Does Denver suck?
Is it a decent place to live and raise children?
Lots of crime?
Are the winters just too much?
Tell!
I lived there for a while. I wasn’t crazy about Denver, but the winters aren’t too bad. Chicago is MUCH worse. The thing that bothered me most about it was that everyone was from somewhere else. The city doesn’t have a feeling of roots or history (or community, from where I sat). I much preferred mountain life and Boulder, which is right at the foot of the mountains and is a college town. I think it is very expensive to buy a home there these days. But you can rent relatively cheap. On the upside,they have a good transportation system. Naah, I don’t think I’d like to live in Denver proper again.
My 2 cents:
I’ve never lived in Denver, but I lived in Boulder a number of years and I’ve visited Denver a bunch of times since then.
One interesting characteristic of Denver is the proximity of single family houses to downtown. If I had to live in Denver I’d like to maybe live in one of those places, close to downtown, provided crime wasn’t too big a problem. Otherwise I’d like to live up in the foothills west of Denver. The surrounding sprawl doesn’t interest me much. I hear the traffic’s pretty bad. The city lacks a certain urban throb.
I found front range weather to be rather fabulous. You get snow, but not too much. Rain, but not too much, lots of sun and in the summer you get spectacular thunderstorms, if you’re into that sort of thing. The storms get really nasty the farther east you get.
I would think it would be a fine place to raise kids. There are people from Denver on this board and I’m sure they’ll have lots of things to do.
I am a Denverite and pretty much agree with mack.
We live close to downtown in one of those single family houses, and crime is not a big problem, but the real estate prices are rising. Think $600K for 2000 square feet.
The weather is indeed beautiful; you have to watch out for those April (or September!) snows, but the sun returns soon enough.
Traffic is indeed worsening.
I like the city’s pulse the way it is, but then I am pushing 50 and don’t require much in the way of urban throbbing. 
It blows! JK!
I’ve lived in:
Maryland
Delaware
Pennsylvania - east and west
New Jersey - north and south
Connecticut
Arizona
England
France
Germany
and
Denver
Believe it or not, Denver was my favorite.
(I moved away a couple years ago but visit and still own my house there because I want to move back some day.)
Great weather - lots of sun, a bit cold in winter, but dry and almost always sunny so it doesn’t feel too bad. And when it snows, it’s gone in a day or two.
It’s high desert, essentially - and so no allergies (no mold, no pollen).
Nice scenery - the view of the sunset over the mountains can make being in traffic on I-25 almost OK (some days).
People are pretty nice - fairly educated and affluent, but more relaxed than on either coast. (Most immigrants to the Denver area are from the east or west coast. In AZ, they were from the midwest mostly. It made a difference, IMO.)
People are pretty good looking as a rule - what with all the outdoor activities a lot of people are involved in. I never really noticed this until someone else pointed it out, but I have to say, it rings true. (remember I said “as a rule”! )
Plenty to do - whether it’s more urban city things or the aforementioned outdoor activities. And people aren’t totally work-crazy; there seems to be a definite “have a life outside work” zeitgeist.
It just seemed a nice size - not too big, not too small.
It’s reasonably affordable - housing costs have gone up a lot in recent years but have leveled off in areas with the recent economic situation, but still rank as “affordable” IMO.
It’s not overly dominated by one sector of the economy, e.g. telecom (anymore) or oil.
It’s not quite as diverse as I’m used to (read “too white”), but hey, that might be a plus to some people.
It’s quite safe - bad neighborhoods like just about anywhere, but I was never afraid to walk around, and I lived downtown.
Don’t know about the schools, but always seemed “family/kid-friendly”. (There’s a reason why Columbine was percieved as such a shock and anomaly.)
Great mexican food!
Your car won’t rust and your towels and bathroom won’t mildew.
Picnics/BBQs without mosquitos!
What am I missing?
A lot of people have moved there in recent years (esp. from the west) and some of the “locals” (people there a couple years already) will complain - sort of that “pull up the drawbridge now that we’re here” mentality, but it’s more amusing than problematic.
Traffic is a problem sometimes for those not used to east/west coast traffic. I lived in a place where I could walk to work, so it didn’t bother me.
Most people live in a suburb rather than in the actual city, although there are a lot of nice neighborhoods that are technically inside Denver city limits.
My advice - pick your neighborhood carefully, especially so you don’t have a long commute.
For me Denver is one of the nicest cities I know. Now take into consideration I am not a great city fan, but Denver is OK. The night life is very good. The recreation is by far the best. Property values, while rising are not killers yet. The arts, while not on a level with Boston or New York, is respectable. Traffic seems to be moving into the region of “a pain”; however, it is far from the world of either coast.
I live in Denver as well, everybody else covered it pretty well, but to sum up, I love it here. It’s the only place I really want to live.
