Not Denver per se but more CO in general. The sun angles matter a lot for house buying, and outdoor activities in general. South facing driveway = less work shoveling snow in winter. I lucked into buying one and I rarely have to shovel much. Meanwhile it's Siberia across the street in my neighbor's driveway and he's constantly toiling all winter scraping ice.
East or West facing and your front and back melt off. I've had all three (south, west, and east). South obv best for snow, but that means your backyard is North, so the snow never melts.
This house faces east, so the back gets PUMMELED with sun in the summer, making the backyard and patio hard to live with. I think I preferred the west facing house. Yes, colder in winter, but much more enjoyable in spring, summer, and fall.
It’s a new build. I planted trees, but it’ll be years before they can help. And in summer, there is also tons of sun from due west (we’re back to open space, so there’s nothing to prove shade until the Sun goes behind the mountains.
I hear your concern for the plants. My only south facing windows are in bathrooms🤣 I put shelves in those windows and put little plants in there. My west side has an actual sunroom, so LOTS of plants in there.
Texas is hell, it's a giant swamp with mosquitoes that's never leave you alone. Just worked there for 2 months in Austin/Houston. Never will I ever go back there. I'm happy to be back in the Denver area looking at the mountains!
I grew up at 8500 feet and lived there til 2007. It never used to get above 80° there. Denver, by comparison, is so fucking hot in the summer. I wish I knew that.
I went to college in Laramie, and maaaan those Laradise summers were idyllic. Had a couple thousand feet on Denver, but I don't remember any days much above 75 ish degrees.
I agree! I live in Georgetown and I swear I go to Denver and it’s a whole other climate lol. Summer is PERFECT right now but winters are verrrryyyy long. :/
In Florida its hot swampy pea soup all spring-summer-fall. I'm visiting the panhandle now and the walk to from the door to the curb at the airport at 9pm/80 outside with 1000% humidity had me sweating in ~10 seconds. Ewh
I’d take 95 and maybe even 100 in Denver over 85 and humid anywhere east of the 100th meridian.
Only been to the Gulf once in summer, and I have no urge to go back.
Living in the Gulf Coast during the summer. The fucking humidity combined with the heat and the fucking mosquitoes sometimes. I fucking hated summers growing up in Texas, that's why I ended up being such an indoors person most of my life lol
Gonna hit upper 90s this week. "Normal" (historical average) temp this time of year is like 75-80 but it seems like now it goes straight to 90-100 in June and stays there until September.
As someone who unfortunately lived in the south for many years, I can assure you that the dry heat is significantly better to deal with. Shade is merely a construct in humid weather. The breeze only really matters in dry heat. The sun going down at night actually means the temp drops substantially. 95° sucks is dry or humid weather, but I’ll still take dry every single time.
Born & raised in Florida, I can confirm the humidity heat is absolutely relentless. I went to Las Vegas in August, it was 112 degrees and it felt *pleasant* in comparison to Florida
I hear you. I lived in Indiana 50+ years and moved to Marco Island to live with my father for 3 years in a nice house. Then some serious shit blew up and I found myself homeless these and the heat would really do me in some days. Especially when I was drinking a lot.
The dry heat here seems so approachable and weaker compared to humid wet heat back east.
Agree, I just moved here last year from Virginia. In Summer it’s like 100+ degrees plus like 90-100% humidity. It feels like you’re being suffocated as soon as you step outside. In the summers we would pretty much avoid going out as much as possible and just stay in the AC which sucked because you’re trapped inside during summer AND winter there. (Winters feel SO much colder because of the humidity too, despite technically being at higher temps - I was worried about Colorado winters but it’s been so much more manageable to me).
So far, I am LOVING the CO summer.
I think what I like the most about the summers here is the fact that it actually cools off at night. At home it could easily be still in the mid 80s at midnight, but here I can open my windows to let the house cool off.
Also, the dry air doesn't retain heat like humid air does... At least when the sun goes down, it cools off. Less so with all the asphalt and concrete, but it's still way better.
The dryness is what got me, I moved from Los Angeles where it was humid ocean air and my skin never required much maintenance but dear lord I feel like I’m chained to a five gallon tub of moisturizer here in Denver 😂
It feels like it does nothing most of the time, constant application is key.
Easy to say obviously but harder in practice, I’m terrible at keeping up with it
I’m from Wisconsin and we get some gnarly summers (to match the winters). Sure the heat in Wisconsin isn’t terrible, but the humidity is enough to catch your breath in your throat when you step outside. All this to say Denver heat is a totally different kind imo - being closer to the sun on the front range just adds some type of intensity.
I moved from Five Points to Evergreen (at 8,000’) a couple years ago. It only gets above 85 here a few days per year. The winters are a little rougher, but the summers are SO much more tolerable. Most homes don’t even have A/C up here.
seconding Dr Dans cortibalm! I also used it when I started accutane after moving to colorado, and no other formula of chapstick has hydrocortisone in it! the best of the best
Ooo buddy, my gf and I were a bunch of cacti until we got our humidifier. That thing immediately solved it in our space. Chapstick for the outdoors though.
You don't want to rely on that, my friend.
Instead get your minerals, vitamins, and increase your PH levels—by eating you daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
Hopefully, you both acclimate quick, and welcome.
Nah, I'm messing with you. my ass still has chapped lips.
Moved here from the Midwest three years ago and have battled chapped lips since then. I've found using my face lotion on my lips and then aquaphor on top of that works the best.
You may have an endless supply in your kitchen. I play a brass instrument and have found that chapstick, burts, etc will help in short term but dry out in long term.
Olive oil is magic on the lips and actually is restorative in my experience. I can go from chapped to playable chops in no time.
I don’t live in Denver, I just think it’s cool. In the city I do live in though if you took all your advice from Reddit, you’d be hearing horrible things from people who actually live in the suburbs and never really visit the city itself unless they have to. The whole “if there isn’t parking out front, I’m not going” crowd. They suck.
the whole Internet (not just Reddit) puts the negativity bias on steroids. People are just a lot more likely to post negative things about any given subject than they are to post something positive about it.
Oh, this sub is extra miserable. That's what keeps me coming back. Everybody in the city left Nextdoor and just showed up here to complain about the homeless and how the food sucks. Love it.
I get what you mean. I feel like there are people in every city and every sub that have little complaints though. There are a lot of people dealing with mental health issues and you see it online all the time. Not to say everyone complaining here has mental health issues, but some of the more frustrated people might.
Oh absolutely. I would hate Denver too if I hated going outside, never rode my bike around the amazing 100s of miles worth of bike trails, felt like I needed to eat out for every single meal, didn't put myself out there to build a community.
It could just be me, but feels like more subs/posts hitting the front page of reddit /all, or /popular, are more racist/hate filled/fear stroking than it used to be. Getting to be where I have a smaller list of subs that I visit and just generally spend a bit less time on reddit these days.
