Denver - love it, hate it? For a new family?

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TKH

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I received a surprising call from my company asking if I'd like a position in Denver. I am well equipped to decide based on the job alone. What I don't have knowledge of is Denver, what it's like to live there, cost of living, and the feel of the city. I'm recently married and kids are on the horizon. Clearly I need to visit but I would appreciate your opinions on the city. Sure I can Google, but listicles and bs articles are useless. What's it like to live there?

Do people smile on the streets? What's the cost of living like? To rent a 2 bedroom downtown? To buy a 3/2 in a neighborhood you'd raise a family? I think Denver and I imagine lost 20 somethings smoking pot. What about those of us in our 30s who want to raise a family and still visit breweries?

I find some cities cliquish. For instance, I'm convinced if you weren't born in Mobile, AL, you'll never be accepted there. What's the feel of Denver? Open and welcoming or...?

I'm a southern boy at heart, albeit well educated and traveled. I'm outside or on the boat in free time and if someone is new to town my wife and I will go out of our way to welcome and introduce them. I could never live in Paris or Manhattan; that pace and quality of life doesn't appeal to me. How does Denver compare?

How is traffic? Examples?

Thank you!
 
Our best friends moved to Denver almost a year ago and they love it. I've been for GABF several times and to visit our friends, but I haven't lived there, so take my comments with a grain of salt. Downtown living is pricey with most people renting due to the high property values. My understanding is you have to get pretty far from downtown to find something "affordable"...but that's the case for most major cities. Parking is very limited. If you rent downtown, there's a good chance it will only include parking for one car. The difference in costs between Ubering and owning a car downtown is probably sixes. If you own two cars you could easily go down to one and just use Uber for short trips around town. It seems to be a very pedestrian friendly city with lots of local restaurants, markets, etc within walking distance of anything in the downtown area. This is pretty cool because you definitely get a sense of local communities. One thing that jumped out to me, the homeless population seemed abnormally high...not sure why, but there are a lot of homeless people in Denver. There is pot smoking everywhere. My understanding is you're supposed to smoke it at home rather than in public, but tons of people were smoking it in public. Our friends live about a 10 minute walk from the top of the 16th street mall so we walked to most of the GABF-related events and I smelled pot at least a few times on every trip. Pot isn't my thing, so maybe I noticed it more because of that. It's pretty much beer-topia. I'm sure I'd go bankrupt from trying all the beer offerings if I lived there.
 
Denver is a nice place to live. I transplanted from Utah a couple years ago. Most people are friendly here. The cost of living is pretty high. A 2 bed downtown would be a minimum of 1700 and as high as 2500. The outlying areas are a little more affordable. The influx of people moving here has created a shortage of both rental properties as well as ownership opportunities. My site and I just purchased a 2/2 Townhouse and it ran 210k. A 3/2 is going for about 270k+ right now.

The beer here is absolutely amazing. You can find nearly any style brewed locally and good examples at that! As far as pot goes, you will smell it sometimes. Anytime you go by a dispensary you will catch a whiff. It is less prevalent in the suburbs of Denver.

I love denver and have no plans for leaving! I hope this is helpful for you!
 
I was very recently a 30-something (I'm 40) and I have two small boys and I live around Denver. I was born in the midwest and moved here when I was about 10 years old, so it's been my home for a long time. I've traveled everywhere in this country and quite a bit of the world and I haven't come across a place I'd rather live and raise my family. That's the best compliment I can give Denver. The things I love most:

1. The culture here is very healthy. This matters to me so much more now that I have kids than it did before. Colorado is consistently ranked at the top of any study of the thinnest, healthiest states. A lot of that is due to the culture here and the enthusiasm for all things outdoors.

2. Beer. Enough said. I'll take Denver's craft beer scene over anywhere else. I love going up to the pacific northwest, California, etc, and they can lay claim to being the best, but in my opinion Colorado is just so well balanced. Any style of beer you like, you can find multiple local breweries that do it very well. And the people here really embrace the culture around beer.

3. The mountains. Not sure if you're into fishing, hiking, skiing, any of that, but if you are it's heaven here.

The feel of the city, in my opinion, is very welcoming. To answer some of your other questions, if you're coming from the South, the cost of living will probably be a little higher, but it's not bad compared to a lot of other cities around this size. I can't speak to rent/cost of places right downtown because I've never lived anywhere but the suburbs. There affluent areas and not so affluent areas just like most other cities. It's a relatively safe city, the traffic isn't too bad. I will say that the public transportation is absolutely terrible. That's one area where Denver needs a lot of work. At one point I tried to figure out if I could start taking the bus to work and it would have involved like 6 transfers, and I couldn't get within a mile of my office. Outside of downtown, public transportation can't do much for you.

