze and being standoffish...it's the gloom that does it. Kind of like Germans vs. Italians (gloomy weather people vs. sunny weather people). If I stay in Seattle, the only way I will make it is being gone a good chunk of the winter like a snowbird.
Some things I do like about Colorado more then Seattle/WA:
-I like the "big sky" feel of Colorado - it feels more like the classic American West - it feels so open (of course this is outside the Denver sprawl)
-I personally like the Rocky Mnt Range better then the Cascade Range (but that is just me - 52 peaks over 14,000 feet in CO) - I love the long vista's and sunsets you get in the Rockies. And the "quality of the light". Although the trees are gorgeous, the Seattle area can feel a little claustrophobic especially with the low gray overcast, because of all the trees you don't have the the 50+ mile vista's you have in Colorado.
-I think the skiing and hiking are better in Colorado. I like the hiking better because you get much better views the whole way you hike. In WA you are often hiking in overcast weather so no views, plus the Cascades are so thickly treed, a lot of times the entire hike is just dark forest and no views. CO has so much cool Alpine terrain above the treeline to hike (52 peaks over 14k feet that you can summit!)
-Starry skies (in Seattle most of the year you do not see stars because of the overcast skies)
-I think Colorado has way nicer mountain towns to getaway to...WA really only has Leavenworth and Cle Elum/Rosyln (and even those two aren't much to speak of). Colorado has Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Vail, Buena Vista, Salida, Paonia, Glenwood, Telluride, Crested Butte, Creed, etc...
But you can't even compare Seattle to Denver, Seattle is in a whole different class. Seattle is more comparable to SF or Vancouver or a European city. Denver more to a Midwest city or other mountain west cities like SLC, Boise, Albuquerque or a Texas city.
Garfunkle524, I have to ask you how long have you been in Seattle?
Been here over 5 years and the gloom hasn't gotten me yet!
Quote:
Even if you don't have SAD, it affects you psychologically when it is that gloomy day after day. This is why Seattle-ites are know for the freeze and being standoffish...it's the gloom that does it. Kind of like Germans vs. Italians (gloomy weather people vs. sunny weather people).
This is a common thought, but I don't think the weather has much to do with the freeze. This could just be my own experience, but restaurants, pubs (trivia night!), sports leagues, etc etc all have social and fun people passing the time during the short and gray winter days. We could speculate all day on the Seattle Freeze (thread after thread after thread right here on this board) but my view is that the weather actually doesn't play a big factor. I could just be biased because of the crowd I hang out with though.
Been here over 5 years and the gloom hasn't gotten me yet!
Good for you 5 years is a enough to prove you can deal with it. I definitely can't do the winter gloom. For me it will be either be a snow bird and be gone most of the winter or move. I'm already dreading the coming winter and it's only May!
I suspect responses you get from people that are Denver/Colorado natives are going to be in favor of Seattle. People always seem to like the new place they are moving to just because its different. My wife and I moved from Wyoming to Seattle and we lived there for 3 years before we moved to the Denver area.
We thought that Seattle was the best place for us and for the first year there we really thought it was. We came very close to buying a house a settling down there permanently but the weather and cost of living eventually drove us out. I might have stayed if I liked my job more, but when I got good offer from a company in Denver we packed our bags.
I agree with others that Seattle the city is better then Denver in some ways, but not so much in others. The food in Seattle is awesome, especially if you like seafood. That's the biggest thing we miss about it. Seattle is gorgeous on a clear day in August, but October through June and can be mostly miserable. Almost all of the natives I talked to there hate the weather. February-March seem to the worst and I remember going for weeks without seeing the sun. 40 degrees, cold and damp is probably the most miserable weather there is.
Denver kicks Seattle's butt in the weather department. We love the weather in Denver and I think it's some of the best in the country. We consistently get 60-70 degree days here in middle of winter. Even on average days where its 40-50 degrees the strong sunshine makes it feel nice outside. I live a little bit south of the Denver metro and the terrain is rocky hills covered with scrub oak and ponderosa pines. Right now its beautiful as all of the hills are bright green with snow covered peaks in the background. It stays green down here through the late fall.
Overall we're happy with our move. My wife and I were just saying the other day how we will probably stay here in the Denver area for a while. I can go visit Seattle in August and be happy with that
I lived in Denver for awhile prior to moving to Seattle, and we go there frequently as there's lots of family in the area. I do love how green and lush Seattle is, and all the unique shopping and dense neighborhoods. I also can't stand how hot Denver gets in the summer. However, it did have perfect winters. You'd get that lovely, powdery snow, everything would look like a postcard, and then it would all melt.
Personally I like Boulder a bit better than Denver. It's got those gorgeous flatiron views, and some of that density and unique character that I like so much about Seattle. Unfortunately, the parts I like most are spendy enough to make you feel like you're back on the west coast. Ah well...
Seattle is an awesome city and Denver is a near-awesome city. However, the gloom in Seattle from November to May wears me down emotionally and every winter I consider moving. I decided to just vacation for long periods in a warm and sunny place and to winter in Phoenix when retired. For someone who suffers through SAD, you should pick Denver over Seattle for the long term.
Seattle is an awesome city and Denver is a near-awesome city. However, the gloom in Seattle from November to May wears me down emotionally and every winter I consider moving. I decided to just vacation for long periods in a warm and sunny place and to winter in Phoenix when retired. For someone who suffers through SAD, you should pick Denver over Seattle for the long term.
You are thinking a lot like I am thinking. If I can't find a city to move to right away I'm just going to be out of Seattle a lot in the winters. The problem is you have to be on vacation A LOT because the weather is only decent 2-4 mos a year, and the other 8-10 mos are 80% gloom, gloom, and more gloom.
I am actually in Colorado on a road trip right now and loving it. I just drove to Steamboat Springs and now I'm down in Salida CO. Colorado has the most beautiful mountain scenery in the lower 48 hands down no contest. WA and OR are very nice, but to me the Rockies in Colorado are mind blowing. The beauty of the light, the long vista's, sunsets, big sky. Like I said earlier, I love all the cool mountain towns CO has. WA just doesn't have these types of Mountain towns. But I was not super crazy about Denver, Boulder and Ft. Collins. These major cities in CO are mostly in the flat plains with the mountains in the distance. I wish I liked a major city in CO and I would move here tomorrow. Because I like the mountains here much more and the weather is so much nicer.
Denver was probably a cool city 40-50 years ago before it sprawled out so much. I can imagine ranches in the outskirts with a country western feel with views of the Rockies, but a close drive into town. But those ranches were all sold long ago to put in miles of cookie cutter tract homes. Boulder to me is too congested, pretentious, expensive and too many college students per capita. I would pick Ft. Collins or Denver over Boulder personally. Boulder was probably a cool funky town in 1970, but to me it is no longer that. Just a caricature of it's former self. Maybe Denver will grow on me, have to check it out again. The thing about Denver is the only semi bad weather mos are July and Aug, and for those two months I would just rent a furnished place up in a mountain town where the weather is cooler. So Denver has 10 mos of great weather (and even July/Aug are do-able because the heat is dry with no humidity and nights cool off nicely) - and abundant sunshine all 12 mos. But Seattle has only 2-4 mos of reliably good weather in my opinion. The rest is 80% gloom.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
