Who lives in Denver, CO?

[violet02]

I know there''s an older thread about this but I wanted to see if there were anymore current responses/more people that may live there now.

My FI moved here from Denver a couple of years ago and really wants to move back one day. I''ve never been but I like how housing is cheaper there, cost of living etc. I"m not a huge outdoorsy person though and currently live near San Francisco and have lived in the bay area for 22 years.

I''ve heard areas like Cherry Hill (?) or Wash Park are very cool places to live. Can anyone tell me what they think about Denver?

Thanks!

 

[mimzy]

i know that BIH lives in denver....


i don''t live there, but one of my brothers does and i''ve been out that way quite a few times. anyone will tell you that denver is a GREAT city and you don''t have to be outdoorsey to appreciate it (although it certainly helps!!). i''ve never been to san fran so i can''t really compare the two though. a lot of people feel very at home in denver.

and it''s never too late to take up winter sports!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I am actually driving out of Denver for the day, but I will write a LONG post about how much I love it here later. San Fran is great and they are very different, but it really is hard not to love Denver.

 

[Dreamgirl]

I live in Denver and have all my life. Ive got to tell you that the cost of living isn''t that great here. Housing is extremely expensive here. (Unless you come from CA or NY maybe, then you wouldn''t think so)

Cherry Hills Villiage is incredibly expensive. Im talking over the top luxury million dollar homes. If you can afford that, then it is a great area.
And I would stay away from Washington Park area, there seems to be a lot of crime and multiple families living under one roof.

Why not move to a Denver suburb? All the towns in the Denver Metro area are literally 10 minutes away from downtown and 10 minutes away from the mountains.

 

[violet02]

Date: 7/9/2008 3:03:53 PM
Author: Dreamgirl
I live in Denver and have all my life. Ive got to tell you that the cost of living isn''t that great here. Housing is extremely expensive here. (Unless you come from CA or NY maybe, then you wouldn''t think so)

Cherry Hills Villiage is incredibly expensive. Im talking over the top luxury million dollar homes. If you can afford that, then it is a great area.
And I would stay away from Washington Park area, there seems to be a lot of crime and multiple families living under one roof.

Why not move to a Denver suburb? All the towns in the Denver Metro area are literally 10 minutes away from downtown and 10 minutes away from the mountains.

My FI lived there a long time and says living near downtown denver is the way to go. I have some friends that live in the burbs that are kinda meh about it. I''m a city girl for sure. We don''t want to spend millions of dollars on a home but for example I saw a home by the golf course by cherry creek (mall?) that was gorgeous with 7 bedrooms! Crazy I know but that was less than what we were going to pay for a 3 bedroom 1100 square foot house in here in silicon valley. A LOT less.

This real estate agent recommended wash park I''m suprised to hear it''s so bad. Any other dowtown areas you''d recommend? What do you consider extremely expensive in terms of housing. I''d love to hear your point of view since you live there. Also how''s the social scene there, shopping, going out etc?

 

[violet02]

Date: 7/9/2008 11:41:25 AM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
I am actually driving out of Denver for the day, but I will write a LONG post about how much I love it here later. San Fran is great and they are very different, but it really is hard not to love Denver.

Can''t wait to read about what you think!

 

[violet02]

Date: 7/9/2008 9:05:40 AM
Author: mimzy
i know that BIH lives in denver....


i don''t live there, but one of my brothers does and i''ve been out that way quite a few times. anyone will tell you that denver is a GREAT city and you don''t have to be outdoorsey to appreciate it (although it certainly helps!!). i''ve never been to san fran so i can''t really compare the two though. a lot of people feel very at home in denver.

and it''s never too late to take up winter sports!

I''m such a california girl after all these years but I do snowboard! I''ve never been landlocked before though, not since I lived in Michigan when I was a little kid for a few years. Otherwise it''s always been ocean ocean ocean. So I''m scared of that too!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I have to respectfully disagree with dreamgirl, I have lived here my whole life and Wash park is a great area, MUCH nicer than the Denver suburbs, which are mostly hideous, your FI is absolutely right. I don''t know anyone there who lives in multi-family homes and I know a number of people in Wash park. You should really look at the 7th ave parkway/cheeseman park areas which border on Wash park. The houses are just as nice as Wash park, they tend to be a bit cheaper, and it has the lowest crime rate of any part of Denver, its just less well known.

