Denver Revisited

Of all the cities I visited, two stood out as having people who were super enthusiastic about how great their city was: Denver and Austin. Austin, as you know, is no longer on my list, but Denver is and one of its biggest selling points is definitely the people there. Whenever I talked to a local, and let them know I was thinking of living there, they all replied that of course I had to move there, and then gave me several reasons why I should. (I'll take this opportunity to compare the people in Denver to those in Portland, who also said I should move there, but then -- aside from my pal Kristian -- struggled to come up with reasons why.) People were also really nice even when they didn't know why I was in town, and I had several offers of help, like when I looked lost and when I was locked out of my car.

Boulder, about 45 minutes north of Denver.

So two big thumbs up for all the strangers in Denver who talked to me about their town. When it comes to people I already know, I have fewer friends in Denver than I might like. Only one, as far as I know, but based on my reception when I visited Denver this fall, I expect making friends would be pretty easy.

The woman who owns this house asked me to tell all my friends in Ohio that if they are looking for Jesus, he is HERE.  I don't know if she meant Denver, or her house specifically.

I didn't find Denver to be as beautiful as I expected. While the Rocky Mountains are right nearby, and are impressive, I guess I am not as impressed by mountains as by other features. For example, Denver itself is on the edge of the great plains. It is flat. I don't remember walking up anything but the most gentle of hills anywhere in town. Nor do I remember an abundance of trees or greenery, although Denver certainly isn't a desert or anything.

Various neighborhoods have nice buildings. Nothing extraordinary, maybe, but nice enough. Overall, the architecture of the town doesn't impress me the way, say, LA or Chicago or DC does. This isn't a fatal flaw, but it warrants mention in a post about a town's “beauty.”

OK, the views aren't bad!

Things I think I'd like about Denver:

• Fitness is very much part of the culture. While I'm not the biggest gym rat in the world, I like to stay fit and it will be easier if I'm surrounded by friends who like to stay in shape and be active. And while I'm also not the biggest skier either, it will be a treat to be so close to the good snow of the Rocky Mountains to go ski on.
• I liked how enthusiastic everyone was about the town, and for a lot of reasons too. It seemed like people cared about their community, both the whole town and their neighborhoods.
• My memory of some of the neighborhoods in Denver is very clear. Not all of them were my style, but the ones that were my style were really my style. Lots of charming homes and small apartments, walkable to nearby shops and restaurants. Sadly, all the charming neighborhoods are interrupted by the thing I liked least about the town…

A Denver neighborhood.

Things I think I'd dislike about Denver:

• The city has the feel of a place that has grown much too quickly. All the neighborhoods, which are pretty quiet and easy to navigate and walkable, are divided by really ugly and very crowded roads full of strip malls, office buildings, and motels. It appeared that nearly every route into downtown had to either navigate such lanes or cross over them. So while living in a little bubble looks pretty nice, if I worked downtown and had to face the really bad traffic every day, I would be sad.
• Denver is the second-sunniest city on my list, and combined with the locals' emphasis on being outside a lot, the “good” weather might start to wear on me. I like being outside, but I need a reason to be there (like, walking to a friend's house or cleaning up the yard). And when I am outside, I like the sun to be somewhere else.
• This might sound weird, but Denver felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. And... it is. Directly to the west are the Rocky Mountains, and as far north and east and south as the eye can see (and then some, by about a thousand miles) are the Great Plains. Look at Denver on a map of the United States sometime, then look for the next closest city. Outside of Colorado Springs, you have to go a long way before you find another big town. And without a notable waterway of some sort (a Great Lake, the Mississippi River, etc.), Denver both looks and feels like it is remote. Other cities on my list (Portland, LA) are farther from my family in Cleveland and DC by miles. But Denver sure felt like the most remote city I auditioned.