The Economy is worse shape than many people realize. In the last 15 years Denver caught the tech wave big time and property values went through the roof(like 300%) in 15 years or so. But after the tech bubble broke, there are a lot of 25-35 unemployed college educated types running around. I would not suggest buying a house without real careful reasearch, because a lot of people bought houses with 100+ income, and are now working for 12 bucks an hour, which makes me think housing prices might collapse too.
Basically if you have a job or other good oportunity set, then Denver is a great place to be. But if you are thinking of coming to Denver to look for a job, then you want to think carefully.
I concur. You typically don’t need coasters under your beverage glasses either. It’s weird moving from Denver to places back east and seeing a box of Kleenex on every desk - the allergens and molds are MUCH better there (other than from smog).
I’ve lived in:
Cleveland
rural Kentucky
rural North Carolina
Bloomington, Indiana
Laramie, Wyoming
the Maryland suburbs of DC
Denver (Golden, Pine, and Aurora)
Detroit
Denver (Aurora and Pine)
Pueblo, CO
Oakland
Pueblo, CO
Lexington, KY
Denver is my favorite as well. We’d be there now if family and opportunity hadn’t brought us back here. The “everyone is from somewhere else” thing is an advantage if you’re from somewhere else too… it’s much easier to meet people because they’re in the same boat you’re in.
In places like Detroit, the only people (seemingly) who live there are there because they and/or their families are from there; this makes it a lot harder to “break in” to the local scene.
If it helps you any, I lived in one of the metro area cities…well not really it was just my address, Littleton. I didn’t live in Littleton proper but Denver metro is one of the places I am trying to get enough money to relocate to again.
The major downside is the damn traffic.
They are installing a mass transit line from the south end of the city on up and this is buggin up the traffic pretty good.
As for places to live there, I like the south end and the north west end. Nice neighborhoods in those locations, Highlands Ranch, the area I lived in (just north of Highlands Ranch,) Golden and Arvada and points west.
Aurora is okay but you really need to look for the right areas and I haven’t visited those places. There are good neighborhoods as it’s a huge part of Denver but some are not that good.
It’s casual so in many restaurants you can comfortably wear Dockers or a simple skirt (in the better ones) and not feel like you are underdressed. You may want to call ahead and check out their requirements.
The night scene seems to be picking up. From cultural activities to concerts to sports. As someone stated, it’s no New York but if you need that, it seems to be getting better and better as time goes on. I was pretty social when I lived there and had a great time.
If you don’t have a car, save up. The public transit system really sucks, a drawback to living here but a wonderful place to live.
You are about 1 hour from skiing, some skiing can be had almost year round at St. Mary’s glacier. About an hour and a half or less to the Summit county area that offers excellent outdoor recreational opportunities year round, my favorite area of the state.
If you are into hiking, biking or just enjoying mountain beauty, Denver is a nice place for that. Incredible weather (yes really) year round and lots of sun.
When it does snow, generally the snow is gone in a day or two and driving is much better up there than here in Colorado Springs. We have too many people from all over the country in C Springs that have never driven in snow or can’t quite get the hang of it.
Anyhow, as I said, I am trying to find the money to move back there. If that doesn’t work then I will move back to Grand Junction.
Hope that helps.
Oh, I forgot, if you move here from a humid climate, stock up on lotion and moisturizer (guys and gals alike,) have two humidifiers in the winter and I have lived here all my life. Don’t let the climate fool you, you need either an AC or a swamp cooler in the summer. It can easily get to 100º in Denver in the summer.
Also, I have known a lot of people that move here even from places like Arizona that require allergy medications. So keep tabs on your respiratory health. A friend of mine moved here from Phoenix and required weekly allergy shots.
Oh and speaking of respiratory issues. If you do move here, wait a couple of days before you go scaling a 14er or even an 8,000 peak. Altitude sickness can affect even those that live here. Give your body a chance to acclimate. (sp)
I love it here, I can’t live anywhere else, it’s my home. If I could share my true feelings with my home state I would write a damn book but I don’t have the words to explain my home.
Gotta love it!
I lived in Littleton, Denver, Rangely & Co. Springs…Loved each one of them (well, Rangely I loved solely for the outdoors…).
Denver gets over 300 days of sunshine a year- more than San Diego, Honolulu, Miami, etc…It’ll dump 3 feet of snow in a day or two, but then the sun will come out and burn most of it away. I have actually shovelled snow in a t-shirt. Because of the dry cold, you will see people in January wearing shorts…strange, but true.
Food doesn’t go stale. You don’t need to tupperware your Corn Flakes to keep them fresh. Mold? What’s that?
The dryness has a downside- I had bloody noses all the time.