Anyway, feel free to PM me any questions you have. I've lived here for 30 years for what it's worth.

Dan
 
i'm 35 and moved to Golden 3.5 years ago with my wife, we now have 2 kids and I have to say this is an amazing place to live. I've lived in chicago and Germany, and I love colorado the most. People are generally nice and welcoming, and I think it's an awesome place to raise a family, and great beer culture here too!
 
I lived in Denver from 2007 to 2013 and moved to Lincoln to be closer to the wife's family. I'm in my early 30's if that helps.

The things I miss:

1) The mountains.
2) The beer.
3) The people are friendly and athletic.
4) The schools are good, but my kids weren't of school age yet.
5) The mountains (did I mention this yet)
6) The rail system
7) The Englewood water is great for brewing, no brewing adjustments necessary.
8) The winter's are the best. Heavy snow one day, sunny skies the next with snow typically gone in a day or two.

The things I don't miss, some of which have gotten worse:

1) The traffic has gotten horrendous. I'd recommend living near a rail station or your work to minimize the time spent in traffic.
2) The cost of living, both for renting and purchasing. We bought our 2/2 home in Englewood for $222k in 2011, sold for $252k in 2013, and the place is now worth $311k. It's gotten ridiculous the past few years. (If only I would have sold now and not in 2013).
3) A lot of transients clogging up the place.
4) How dry the place is.

With that being said, if I were to move back to the mountains, which will happen some day, I'd move to Bozeman or Missoula, MT or somewhere less populated. Colorado, particularly the front range, has gotten crowded and it's getting worse. While I'm not a huge fan of Lincoln, I do enjoy the slower lifestyle, lower population, and lower prices.

These are my 2 cents and I know others feel differently.
 
303Dan paints the picture pretty much as I see it as well. Some finer points:

1. Traffic isn't bad, except heading to the mountains on weekends and holidays heading north, south or west. You have to pick your time and direction to miss the traffic.
2. You will come across marijuana use, because some of the local enforcement agencies have publicly stated, that they will not enforce the public smoking ban unless they have nothing else to do. It still doesn't seem like that big of an issue/not that prevalent, but in different settings I have found it annoying.
3. Compared to a number of cities, the Denver metro is quite safe. There are a few places in which you would exercise extra caution at night, but nowhere that is outright dangerous for the average citizen.
4. While the public transportation is better than it used to be, it is still just this side of atrocious. Unless you are in downtown or have easy access to a stop for a route going downtown, don't even consider it.
5. Shopping areas tend to be centralized (malls and strip malls), not neighborhood oriented.
6. Most of the city is spread out. Outside of downtown, a car is necessary; there's just too much mileage to cover point-to-point.
7. Denver Public Schools have a poor reputation and I've never heard an argument to the contrary. Outside of Denver proper, the schools are better and some are supposed to be very good.
 
TKH said:
I received a surprising call from my company asking if I'd like a position in Denver. I am well equipped to decide based on the job alone. What I don't have knowledge of is Denver, what it's like to live there, cost of living, and the feel of the city. I'm recently married and kids are on the horizon. Clearly I need to visit but I would appreciate your opinions on the city. Sure I can Google, but listicles and bs articles are useless. What's it like to live there?

Do people smile on the streets? What's the cost of living like? To rent a 2 bedroom downtown? To buy a 3/2 in a neighborhood you'd raise a family? I think Denver and I imagine lost 20 somethings smoking pot. What about those of us in our 30s who want to raise a family and still visit breweries?

I find some cities cliquish. For instance, I'm convinced if you weren't born in Mobile, AL, you'll never be accepted there. What's the feel of Denver? Open and welcoming or...?

I'm a southern boy at heart, albeit well educated and traveled. I'm outside or on the boat in free time and if someone is new to town my wife and I will go out of our way to welcome and introduce them. I could never live in Paris or Manhattan; that pace and quality of life doesn't appeal to me. How does Denver compare?

How is traffic? Examples?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I moved here in 1998 from NYC and I love it. Actually I lived in Boulder for 5 years and loved it also but it has changed a lot and Boulder is as "liberal as wants to be" but still really nice overall. Denver is friendly, diverse and welcoming but finding the "neighborhood" feel can be tough (we do not have kids yet) so YMMV there. Things can be more spread out but worth it. My Homebrew Club KROC is located North of Denver but it is worth it for me to drive to the meetings and events since the club and everyone in it are super cool.

