Should I move from DC to Denver?

[Anonymous]

Life long Coloradoan, from the Denver Metro area. I have also lived in VA and MA, but now back in the Boulder area. What you're looking for is not here. I'm not saying this to be rude, but trust me that you will not find yourself "chatting up the granola guy in the brew pub" or "meeting cute in the dog park." You are about 25 years too late for that kind of culture around here. You won't "ski out" your trauma, you will just gain more trauma from the challenges of ski culture in the West. Not to mention the amount money you'll need to do it well. I'm not even talking about I-70 traffic - that is a whole other trauma.

Bring money, and a lot of it, if you want to move here and have anything resembling the carefree outdoorsy life you seek with a cute man to match.

[Anonymous]

Thought of making this move, have family in Denver. But I realized I’m just not “Coloradan”. It’s a state of mind I just don’t have. Would always feel like an outsider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in a Denver suburb and I love it. There is nowhere in the US I’d rather live. It has grown quite a lot but there are some great tight knit communities and I find people to generally be laid back, kind, and friendly.

That said, wherever you go- there you are. You’ll still have to work through the trauma you experienced.

Is there any way you could do something like an extended trip and get a real feel for if you like it and could see yourself living here?

Which burb (general area if you are not comfortable saying)? I don't find Denver per se appealing at all. It feels very cold and visually dull. But the closeness to mountains is appealing. Boulder is beautiful but I heard a weird culture.

Boulder is not a suburb of Denver.

OP, Littleton has great light rail into Denver, easy access to mountains, and you can definitely make a life centered on Littleton. If you’re looking at listings for Littleton, keep in mind the address boundaries are pretty big, so zoom out to understand where you’re looking (it sounds like you would like to be closer to downtown)

Meetup.com is a big way for meeting people and with the massive influx of new people, it’s easier to make friends than it used to be. Outdoor culture is big, but there are lots of quieter things to do. You don’t have to be into climbing and extreme sports. Hiking, snowshoeing, xc skiing etc. Denver also has a pretty great arts scene for a city it’s size, and all the major sports teams.

Ty, my family is in Littleton so I would have ample housing to start out with there near to downtown (walking distance). I'm a big city or small town person , not so much the burbs, so I'm hoping littleton would check the latter community wise. The times I've visited it's seemed pretty fun! I'd love a group of wise women friends and I get along well with men too ... Just not sure who I'd meet. I just like to have a laugh, and some mental stimulation not pretentious people, but smart and nice, sure!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thought of making this move, have family in Denver. But I realized I’m just not “Coloradan”. It’s a state of mind I just don’t have. Would always feel like an outsider.

Funny, I'm from DC and have always felt like a bit of outsider here - I think it's cause I'm not connected to govt and the city changes faster than I do LOL. I remember things that newcomers to DC know nothing about... Yet they present as so deeply rooted ... it's almost like nothing I've experienced here counts anyway. It's nice to be somewhere you fit, I hear that - OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life long Coloradoan, from the Denver Metro area. I have also lived in VA and MA, but now back in the Boulder area. What you're looking for is not here. I'm not saying this to be rude, but trust me that you will not find yourself "chatting up the granola guy in the brew pub" or "meeting cute in the dog park." You are about 25 years too late for that kind of culture around here. You won't "ski out" your trauma, you will just gain more trauma from the challenges of ski culture in the West. Not to mention the amount money you'll need to do it well. I'm not even talking about I-70 traffic - that is a whole other trauma.

Bring money, and a lot of it, if you want to move here and have anything resembling the carefree outdoorsy life you seek with a cute man to match.

Huh. What you say sounds awful. Why did you move back? Job? I will say COLA in DC is UP there. Denver seems cheap by comparison tbh. The traffic is putting me off tho... It was so sleepy when I visited as a kid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cleaner air in CO = win

I'd love to agree with you, but I'm actually into air quality and DCs is surprisingly pretty good. Apart from seasonal allergens . Denver has wildfires and bad traffic , though Id stick mostly to the township, not cross cross the city daily - OP

Denver actually doesn't have great air quality--lots of red flag days (or whatever the term is) during the summer.

