Austin, TX vs Denver, CO

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by eepstein

As I mentioned before, there is no comparison between Austin and Denver. You would be better comparing Austin to Colorado Springs. Denver wins hands down and every way shape and form.

Speaking of Boulder,

I remember when I lived in Denver, that Boulder was this "Hippy" Mecca that everyone talked about in whispers while sadly shaking their heads.

Austin is a lefty city, no doubt about it. Boulder is a liberal mecca beyond anything Austin dreamed of. Boulder has more organic/natural grocery stores than regular grocery stores. EVERY city street is lined with trees. I remember when I lived in Denver 10 years ago, that there was a big "hoopla" where a traveling theater troup was doing a play in Boulder. During the play, one of the characters lit up a cigarette, as that was part of the scene. The public outrage in Boulder at someone violating their citywide smoking ban was immediate and aggressive to the point of bordering on ridiculous, people actually walked out of the performance. And this was simply an actor on stage. No one was in danger from second hand smoke. But the sight of a lit cigarette was enough to drive the town into a frenzy. LOL. I like Boulder, it is beautiful, but make sure you are comfortable with that type of enviornment.

[jettsettr]

Originally Posted by Lee55

I drive I-35 twice a week between Austin and San Antonio.

It is a death trap and each time I make it I thank my lucky stars!

Last time I drove I-25 I didn't see any where near the crazy drivers you see in Texas.

I-25 is not as bad as one might think. The nice part about Colorado's unpredictable weather is we become great drivers in all scenarios. The first snow storm of every year has a few accidents from the transplants
learning how to drive. Otherwise, I-25 is a smooth ride.

[love roses]

I disagree that I-25 is a smooth ride, at least in parts and especially during snowstorms I guess the worst parts of it were near downtown and by downtown. There are some crazy drivers on 25 near Castle Rock too. I guess, however, that I'll concede that 25 going North is pretty smooth. I took a day trip just for kicks to Cheyenne and noone seemed in a giant hurry or pushy.

[nomore07]

How many times must it be repeated... there are no IT jobs in either place. They are very oversaturated due to massive influx from CA.

[karambas52]

I have lived in both Austin and Denver. West Austin is pretty, the hills and the lakes, but those Colorado mountains are majestic. I personally don't like heat or humidity, and the Summers are brutal in Austin, June to mid-October. Denver has awesome weather, yes it's dry, December and January can be cold, but the Colorado Winters have many beautiful warm days to be outside. I see more people outdoors in Colorado than I do in Austin, even on mild Winter days. Austin has better food no doubt from Tex Mex to BBQ, but we are heading back to Colorado in the Spring before the oppressive heat arrives. Did I mention there is soooooooo much more to do in Colorado?

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by karambas52

I have lived in both Austin and Denver. West Austin is pretty, the hills and the lakes, but those Colorado mountains are majestic. I personally don't like heat or humidity, and the Summers are brutal in Austin, June to mid-October. Denver has awesome weather, yes it's dry, December and January can be cold, but the Colorado Winters have many beautiful warm days to be outside. I see more people outdoors in Colorado than I do in Austin, even on mild Winter days. Austin has better food no doubt from Tex Mex to BBQ, but we are heading back to Colorado in the Spring before the oppressive heat arrives. Did I mention there is soooooooo much more to do in Colorado?

Interesting first post, waking up a 5.5 year-old thread. Not sure where you were looking not to see plenty of folks outside here in Austin in early December; but this week's weather is one example of why we are STAYING in Austin. Doesn't mean our North Carolina mountain house doesn't come in handy during July and August.

Austin has changed plenty since this thread was active, BTW.

[Denver303TJC]

Originally Posted by Patness

Looking to relocate from CA to one of these two areas. I've done a fair amount of research and both seem to have plenty to offer related to culture, employment, etc..

It seems that TX has a lower cost of living (and mild winters). Outside of those two items, they seem to be fairly comparable.

Being in IT - these two locations seem to be two cities I should definitely have on my short list.

I'm married and schools are important to me as well.

Any thoughts from anyone on these two cities?

Another Californian moving to Denver or Austin?? Well now, I've seen everything! Joking, joking. As a CO native, I think what people said have been spot-on for the most part. In a nutshell, winters suck in Denver compared to Austin, but summers are much nicer in Denver than Austin, IMHO. Both get a lot of sunshine year-round. The BBQ Scene in Austin is much better, not a shock, but the outdoors are much nicer in the mountains close to Denver (a couple hours drive in good traffic). TX doesn't have state income tax, which is a plus, even more so if you earn more. Both Denver and ATX have a good craft brew scene and are "hip" places to be (good and bad). As you know, weed is legal in CO, but technically not in Austin (however I'm gonna guess you could still find it in Austin). Public transportation is much better in Denver, the light rail connects the metro area fairly well (better than the dinky metro rail line which runs one route essentially). Austin is an enlarged college town and Denver now has a number of cities which comprise the metro area. Both have crappy rush hours, but as a Californian, I'm gonna guess that won't scare you (A lot of time spent on the 405 parking lot, err, I mean, highway).

But, overall I think you'd be happy in either place. If you dread cold winters, Denver's not your top choice. If you love to ski or snowboard, obviously you'd be happy in Denver.

[Denver303TJC]

Originally Posted by JayBrown80

Speaking of Boulder,

I remember when I lived in Denver, that Boulder was this "Hippy" Mecca that everyone talked about in whispers while sadly shaking their heads.

Austin is a lefty city, no doubt about it. Boulder is a liberal mecca beyond anything Austin dreamed of. Boulder has more organic/natural grocery stores than regular grocery stores. EVERY city street is lined with trees. I remember when I lived in Denver 10 years ago, that there was a big "hoopla" where a traveling theater troup was doing a play in Boulder. During the play, one of the characters lit up a cigarette, as that was part of the scene. The public outrage in Boulder at someone violating their citywide smoking ban was immediate and aggressive to the point of bordering on ridiculous, people actually walked out of the performance. And this was simply an actor on stage. No one was in danger from second hand smoke. But the sight of a lit cigarette was enough to drive the town into a frenzy. LOL. I like Boulder, it is beautiful, but make sure you are comfortable with that type of enviornment.

(Wets pants and curls up after hearing 'Boulder').

I think Boulder is okay overall, but it's definitely a yuppie/hippie/software engineer city. Being a Colorado State alumnus, we never fell in love with Boulder, whether with good reason or not. All in all, Jay Brown is right, Boulder is a place you'll probably like or not like.