And yes, Boulder IS world unto itself. And I don’t necessarily mean that in a positive way. But, on the other hand, if you’re a relaxed and easygoing person, the entertainment value of Boulder can be priceless. But anyway, let’s get to Denver!
I can’t help you about real estate in Denver. I don’t like the idea of LoDo as a place to live, but that’s me…
-What is the traffic like? Hours that are the worst? Streets/expressways to avoid at all costs?
It’s not pretty and it’s getting worse. There’s a big construction project totally screwing up the major north-south artery, I-25. The project is cutely named T-REX (transportation road extension project, I think), but you won’t think it’s cute after sitting through your 7th rush hour on south I-25. v:P This is such a major reconstruction project it has its own damn website: http://www.trexproject.com
All of south I-25 is pretty much bad. Starting at about Colfax Blvd (just south of downtown) south is hell between 8-9 and 4:30-6:30 every weekday. The road that leads between Boulder and Denver, US-26, is also pretty nasty.
As others have said, we’re nowhere near LA (I’ve seen that with my own eyes - DAMN) and we’re not even as bad as Dallas-Ft.Worth (which, to be fair, is almost as bad as LA). But it’s still pretty bad. Try and live fairly close to where you work.
- -Nightlife highlights? Im not really into trendy places, just somewhere that is known for getting great musical acts works for me.*
There are plenty of little clubs in Denver, but the live music scene isn’t as good as I would like. I’ve been to two good concerts in the last five years. One was at the Onyx club (http://www.onyxdenver.com), a new year’s show by Seraphim Shock, which I had a great time at. But normally the Onyx isn’t quite my speed. I tend to enjoy going to The Church (http://www.the-church.com) sometimes. I’m not much of a clubber, actually. Mostly just go when my friends do. I can’t stand Country music, but my friends who do like it tend to speak well of the Grizzly Rose club.
The other good show I saw was Type O Negative at The Ogden Theater. There are three mid-sized theaters along Colfax in Denver that I tend to catch shows at. The Ogden, The Bluebird and The Gothic. They have websites, throw “denver ogden” or “denver gothic theater” or “denver bluebird” into google if you care.
Other people have mentioned the smaller cafe venus like Chapultapec, and so on. Lots of these, huge variation in atmosphere and quality. I happen to know that they give swing dancing lessons at the Mercury Cafe, if that’s your thing. Tried it, didn’t enjoy it. The local artsy newspaper, Westword (no points for guessing the website), publishes a “Best of Denver” issue yearly. Lots of ideas there.
- -Cultural influence? Does the Univ of Denver offer an extensive selection of museums/art galleries and such? Or will I have to go to Boulder?*
As for more high-brow stuff, I’ve often criticized Denver as a “cow town with delusions of adequacy.” There is a performing arts center here, though I’ve never seen any of the productions they put on. I think we have a symphony… I think.
Denver does have a modern art museum, I can’t comment on the quality as I haven’t been there since I was 12. The natural history museum is fun once every several years. There is a zoo here as well.
You may not find as much culture as you think in Boulder. CU has an art museum but it ain’t big. We have a Dairy Center for the Arts but it’s not putting on shows every night or anything. I can think of exactly one playhouse in Boulder, The Nomad. Oh, we have a dinner theater up here too, but I don’t count that for much…
- -Best places to eat? Again, I dont care what is trendy/upscale or whatever, just somewhere that serves an awesome selection and does it well. *
Jackpot! There are lots of great places to eat in Denver and Boulder both. I think I once heard it bandied about that Boulder had more restaurants per capita than all but three other 100k+ cities in the nation.
I have no particular favorites, really. I like Mori, a sushi bar in LoDo. Real unpretentious, but the fish is excellent. I like The Chop house. It’s a chain but damn do they serve an amazing porterhouse steak. Up in Boulder I’ve been eating at Moe’s Broaedway Bagel shops a whole lot. Very no frills but I dig the ambience and the food very much. Just walk around LoDo, or grab a Westword “best of” issue and check it out. Denver is a great city if you love to eat.
*-The outdoors? I love to go backpacking/hiking/rafting, but Im not really much of a snow sporter (that might change now). *
The major way to get to the mountains is I-70, which goes East/West. On any morning during ski season it’ll be crowded as fuck. The skiing is amazing, but you’ll have to drive and wait in line a combined total of three hours most of the time. Breckenridge ski resort is probably the best place to start learning to ski or snowboard. I like A-Basin (up the hill 7 miles from Breck) but it is STEEP.
In the summer, all the ski resort towns convert to summer tourist towns - mountain biking, hiking, horse riding, etc. It’s all good, if expensive.
Hope you enjoy Denver.
-Ben