Living in Denver Pros and Cons
Moving to Denver? That’s great! To ensure you make the perfect move, you will need guidance. We will provide this guidance concerning Colorado’s mile high city.
The city is young, beautiful and active. It’s filled with many attractions, activities, and opportunities. It feels like one is missing out by not being a part of it. After all, the city was not ranked number 2 for the best place to live according to U.S news media.
A longtime resident of Denver is motivated and relaxed as the city is known to inspire, push and relax its citizens in sequence!
Pros of living in Denver
1. Denver is a young city
The city is ruled by millennials and the numbers keep growing. 75-80% of their population isn’t above 44. Due to this fact, businesses that are set up to meet the demands of a young and active population.
For instance, there are lots of clubs and gyms, as they are both lucrative businesses in a young and active city such as Denver.
2. Denver is overwhelming active and motivating
The populace of Denver is active. You will find them flooding the gyms almost every day. The parks are filled with runners, joggers and a handful practicing yoga. The streets are all too often taken over by bicycles.
In summary, Denver is the kind of city that makes you push yourself. It a great city to help build both your mental and physical strength.
3. Denver has a promising economy
Denver’s predominantly young and active population, have contributed to a flourishing economy across a number of sectors.
In terms of high paying jobs, Denver has numerous top companies headquarters located there. And more are coming in due to the large presence of active and healthy Millennials in the city.
Although the average median income in Denver is about $58,000, which is 6-7% below the national average, salaries across a number of industries continue to rise with the cost of living in Denver.
There are lots of job opportunities in Agriculture, tech, and aerospace that will definitely match the cost of living there, but beware the competition as there is much.
Pro Tip: Aim to have a job in hand so it will be easy to adapt.
4. Cost of living in Denver is adaptable
While nowhere near the cost of living in other parts of the country, such as New York City or San Francisco, a new resident in the city of Denver might find the biggest challenge to be the housing costs. That being said, while rent payments might be growing quickly, the city, in general, is quite a bit cheaper than others across the country.
Some other things to note are that property taxes are low, but sales taxes are high. Income tax is average at 4.63%. Health care is a bit expensive as it is well over 17% of the national average.
The money spent on groceries is less as it is estimated that you pay about 4% less than the national average.
5. Denver is capable of hosting all important sporting events in America
If you are a fan of sports then you’ll love Denver. The city hosts football, hockey, basketball and baseball league events. All four of America’s favorite sports. There is no need to travel unless you are a fan of a club from another state.
A fan of soccer? Colorado Rapids are also representing Denver in the MLS.
6. Denver is for the adventurous
Come to Denver and you will have a lot to add to your bucket list! The city and surroundings are filled with plenty of attractions and activities to keep you busy.
If you take your time to ask different residents of the city about things to do, you will quickly discover that the list is almost never-ending and the content provided by the residents is different than what you expected.
There are activities such as hiking, rafting, skiing, camping, fishing, backpacking, biking hot springs, snowboarding, national parks and more!
Denver and the state of Colorado is not an easy place to get bored.
7. Denver is gorgeous and iconic
Denver’s backdrop of the Rocky Mountains makes it an iconic and beautiful city.
The sun comes out 300 days of the year, so expect big blue skies and vibrant scenery. Well-known artists and authors from the city have been inspired by its everyday beauty.
Denver is one of only a handful of capital cities in America which is blessed with both things to do and a gorgeous natural landscape nearby.
Cons of living in Denver
1. High Altitude
Denver is named the mile high city for a reason. The city is on and surrounded by mountains. It is 5,280 feet above sea level, so there will be less oxygen to breathe and the sun is stronger!
If you visit or plan on moving to Denver, you must be prepared for both your hair and skin to get dry quickly. Sometimes your nose could get a bit bloody and there is a tendency for you to get dehydrated very fast. All of this is normal in acclimating to Denver life.
Pro Tip: Skin lotion and chapstick are two things every Denverite has with them at all times.
2. Denver can be expensive
Although the cost of living in Denver is adaptable, the price of rents and estate housing is quite expensive.
A significant number of neighborhoods in Denver residents complain about skyrocketing rent prices that make it tough to live there without a change in job compensation.
3. Denver’s traffic can be really bad
The recent influx of new residents, combined with road infrastructure that’s not really set up for massive growth has created major traffic issues in Denver and the surrounding areas.
4. Denver’s public transit isn’t far-reaching
While the city has both a light-rail and bus system, it is not very extensive and can be fairly expensive. It’s hard to access the city’s public transport if you live close to or in the outskirts of the city. You have to be at the center or close for it to really benefit you much.
Conclusion
Denver’s extreme growth shows that despite the pros and cons of living in Denver, many new people are choosing to call it home. It’s often been ranked in the top 3 cities in the USA in terms of quality of life. For most people, the pros seem to outweigh the cons in the mile high city, but it’s up for you to decide if Denver is right for you.
Interested in moving to Denver? Check out our Denver apartments for rent in some of the city’s best neighborhoods.
