Two words: the mountains. Ask any East Coaster who has moved to Denver what their favorite thing is about living here, and most of them will give you that answer. You can see them from your apartment if you’re lucky, you can see them from your car most of the time, and if you’re so inclined, you can climb them. No matter how you appreciate the mountains, it’s undeniable that they are an ever-present, stunning part of our daily lives here in the Mile High City.
Now, I can’t say there aren’t other things that make Denver unique; they might even be some people’s favorites. Our ever-changing weather is appropriately joked about on a regular basis: “If you don’t like the weather, wait twenty minutes.” We have 300+ days a year of sunshine, and another spectacular thing about living here is that we don’t do bugs, and we don’t do humidity! We have hundreds of craft breweries, hundreds of miles of bike trails, an incredibly vibrant art scene, and excellent restaurants. Some of my favorites are right here in UpDoNa, like Little India (go for the lunch buffet or just get the Chicken Tikka Masala), The Office (get the Berry Cheesecake French Toast!), and Stout Street Social. Topping it all off, Denver is an extremely friendly city.
Photo to the left from Pixabay.
If you have been a NYC resident for most of your adult life, as I was, having a car is also quite exciting. No more walking blocks and blocks carrying your six bags of groceries and struggling to get them back home. You can fill up that shopping cart as high as you want and then just wheel it out into the parking lot, and off you go. I’ve lived here for over a decade now, and I still revel in the enormity of the supermarkets! No more squeezing down tiny little aisles and maneuvering tiny grocery carts through a minefield of people.
I would be remiss not to mention our world-class ski resorts, like Aspen, Breckinridge, and Vail. People come from all over the world to ski in Colorado, and from downtown Denver, we are only a few hours away. I also want to mention Winter Park. From UpDoNa, you can take the free shuttle and then transfer to Amtrack, which takes you to Winter Park!
Another one of my favorite things is our proximity to the National Parks! Rocky Mountain National Park is a mere ninety-minute drive from Denver. We’re also lucky enough to have a fantastic neighbor to our West. Utah has five of the most incredible national parks in the country! How many of you can name all five without looking them up? Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Zion National Parks are all beautiful and unique. One of the best deals is a National Park Pass; I buy one yearly. For eighty dollars, you can visit any national park in the country as often as you like.
Now, of course, no place is perfect, so there are some downsides to Denver. Sometimes, when I wake up on a rare cloudy or rainy morning, I smile, thinking it will be a great day for watching TV or reading. I get all prepared, put on my favorite sweatpants, and get all cozy on the couch, only to have the sun come out an hour later and ruin my plans! Also, it must be said that driving here is not for the faint at heart. Some states produce notoriously unskilled drivers. We won’t shame anyone in this article, but we all know who I’m talking about. Still, formerly bi-coastal friends tell me that the drivers are much nicer, and the parking spots are appropriately sized. You also can’t get a decent turkey burger to save your life, so bison burgers are the new turkey burgers! All in all, none of these things are terrible hardships.
When I came out here, my friends said, you’re the quintessential New Yorker; we give it a year, and you’ll be back. I knew they were wrong from the day I arrived, but I had to let them come to that conclusion on their own. After more than ten years, I think they finally believe me!
I go back to NYC several times a year to get my fill of Broadway shows, pizza, Chinese food, and art, and then I remember we have all those things in Denver, too.
And, of course, no one has our mountains, no one!