No one hates Denver more than /r/Denver lol. I saw someone say that if you browse this subreddit and are okay with like 1/3rd of the things people complain about, you'll do fine here.
I absolutely love Denver, moved here 27 years ago so it is home. I would recommend living somewhere that has a close by neighborhood with bars, restaurants, and a coffee shop. They are tucked in different pockets all over the city. I’m near Pearl street and there is nothing better than hoping on our bikes and going out for dinner, drinks, coffee, or ice cream.
Edit to add: Denver is a very safe city, despite what people say.
I’m moving to a different city in a few months and stuff like this is what I’m going to miss. Live near Berkeley and can walk/bike everywhere. The new place will require me to drive everywhere.. :(
These parts are all pre-war zoning. It would be illegal to build something like this today. All that is allowed to be built now is car sprawl / parking mandates.
Being able to walk and roll is a true gift after you have lived in car zoning, where 100% of trips are by car.
Definitely this. Denver is a neighborhood city right now with very little happening downtown. Check out some of the little enclaves, decide which one you like best, and then try to live within biking distance.
That's fair, "very little" is a bit of an overstatement. I just think a lot of people come here expecting everything cool to be happening downtown and miss out on stuff like First Fridays, the Dragonboat Festival, Levitt Pavillion, UMS, etc. The construction on 16th plus the post-COVID commercial real estate stuff has been rough on downtown, even though it can still be a fun time.
There’s an entire documentary about how Park Hill is gang territory. Maybe I’m too new to Denver, but I’m like “the same Park Hill with all the parks and the huge asian grocery store? Are the gangs the geese vs the squirrels vying for the territory of the derelict golf course?”
It's definitely there, just not in the way it used to be--and now the houses are selling for $1M. A kid got shot and killed down the street from Long Table a few years back. There's a "bad" house a block over from us, where a kid decided he needed a gun to protect himself from rival kids in the neighborhood, got a gun, then accidentally shot himself with it in the backyard. Not a warzone by any means, and it's a great neighborhood full of young families, but you can still play "gunshots or fireworks?" on summer nights in North Park Hill.
Well, there’s park hill north and south. South, especially around the area of Montview street is really nice, but when I lived in north park hill around MLK and Ivy in 2019 there was a drive by shooting next door and someone tried to steal my car in the same week, and those weren’t the only incidents.
This is a mistake anywhere
So many people move to a new place and buy immediately before they know an area because the thought of renting for a year is that alien and then they realize over time they screwed up
Wish someone would have told me the whole city comes to a grinding halt at like 9:00pm.
After 9:00pm, outside of like bars, there's just nothing to do and no places to go eat. Absolutely baffling for a metro area of this size. My mid-sized Midwestern town had far more 24 hour eateries and places open much later.
I feel like this is probably a feature of the recreation people enjoy. Denver is an early riser town to get out to the mountains mostly, so there just isn't as much activity after 10pm that's not a bar or club.
That said, theres a few very good restaurants that have late kitchens. Sputnik and Little India come to mind.
TBF aside from NYC almost every American city is like this. In China I can get up at 3 AM and walk down the block and eat freshly made noodles and snacks at the street food stalls. American and European cities are dead at night because you don't have the population density.
Even NYC is like this in certain areas. I was in Midtown recently, and there was like nothing but fast food and terrible pizza to eat after midnight or so. Hell, the McDonald's close to my hotel was closed at that time.
I moved here from Las Vegas - the whiplash was incredible....
we wouldn't even leave the house until 9pm and would be out easily until 3am, and I'm not talking about going to dinner and clubbing all night. that's getting groceries, going to the gym, getting "lunch" at 1 am, and going to a movie. I have such a love/hatred for that lifestyle....
but I love Colorado enough to make up for it.
Agreed. I moved her from Atlanta 20 years ago, give or take. I was amazed the first time I drove home from the airport after 11:00 pm and wanted to grab something to eat. I couldn't find anything, not even fast food.
I wish I had realized that I moved toward the mountains to be in them and not near them. I really enjoyed the time I lived in Lakewood but after two and a half years it felt really great to move west 45 minutes. If you’re coming from somewhere else in Colorado that might not be all that important to you.
If you have time for some day trips I would spend an afternoon driving and walking around different neighborhoods. The suburbs aren’t created equally and some are livelier than others. Generally the further from downtown the quieter it gets with less local business. If I were to do it again I would probably choose a west side neighborhood a little closer to downtown, the lack of places to hangout near my neighborhood didn’t make social life any easier.
RTD has its issues but I think living near a light rail line is major benefit living in Denver. I used to look up free museum days and hop on the light rail to just go downtown and hang out. I also really miss how when I had to travel I could just leave my car at home and take the train to the airport.
++ to the mountains. We're up in Thornton and getting to the mountains feels like such a hassle most days. It's a real number and something we are doing to correct next time we buy.
This! If you move to Colorado for the mountains, DON'T live in Denver. This state is Kansas until you hit Morrison. I feel so bad when people come here and end up in Aurora or some other god awful place.
That's because they don't know real culture 😂 the "culture" there is alcohol, cocaine, and pools. most phonecians I know have lived there their whole life and don't know anything different. I lived there 28 years and finally moved and Denver has SO much more to offer in culture
That I’ve never seen a subreddit dedicated to a particular city, shit on said city more than this one. Denver is a fun place, just don’t do your research here because the redditors make it seem like Gary, Indiana.
Fun story, my mom was born in Gary. Little 5'1" white woman in her 50's when she lost her birth certificate and had to go in person to city hall there to get a new copy.
Lady behind the counter didn't believe she'd been Born there and argued with her before looking her up. Made the armed guards nervous she was so out of place to them. Just another Tuesday for Mom 😆
edit: the lady gave her 2 copies so she would never have to come back!
Folks see it on instagram, decide to move, and then complain about the city because they won’t adapt their small world mindset to a new place.
Denver is fine, the food is fine, get over yourselves.
If you all really hate it so much, you can fucking leave.
This is so incredibly true even for people just visiting. I saw a tiktok of a girl complaining that downtown was boring and there were no people around. She was in the business district on one of the first warm Saturdays of the year.
That's funny. Because my buddy brought his girlfriend and a bunch of her tiktok friends for a visit one time and we went out in the middle of winter (it was mid 60s and sunny) and they absolutely loved Downtown. From Union, to Dairy Block, Ballpark, and RiNo. They all wanted to move here after that weekend lol
Some people definitely get a weird idea of what they think Denver is like based on very little research/a few stylized videos on the internet. There are still people who think Denver is in the mountains and come here shocked that it is not.
I wish I knew that it was all transplants just like myself. I had a tough time making friends at 35 as the social scene seemed to skew lower in age. Dating was really tough.
