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Bethany
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My husband has applied for and made the list for consideration for a new job that would be in either Denver or Seattle. I've traveled to both before but have no idea which I would choose. I'm kind of hoping it won't be a choice and they'll just make an offer for one or the other. He really wants a new job so I'm praying this works out. Obviously, he really wants another job because I never thought he would live in either of these places  !
Either would be a big change for us as we've always lived in the sunbelt. The farthest north we've been is Northern Virginia.
Which would you choose?
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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JennGM
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I'd choose Denver -- because MaryM lives there. It is a mecca of good Catholic living!
I'd prefer Seattle for the weather, though. Rainy or not, I prefer that to snow and fire.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SallyT
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I think I'd choose Denver, for what seems like a really good, solid Catholic diocese as well as for the climate. We almost moved to Seattle in 1991, for me to go to graduate school, but wound up in Utah instead: blue skies, *gorgeous* mountains, abundance of outdoor things to do, and *just enough* granola lifestyle, without what I guess I might term the excesses of granola-progressive culture/politics/whatever. We really, really loved the intermountain West and still miss it.
And yes, wonderful people live there, and they have that great Catholic homeschooling conference. :)
Sally
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Aagot
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How funny Jenn! I completely agree!
Bethany, if you want the sunbelt, you want Denver. And Mary does make it all the sunnier.
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Bethany
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| Posted: July 17 2013 at 3:33pm | IP Logged
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Well, I'm not sure i want the sunbelt. We live in DFW and I have lived in Atlanta (aka Hotlanta), Phoenix, and Austin and grew up in Arkansas. These all have varying degrees of really, nasty hot weather. This summer has been exceptionally nice for Dallas so far, but usually I leave my house very little from June until September. The older I get, the more I hate the heat  .
I'm somewhat concerned my husband might really dislike the dryness of Denver. Dallas can be dry, but overall it's not as dry as Denver. He really doesn't like the desert. I'm very fond of the Sonoran desert, but it has a lot more vegetation than high desert areas.
So all that to say, I'm attracted to the more mild temperatures of Seattle. I think my husband would like the green of the PNW. However, he's afraid I'll have perpetual SAD.
They're both more expensive than Dallas, but I think Denver looks a little more affordable. That could be the deciding factor. DH is threatening to just tell me it's one or the other even if they were to give him a choice because he doesn't want me mad at him or myself . He knows me well!!
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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Bethany
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| Posted: July 17 2013 at 3:41pm | IP Logged
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Also, this wouldn't have to be a forever choice. If we went to either place and loved it we could stay. However, if we hated it this job would put him in the position of getting another job in 4-5 years back in DC. I love NOVA, but talk about EXPENSIVE!!
So I have some comfort in knowing that if necessary we could always go back to DC.
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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JodieLyn
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Denver really isn't high desert.. not like real high desert.. it's more like high plains/grasslands bumping up against the Rockies (though not as near the mountains as Colorado Springs is)
And dryness is much easier to fix than lack of sunlight. A humidifier, evaporative cooler for the summer.. much easier to balance in some ways than high humidity.
And your body does adapt to the drier climate. Sure you can still feel like you're trying to live in a hairdryer on a windy summer day. But a moisturizing soap in the shower and keep some saline nose spray around and it's not too bad.
And MaryM is there. 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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JodieLyn
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Oh and this site City Data is great for comparing stats, of all sorts, between cities.. like for climate you can compare the number of sunny days and the average lows and highs and the amount of precipitation and all sorts of things.. but there's also housing stats and stuff.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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knowloveserve
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Well I can give you a nutshell opinion of Seattle. The PacNW geographically can't be beat , IMO.  mountains, beaches, farmlands, moderate weather... my heart is at home here. And honestly, it doesn't rain as much as the rest of the country thinks. Seems that was a myth that was started in the 60s to keep all the Californians from moving up here. July-September especially are pretty darn hard to beat. Snow happens just enough to make it a treat... 8 inches one day two years so, and just a Christmas dusting last year. We use our air conditioner about 2 weeks out of the year at most...