I don't think anyone gave any thought to transportation planning for growth in the Denver metro area. We live in Colorado Springs but are up there frequently for our kids' sports and it's fine if we go early in the morning on weekends but any other time ugh.

Littleton is nice, if DH had ended up working out of the Denver office when we moved we would have looked there or in Golden. Not a fan of Highlands Ranch, etc.

Yes, the wildfires too. Air quality in a lot of America is dicey.... DCs is surprising good (unless you have allergies, or hate the smell of pot/vaping, ha!) . I could do without the latter . I know Denver legalized, but hoping it's not as prevalent - OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old is your child? Uprooting after 12 or do is tricky, so if they are close to that age, you'll only want to move once.

That age, so this would be "the" move..Im considering schools carefully. Would be a soft landing, or we wouldn't go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely don’t move to Denver to chat up hot guys. You’ll be disappointed in our dating market of Peter pans and swingers/ENM folk.

-highlands ranch

Oh man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in a Denver suburb and I love it. There is nowhere in the US I’d rather live. It has grown quite a lot but there are some great tight knit communities and I find people to generally be laid back, kind, and friendly.

That said, wherever you go- there you are. You’ll still have to work through the trauma you experienced.

Is there any way you could do something like an extended trip and get a real feel for if you like it and could see yourself living here?

Which burb (general area if you are not comfortable saying)? I don't find Denver per se appealing at all. It feels very cold and visually dull. But the closeness to mountains is appealing. Boulder is beautiful but I heard a weird culture.

Boulder is not a suburb of Denver.

OP, Littleton has great light rail into Denver, easy access to mountains, and you can definitely make a life centered on Littleton. If you’re looking at listings for Littleton, keep in mind the address boundaries are pretty big, so zoom out to understand where you’re looking (it sounds like you would like to be closer to downtown)

Meetup.com is a big way for meeting people and with the massive influx of new people, it’s easier to make friends than it used to be. Outdoor culture is big, but there are lots of quieter things to do. You don’t have to be into climbing and extreme sports. Hiking, snowshoeing, xc skiing etc. Denver also has a pretty great arts scene for a city it’s size, and all the major sports teams.

Ty, my family is in Littleton so I would have ample housing to start out with there near to downtown (walking distance). I'm a big city or small town person , not so much the burbs, so I'm hoping littleton would check the latter community wise. The times I've visited it's seemed pretty fun! I'd love a group of wise women friends and I get along well with men too ... Just not sure who I'd meet. I just like to have a laugh, and some mental stimulation not pretentious people, but smart and nice, sure!

If you want to be on the south side, Littleton close to downtown is likely the best fit for you. If you’re flexible about which side of town you’re on, or if you are open to other parts of the Front Range, I could make some other suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in a Denver suburb and I love it. There is nowhere in the US I’d rather live. It has grown quite a lot but there are some great tight knit communities and I find people to generally be laid back, kind, and friendly.

That said, wherever you go- there you are. You’ll still have to work through the trauma you experienced.

Is there any way you could do something like an extended trip and get a real feel for if you like it and could see yourself living here?

Which burb (general area if you are not comfortable saying)? I don't find Denver per se appealing at all. It feels very cold and visually dull. But the closeness to mountains is appealing. Boulder is beautiful but I heard a weird culture.

Boulder is not a suburb of Denver.

OP, Littleton has great light rail into Denver, easy access to mountains, and you can definitely make a life centered on Littleton. If you’re looking at listings for Littleton, keep in mind the address boundaries are pretty big, so zoom out to understand where you’re looking (it sounds like you would like to be closer to downtown)

Meetup.com is a big way for meeting people and with the massive influx of new people, it’s easier to make friends than it used to be. Outdoor culture is big, but there are lots of quieter things to do. You don’t have to be into climbing and extreme sports. Hiking, snowshoeing, xc skiing etc. Denver also has a pretty great arts scene for a city it’s size, and all the major sports teams.