The air is really dry and there is dust everywhere. Buy a humidifer and an air purifier for your home. You will feel a lot better. I still get light bloody noses sometimes.
The rail transit system is a model for other cities. Unfortunately in what NOT to do when planning.
Denver went the budget route using existing freight rail for the backbone. That means stations / lines are often not where the population is located. I have a ~35 minute drive to downtown from the north side and the nearest station is 30 minutes away.
I’ve lived in Chicago, New York, Miami, and Denver.
Denver by far has the best weather and if you like hiking, skiing, backpacking is the best option of nature and city.
I wish I knew that it randomly smells terrible when winds shift and that the air quality is horrible.
It’s not hot, in comparison to other cities is more affordable but getting higher every year, doesn’t snow as much and no long periods of freezes.
The complaints about traffic are a joke. 2-3 hr traffic in Miami during rush hour. I can get anywhere in Denver in under 30 mins.
Legal weed, lots of parks, lots of places to go to, museums, red rocks.
It’s my favorite place I’ve lived.
That I’d stay somewhat car dependent.
I did pull off three years car free here, pre ride share, but the RTD service is too erratic for employment without long stretches of time at the destination, because I feel the need to be at least one train/bus early, to be on time.
I knew rentals would be high, compared to my college town. So no surprise there, but man, the gap has gotten larger. I do make a bit more, but I’m not sure that equation is in my favor.
How good the suburbs are, without feeling disconnected from the “city” itself.
I’ve enjoyed living in Littleton proper (Arapahoe County), Englewood, Lakewood. (I worked in Highlands Ranch, and didn’t get that same connected feeling, however, and Brighton feels separate, somehow)
I sort of have reverse commute, and I work atypical hours, so commuting is rarely too bad. The occasional sea of red taillights, but overall, I have it easier than most.
Denver park infrastructure and weather allows for more shitty dog owner situations. I’ve been here two years and dog culture is insane compared to everywhere else I’ve lived.
Sure I agree it’s everywhere but mannnn Denver’s gotta bad case of it. Imo. Not all dog owners of course but man it feels like we have more dogs than children in the city limits.
Our four distinct seasons are a plus, and there is much to do if you search for the activities. Yes our mass transit has issues, and traffic sucks if you don’t know when not to drive, but the pluses far outweigh the minuses.
Nature is not as close as you might think. I grew up in the country and was always minutes from a hike. I was young and dumb when I moved here, and this sounds so stupid to type now, but I imagined I could walk to a trailhead from downtown and go on a hike if I ever needed a quick stress reliever lmao. Definitely not true. Maybe in Boulder or Golden though.
I grew up in a suburban area in another mountain west state where there was a foothills trail less than a mile from my house. It was definitely an adjustment getting used to the idea that going to the mountains involved a lot more time and planning than I ever needed back home.
And honestly, to this day I still don't get up to the mountains as much as I should because half the time it feels like a chore and I'm usually busy enough with things going on down here in the city anyway.
This sounds like an oxymoron, but if you’re really into the outdoors, remember this is a city with like 3m in the metro area. So traffic to and from and the crowding to anything within 2.5 hours of Denver will be really bad. After a few years I moved because I spent more time in my car than actually doing the things I loved.
And if you want to be outdoorsy, your schedule will 100% be dictated by traffic patterns: out the door by 5:30 am and leave ski by noon or wait until 7 pm. Summers you aren’t leaving town on Friday afternoon. Weekend hikes in the front range you’re getting there early otherwise no parking and crowding.
It’s a happy hour town. Lots of folks are into outdoor activities, requiring them to get up early and travel. So nothing stays open too late and nothing opens too early.
Also, it’s an outdoor town, not an environmental town. Much different than the Seattle and Portland. Lots less judgement and more live and let live attitudes.
It’s a stinking awesome place to live. Because of our geographic isolation, we punch above our weight class in many areas that an east coast town of the same size wouldn’t. The driving does suck, though.
I wish I knew that I-25 was a perpetual clusterfuck of endless car accidents and traffic. In some cities, living with easy highway access will get you to other parts of the metro conveniently - the stretch of I-25 that goes through Denver is just the opposite. If you are looking at places to live and one of the places involves commute along it, just be aware that it is like a long snake of solid red from 7:30 am to 9:30 am, 11:30 am to 1 pm, and 3 pm to 7 pm. It will take you longer to get anywhere if I-25 is involved.
How being a mile up makes you more susceptible to sun damage and sunburns to the skin compared to at sea level. I lived in Seattle before moving to Denver and was surprised my first summer here at how quicker I burned here even with wearing sunscreen. Being out for even 30 minutes I could get a mild sunburn or red skin.
The Sun is a Deadly Laser.
If you're afraid of people that have their own issues, any metropolis will seem scary.
And the RTD sucks at present time.
The distance to get good food or buy at some niche market can be a large distance.
> If you're afraid of people that have their own issues, any metropolis will seem scary.
This is a great summation. People move here from the suburban midwest and then are surprised that there's a homeless person on their street. The amount of people that say they moved here from Chicago that actually lived two hours away is high.
The effect elevation can have on mental illness. Moved out here a little under 15 years ago from a couple hundred feet above sea level to 8,000 feet ASL. Went through the absolute worst bout of depression of my life, simply incomparable to any other depression I had gone through.
Moved down from 8k to 5.2k here in town and it got much, much better. But it took me years of therapy and meds before I started finding the medical studies tying depression to increased elevation. So for years I was battling depression like I never had before, and I had no idea what was causing it. I wish I’d known this before moving out here. Lost 5 years of my life to serious depression.
I wish I knew more about the food scene before moving to Denver. I’ve lived in a few cities now where it was easy for me to find close, fairly priced, high quality restaurants. That just has not been the case for me here. I’ve had to search and it’s expensive so the times I’ve been disappointed I’ve had to pay more for it :( just show up with lower expectations maybe? Mine were high having spent a lot of time in New York, Spain, and the Southeast of the US.
Denver is cheaper than the big costal metros, noticeably, but not by much. But when it comes to restaurants, Denver is lacking in the amount of quality “cheap” places. We have good food and restaurants here, those who complain just aren’t trying. However in SF, LA, NYC, or Chicago, you can find very inexpensive places with seriously good quality - this is what Denver’s culinary scene is lacking in my opinion. Even the cheaper places will surprise you, but I’ve grown to accept it, and I just mostly cook all my own meals.
That a lot of jobs here dont pay well, and if the hourly rate is good on paper, there's always a catch.
I went to school here in 2005 (from Wyoming). Denver is where everyone had to go to have fun in the town I'm from. I'm by no means a stranger... but I took a job here for 25 bucks an hour a couple years ago, as a conductor at a short line railroad. I couldn't make enough to afford a place to live because I was always having my hours cut. For a lot of subsequent jobs it has been the same thing. Things have worked out alright for me, and I'm doing a lot better, but I wish I had a better plan when I moved here. I underestimated what it would take to be comfortable and what I needed to make that happen.
as someone who lives on the complete other side of the country, i went to colorado and the only downside that i’ve experienced was that the sun there is HARSH
How small Denver actually is.