LoDo in downtown Denver is a great place to bar-hop. Everything from go-to-be-seen to pool hall’s, dance club’s and comedy bars.
As mentioned before- Mexican Food! And Tommy’s Thai on Colfax is the best <$5 meal I’ve ever had in my life.
Outdoor stuff galore. My favorite camping area is the Lost Creek trail area - 1hr and 15min from home to trailhead by car, 1hr 30min hike and you can be standing on top of a mountain with a 360degree view of wilderness. Of course skiing is great, but the summer time outdoors is my favorite. Rafting, hiking, climbing, hang-gliding (30 min. from downtown), hunting, fishing, biking (Winterpark ski area - owned by the city of Denver - opens its lifts to mtn. bikers- lift up with your bike attached to the chair then rocket down), etc.
I hear the economy sucks these days…my sister lives in Castle Rock and has warned me not to move back. My friends are all struggling too…
If you want to check out more about the nightlife and culture of Denver, go to Westword, the free Denver paper that has everything… www.westword.com
-Tcat
I used to live in Parker, (south suburb of Denver) and I loved it. I recently moved back to Chicago, and the one major difference I noticed is that it is almost always sunny in Denver. You’ll get tons of snow dumped on you, and it all (mostly) melts by noon.
I think Parker is a great place to raise children. I have a six year old son and he was involved in sports (swimming and baseball) and his school was fantastic!
There are plenty of outdoor activities for you and going to baseball games is always fun. It seems to be just a little bit more expensive to live there. And, while it is true that most people are “from somewhere else”, I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had there.
I must have lived in a different Denver than you all have. I’ve lived in New York, Kansas City (twice), Memphis, Washington (D.C.), and L.A., but the 4 years I spent in Denver were almost pure torture. The schizophrenic weather patterns were enough to drive me over the edge. At no point can you actually leave your home in the morning and have any idea what the weather will be like in the afternoon. You’re ALWAYS at risk for a sudden blizzard or (in the springtime) hail storm, not to mention the +/- 40 degree random temperature swings. The town has NO character of its own, unless you call the Grizzly Addams motif “character.” Just a bunch of strip malls and chain restaurants that all look the same. The quaint little mountain towns can be a fun diversion for a while, until you realize that every one of them is exactly like all the rest. Same smoky bar/restaurants playing the same redneck rock with the same dead animals mounted on the same wooden walls. This is a town that seems to have grown in spite of itself and the wishes of the locals who loved the small town, wild west community. Sorry to all who love Colorado (and I’m very aware that almost every Coloradan does), but you can have it.
Wow, hard to follow that, cger68. I’ll just say I’ve lived here my whole life and though I’ve visited many other places, wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I’d have to definitely disagree with cger’s take on the weather. There have been times when the weather takes you by surprise, but I would say that 90% of the time you know what it’s going to be like that day and can plan accordingly.
Um, so to sum up, ditto what everybody by cg said. Sorry you didn’t like it here, cger68! 
uh…ditto what everybody but cg said. :smack:
To be totally fair to the OP, I admit I’m DEFINITELY in the minority not only in this thread but out of anyone I know who has ever lived in Denver.
Once again, I’m one of the people who likes Denver, but I have to agree with cger68 regarding the weather. Most Coloradans know that you never know what the weather is going to do in the next eight hours. Quite seriously I have seen it go from 60 degrees (F) to 20 below in about eight hours. I have seen it go from sunny and warm to blinding blizzard in that time also. I have seen it snow on the Fourth of July and be in the 80s in February. You just never know.
Virtually all of us carry winter emergency kits year round in our cars. But actually, I think most of us feel that’s part of the charm of Colorado. It would be boring any other way. And you can say what you want about Colorado, but it is not boring.
I think that you can fill in the blank, and have almost ANY community in the country. For example, on Seattle:
I loved Denver when I lived there.
I’ll endorse this whole thread in the main, especially the stuff about humidity and winter. I did four years in grad school at DU, and I referred to Denver as the nose-picking capital of the world. I swear, I had huge crusty boogers popping up every few hours, it seemed like. And it would always amaze me (I’m from NYC, which is where I live today) to suffer through terrible, awful snowstorms only to find that it all melts in a day or two. The other thing I remember (this was in the early 1980s) was how on most summer afternoons we seemed to get a brief fall of rain for some reason in the late afternoon. That was nice.
I always think of Denver as a poor city to be poor in. But I guess few places are nice if you have no money. Maybe that’s just where I was the hardest-up.
Hehe, you think Denver is bad? Me and my friends have invented ‘Moab Rules’. For anybody who doesn’t know Moab is a beutiful desert in Utah. But the Humidity is 0. Basically when we are camping in Moab for days there is no stigma attached to nose picking, because it is a matter of pick, or go slowly insane.