Not as woke as it seems
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3/20/2021
I never sought to live in Denver—it reminded me too much of the Midwestern city where I'm from, which I never wanted to live in either—but a job brought me here, after living here for a few years and visiting many times over the past few decades, I can still say it's "not for me" (which is what the 2 star rating signifies when you hover over it when rating).
There are plenty of reasons why it's so trendy and popular. The views of the mountains are gorgeous. It's easy to get to from pretty much anywhere thanks to the airport and highway system. It's sunny almost every day, and the snow is beautiful. Legal marijuana, plentiful public art, breweries/restaurants, and proximity to snow sports and hiking are great.
But as others have pointed out, unless you're coming from California or NYC, housing costs are absurd and traffic is horrible, with neither showing signs of letting up. Poor air quality is a regular problem, and last year's record-setting forest fires made it even worse for over a month: ash rained down on my house for weeks on end.
One of my biggest problems is with a significant hypocritical population. A lot of people love the nearby nature. But a lot of those same people drive gas-guzzling vehicles, live in homes much larger than is necessary, regularly consume meat, don't recycle, fly frequently to travel, and don't seem to recognize that this behavior on a larger level is directly contributing to the long-term aridification/ short-term drought, forest fires, and other environmental degradation in the area. People in general seem to want to be progressive here, but there are a lot of wealthy-looking people walking purebred dogs that likely cost a lot of money. I don't know how one can espouse social causes when buying from a breeder rather than adopting directly causes other animals to miss out on good homes.
Essentially, Denver seems full of "woke" people who in reality are quite close-minded and selfish. I want to live near the mountains, but it probably won't be here long term.
T | Denver, CO