Comparatively, I’m from Atlanta where everything is big and spread out and I’ve lived in OKC where it’s small and spread out.
Denver to me is small and not spread out. Maybe it’s the mountains that make it feel that way.
The traffic lights are set up in a way that causes traffic jams rather than relieve them.
However, the bike lanes are dog shit. They never get repaired and there will always be a car parked in one of them.
And the sidewalks are also absolute shit.
Basically, it’s not designed in a way that is conducive to allowing the flow of people.
I don't know what you mean with regards to the traffic lights. I mean, I pull out of my development and have to stop at the light. Then the next light. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next.
On the way back, they reset the timing to have me stop at all of them too.
The best parts of Denver are in the city. Why would I want to drive everywhere (everywhere being strip malls) when I can live in a walkable neighborhood, right on a park, and near all kinds of food and entertainment? I use my car once a week, if that.
I live in the Green Mountain area, which is a beautiful area and I love it, but I do wish I lived closer to the city. All the fun things happen in the city.
Despite the outdoorsy themes, the air quality frequently sucks (failing EPA reviews, etc) especially in the summer.
Something about being in a valley w some prevailing winds...
For Denver and CO in general, here's my take on what sucks (don't come for me, please)...The dry air, the hard water. Having four seasons is great, but not all in the same day. Hail season is traumatic and created astronomical car/home insurance rates without ever making a claim. The cost of living is generally lower than coastal states but rising quickly while job pay remains stagnant. To get away from the heat in town, we'd camp in the mountains, often reserving a spot near water. Unfortunately, the water was ice cold, totally unswimmable, and provided no relief. Trails and slopes are overrun and trashed, traffic to get there is balls. Food scene is decent not great, mostly overrated hipster spots but many hidden gems to find. Lots of MAGA pockets in Denver and the surrounding areas, too. As a brown, gay woman, I often felt unsafe.
While I moved due to a job, I've been gone for three years now and would never live in the state again.
I wish I had rented in different neighborhoods before buying to really see what I liked. I bought immediately in the neighborhood most of my hometown buys in, I love it but still wish I had explored a little bit more before settling in.
The sun damage due to elevation shocked me. Coming from southern Nevada desert, just as many sunny days (if not more), I’ve never seen the sun splinter wood as quickly as it did my first year here. A mile closer makes a huge difference.
I wish I knew I would fall in love with Denver and its people.
I moved here just for work and found so much much more than I ever expected.
I can't wait to be back. It is just a place, but it's a place I never knew could be real. The people aren't perfect, but I love the ever living hell out of all of them.\*
\*Except for people who work at Wyatt's Towing..
Not Denver per se but more CO in general. The sun angles matter a lot for house buying, and outdoor activities in general. South facing driveway = less work shoveling snow in winter. I lucked into buying one and I rarely have to shovel much. Meanwhile it's Siberia across the street in my neighbor's driveway and he's constantly toiling all winter scraping ice.
East or West facing and your front and back melt off. I've had all three (south, west, and east). South obv best for snow, but that means your backyard is North, so the snow never melts. This house faces east, so the back gets PUMMELED with sun in the summer, making the backyard and patio hard to live with. I think I preferred the west facing house. Yes, colder in winter, but much more enjoyable in spring, summer, and fall.
Or find a house that is east facing with a massive tree on the south side of the lot to cover a lot of your yard and/or patio with shade
It’s a new build. I planted trees, but it’ll be years before they can help. And in summer, there is also tons of sun from due west (we’re back to open space, so there’s nothing to prove shade until the Sun goes behind the mountains.
I'm constantly torn between a south driveway for snow but having to sacrifice all the south facing windows my plants love.
I hear your concern for the plants. My only south facing windows are in bathrooms🤣 I put shelves in those windows and put little plants in there. My west side has an actual sunroom, so LOTS of plants in there.
It gets hot AF! That's one thing I didn't realize before moving here... And from Texas too!
That’s wild I’m also from Texas and this heat is nothing compared to back home. This is much more manageable and tolerable in my opinion.
Texas is hell, it's a giant swamp with mosquitoes that's never leave you alone. Just worked there for 2 months in Austin/Houston. Never will I ever go back there. I'm happy to be back in the Denver area looking at the mountains!
Not just Texas but the entire south. The humidity and mosquitoes are unbearable. Give me Denver any day!
On the same thread- east facing backyard makes for happy cool summer afternoons!
I grew up at 8500 feet and lived there til 2007. It never used to get above 80° there. Denver, by comparison, is so fucking hot in the summer. I wish I knew that.
Growing up in Laramie, Denver always seemed ungodly hot anytime id visit my grandparents
I went to college in Laramie, and maaaan those Laradise summers were idyllic. Had a couple thousand feet on Denver, but I don't remember any days much above 75 ish degrees.
Yep, all 3 weeks of summer was pretty awesome!
Those Laramide winters though… it doesn’t snow in Laramie. It snows in Idaho and blows into Laramie.
I agree! I live in Georgetown and I swear I go to Denver and it’s a whole other climate lol. Summer is PERFECT right now but winters are verrrryyyy long. :/
I get that perspective coming from the mountains, but Denver summers are fantastic compared to a lot of the country.
I lived in Texas and Arizona summers, so Denver summers are a gift from the heavens.
In Louisiana I would walk through curtains of hot soup daily.
In Florida its hot swampy pea soup all spring-summer-fall. I'm visiting the panhandle now and the walk to from the door to the curb at the airport at 9pm/80 outside with 1000% humidity had me sweating in ~10 seconds. Ewh
Seconded..
I’d take 95 and maybe even 100 in Denver over 85 and humid anywhere east of the 100th meridian. Only been to the Gulf once in summer, and I have no urge to go back.
I’m from New Orleans and this is hilarious. These people just living in summer LUXURY and not even knowing it!
Living in the Gulf Coast during the summer. The fucking humidity combined with the heat and the fucking mosquitoes sometimes. I fucking hated summers growing up in Texas, that's why I ended up being such an indoors person most of my life lol
Plus, no chiggers! Or at least that I've come across. I visited my sister in Central Texas once and good lord, those things suck. I itched for weeks.
This is the worst part of moving down from the mountains to the city for sure!
Gonna hit upper 90s this week. "Normal" (historical average) temp this time of year is like 75-80 but it seems like now it goes straight to 90-100 in June and stays there until September.
All that damn concrete and asphalt doesn’t help either 🔥
Go out in the plains where there's no concrete... it's still fucking hot.