Denver is a Big Town or a Small City depending on perspective. It is a mix of people from everywhere. There are some "natives" that can get pissy on occasion but they are few and far between. Thnigs that irked me when I first moved here was that there was no Manhattan style Clam chowder to be had any where (even in cans) If I want Red Clam Sauce it is a PITA to find...lol.

Tons of great beer and breweries and Falling Rock Taphouse (best place ever) and then there is Hops and Pies in the Highlands (see above) plus tons of other places. 300+ days of sunshine (although spring over the last few years has sucked) It was more like winter into summer. Weather in Colorado is reported in 15 minute increments.

Do you Reddit? This will help you out. Also feel free to PM me with any questions

https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/


Parking and traffic can be tough but not awful but it is a matter of perspective. RTD (transit) has been making great strides in its infrastructure. see here.
http://www.rtd-denver.com/lightrail.shtml

For a kid friendly area and for schools Denver Propper might not be the best option as JeffCo for example, has better public schools. Arvada comes to mind. I work in IT for a Corp law firm and quite a few of the attorneys live there and their kids go to public schools. The new G line (fall 2016) for example will get you downtown in 20 min or so.

Hope this helps :mug:
 
I've never lived there, but I've gotten to travel there quite a bit on business over the last few years...

I've said, though, that if I were leaving Orange County, I could live in Northern California, Denver, or maybe Austin. That means it's one of a VERY short list that I'd consider leaving for.

The people are nice. The weather is great. It's high desert, so it's dry, and therefore you won't get eaten alive by mosquitoes. The beer scene is amazing. Generally there's enough "culture" and diversity to not feel like you're insulated from the world. And as others have pointed out, if you like outdoor activities, not only are there plenty, but you'll find a lot of friends to get you out there.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, and I've lived in San Jose, Orange County, and in the suburbs of Atlanta. So for me, the pace of Denver is probably a little slower than what I'm used to. Depending where you live in the South, you may find the opposite. Same with the cost of living. Case & Shiller's house price index for Denver is ~173, while the Los Angeles area is ~238. So for me it would be a lot cheaper to move to Denver, whereas most of the South is much lower cost of living.

The real question, though, is whether your job is in the city or in the suburbs? I've found that "the Denver metro" is fairly large and spread out. Where your job is will make a big difference to where you want to live. The Denver metro/suburban area is VERY spread out relative to a lot of other places. And where the job is makes a huge difference as to the cost of housing, too... I, for one, would love to live in Denver. I'm not sure I'd be as excited to move out into some master-planned cookie-cutter community out in one of the suburbs.
 
My son moved there 3 years ago, and I have visited him there a number of times. Great place to visit, and my wife and I are thinking about moving there. Good food, beer and outdoor life. Very young vibe to the place. Apparently, pot is legal there.
 
I actually moved from central Arkansas to Denver in 2006 and then moved back to Arkansas in early 2014. I would agree with most everything being said by others. I would say though that, as a southerner, I didn't find the city to be particularly friendly. It's not that the city is full of jerks and such, but it definitely not the south. There are some amazing people out there, but they typically need to get to know you a little better before they really get friendly. This gets more and more true the closer you get to downtown (which is true most places). There are some decent planned communities on the outskirts. They still aren't cheap and they require a bit more of a drive, but if youre looking for more community, they could be a better fit.
 
Thanks, all. I appreciate the honest feedback. We've got some thinking to do.
 
You know I'm going to add something.... I'm born and raised in Colorado from Fort Collins. The housing market here is booming I'm almost certain it's due to the weed. There is weed everywhere and you will like it whether you smoke it or not because the money keeps the economy good and has other benefits I'm sure. If you smoke weed you will be in heaven as you can just walk to your local store and get what you need. I can't imagine anywhere has more microbreweries or better beer. We ski and golf on the same day I have only been to one GABF but it was awesome. We have one of the best concert venues in the World called Red Rocks...The Sun shines here more than just about anywhere and the mountains are waiting for you. We are one of the thinnest fittest and best looking States. Whether you want to run up mountains bike down them or do CrossFit your athletic indulges have no end. Lots of triathlete live in train here. It's expensive to live here no doubt. People are nice and educated which if you're single you better up your game if you want to get a date. We have a great downtown scene there is a brewery in Coors Field, The Sandlot and the beers OK and we all go to games and drink beer and smile whether they win or lose. There is a new roof top bar people love. Skiing is about an hour n half away but you better leave early if you don't want a 4 hour drive..... the Broncos are awesome and people enjoy their games. Three and a half hours away we make wine in Grand Junction and one hour from there is the beautiful south western Utah desert where we all go on vacations to see the arches. As the snow melts in June and July create amazing whitewater trips. Our traffic sucks and it will bother you.... we have light rail and it's getting better. We have amazing restaurants but we are no New York or LA. 2 hours away is home of one of the world's largest hot spring pools in Glenwood... did I mention you can just go in the store and buy weed. The liquor store by me stocks hundreds of expensive bombers going up to $40 I wonder if everyone has that. You can buy kegs from any of the breweries. We have tons of outdoor festivals and outdoor markets I'm rambling sorry I'm sure I could offer some better advice