Having spent lots of time in many major cities, the cost of living in Denver is cheap. The housing is reasonable as are most everything else, especially coming from San Fran. San Fran has a better nightlife and cultural events, as to be expect for a city that size, but Denver isn''t bad. Our library is huge, the art museum has just gotten a huge new section and the local book store, Tattered Cover, is as good as anything in San Fran; better, imo. The weather is much better here than San Fran. We get seasons, but it rarely gets REALLY hot or cold and trust me, those seem far less extreme with dry air than the heavy humidity. We also get more sun than almost any other major city in the US, which you should appreciate

Denver is probably best for the nature. The mountains are near by, we have more green space than most cities and like I said, the weather makes it easy to enjoy. There is a huge amount of green space and there are parks everywhere. I like to go hiking, but I don’t mountain bike, camp, ski, snowboard, etc and I have plenty to do. In central Denver, everything is walkable and the buses aren''t bad. I use them everyday, and there is a light rail system that is really good but unfortunately doesn''t go my way.

For jobs, Forbes rates us 16 out of 100 for best places for employment, 4th best city for couples, 10th for young professionals and 1st for the lustiest city (based on contraceptive sales). Our job growth rate is three times the national average and there are a lot of options.

If you tell me what interests you or what specifically you want to know, I would be glad to help you.

 

[violet02]

Well currently I really spend a lot of time with friends, so I'm afraid to leave them all back here but I know i can come visit. So for me meeting new people is a big thing. My FI has a few friends there still though.

I do go to shows at the fillmore or the warfield here but not as much as I used to, I like to see bands on tour but it's not a huge necessity. We don't go to the opera or anything so no loss there. I love to shop! I love boutiques and the usual big stores. I like crafting a lot too. I love good weather hence considering Denver over say Seattle. I work for a a tech company right now and would like to get another tech job doing program or project management. Not even tech per se but a PM job would be nice. I'm in QA right now taking the certification course to be a PM.

I like to snowboard so that's covered, what about water? Lakes, rivers etc? What do people do in the hot weather? I am not a hiker but camping is okay. I'm not a huge outdoors person.

I love the idea of living near a downtown city area, I'm in the burbs of SF right now to be closer to work. The weather is great but it's slow here. I also don't want to pay 900k for a 3 bedroom house. I'd love to get a BIG house for less so that's enticing as well.

We like to eat at great restaurants and here's the big thing.. what's the cultural diversity there like? I am half vietnamese and have grown up all over the world. So asian food and (or even ethiopian food!) and asian culture is a big thing for me. I've been told it's not very culturally diverse there. What is the demographic like?

I love that there are great bookstores there!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

All the standard bands and singers have Denver stops, although they tend to play less sets, etc, here. There is red rocks which is a natural ampitheate where some really cool acts play though.
I know a wealthy NY lawyer who does most of her shopping when she comes to Denver, so it can’t be too bad. Actually, we have nice malls and shopping areas with all the standard stores from walmart to Neiman Marcus and lots of fun little boutiques. For crafting I can tell you there are good knitting stores because my knows them ALL, there is also a lovely needlepoint/embroidery place but no good beading places. There are some nice jewelry stores, but for bling as good as you would see in San Fran or NYC’s best, you can go to Aspen which has some truly amazing stuff.
I actually work in the Denver tech center and my brother who programs and builds computers said that Denver is a good place for it, but that’s all I know.
Oddly enough, Colorado has more licensed scuba divers per capita than any other state, so there are some water sports. The white water rafting is great and there are lakes that can be swam in, but nothing like in CA. When it gets hot, many people go to the mountains to hang out because it is much cooler up there. I go to the cherry creek mall and enjoy the shops and AC when it gets hot personally.
As for housing, I live along the edge of cheeseman park which is a really nice area 2-3 miles from downtown, and there is a 4,000 sq ft refurbished Victorian for 800k on my block for example, so that is what you might find.
I think the restaurants are good. There are a few amazing ones and a lot of great Italian ones, but I admit I have yet to find many amazing Asian ones since Gasho’s and Todai closed. My caterer for the wedding used to cater the white house and was a cook at one of 6 four star places in NY and he said he moved here because he liked the “foodie culture”.
Denver is very culturally diverse compared to Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and other states that border on Colorado, but not compared to California. It is mainly Hispanic, although there is a small Asian community. There is a great Asian supermarket I go to get bao zi from sometimes that is just like any other supermarket, not one of those dark sketchy places. Boulder has a good Asian community though. They have a tea house built by Tajikistani artisans that is AMAZING, a Hmong community that builds computer stuff and one of the most amazing Buddhist Stupas outside Asia, so there is an Asian community, its just 30 minutes away for the most part. I know there is a stretch of Colfax with Ethiopian food I pass on the way to work everyday, but have not tried it, so I can’t comment on the quality. There is also a decent sized Russian and Greek community as well.

