Been awhile since I've been to Denver. But when I was there the economy sucked. Everyone wants to move to Denver and a lot do so. Problem is a lot don't have jobs lined up and they aren't that easy to find.

That said, I don't necessarily get the hate from the last few posts. Again, been a few years, but I always enjoyed my time there. I mean it isn't the best city, I prefer houston as far as cities go. But the advantages of the weather, venues like red rocks, and the proximity of the Rocky Mountains are why people are there. Not because it's an amazing city.

schmellba99 said:

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HouAg12 said:

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Denver

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Denver is an overrated shthole

Traffic is, at best, equivalent to Houston. But probably worse. Weather sucks - it is a desert environment. Politics suck. Homeless problem blows Houstons out of the water. Winters are cold and dry and snow is not pretty after 2 days. Everybody there hates you no matter what.

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I live down in the springs, having moved back after being gone for 7 years. But I make it up to Denver metro fairly regularly. I can attest to the fact that homeless and overall third worldish ****tiness has certainly increased. Honestly most certainly as a direct result of Abbott bussing. It's really bad in places, like downtown la ****ty. Although the burbs for the most part are still nice.

RangerRick9211 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Funky Winkerbean said:

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Best decision I've made in a while. I've been gone 2 years and don't miss a single thing about it.

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So where did you move to?

edit: really this applies to anybody who has left or wants to leave.

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All our life in Texas until now. Age 22-33 in Houston. We left right after the freeze for Oregon (Cedar Mill, suburb of Portland).

I'm glad we spent our decade in Houston to build a nest egg and buy a house in 2011. It set us up for this leap. We couldn't have done it without the COL + income strength of energy / med center for a decade.

Oregon is what we wanted: hour to ski, hour to the coast, 30 min to the Gorge, 5 min from Forest Park. Our Hood is a bunch of Nike and Intel families. We're never leaving. Income tax sucks balls. But every weekend feels like a vacation, so worth the extra expense to us.

Also, high of 68 today. In July. Heating up a bit later in the week, but I'll be working from the mountain while the wife, kido and BIL/SIL (in from DFW) play around Cascade Lakes in Bend (mid-70s).

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I get that but that's just not a comparable metro area to Houston. The Portland MSA is roughly 1/3rd the population of Houston. And I get it, if those outdoor activities are what you want. I'd imagine you're also isolated from the ****-show that is Portland itself.

As far as careers go, the wife and I have pretty lucrative careers which would exist in any major metro but definitely need to be in a metro area. Combined with the overall COL in Houston we are able to afford a pretty good lifestyle and travel to a lot of places pretty frequently.

We love Houston. The culture, food scene, COL, economic environment, opportunities for both us and our kids, etc.

HtownAg92 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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HouAg12 said:

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Denver

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Denver is an overrated shthole

Traffic is, at best, equivalent to Houston. But probably worse. Weather sucks - it is a desert environment. Politics suck. Homeless problem blows Houstons out of the water. Winters are cold and dry and snow is not pretty after 2 days. Everybody there hates you no matter what.

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I live down in the springs, having moved back after being gone for 7 years. But I make it up to Denver metro fairly regularly. I can attest to the fact that homeless and overall third worldish ****tiness has certainly increased. Honestly most certainly as a direct result of Abbott bussing. It's really bad in places, like downtown la ****ty. Although the burbs for the most part are still nice.

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Don't blame Abbott. Blame legalized weed. See also Seattle.

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Not blaming by any means, in fact I'm glad he's sending them to Denver along with all the other places. There's certainly something to be said about the pot as well. CO was the first state to legalize recreational

TarponChaser said:

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RangerRick9211 said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Funky Winkerbean said:

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Best decision I've made in a while. I've been gone 2 years and don't miss a single thing about it.

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So where did you move to?

edit: really this applies to anybody who has left or wants to leave.

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All our life in Texas until now. Age 22-33 in Houston. We left right after the freeze for Oregon (Cedar Mill, suburb of Portland).

I'm glad we spent our decade in Houston to build a nest egg and buy a house in 2011. It set us up for this leap. We couldn't have done it without the COL + income strength of energy / med center for a decade.

Oregon is what we wanted: hour to ski, hour to the coast, 30 min to the Gorge, 5 min from Forest Park. Our Hood is a bunch of Nike and Intel families. We're never leaving. Income tax sucks balls. But every weekend feels like a vacation, so worth the extra expense to us.

Also, high of 68 today. In July. Heating up a bit later in the week, but I'll be working from the mountain while the wife, kido and BIL/SIL (in from DFW) play around Cascade Lakes in Bend (mid-70s).

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I get that but that's just not a comparable metro area to Houston. The Portland MSA is roughly 1/3rd the population of Houston. And I get it, if those outdoor activities are what you want. I'd imagine you're also isolated from the ****-show that is Portland itself.

As far as careers go, the wife and I have pretty lucrative careers which would exist in any major metro but definitely need to be in a metro area. Combined with the overall COL in Houston we are able to afford a pretty good lifestyle and travel to a lot of places pretty frequently.