I'm going to delete this soon as we dont want anyone more moving here
 
DENVER SUCKS, DON'T MOVE HERE, TRAFFIC IS TERRIBLE, PEOPLE ARE MEAN, FULL OF DOPEHEADS.

Oh, you're not from California, then never mind. Denver is to some degree becoming a 2nd LA- they ruined CA so now they want to ruin CO.

I moved from Atlanta to Aurora, SE of the city. Married, 9yo twins. Cherry Creek Schools are awesome. Tons of walking / biking trails, recreation centers, and of course a couple of hours to get to the mountains. New area, so it's all "cookie cutter houses" but given the positives, I endure that. If you're into outdoors, fitness, mountain activities, this is heaven (I am into all this stuff). Cold is not so bad, even when it's 40 on a sunny day it is nice. Buy a snowblower but you won't use it often. Beer scene is awesome, restaurants are a little cookie cutter in the burbs. Even that's improving over time. You can get a nice house for $300 - $400, but lots of demand- prices, especially rents, have gone up quite a bit. I am a definite suburbanite, not a huge fan of downtown living. And this area is rather transient, so people are not cliquish at all, as I experienced in GA. If I were to move here "again" I would look seriously at Parker, wonderful area. If you have specific questions, feel free to PM me, happy to help.
 
For real?if you can move here it's a no brainer.... i have contemplated moving.
......but only to beach side condo....i love all four seasons and so will you
 
Again, thanks all. Looks like I'll be up in early December for face to face meetings. If I can squeeze in an extra day or two, I hope I can take one or a couple of you out for beers and pick your brains!


applescrap said:
For real?if you can move here it's a no brainer.... i have contemplated moving.
......but only to beach side condo....i love all four seasons and so will you
Click to expand...


Funny you say that. This is my front yard... Except it's a house. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1447202831.709920.jpg
 
So Rob Thomas concert last night in downtown took the light rail in and I'm glad we did because they were serving 24 ounce cans of Dale's pale for $9 good looking older crowd. This is waiting for you and your family four and a half hours away. Must have been like 70 today it was beautiful they say were waking up to snow The Sun could shine and it could snow tomorrow. I have met people who don't like it here by the way over the years there's not a lot of them and people aren't moving here for no reason.

View attachment 1447207905258.jpg
 
I may have missed it in the discussion, and lots of folks have offered all kinds of info on living in Denver. But where are you now? Do you have kids yet, and if so how old?
 
Denver is a nice place to live, I go there several time a year... would love to live there myself
 
That's right drydock is a brewery and a store right... if you live here you better be ready for this commute... it was 67 degrees yesterday not a cloud in the sky outside in t-shirts. This could all melt by tomorrow or it could snow 3 feet. The damn stuff they put on the streets makes them drivable so there are less snow days. You know you're from Colorado when you call in when there's an inch of snow but will drive through 2 feet of it to ski

View attachment 1447251807909.jpg
 
12241657_10153390189273271_8262636008779657309_n.jpg


Don't remember it being quite this dry by noon....but close and I'm outside of Denver.

Also, where would you be working? There are some commutes I would not like, so if you are traffic adverse, as I am, I would carefully check out the traffic to/from work when considering where to live.
 
We need to stop. It's better that people believe it's like a frozen tundra here. My commute is really hard from south west of the city to North East. Reminds me of LA
 
applescrap said:
We need to stop. It's better that people believe it's like a frozen tundra here. My commute is really hard from south west of the city to North East. Reminds me of LA
Click to expand...

True.....The first rule of loving Colorado is not to talk about loving Colorado!

It does keep getting more and more crowded.

Now move along there is nothing to see or drink here.
 

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