 

[Skippy123]

I have friends and family out there; Real Estate use to be pricey. Lots of friends ski out there and the summers are quite pretty but it snows a lot but the city is use to it and they plow the roads. I agree there is lots of hiking, biking, river rafting, shopping and much more.

Well, here are the Denver Demographics taken from here and those were taken from the US Census:

Median Age 31.7
Median Household Income $39,910
% Male 50.4%
% Female 49.6%
White 70%
African American 5%
Native American 1%
Asian Pacific Islander 3%
Hispanic 18%
Other 3%
Married 49.2%
Divorced 13.2%
Never Married 25.3%
Separated 3.0%
Widowed 9.3%



HOME FACTS:


Median Home Cost: $382,847
Home Appreciation: 8.9%
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%

 

[Dreamgirl]

Date: 7/9/2008 10:41:04 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
I have to respectfully disagree with dreamgirl, I have lived here my whole life and Wash park is a great area, MUCH nicer than the Denver suburbs, which are mostly hideous, your FI is absolutely right.

Ok well I will disagree with you on that one. lol! Hideous? No

It probably depends on the area. But, we can agree to disagree.

Im a city girl myself but the suburbs are only minutes away from the downtown area with tons of shopping areas and places to eat. The towns here are just one right after another, so its pretty much all the same area. It really depends because everything is so close....there are places that are not so good and might just be one street over.

As far as what I consider expensive for housing....well compared to Cali Im sure its cheap. But most average homes are roughly around $300,000-$500,000. (my boyfriend's grandparents just bought a HUGE brand new house in Idaho for $150,000) But anyhow...

The homes by Cherry Creek mall are gorgeous, I can understand that! I wouldn't mind living there if I had the money for it!

The light rail system is taking off and they are putting in more and more rails to go into Denver. Weather here is usually always sunny and nice. We don't get too cold in the winter...usually what? 30-40 degrees with snow every now and then. The mountains obviously get tons of snow. In the summer it gets pretty hot. Like today, out electric thermometer said it was 100!!!

But it usually stays in the 90's in the summertime. Not much rain lately either. And thankfully, no humidity. (or very little)

We don't have HUGE lakes here but mostly smaller ones. My boyfriend is from Minnesota and he loves to go fishing but says our lakes here are pitiful compared to the lakes in MN. You can hardly go on any lakes with a larger sized boat with the exception of Chatfield and maybe a few others. We have creeks...but I wouldn't call them rivers. lol!

It sure is nice to get away in the summertime up to the mountains to cool off. My favorite place in the state is Estes Park. Its about an hour and a half away, its GORGEOUS there!! I just love it.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Date: 7/10/2008 7:45:07 PM
Author: Dreamgirl

Date: 7/9/2008 10:41:04 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
I have to respectfully disagree with dreamgirl, I have lived here my whole life and Wash park is a great area, MUCH nicer than the Denver suburbs, which are mostly hideous, your FI is absolutely right.

Ok well I will disagree with you on that one. lol! Hideous? No

It probably depends on the area. But, we can agree to disagree.

True, the south and west of Denver are lovely and I like some of those suburbs. I was thinking of east Aurora where I know a lot of people in junky little houses and streches without a single tree. I also don''t love the north where they built the same damn house hundreds of times for miles on what used to be nice rolling hills. I do continue to hate the way roads are laid out in the burbs though, I have been severely lost twice in the last month in them because they are so confusing mapquest can''t get them straight.