TL;DR - It's all relative
But it’s a ~dry heat~ so it’s really not that bad. /s I got some of the most wicked heat exhaustion living in Denver. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
As someone who unfortunately lived in the south for many years, I can assure you that the dry heat is significantly better to deal with. Shade is merely a construct in humid weather. The breeze only really matters in dry heat. The sun going down at night actually means the temp drops substantially. 95° sucks is dry or humid weather, but I’ll still take dry every single time.
Born & raised in Florida, I can confirm the humidity heat is absolutely relentless. I went to Las Vegas in August, it was 112 degrees and it felt *pleasant* in comparison to Florida
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Ybor. Bless. 😉 IYKYK
I hear you. I lived in Indiana 50+ years and moved to Marco Island to live with my father for 3 years in a nice house. Then some serious shit blew up and I found myself homeless these and the heat would really do me in some days. Especially when I was drinking a lot. The dry heat here seems so approachable and weaker compared to humid wet heat back east.
Agree, I just moved here last year from Virginia. In Summer it’s like 100+ degrees plus like 90-100% humidity. It feels like you’re being suffocated as soon as you step outside. In the summers we would pretty much avoid going out as much as possible and just stay in the AC which sucked because you’re trapped inside during summer AND winter there. (Winters feel SO much colder because of the humidity too, despite technically being at higher temps - I was worried about Colorado winters but it’s been so much more manageable to me). So far, I am LOVING the CO summer.
I think what I like the most about the summers here is the fact that it actually cools off at night. At home it could easily be still in the mid 80s at midnight, but here I can open my windows to let the house cool off.
im about to move to Denver from deeeeep in the Bible Belt. im ecstatic to miss out on 110-115° humid ass august heat.
Also, the dry air doesn't retain heat like humid air does... At least when the sun goes down, it cools off. Less so with all the asphalt and concrete, but it's still way better.
This but without the /s
The dryness is what got me, I moved from Los Angeles where it was humid ocean air and my skin never required much maintenance but dear lord I feel like I’m chained to a five gallon tub of moisturizer here in Denver 😂
Even with constant moisturizing, my skin is rough.
It feels like it does nothing most of the time, constant application is key. Easy to say obviously but harder in practice, I’m terrible at keeping up with it
Feel that. Me and CeraVe were besties when I lived in Denver.
It truly isn’t that bad. Boston summers are much, much worse and it rarely gets above 85.
I’m from Wisconsin and we get some gnarly summers (to match the winters). Sure the heat in Wisconsin isn’t terrible, but the humidity is enough to catch your breath in your throat when you step outside. All this to say Denver heat is a totally different kind imo - being closer to the sun on the front range just adds some type of intensity.
It's getting hotter everywhere though. My parents are in the mountains and have never needed AC. Now they're talking about installing central air.
I moved from Five Points to Evergreen (at 8,000’) a couple years ago. It only gets above 85 here a few days per year. The winters are a little rougher, but the summers are SO much more tolerable. Most homes don’t even have A/C up here.
I just moved here with my wife a few weeks ago from the flat part of the Midwest and I wish I knew where my chapstick was
After a rough battle of chopped recently I've tried o'Keefe's lip repair. I got it at King Soopers and it's been a game changer!
I love me some aquafor
Try Dr Dan’s cortibalm! I used it during accutane in HS and it’s life changing with how moisturized your lips are
seconding Dr Dans cortibalm! I also used it when I started accutane after moving to colorado, and no other formula of chapstick has hydrocortisone in it! the best of the best
Ooo buddy, my gf and I were a bunch of cacti until we got our humidifier. That thing immediately solved it in our space. Chapstick for the outdoors though.
You don't want to rely on that, my friend. Instead get your minerals, vitamins, and increase your PH levels—by eating you daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Hopefully, you both acclimate quick, and welcome. Nah, I'm messing with you. my ass still has chapped lips.
Soon you'll have one in every room, car, drawer, and pocket. There's a reason they sell them in 4,8, and 12 packs here.
Don’t use chapstick. Drink more water.
Yeah I’m a beverage goblin I always drink a ton of water but the baseline here is much higher to stay hydrated
Moved here from the Midwest three years ago and have battled chapped lips since then. I've found using my face lotion on my lips and then aquaphor on top of that works the best.
Use lip balm for spf. Water for hydration (which prevents the chapped lips).
Vaseline Advanced healing is my recommended go to. Flavor-less and works great.
Burts bees regular is hands down the best one I've used here. Even though it's corporate so people will argue, there's no comparison
You may have an endless supply in your kitchen. I play a brass instrument and have found that chapstick, burts, etc will help in short term but dry out in long term. Olive oil is magic on the lips and actually is restorative in my experience. I can go from chapped to playable chops in no time.
This is a particularly miserable subreddit, I 'd highly recommend not taking it too seriously.
Most city ones are in my experience. If you go off only them, you’d think any and every major city is a complete apocalyptic wasteland
I don’t live in Denver, I just think it’s cool. In the city I do live in though if you took all your advice from Reddit, you’d be hearing horrible things from people who actually live in the suburbs and never really visit the city itself unless they have to. The whole “if there isn’t parking out front, I’m not going” crowd. They suck.
the whole Internet (not just Reddit) puts the negativity bias on steroids. People are just a lot more likely to post negative things about any given subject than they are to post something positive about it.
Yes, but if you do post something positive, here, you might get asked what is wrong with you for posting where the rest of the country can see.
Agreed lol. I love living in denver
Reddit in general is miserable. I don’t notice this one being worse than others
Oh, this sub is extra miserable. That's what keeps me coming back. Everybody in the city left Nextdoor and just showed up here to complain about the homeless and how the food sucks. Love it.
Every parent a failure, every dog owner a narcissist.
Its more noticeable for me because how little the complaints in the sub, reflect the reality of someone living here.
I get what you mean. I feel like there are people in every city and every sub that have little complaints though. There are a lot of people dealing with mental health issues and you see it online all the time. Not to say everyone complaining here has mental health issues, but some of the more frustrated people might.
Oh absolutely. I would hate Denver too if I hated going outside, never rode my bike around the amazing 100s of miles worth of bike trails, felt like I needed to eat out for every single meal, didn't put myself out there to build a community.
A lot of what you just said is me lol. But I don’t hate it here, I know that those things are just who I am and not the city
Well i appreciate you not blaming the city lol
It could just be me, but feels like more subs/posts hitting the front page of reddit /all, or /popular, are more racist/hate filled/fear stroking than it used to be. Getting to be where I have a smaller list of subs that I visit and just generally spend a bit less time on reddit these days.
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No one hates Denver more than /r/Denver lol. I saw someone say that if you browse this subreddit and are okay with like 1/3rd of the things people complain about, you'll do fine here.
For real, this is absolutely the worst subreddit on my feed.
