Does Denver feel like a city in the midwest? (Aspen: transplants, landscaping)

[mlpie70]

Chicago is a midwest city and as someone who calls it home, it's far from close-minded. Too many open minds if you ask me! LOL

[steveindenver]

No.

Things that differ:

1. The people in Denver are on the whole not overweight. The number of grossly overweight people in Denver is a small fraction of cities in the midwest. Don't believe me? Go to the airport and sit by a gate that is boarding for a midwestern city, any midwestern city.

2. People in Denver drive foreign cars. Ever wondered where Chevy managed to offload all of their Pontiac Grand Am's? Missouri and Illinois. Seriously.

3. There are simply too many people from CA in CO to not notice the difference they have made.

4. Nobody "warshes" anything in Denver.

As to the politics. Eh I have always felt most of downtown Denver was fairly liberal and/or rather unconcerned either way. You see some fish on the backs of cars, some darwin fish -- and a couple weeks ago I saw someone with a flying spaghetti monster sticker (seriously awesome) -- but you don't see the overtly religious / political markings that you will find in most of the midwest.

[FentonForche]

In my humble opinion, the entire premise of this thread is screwed up and can't engender an honest response to the original question. I spent the majority of my life in Colorado, but have also lived in norcal and Seattle, and all my extended family is from the midwest (Missouri and Iowa), so I feel like I have a pulse on all three areas.

First off, the midwest is NOT monolithic. Predominantly conservative? I guess if you look at electoral maps for the past 20 years, you could say yes. But is Chicago? No. Are the Twin Cities? Nope. The midwest follows the exact same sociopolitical patterns that the rest of the country does. Urban areas are liberal, rural areas are conservative, and suburban areas are a mesh of the two.

I have a huge affinity for the midwest, and to me the common denominator of midwestern locales, be they urban or rural, is a down-to-earth, earnest authenticity that I find the west coast somewhat lacking.

So all that said, is Denver midwestern? To me, the answer is no--it's got an active energy you don't find out in the midwest and it's always been more of a tech/service spot than a heavy industry spot. But it's more midwestern than it is coastal, if that makes sense. If people are put on a spectrum and midwestern cities are on one end, and the bay area, Portland, and Seattle are on the other end, Denver is more toward the midwestern pole.

Lastly? What's so wrong with conservatives? I'm a conservative--I believe in limited government and I believe strong families make for strong societies. Does that render me an unsatisfactory neighbor? Because I mow my lawn often, I'm quiet, and I don't care what ethnicity you are. So I'm not sure what your complaint is.

[denverian]

I grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City, and don't really care much for the place. It's not horrible, but I left at age 18 and never went back to live. So my comparison leans toward KC vs. Denver. KC definitely seems Midwestern to me. The accent, slower lifestyle, people seem more overtly religious - and evangelical religious, people lean toward poorer eating habits (lots of meat), the suburban people seem anti-change, anti-urban, and anti-density, and overall, the metro area as a whole seems much more conservative. That said, you'll find people in urban KC fairly similar to urban Denver. Denver just seems to have a larger urban environment.

Denver seems to progress more than KC - such as building a new airport, light rail, embracing new urbanism, creating a lively and desirable downtown, etc. People overall seem more health conscious in Denver, into outdoor activities, etc. The people in Denver seem more West Coast to me than MidWestern. I prefer Denver or I wouldn't live here, so just my opinion.

[RedSoxFanGoingWest]

How can anyone accurately compare a city (Denver) to an entire region (Midwest)? Especially when many confuse plains states w/ midwest states. Can you even compare say Chicago and Cleveland, both Midwest states?

[misplaced1]

Originally Posted by blubrd

Hello, I am wondering if anyone thinks that Denver feels like a midwest city? I am looking to move to Denver in the next year. I am from the midwest and moved to Phoenix 10 years ago to get away from the midwest life. I never liked how conservative and close minded alot of the people were that lived there. So I am just wondering if it has the same vibe in Denver? If not what is it like?

In a word,
No.

[formercalifornian]

I've lived in every corner of this country over the past forty years, and I think Denver has its own vibe, but no matter what your preferences, I think you'll be able to find your crowd.

[gooberlx]

I think Denver's mood feels somewhat like Minneapolis/St. Paul. A bit less friendly (imo) than Milwaukee. Less busy and crowded then Chicago, more busy and crowded than, say Omaha or St. Louis.

Denver does not have a "Minnesota Nice" attitude (or accent ).

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by denverian

Denver seems to progress more than KC - such as building a new airport, light rail, embracing new urbanism, creating a lively and desirable downtown, etc.

Whats funny about this is that everything that you said here describes Indianapolis. I guess the midwest can't be all that bad.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Whats funny about this is that everything that you said here describes Indianapolis. I guess the midwest can't be all that bad.

That's why I just compared to KC. I haven't been to Indy since 1980, so I couldn't compare it to Denver. They have LR in Indianapolis?