Ty, my family is in Littleton so I would have ample housing to start out with there near to downtown (walking distance). I'm a big city or small town person , not so much the burbs, so I'm hoping littleton would check the latter community wise. The times I've visited it's seemed pretty fun! I'd love a group of wise women friends and I get along well with men too ... Just not sure who I'd meet. I just like to have a laugh, and some mental stimulation not pretentious people, but smart and nice, sure!

If you want to be on the south side, Littleton close to downtown is likely the best fit for you. If you’re flexible about which side of town you’re on, or if you are open to other parts of the Front Range, I could make some other suggestions.

Thank you PP. We'd be starting out there, because family. I'd be open to suggestions for other areas for down the road. Can you explain some people comments about needing a lot of money to exist/have fun/date/socialize? Coming from DC, Littleton seems modest. I know that CO housing prices have soared, but there is only so much you can charge for a cute little ranchy bungalow... Social life seemed like pubs and a lot of free stuff -- concerts, parades. What am I missing? Is there some super expensive Denver scene?
I'm also confused by where all the 'walking' is in Denver. Littleton is walkable to Main Street and yes there were some very small parks to walk the dog in, but these also seemed modest compared to DC. In Denver, is the idea that you basically drive to trails, then get out and walk or jog?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life long Coloradoan, from the Denver Metro area. I have also lived in VA and MA, but now back in the Boulder area. What you're looking for is not here. I'm not saying this to be rude, but trust me that you will not find yourself "chatting up the granola guy in the brew pub" or "meeting cute in the dog park." You are about 25 years too late for that kind of culture around here. You won't "ski out" your trauma, you will just gain more trauma from the challenges of ski culture in the West. Not to mention the amount money you'll need to do it well. I'm not even talking about I-70 traffic - that is a whole other trauma.

Bring money, and a lot of it, if you want to move here and have anything resembling the carefree outdoorsy life you seek with a cute man to match.

Is it worth moving for the weather? We’ve been trying to find a place with low humidity and four seasons and Denver keeps showing up as the best bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life long Coloradoan, from the Denver Metro area. I have also lived in VA and MA, but now back in the Boulder area. What you're looking for is not here. I'm not saying this to be rude, but trust me that you will not find yourself "chatting up the granola guy in the brew pub" or "meeting cute in the dog park." You are about 25 years too late for that kind of culture around here. You won't "ski out" your trauma, you will just gain more trauma from the challenges of ski culture in the West. Not to mention the amount money you'll need to do it well. I'm not even talking about I-70 traffic - that is a whole other trauma.

Bring money, and a lot of it, if you want to move here and have anything resembling the carefree outdoorsy life you seek with a cute man to match.

Is it worth moving for the weather? We’ve been trying to find a place with low humidity and four seasons and Denver keeps showing up as the best bet.

The sun in the winter is really nice. Like snowbanks, but sunny not grey. That is the appeal for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life long Coloradoan, from the Denver Metro area. I have also lived in VA and MA, but now back in the Boulder area. What you're looking for is not here. I'm not saying this to be rude, but trust me that you will not find yourself "chatting up the granola guy in the brew pub" or "meeting cute in the dog park." You are about 25 years too late for that kind of culture around here. You won't "ski out" your trauma, you will just gain more trauma from the challenges of ski culture in the West. Not to mention the amount money you'll need to do it well. I'm not even talking about I-70 traffic - that is a whole other trauma.

Bring money, and a lot of it, if you want to move here and have anything resembling the carefree outdoorsy life you seek with a cute man to match.

Do you miss the East Coast (ie, VA/MA)?