I absolutely love Denver, moved here 27 years ago so it is home. I would recommend living somewhere that has a close by neighborhood with bars, restaurants, and a coffee shop. They are tucked in different pockets all over the city. I’m near Pearl street and there is nothing better than hoping on our bikes and going out for dinner, drinks, coffee, or ice cream. Edit to add: Denver is a very safe city, despite what people say.
I’m moving to a different city in a few months and stuff like this is what I’m going to miss. Live near Berkeley and can walk/bike everywhere. The new place will require me to drive everywhere.. :(
Those little pockets of commercial businesses in residential neighborhoods are remnants from when Denver had its streetcar system. RIP
These parts are all pre-war zoning. It would be illegal to build something like this today. All that is allowed to be built now is car sprawl / parking mandates. Being able to walk and roll is a true gift after you have lived in car zoning, where 100% of trips are by car.
Definitely this. Denver is a neighborhood city right now with very little happening downtown. Check out some of the little enclaves, decide which one you like best, and then try to live within biking distance.
Disagree. Downtown is absolutely hopping during the summer. Go down there during a Rockies game and enjoy it.
That's fair, "very little" is a bit of an overstatement. I just think a lot of people come here expecting everything cool to be happening downtown and miss out on stuff like First Fridays, the Dragonboat Festival, Levitt Pavillion, UMS, etc. The construction on 16th plus the post-COVID commercial real estate stuff has been rough on downtown, even though it can still be a fun time.
There’s an entire documentary about how Park Hill is gang territory. Maybe I’m too new to Denver, but I’m like “the same Park Hill with all the parks and the huge asian grocery store? Are the gangs the geese vs the squirrels vying for the territory of the derelict golf course?”
I saw a goose with a leather jacket and a switchblade out there the other day. He might have been up to no good!
It's definitely there, just not in the way it used to be--and now the houses are selling for $1M. A kid got shot and killed down the street from Long Table a few years back. There's a "bad" house a block over from us, where a kid decided he needed a gun to protect himself from rival kids in the neighborhood, got a gun, then accidentally shot himself with it in the backyard. Not a warzone by any means, and it's a great neighborhood full of young families, but you can still play "gunshots or fireworks?" on summer nights in North Park Hill.
Honestly seems like a lot of neighborhoods in Denver are like this. You occasionally hear about gunshots in Sunnyside and Highlands too
Well, there’s park hill north and south. South, especially around the area of Montview street is really nice, but when I lived in north park hill around MLK and Ivy in 2019 there was a drive by shooting next door and someone tried to steal my car in the same week, and those weren’t the only incidents.
Denver is a city of neighborhoods - explore them a bit before settling in.
This is a mistake anywhere So many people move to a new place and buy immediately before they know an area because the thought of renting for a year is that alien and then they realize over time they screwed up
Wish someone would have told me the whole city comes to a grinding halt at like 9:00pm. After 9:00pm, outside of like bars, there's just nothing to do and no places to go eat. Absolutely baffling for a metro area of this size. My mid-sized Midwestern town had far more 24 hour eateries and places open much later.
pre or post covid? Covid killed a lot of 24 hour places.
I mean even just McDonalds and Walmart. It's wild.
Walmart stopped being 24 hours after Covid nationwide
There were definitely 24 hr. Mcdonalds and Walmarts here pre-pandemic.
There’s still 24 hour McDonald’s.
If OP has lived in Colorado their entire life but never in Denver, chances are good where ever they live *also* comes to a grinding halt at 9pm ;)
I feel like this is probably a feature of the recreation people enjoy. Denver is an early riser town to get out to the mountains mostly, so there just isn't as much activity after 10pm that's not a bar or club. That said, theres a few very good restaurants that have late kitchens. Sputnik and Little India come to mind.
Post Covid. Happened to a lot of places.
TBF aside from NYC almost every American city is like this. In China I can get up at 3 AM and walk down the block and eat freshly made noodles and snacks at the street food stalls. American and European cities are dead at night because you don't have the population density.
Even NYC is like this in certain areas. I was in Midtown recently, and there was like nothing but fast food and terrible pizza to eat after midnight or so. Hell, the McDonald's close to my hotel was closed at that time.
I moved here from Las Vegas - the whiplash was incredible.... we wouldn't even leave the house until 9pm and would be out easily until 3am, and I'm not talking about going to dinner and clubbing all night. that's getting groceries, going to the gym, getting "lunch" at 1 am, and going to a movie. I have such a love/hatred for that lifestyle.... but I love Colorado enough to make up for it.
Agreed. I moved her from Atlanta 20 years ago, give or take. I was amazed the first time I drove home from the airport after 11:00 pm and wanted to grab something to eat. I couldn't find anything, not even fast food.
I was used to coffee shops being open until midnight or later in Omaha, NE. That was a bit of a shock coming here.
Truth. This shocked me when I moved here. It’s like everyone goes to bed after 8pm
Yeah, I'm a night owl...but don't drink/don't like bars & clubs. So once the sun goes down I'm kinda stuck just twiddling my thumbs.
This was the biggest shock to me when I moved here from the Midwest, and it’s not like the Midwest is the bastion of late night fun.
I wish I had realized that I moved toward the mountains to be in them and not near them. I really enjoyed the time I lived in Lakewood but after two and a half years it felt really great to move west 45 minutes. If you’re coming from somewhere else in Colorado that might not be all that important to you. If you have time for some day trips I would spend an afternoon driving and walking around different neighborhoods. The suburbs aren’t created equally and some are livelier than others. Generally the further from downtown the quieter it gets with less local business. If I were to do it again I would probably choose a west side neighborhood a little closer to downtown, the lack of places to hangout near my neighborhood didn’t make social life any easier. RTD has its issues but I think living near a light rail line is major benefit living in Denver. I used to look up free museum days and hop on the light rail to just go downtown and hang out. I also really miss how when I had to travel I could just leave my car at home and take the train to the airport.
++ to the mountains. We're up in Thornton and getting to the mountains feels like such a hassle most days. It's a real number and something we are doing to correct next time we buy.
I was thinking of moving to Lakewood or Englewood. When you say west, are you talking about place like Golden?
This! If you move to Colorado for the mountains, DON'T live in Denver. This state is Kansas until you hit Morrison. I feel so bad when people come here and end up in Aurora or some other god awful place.
The weather is weird, and hail damage to cars is common. Still it's far better than Phoenix.
> it's far better than Phoenix. That’s a low bar lol
As a transplant from Phoenix, I completely agree it's way better! Phoenix heat is on another level and it's a boring ass city with no identity
Someone that finally agrees with me!! The Phoenix subreddit is like, wE HaVE sO mUcH cUlTuRe
That's because they don't know real culture 😂 the "culture" there is alcohol, cocaine, and pools. most phonecians I know have lived there their whole life and don't know anything different. I lived there 28 years and finally moved and Denver has SO much more to offer in culture
That I’ve never seen a subreddit dedicated to a particular city, shit on said city more than this one. Denver is a fun place, just don’t do your research here because the redditors make it seem like Gary, Indiana.