 

[Dreamgirl]

Date: 7/10/2008 7:57:51 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
True, the south and west of Denver are lovely and I like some of those suburbs. I was thinking of east Aurora where I know a lot of people in junky little houses and streches without a single tree. I also don't love the north where they built the same damn house hundreds of times for miles on what used to be nice rolling hills. I do continue to hate the way roads are laid out in the burbs though, I have been severely lost twice in the last month in them because they are so confusing mapquest can't get them straight.

lol Oh well yeah......thats a different story!

HA! Aurora is definitely horrid lol! I know what you mean about the housing to the north. I can't stand those tightly thrown together homes that literally have 5 inches of space between them. Same shape, same color, same yard.......no thanks!

yeah, I was for sure talking about the west and south sides of Denver.

 

[violet02]

Date: 7/10/2008 6:56:05 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
All the standard bands and singers have Denver stops, although they tend to play less sets, etc, here. There is red rocks which is a natural ampitheate where some really cool acts play though.
I know a wealthy NY lawyer who does most of her shopping when she comes to Denver, so it can’t be too bad. Actually, we have nice malls and shopping areas with all the standard stores from walmart to Neiman Marcus and lots of fun little boutiques. For crafting I can tell you there are good knitting stores because my knows them ALL, there is also a lovely needlepoint/embroidery place but no good beading places. There are some nice jewelry stores, but for bling as good as you would see in San Fran or NYC’s best, you can go to Aspen which has some truly amazing stuff.
I actually work in the Denver tech center and my brother who programs and builds computers said that Denver is a good place for it, but that’s all I know.
Oddly enough, Colorado has more licensed scuba divers per capita than any other state, so there are some water sports. The white water rafting is great and there are lakes that can be swam in, but nothing like in CA. When it gets hot, many people go to the mountains to hang out because it is much cooler up there. I go to the cherry creek mall and enjoy the shops and AC when it gets hot personally.
As for housing, I live along the edge of cheeseman park which is a really nice area 2-3 miles from downtown, and there is a 4,000 sq ft refurbished Victorian for 800k on my block for example, so that is what you might find.
I think the restaurants are good. There are a few amazing ones and a lot of great Italian ones, but I admit I have yet to find many amazing Asian ones since Gasho’s and Todai closed. My caterer for the wedding used to cater the white house and was a cook at one of 6 four star places in NY and he said he moved here because he liked the “foodie culture”.
Denver is very culturally diverse compared to Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and other states that border on Colorado, but not compared to California. It is mainly Hispanic, although there is a small Asian community. There is a great Asian supermarket I go to get bao zi from sometimes that is just like any other supermarket, not one of those dark sketchy places. Boulder has a good Asian community though. They have a tea house built by Tajikistani artisans that is AMAZING, a Hmong community that builds computer stuff and one of the most amazing Buddhist Stupas outside Asia, so there is an Asian community, its just 30 minutes away for the most part. I know there is a stretch of Colfax with Ethiopian food I pass on the way to work everyday, but have not tried it, so I can’t comment on the quality. There is also a decent sized Russian and Greek community as well.

What type of asian food can you get out there now? Sushi, Vietnamese, Thai the usual? How about things like bubble tea? (hehe)

What''s the best times of year to visit? We were thinking maybe we''d go after the wedding in october but I told my FI if I go somewhere that''s not sunny and bright out and it''s dreary and cold I may not be super inclined to fall in love. Maybe next summer? We wouldnt'' move right away anyways, it would be a couple of years.

As i was saying before (dreamgirl)... houses here are 850-1mil for a 3-4 bedroom in the 1100-1600 square foot range. We were thinking of buying one for 850k so I think we''d be able to go less expenseive and nicer in Denver. We don''t want to move there and spend 800k on a house but there seem to be lots of nice 600k range or even less houses.

I''m really interested in visiting now to see how I''d feel. Although being landlocked wtih no ocean still makes me nervous!

I would never live in the burbs of Denver I think since as I said before I''d love the chance to afford a house inside the city versus in the burbs like we have to here.