United States / Colorado / Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metro Area / Denver County / Denver / Zip Codes

Review of Denver, Colorado

An Actual Review Not Just Angry Rambling.
Star Rating - 9/24/2019
Since most of the reviews on here are just angry ramblings about how they moved here in 1980 and now it's different here's a real review.

I'm a 2016 "transplant," no, I'm not from CA or NY or FL. I am from Ohio and honestly Denver is a wonderful American city. Yes the real estate is overpriced at the moment, but it does seem to be going down recently (slightly) and there are affordable options if you are willing to live outside of Denver proper. People on this site complaining about people being rude are flat out wrong. My car got stuck in snow near the Pepsi Center and two men pulled over in their trucks immediately, and pushed me out. I see people helping strangers in Denver frequently and I rarely meet rude people here. There is a TON to do here. Music, art, food, sports. You name it Denver has it. Plus, the mountains are an endless supply of outdoor fun in any season.

The weather here is fantastic if you want seasons. Each season is distinct and Denver averages over 240 sunny days per year. Winter is often sunny and snow in Denver doesn't stay around long. Yes there are bad snowstorms, and it does get cold, but winter is way more bearable than the long dark winters of the Midwest.

Like I said before rent and home prices are high. I would not be comfortable moving here with a salary any less than 45k unless you are going to have roommates to split the cost of rent. The other big problem is the homeless population. There is an unnerving amount of homeless in Downtown, LoDo, and Capitol Hill. Despite this, crime really isn't all that bad. Yes there's theft just like any other city but Denver is certainly not worse than cities of comparable size. I lived in LoDo and now live in Cap Hill. I have never heard a gun shot in Denver and that's not something I can say of the cities in Ohio. Traffic isn't as bad as people make it out to be, but its certainly not great. Some people go 45 and others go 90. Getting to or from the airport in rush hour can be horrendous because the airport is too far away.

Overall, I love Denver and I have no intention of leaving anytime soon.


anonymous | Denver, CO
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6 Replies

I’ve lived n the Denver metro area for 28 years moving from Hawaii. I have traveled all over the US and many other countries and I can tell you we have an amazing city with wonderful people from all over. I have no idea what the people commenting here are talking about. We have so much to do here. I’m always glad to come home.
Sam | Broomfield, CO | Report Abuse
Agree 8   Disagree 0
All I can say is thanks for the actual review... I happened upon this site looking for some climate data and I couldn't believe the vast majority of the other "reviews". Give me a break.
Evan | Lakewood, CO | Report Abuse
Agree 11   Disagree 1
Good review. Seems like nobody writes on these boards unless they've got something to complain about. I'm an old Denver native and I can tell that the city of today is WORLDS better than the Denver of the 70's and 80's. Denver back then would have winter air pollution so bad that it would be impossible to see downtown from Cherry Creek Dam. Denver back then, particularly along Colfax, was wall-to-wall hookers, johns & junkies. The downtown back then was a half empty wasteland that nobody stuck around after 5PM and work let out. The neighborhoods everywhere just looked dirty, run down and neglected. The Denver we have today has problems, no doubt, bu comparing it to the Denver of yesteryear, any objective observer would have to say we have a brand new ball game.
Count Leopold | Cherry Creek, CO | Report Abuse
Agree 8   Disagree 5
I Lived in both. Cbus is nice and Cincy is a hidden gem of the US but they don't hold a candle to Denver. Traffic is just as bad if not worse in both cities and crime in Cincy is wayyyyyy worse than Denver. Cincinnati has had a serious gang violence problem for over a decade. Columbus is okay but traffic is terrible. You will get backed up at a stop sign for 35 minutes during rush hour. Columbus is a giant College town disguised as a city. Everyone works for OSU or an insurance company. Also the weather in Ohio sucks.
anonymous | Sylvania, OH | Report Abuse
Agree 34   Disagree 7
I am one of those native grumblers from the 70's and the reviews we have given ARE real. Just because we have lived here much longer than you doesnt make them any less accurate. You are factually wrong about crime. Statistically speaking Denvers crime has some of the worst in the nation. And the mountains? Well if you dont mind 3 hours travel each way on a weekend, have at it! I don't have the time or patience for that. No one mentioned the self entitled millennials. The are everywhere and obnoxious. I worked with a lot of them and most were nice folks but my gosh, there were sooo self absorbed and self-entitled. It's uncanny. Winters have COLD nights and those 50 degree winters days just means there are 2 hours of nice 50 degree weather during the middle of the day. It is bone chilling cold when you go to work in the morning and come home at night. Housing prices? Well, that's just embarrassing for a land locked, ugly city with snow.
Scott | Denver, CO | Report Abuse
Agree 16   Disagree 10
Completely agree with you about the friendliness of Denver. I think Denver may give Atlanta a run for its money in the friendliness department, albeit tempered with a slight touch of Western (or is it Midwestern?) reserve. Main thing that strikes me about Denver, at least at this moment, is how it punches above its weight for a city of its size. For a city that's just barely in the top 20 metro areas by population and still very much a mid-sized city, it's very much in the top flight of American cities by a number of measures, from culture (amazing music scene, from what I can see) to generaly relevance and vibrancy, not to mention popularity among young graduates.
William | Littleton, CO | Report Abuse
Agree 12   Disagree 13
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