We love Houston. The culture, food scene, COL, economic environment, opportunities for both us and our kids, etc.

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I wasn't trying to compare metros? We lived in either the GOOF or Heights our entire time in Houston. We hardly ever left the loop area. I don't care about the metro size at all.

Portland is the same size as Boston. I work for one of the major consulting firms; we and all our competitors have an office here. My wife did downgrade from MDA to OHSU, but she's transitioning anyways from 50/50 corporate grind to soccer mom.

And yes, isolated from Portland proper mess.

I loved our time in Houston. We were able to save a ton and we traveled our entire 20s with COL and comp. But we chose PDX for hobbies and lifestyle; I really don't care about career opportunities anymore. It's just a means to an end (mainly fund my hobbies!). I have way more weekends than I do vacations. So we prioritized maximizing those! Bang for buck within a 2 hour drive, PDX slays.

I do so miss Tex-Mex and our friends. That's why we go back every few months (fam is in CS/DFW/Wichita Falls). Anyways, enjoy Houston! I still love it, I'll just never live there again.

I walked outside at 630 am and felt like I fell into a swamp.

I considered moving.

Ehh, I don't care. It pays bills and buys bikes/skis.

And pays a lot more than when I was P.E.

TarponChaser said:

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But for outdoor activities, if I chose specifically based on that I'd be somewhere in Florida.

And as for the career…
?v=1554328220

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My consulting jobs usually reinforce to my clients they don't a have a clue what's going on and the fear of getting sued keeps them coming back to me.

Can't say I'm gonna miss Houston all that much, at least the people here

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/FiWEJhxCaiHF4NZb/?mibextid=D5vuiz

BMX Bandit said:

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Quote:

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Honestly most certainly as a direct result of Abbott bussing

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This is completely false.

abbott sent the first "visitors" to denver in May 2023. the homeless population there was skyrocketing before abbott sent the first bus.

the springs is far and away the better place to live of the CO big cities

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This. South Park did an episode about Colorado homeless people at least 15 years ago.

HtownAg92 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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HouAg12 said:

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Denver

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Denver is an overrated shthole

Traffic is, at best, equivalent to Houston. But probably worse. Weather sucks - it is a desert environment. Politics suck. Homeless problem blows Houstons out of the water. Winters are cold and dry and snow is not pretty after 2 days. Everybody there hates you no matter what.

---

I live down in the springs, having moved back after being gone for 7 years. But I make it up to Denver metro fairly regularly. I can attest to the fact that homeless and overall third worldish ****tiness has certainly increased. Honestly most certainly as a direct result of Abbott bussing. It's really bad in places, like downtown la ****ty. Although the burbs for the most part are still nice.

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Don't blame Abbott. Blame legalized weed. See also Seattle.

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I agree with the not blaming Abbott part. Disagree with the legalized weed part. There certainly aren't large homeless encampments in places like Phoenix, Scottsdale, Albuquerque, etc that have legalized weed.

David_Puddy said:

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HtownAg92 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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HouAg12 said:

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Denver

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Denver is an overrated shthole

Traffic is, at best, equivalent to Houston. But probably worse. Weather sucks - it is a desert environment. Politics suck. Homeless problem blows Houstons out of the water. Winters are cold and dry and snow is not pretty after 2 days. Everybody there hates you no matter what.

---

I live down in the springs, having moved back after being gone for 7 years. But I make it up to Denver metro fairly regularly. I can attest to the fact that homeless and overall third worldish ****tiness has certainly increased. Honestly most certainly as a direct result of Abbott bussing. It's really bad in places, like downtown la ****ty. Although the burbs for the most part are still nice.

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Don't blame Abbott. Blame legalized weed. See also Seattle.

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I agree with the not blaming Abbott part. Disagree with the legalized weed part. There certainly aren't large homeless encampments in places like Phoenix, Scottsdale, Albuquerque, etc that have legalized weed.

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They aren't liberal hell-holes.

Well you left that part out originally

Don't know about Albuquerque but the other 2 have significant homeless populations.

Not quite like Denver

Just returned from a long weekend trip to Colorado Springs. Cool place. People and culture differences were definitely noticeable. Nice to know that goth never left Colorado. The regional food staples seem to be wood fired pizza, sandwiches, burritos, and craft beer. All of them were delicious.

Talked to some locals, and they definitely emphasized the sky-rocketing housing prices and influx of Texans. Manitou Springs area is reaching critical mass on tourism capacity, it seemed.

I would definitely go back to visit. Probably wouldn't choose to live there at this stage in life.

i believe phoenix is right up there with denver. no personal experience with it, just based on what I have read

Long story short. But, I have a buddy that has lived significant time in Denver 2x, Houston, and now lives in Dallas. He can literally live almost anywhere as he is independently wealthy at this point. He said Denver is not a place he wanted to raise kids.

Flaith said:

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Nice to know that goth never left Colorado.

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Flaith said:

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Just returned from a long weekend trip to Colorado Springs. Cool place. People and culture differences were definitely noticeable. Nice to know that goth never left Colorado. The regional food staples seem to be wood fired pizza, sandwiches, burritos, and craft beer. All of them were delicious.

