Denver - Rockin'? Or utterly lame?

[MechaGodzilla]

Hey all,
So, a friend of mine is trying to convince me to move to Denver, and I've flown through there, but never spent any time. What's the rec scene / music scene like? How about jobs? Or just in general?

I have it in my head that it's country, 24/7. ...not that there's anything wrong with that. =)

Anyway, I gotta know.

Peace,
A

[Professor]

I lived in Boulder which is 30 miles northwest of Denver for just shy of six years. There's a healthy jazz scene and a growing punk scene happening along with the usual stash of DJs, cheesey 80s rock bands, etc. I finished my undergrad studies in Music at the Univ. of Colo at Boulder which has a music department a little larger than Univ. of Washington by you, and I worked on a Master's in Recording at the Univ. of Colo at Denver. Denver is one of only a handful of schools in the US that offer master's degrees in Recording and the teacher is a past president (about 2 years ago) of the Audio Engineering Society.
The job market is healthy since the area is among the top three fastest growing cities in the country along with Vegas and Atlanta. The population of the state went from three million in 1990 to 4 million in 2000, with most of those landing in Denver and the surrounding 'burbs. With all the growth, jobs in service and construction areas are just booming, and tech jobs are still going fairly well. Hell, I worked for three years for an audio/video installation company and made more money doing that than I do now at the University - though now I have the priveledge of living on the outskirts of nowhere.
I believe there are about 2.5 million people in the Denver Metro area which includes Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and the various burbs of Lakewood, Littleton, Aurora, etc. You'll also replace the 300+ days of rain you get in Seattle with the reverse - 300+ days of sunshine per year. You may be a little out of breath when you walk around for the first couple weeks, but you'll get used to it. It is quite dry though.
And no, Denver is hardly 24hr country, any more than Seattle is 24hr grunge. (It isn't, right?)

And if you are looking to move there, I am selling a condo in Boulder that you can check out here. And no, that little detail didn't bias my description, it really isn't that bad of a town, and it certainly beats the piss out of Pullman.

-Jeremy

[splitpoint]

I've been in Denver for 32 years, currently living in Parker which is south of Denver.

There are a few country stations but the town is not country. Seems to be a pretty good sized Goth scene around here but there are also some really unique local acts like Steve Hahn (chapman stick player) and Devotchka (uhmm..Romanian punk band?) there's plenty to do around here.

As far as jobs, lots of construction as mentioned in the previous post. But I have to disagree with the previous poster's comments regarding tech jobs. I'm a systems administrator and I have to say that Tech jobs are really tight around here. It is improving but I know a lot of good skilled technical people that are out of work, especially in computers and telecommunications.

In my experience the people around here are forward thinking and open minded.

Great place to live if you have a job

Al

[zoetrope]

John Denver? Oh, he ROCKS!

[angry planets]

I moved to Denver 7 years ago, and I would say that the music scene pretty much stinks. From what I've heard about Seattle, you can walk into several bars any night of the week and hear good music, and there are plenty of musicians to play with. If that is the case, you will be very disappointed in Denver.

There is one decent bar to play rock in (15th street tavern). Maybe Lion's Lair. Every once in awhile, a punk club will spring up and then go under. I searched and searched for years for a band to play with. There is no real scene. Strangely, there is a halfway decent noise/experimental scene.

It is not country 24/7. It is hippie jam bands 24/7. They will try to fake you out by calling it jazz, or acid jazz, or something like that, but what it really is is hippies who smoke alot of pot and jam.

The job scene is really tight there now for tech jobs but getting slightly better, and the women are some of the most frighteningly ugly creatures on Earth. You will be surprised how many girls there look like Ozzy.

On the other hand, it is BEAUTIFUL. Every morning, you will turn around, with the sun on the foothills and marvel at their beauty. That will never get old.

I enjoyed my five years there, but finally gave up and moved back to Texas. The women here are stunning, and I was in two bands within a couple months.

Short answer: whether you want to move there will depend on how important the mountains are to you, because that is all there is.

[bobbydj]

John Denver? Oh, he ROCKS!

Harumph.

[wing]

John Denver? Oh, he ROCKS!

Harumph.

what's a brit like you doing on a thread about denver, USA? do i post on every thread about leicester?*



*the answer is yes.

[bobbydj]

Is it tea-time yet?

[John Jeffers]

I've been here since '96, and it's definitely a ho-hum scene IMO, though no worse than where I came from (Orlando, FL).

You might want to check out www.denvermessageboard.com to get a sense of the local music scene.

Oh yeah, no investigation of the Denver scene can be complete without a visit to www.maristhegreat.com. He's a GAY ZOMBIE WHO KILLS BANDS AFTER HE INTERVIEWS THEM.

[kayagum]

In my experience the people around here are forward thinking and open minded.
Al

My brother (a 10 year resident of Ft Collins) and a 10 year student (and counting, though he owns an engineering firm that can build you anything out of fiberglass or carbon fiber), said it best: "People in Colorado think they're liberal, and they're not; and they think they're green, and they're not." (check out Denver's air quality and the amount of OPEC oil they burn in their 4 wheelers).

That being said, there's a lot of growth and startup type high tech in the area. The new bourgeois needs to be entertained- and why compete with the hip masses?

[radiantbrian]

I would just say if you're considering moving here, don't do it for musical reasons. Move here because it's a pretty state with lots of parks and outdoorsy stuff to do. Job wise, it seems fairly progressive and the real estate isn't TOO outrageous. But musically, though there are a couple great studios (blasting room, airshow mastering, a few more i've never been to) and good music venues, this place is blah central.. nothing you haven't heard done in other places years ago.

[eeldip]

there is that mexican restaurant where they have fake gun battles that always end in someone falling off a 20 foot cliff into a pool. casa bonita? i think it is called.

fucking strange place. that cowboy cliff dive is just the tip of the iceburg. food is terrible, but you know... there is a talking parrot, and a big orange thing walking around, and caves to explore. what else do you want?

http://www.casabonitadenver.com/

[radiantbrian]

they have a few casa bonitas all over the southwest, but i agree, that place is compellingly absurd. i ate in the 'cave' once, it was odd.

[littlebrothersclothes]

I had to live there for a couple months a few years ago due to a job situation. Musically (and in pretty much all other cultural aspects), it sucked. There were two shows worth going to the whole time, and one of them got cancelled because I was the only person who showed up (so I brought them back to the residence hotel suite my employers were putting me up in and we hung out in the jacuzzi instead)!

The person who said that your decision to move there should be 100% dependent on how much you like the mountains is 100% correct.

Doug

[kdarr]

You mean that place is REAL?! I thought it was just something they made up for South Park.

Wow. Just... wow.

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there is that mexican restaurant where they have fake gun battles that always end in someone falling off a 20 foot cliff into a pool. casa bonita? i think it is called.

fucking strange place. that cowboy cliff dive is just the tip of the iceburg. food is terrible, but you know... there is a talking parrot, and a big orange thing walking around, and caves to explore. what else do you want?

http://www.casabonitadenver.com/