Denver - A Dangerous Disappointment
-
3/30/2019
I am a Colorado native of almost 50 years who is packing my bags to leave! It's such a disappointment to live in Denver anymore, especially within the last two years. Why?
1. The crime. My office was burgled a year and a half ago. Six weeks ago, my garage was broken into and a few weeks after that, someone tried to break into my apartment with a crowbar. I live in one of the nicer areas near Cherry Creek in a gated community. My neighbors have had their garages and cars broken into. You will also notice signs along Speer warning people not to leave their cars running unattended while warming them up in the winter because of high incidents of auto theft. I will not walk alone at night here anymore, and neither will any of my friends. It's too risky. And I'm selling my bike because I don't want to ride it alone down the Cherry Creek path like I've done for many years because of the sketchy characters roaming around there now.
2. The drug addicts. They're everywhere. You will see drugged out people lurking about, making drug deals in their hoodies and backpacks along Colorado Boulevard, the Cherry Creek bike path, Speer Boulevard, along Broadway, LoDo, LoHi, in RiNo - basically everywhere. And these people aren't just casually stoned from marijuana like you might think, given it's legal in Colorado. No. These people exude that frenetic energy that makes your adrenaline race because there's no telling if they're going to flip out or attack you. Earlier this week, one of my friends witnessed a homeless man attack a driver inside his car for no reason at a stop light along Speer. He was literally punching the guy in the face after the driver propped open his door to try to ease the homeless man away from his car. Stay inside your vehicles with the doors locked! Oh! And legalization of psychedelic mushrooms is on the ballot this year. Yep! That's really happening.
3. Marijuana. You'll smell people smoking it in the car next to you (illegal) while sitting in traffic. You'll smell it in parking lots. You'll smell the grow houses wherever you go. You'll smell it from your neighbors even if you live in a place that doesn't allow it. You'll smell it on the guy snowboarding next to you in Keystone - no pun with that name! You'll smell it... everywhere. I have four dispensaries within walking distance to my house. Each one is an eyesore compared to the buildings surrounding them.
4. Denver isn't friendly anymore. People here used to smile and greet one another when making eye contact at the park or grocery store, or even an elevator. Not anymore. It's quite rare to say "hello" to someone and have the same kindness reciprocated. I don't know if it's a millennial thing or simply something people don't do from whichever state they moved here from, but I'm often given a dirty look more than a smile now. I travel to Los Angeles and Atlanta for business and I have to say: People smile and greet one another so much more often in both of those cities compared to Denver now.
5. Traffic sucks. Our air pollution is repulsive and it literally smells like a gas station bathroom. You'll sit on I-25 at all times of the day and though we've got light rail now, it costs $10.50 to get to the airport. In Atlanta, I pay $3.50. You have to leave Denver by no later than 6:30am if you want to drive to the mountains to ski on the weekends in the winter, and the same goes for travel there in the summer. I have family in the Vail area and have had to turn around and cancel my plans to see them a handful of times because I-70 was too backed up for me to make certain events on time. As well, people regularly run red lights here and far too many of the new Denverites don't understand how to drive in the snow, so it's very dangerous to be on the roads in the Winter now.
I could keep elaborating about how rotten Denver has become, but I'm seriously feeling more and more depressed as I write about it here. On a brighter note, I'm moving this Fall - just in time for the leaves to drop from the trees for another six months. In the meantime, I'll be watching my security cameras, keeping my alarm system set and walking on the treadmill, rather than the streets of Denver after work each night this Summer.
Lynn | Denver, CO