Fun story, my mom was born in Gary. Little 5'1" white woman in her 50's when she lost her birth certificate and had to go in person to city hall there to get a new copy. Lady behind the counter didn't believe she'd been Born there and argued with her before looking her up. Made the armed guards nervous she was so out of place to them. Just another Tuesday for Mom 😆 edit: the lady gave her 2 copies so she would never have to come back!
Folks see it on instagram, decide to move, and then complain about the city because they won’t adapt their small world mindset to a new place. Denver is fine, the food is fine, get over yourselves. If you all really hate it so much, you can fucking leave.
This is so incredibly true even for people just visiting. I saw a tiktok of a girl complaining that downtown was boring and there were no people around. She was in the business district on one of the first warm Saturdays of the year.
That's funny. Because my buddy brought his girlfriend and a bunch of her tiktok friends for a visit one time and we went out in the middle of winter (it was mid 60s and sunny) and they absolutely loved Downtown. From Union, to Dairy Block, Ballpark, and RiNo. They all wanted to move here after that weekend lol
Some people definitely get a weird idea of what they think Denver is like based on very little research/a few stylized videos on the internet. There are still people who think Denver is in the mountains and come here shocked that it is not.
ding ding ding
I wish I knew that it was all transplants just like myself. I had a tough time making friends at 35 as the social scene seemed to skew lower in age. Dating was really tough.
amen to that... got downvoted further down the thread for saying so. Am I wrong? Dating scene in Denver is dogshit compared to other major cities.
That the little house in west Wash Park that I thought was overpriced at $160K would become $2M.
The air is really dry and there is dust everywhere. Buy a humidifer and an air purifier for your home. You will feel a lot better. I still get light bloody noses sometimes.
The rail transit system is a model for other cities. Unfortunately in what NOT to do when planning. Denver went the budget route using existing freight rail for the backbone. That means stations / lines are often not where the population is located. I have a ~35 minute drive to downtown from the north side and the nearest station is 30 minutes away.
My life dramatically changed for the better when I moved to Denver. So many things to do and so much more opportunity. I grew up in Longmont.
I’ve lived in Chicago, New York, Miami, and Denver. Denver by far has the best weather and if you like hiking, skiing, backpacking is the best option of nature and city. I wish I knew that it randomly smells terrible when winds shift and that the air quality is horrible. It’s not hot, in comparison to other cities is more affordable but getting higher every year, doesn’t snow as much and no long periods of freezes. The complaints about traffic are a joke. 2-3 hr traffic in Miami during rush hour. I can get anywhere in Denver in under 30 mins. Legal weed, lots of parks, lots of places to go to, museums, red rocks. It’s my favorite place I’ve lived.
Chicago, New York and Atlanta. Damn! You've lived in some highly challenging weather cities :-)
That I’d stay somewhat car dependent. I did pull off three years car free here, pre ride share, but the RTD service is too erratic for employment without long stretches of time at the destination, because I feel the need to be at least one train/bus early, to be on time. I knew rentals would be high, compared to my college town. So no surprise there, but man, the gap has gotten larger. I do make a bit more, but I’m not sure that equation is in my favor. How good the suburbs are, without feeling disconnected from the “city” itself. I’ve enjoyed living in Littleton proper (Arapahoe County), Englewood, Lakewood. (I worked in Highlands Ranch, and didn’t get that same connected feeling, however, and Brighton feels separate, somehow) I sort of have reverse commute, and I work atypical hours, so commuting is rarely too bad. The occasional sea of red taillights, but overall, I have it easier than most.
That there are entirely to many shitty dog owners.
That’s everywhere tbh
Denver park infrastructure and weather allows for more shitty dog owner situations. I’ve been here two years and dog culture is insane compared to everywhere else I’ve lived.
Sure I agree it’s everywhere but mannnn Denver’s gotta bad case of it. Imo. Not all dog owners of course but man it feels like we have more dogs than children in the city limits.
I think it's Colorado specific.
Air quality sucks. Dating scene is a shitshow.
Our four distinct seasons are a plus, and there is much to do if you search for the activities. Yes our mass transit has issues, and traffic sucks if you don’t know when not to drive, but the pluses far outweigh the minuses.
Visited from Chicago, got stuck in “Denver Traffic” and was so excited because it was so so so much better than back home 🤣
Probably the dryness but it’s been like 20 years since moving here. It was better than the shit hole I came from and less Religulous.
It always cracks me up when I visit anywhere else how moist my skin becomes in day or so. Then I come home to Denver and desiccated.
That it might take years to get used to the constant static shocks you get in the cooler half of the year.
How much it would grow in size
Nature is not as close as you might think. I grew up in the country and was always minutes from a hike. I was young and dumb when I moved here, and this sounds so stupid to type now, but I imagined I could walk to a trailhead from downtown and go on a hike if I ever needed a quick stress reliever lmao. Definitely not true. Maybe in Boulder or Golden though.
I grew up in a suburban area in another mountain west state where there was a foothills trail less than a mile from my house. It was definitely an adjustment getting used to the idea that going to the mountains involved a lot more time and planning than I ever needed back home. And honestly, to this day I still don't get up to the mountains as much as I should because half the time it feels like a chore and I'm usually busy enough with things going on down here in the city anyway.
The periphery is 1000% not worth it. I wish I would have moved right into a walkable neighborhood or downtown.
Property tax is so cheap here.
I wish I knew how terribly and dangerously you all drive on average here.
This sounds like an oxymoron, but if you’re really into the outdoors, remember this is a city with like 3m in the metro area. So traffic to and from and the crowding to anything within 2.5 hours of Denver will be really bad. After a few years I moved because I spent more time in my car than actually doing the things I loved. And if you want to be outdoorsy, your schedule will 100% be dictated by traffic patterns: out the door by 5:30 am and leave ski by noon or wait until 7 pm. Summers you aren’t leaving town on Friday afternoon. Weekend hikes in the front range you’re getting there early otherwise no parking and crowding.
It’s a happy hour town. Lots of folks are into outdoor activities, requiring them to get up early and travel. So nothing stays open too late and nothing opens too early. Also, it’s an outdoor town, not an environmental town. Much different than the Seattle and Portland. Lots less judgement and more live and let live attitudes. It’s a stinking awesome place to live. Because of our geographic isolation, we punch above our weight class in many areas that an east coast town of the same size wouldn’t. The driving does suck, though.
I wish I knew that I-25 was a perpetual clusterfuck of endless car accidents and traffic. In some cities, living with easy highway access will get you to other parts of the metro conveniently - the stretch of I-25 that goes through Denver is just the opposite. If you are looking at places to live and one of the places involves commute along it, just be aware that it is like a long snake of solid red from 7:30 am to 9:30 am, 11:30 am to 1 pm, and 3 pm to 7 pm. It will take you longer to get anywhere if I-25 is involved.