Talked to some locals, and they definitely emphasized the sky-rocketing housing prices and influx of Texans. Manitou Springs area is reaching critical mass on tourism capacity, it seemed.

I would definitely go back to visit. Probably wouldn't choose to live there at this stage in life.

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My cousin and his wife both went to the AFA and are still serving. Recently moved to Germany and they have a house in Manitou Springs and plan on "retiring" there in 3 years after Germany. My cousin wants to run a food stand near one of the popular hiking areas (I forget the name of it). Manitou and Colorado Springs are quite different than Denver.

A gas marketer I used to work has lived in Manitou for over 20 years. Went up to Colorado Springs and Manitou last Labor Day. Loved it.

HtownAg92 said:

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David_Puddy said:

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HtownAg92 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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HouAg12 said:

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Denver

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Denver is an overrated shthole

Traffic is, at best, equivalent to Houston. But probably worse. Weather sucks - it is a desert environment. Politics suck. Homeless problem blows Houstons out of the water. Winters are cold and dry and snow is not pretty after 2 days. Everybody there hates you no matter what.

---

I live down in the springs, having moved back after being gone for 7 years. But I make it up to Denver metro fairly regularly. I can attest to the fact that homeless and overall third worldish ****tiness has certainly increased. Honestly most certainly as a direct result of Abbott bussing. It's really bad in places, like downtown la ****ty. Although the burbs for the most part are still nice.

---

Don't blame Abbott. Blame legalized weed. See also Seattle.

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I agree with the not blaming Abbott part. Disagree with the legalized weed part. There certainly aren't large homeless encampments in places like Phoenix, Scottsdale, Albuquerque, etc that have legalized weed.

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They aren't liberal hell-holes.

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Phoenix, Scottsdale and Albuquerque are all far left leaning metro centers

Fair, but I also didn't see South Americans on every street corner trying to wipe your windshield before the past couple years.

David_Puddy said:

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Flaith said:

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Just returned from a long weekend trip to Colorado Springs. Cool place. People and culture differences were definitely noticeable. Nice to know that goth never left Colorado. The regional food staples seem to be wood fired pizza, sandwiches, burritos, and craft beer. All of them were delicious.

Talked to some locals, and they definitely emphasized the sky-rocketing housing prices and influx of Texans. Manitou Springs area is reaching critical mass on tourism capacity, it seemed.

I would definitely go back to visit. Probably wouldn't choose to live there at this stage in life.

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My cousin and his wife both went to the AFA and are still serving. Recently moved to Germany and they have a house in Manitou Springs and plan on "retiring" there in 3 years after Germany. My cousin wants to run a food stand near one of the popular hiking areas (I forget the name of it). Manitou and Colorado Springs are quite different than Denver.

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Probably the incline/Barr trail which has blown up in popularity in the past few years, apparently due to social media influence. Is there anything social media hasn't ruined?

David_Puddy said:

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HtownAg92 said:

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Jock 07 said:

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schmellba99 said:

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HouAg12 said:

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Denver

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Denver is an overrated shthole

Traffic is, at best, equivalent to Houston. But probably worse. Weather sucks - it is a desert environment. Politics suck. Homeless problem blows Houstons out of the water. Winters are cold and dry and snow is not pretty after 2 days. Everybody there hates you no matter what.

---

I live down in the springs, having moved back after being gone for 7 years. But I make it up to Denver metro fairly regularly. I can attest to the fact that homeless and overall third worldish ****tiness has certainly increased. Honestly most certainly as a direct result of Abbott bussing. It's really bad in places, like downtown la ****ty. Although the burbs for the most part are still nice.

---

Don't blame Abbott. Blame legalized weed. See also Seattle.

---

I agree with the not blaming Abbott part. Disagree with the legalized weed part. There certainly aren't large homeless encampments in places like Phoenix, Scottsdale, Albuquerque, etc that have legalized weed.

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Yeah. It might be the case that because CO was the first state to legalize weed recreationally several years ago that it attracted a lot more druggy homeless who are still there, but being legal today isn't causing more issues. Especially since getting high off THC is pretty much legal everywhere now through D8.

No one is moving to CO today because of legalized weed.

Ryan the Temp said:

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I moved here after A&M to be with the man I eventually married. I fell in love with Houston. It has everything I need, and gave me a great career opportunity. Sure, the humidity sucks and hurricanes and all that, but I've never thought of leaving permanently because of the weather. I live in a good neighborhood and enjoy the life I have here in the city. My husband and I have talked briefly on a couple of occasions about relocating, but it was never all that serious. Honestly, I think Houston has been really good to me and there isn't a compelling reason to consider leaving, but if my husband's career takes him to a different city, I'm in a position now to be the "trailing spouse."

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jja79 said:

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Don't know about Albuquerque but the other 2 have significant homeless populations.

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Yeah. My wife did her residency in Phoenix at the county hospital. The homeless are for sure there and in Scottsdale. During the winter. In the summer they all head up to Flagstaff. Flagstaff during the summer has a significant homeless population....and they all come from Phoenix, Tucson, etc.