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My family is considering a move to either Denver or San Diego. My huband works from home and only needs to be near a major airport. We have three young children. I'm already aware of the cost differences between the two and that's certainly a factor, but I'd lik to hear more opinions about quality of life, schools, etc.
If you want the best schools you generally have to live in a more expensive, upper middle class area of San Diego. Quality of life is pretty good, relatively clean, great weather (if you like sunny and mild/warm), low crime, nice people, lots of outdoor recreation, scenery, very laid back, beaches, etc.. Traffic can be a problem in areas but if you're working from home that's not really an issue. The airport is centrally located next to downtown SD and is pretty easy to get in and out of. You can probably have a higher quality of life in Denver due to the lower cost of living compared to SD, so I would make sure you are willing to pay extra for what SD offers.
We live in Denver and are enjoying it immensely. We moved all over the US and finally settled down here. We also are familiar with San Diego as we have been there at least a dozen or more times and consider it one of the places we would move if we won the lottery.
Comparing the two cities is nearly impossible. They are not at all similar. Denver is dry, dry, dry but you will get the 4 seasons (often in the same week) and the outdoor activities are mostly related to the mountains. While you don't have to ski, camp, mountainbike or kayak, you will find yourself enjoying Denver much more if you do.
The school system is also excellent pretty much throughout. On the Denver threads, we like to talk incessantly about which school districts are better, and certainly there are standouts, but by and large, a high school diploma from a Denver high school can compete with any from the rest of the country.
Since you already know about the cost of living, I don't need to go into it, but while San Diego's prices are exhorbitant, the cost of living isn't dirt cheap in Denver. We moved from Florida to Denver a few years ago and haven't found that our dollar stretches any more here.
I guess you just have to decide what kind of environment you'd like your family to grow up in. Colorado is landlocked and it takes a good 2 day roadtrip to get to San Diego. However, the mountains are gorgeous.
Also, if your list really does include a large airport, I can testify that DIA is the 4th busiest in the country. My husband works there are it is huge, busy, expanding and seems to not be too affected by the downturn in the economy. SWA is expanding their gates and we've got 2 other airlines where Denver is their hub (Frontier and United). You'll find a lot more direct flights out of DIA than San Diego, but if that's not critical, it doesn't really matter.
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