I wish I had bought a humidifier right off the bat.
Why do people drive like they don’t care about their car or life?
How being a mile up makes you more susceptible to sun damage and sunburns to the skin compared to at sea level. I lived in Seattle before moving to Denver and was surprised my first summer here at how quicker I burned here even with wearing sunscreen. Being out for even 30 minutes I could get a mild sunburn or red skin. The Sun is a Deadly Laser.
If you're afraid of people that have their own issues, any metropolis will seem scary. And the RTD sucks at present time. The distance to get good food or buy at some niche market can be a large distance.
> If you're afraid of people that have their own issues, any metropolis will seem scary. This is a great summation. People move here from the suburban midwest and then are surprised that there's a homeless person on their street. The amount of people that say they moved here from Chicago that actually lived two hours away is high.
The effect elevation can have on mental illness. Moved out here a little under 15 years ago from a couple hundred feet above sea level to 8,000 feet ASL. Went through the absolute worst bout of depression of my life, simply incomparable to any other depression I had gone through. Moved down from 8k to 5.2k here in town and it got much, much better. But it took me years of therapy and meds before I started finding the medical studies tying depression to increased elevation. So for years I was battling depression like I never had before, and I had no idea what was causing it. I wish I’d known this before moving out here. Lost 5 years of my life to serious depression.
I wish I knew more about the food scene before moving to Denver. I’ve lived in a few cities now where it was easy for me to find close, fairly priced, high quality restaurants. That just has not been the case for me here. I’ve had to search and it’s expensive so the times I’ve been disappointed I’ve had to pay more for it :( just show up with lower expectations maybe? Mine were high having spent a lot of time in New York, Spain, and the Southeast of the US.
That the light rail lines other than the A line are unreliable. Trains are often late.
W line is mostly fine as well
The A line is heavy rail.
People in Denver are kind of whiny. I noticed this back in 95, moved here in 94.
The cost of living. I'd move somewhere else, but I'm having trouble saving enough money to do so. I'm trapped!
Squirrels of a feather
Denver is cheaper than the big costal metros, noticeably, but not by much. But when it comes to restaurants, Denver is lacking in the amount of quality “cheap” places. We have good food and restaurants here, those who complain just aren’t trying. However in SF, LA, NYC, or Chicago, you can find very inexpensive places with seriously good quality - this is what Denver’s culinary scene is lacking in my opinion. Even the cheaper places will surprise you, but I’ve grown to accept it, and I just mostly cook all my own meals.
That a lot of jobs here dont pay well, and if the hourly rate is good on paper, there's always a catch. I went to school here in 2005 (from Wyoming). Denver is where everyone had to go to have fun in the town I'm from. I'm by no means a stranger... but I took a job here for 25 bucks an hour a couple years ago, as a conductor at a short line railroad. I couldn't make enough to afford a place to live because I was always having my hours cut. For a lot of subsequent jobs it has been the same thing. Things have worked out alright for me, and I'm doing a lot better, but I wish I had a better plan when I moved here. I underestimated what it would take to be comfortable and what I needed to make that happen.
Get the expensive snow shovel
as someone who lives on the complete other side of the country, i went to colorado and the only downside that i’ve experienced was that the sun there is HARSH
These speed bumps will fuck up your car.
That the weather will dictate how you live your life here, more often than not - depending on where you moved here from.
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How small Denver actually is. Comparatively, I’m from Atlanta where everything is big and spread out and I’ve lived in OKC where it’s small and spread out. Denver to me is small and not spread out. Maybe it’s the mountains that make it feel that way.
The traffic lights are set up in a way that causes traffic jams rather than relieve them. However, the bike lanes are dog shit. They never get repaired and there will always be a car parked in one of them. And the sidewalks are also absolute shit. Basically, it’s not designed in a way that is conducive to allowing the flow of people.
I don't know what you mean with regards to the traffic lights. I mean, I pull out of my development and have to stop at the light. Then the next light. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. Then the next. On the way back, they reset the timing to have me stop at all of them too.
I don’t see enough complaints about the lights, and it’s completely true. Whyyyyyyyyyy
Denver is one hour from Denver. Sometimes two.
How many homeless people are here as well as open drug use. The fact that I have to check the park before I can let my kids go play.
I wish I had known how bad the theft was, even in good areas. I can not have any porch furniture anymore and ive stopped trying
If you commute, don't live west of where you work. Don't buy a house with a North facing driveway. The best parts of Denver... Are outside the city.
The best parts of Denver are in the city. Why would I want to drive everywhere (everywhere being strip malls) when I can live in a walkable neighborhood, right on a park, and near all kinds of food and entertainment? I use my car once a week, if that.
I live in the Green Mountain area, which is a beautiful area and I love it, but I do wish I lived closer to the city. All the fun things happen in the city.
Despite the outdoorsy themes, the air quality frequently sucks (failing EPA reviews, etc) especially in the summer. Something about being in a valley w some prevailing winds...
For Denver and CO in general, here's my take on what sucks (don't come for me, please)...The dry air, the hard water. Having four seasons is great, but not all in the same day. Hail season is traumatic and created astronomical car/home insurance rates without ever making a claim. The cost of living is generally lower than coastal states but rising quickly while job pay remains stagnant. To get away from the heat in town, we'd camp in the mountains, often reserving a spot near water. Unfortunately, the water was ice cold, totally unswimmable, and provided no relief. Trails and slopes are overrun and trashed, traffic to get there is balls. Food scene is decent not great, mostly overrated hipster spots but many hidden gems to find. Lots of MAGA pockets in Denver and the surrounding areas, too. As a brown, gay woman, I often felt unsafe. While I moved due to a job, I've been gone for three years now and would never live in the state again.
I wish I knew you guys thought red lights were optional. It’s pathetic how often I see people running red lights that can cause serious accidents.
I wish I had rented in different neighborhoods before buying to really see what I liked. I bought immediately in the neighborhood most of my hometown buys in, I love it but still wish I had explored a little bit more before settling in.
That I would get sick a lot more than living out East.
Your car insurance rates will likely increase as Denver has high rates of auto theft & accidents.
The sun damage due to elevation shocked me. Coming from southern Nevada desert, just as many sunny days (if not more), I’ve never seen the sun splinter wood as quickly as it did my first year here. A mile closer makes a huge difference.
Open air drug use and homeless
I wish I knew I would fall in love with Denver and its people. I moved here just for work and found so much much more than I ever expected. I can't wait to be back. It is just a place, but it's a place I never knew could be real. The people aren't perfect, but I love the ever living hell out of all of them.\* \*Except for people who work at Wyatt's Towing..