here come barbie and ken on their mountain bikes..
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10/10/2007
Okay, here's my 7 cents worth...I'm a Colorado Native...lived in the Denver/Boulder areas for the first 26 years of my life, more or less. I've lived in other parts of the world, and I've visited many cities in the U.S. But i think it's only fair for me to compare to the two other cities i've lived in the U.S. - Albuquerque and Salt Lake City and also just the general feeling I've had about this city and Colorado in general since I got out and saw/experienced a lot more of the world. In short, Denver's not my kind of town - at all. It feels like it's full of a lot of plastic, vanilla, no personality people, just the city itself. Honestly i don't think denver has really ever had much personality beyond cowtown; but nowadays, it isn't even that really...though some of that lingers...just check out the radio. Salt Lake City compared to Denver, (and i'm talking metro here more or less of both) is WAY more diverse, especially in that it's a lot more integrated. Albuquerque, on that front, takes the cake from both of them. I just find Denver to be ultra blah...i think financially, you can do pretty well and join the homogenous middle-class ranks without too much struggle...but it's way segregated, and it's hard to find someone who'll engage in any kind of intelligent conversation, however very easy to find someone who'll discuss the latest in sports be it the Broncos, Rockies, Avalanche, etc. I'm only back here temporarily before heading to the NYC area where I feel much more at home. I don't think Denverites are all that friendly, and when they are, it feels really fake. Wash Park is nice but i get disconcerted by how it's filled with look-alikes...compared to Liberty Park in SLC which is actually an even nicer park but you'll find all kinds enjoying the park from a muslim woman jogging in hijab and skirt, to thuggish cholos with their families, to young college kids playing ultimate frisbee, to young goths, etc...all kinds of ethnicities, social classes, interests, all sharing and enjoying the park. That's my kind of place. I think that the majority of Colorado is filled with conservative white rednecks...tanned, cute, fit ken and barbie doll-like rednecks at heart. Small-minded, not well-read, rather living in their perfect little suburban bubble worlds...and the liberals here? They all pretty much consist of equally small-minded, middle to upper-middle class potheads, who hang around with a look-alike crowd as well. Oh well, what can I say, this just isn't my kind of place.
kristin | Denver, CO