Politically, Seattle is the most hostile city in the US to traditional values. Not only is it über liberal... Like most big cities... but there is an activist aggression that accompanies that ideology. Voting season here is very depressing. But there are still some great communities that'll be a support for you!
There are about three good churches in the Seattle area. But the gem of the archdiocese is really across the water here in my city: Bremerton: http://www.starofthesea.net/. The city itself isn't much to look at: a Navy shipyard town... but the church community is outstanding and folks travel to be here. Many parishioners live here and commute on the ferry to Seattle for work. If it weren't for our church community, we'd be looking at jobs elsewhere.
Anyway, I don't know much about Denver but you might love it here!
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Ellie
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Claire F
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I agree with knowloveserve about Seattle. It is a beautiful place. It does rain, and the winter tends to stay quite gray, but it isn't so bad. The weather is so mild - no major storms or anything to worry about, very little crazy heat in the summer. The bugs aren't bad either - nothing scary huge .
Politically, yes it is very liberal. Surrounding communities can be less so, but in the city it is very liberal and often hostile to traditional values. But there is still a thriving archdiocese and lots of great people.
We love it here.
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Claire
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SuzanneG
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Seattle is BEAUTIFUL! My husband and I loved the weather, but we both hate hot and don't mind the lack of sunshine. There were MANY summers, though, where it was warm enough for my kids to jump in the kiddie pool ONLY TWICE! Usually all of August and September is beautiful, but in the past 10 years, I remember 2 summers where I never took off my cardigan. People get VERY depressed in April to June when it's still not warming up and there are only occasional sunbreaks. Like Ellie said it doesn't RAIN as much as everyone thinks, but it IS gray!
The Catholic HS community is awesome!
Yes, to what Ellie said about politics and traditional values.  But, if you're in Cath HS circles....those become your friends and that's your support network. Find a good church and that's your home base. Lots of really great people in Seattle Catholic churches!
We just couldn't STAND all those people so close to each other! It's so crowded and the population is SO DENSE. Traffic is horrible. We lived 10 miles north of downtown, and it used to take me an HOUR to get to our cathedral choir program on a GOOD DAY! On a bad day....2 and a half hours!!!!!
The past couple of years there, I stopped going ANYWHERE that wasn't closer than 4 miles away, because there was such a high chance that I'd get stuck in traffic.
My husband had a home-office when he was home and traveled on the other weeks, so we didn't have the commute thing to worry about. That's a biggie....you'd want to try to live close to your husband's job so he's not driving all day long.
When I go to Denver, I feel like I can BREATHE! It's more spread out, the streets are bigger, there are more ways to get to everywhere. Big parking lots, big streets, big driveways, big stores, etc.....
Home prices would be a HUGE consideration for me if I were comparing the two cities. I think Seattle is still WAY more than Denver. With so many kids and homeschooling....the house you could get would be so IMPORTANT to me! Living in Texas, you're probably used to more square footage and a yard. Which are both scarce in Seattle!
Median home price in Denver: $296
Median home price in Seattle: $425
We're heading back there next week for a quick 3-day-visit and I'm already getting hives just THINKING about it!
Seattle has AWESOME restaurants! Lots of public pools! Both of which are lacking here in Idaho. 
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Suzanne in ID
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MaryM
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| Posted: July 17 2013 at 10:08pm | IP Logged
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Well, I'm touched that I rank as a plus for Denver living.
SallyT wrote:
| And yes, wonderful people live there, and they have that great Catholic homeschooling conference. :) |
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We do have a great conference...
Well, I might be a teensy bit biased...but my vote would be Denver. I actually am a Pacific NW native *if* that definition includes Idaho (which it sometimes does) but that would put me in the drier sunnier part of the Pacific NW. So really I am as Sally described it an "intermountain West" girl to the core.
Ellie mentioned the misconceptions that people have of Seattle and there are those of Denver, too - some being mentioned here like the snow. But there are truths even in misconceptions - it is just often the degree. And you get used to things and they seem the norm and life exists happily around that.
My son who is a Denver kid just spent two years living and working in Seattle and recently moved inland. He got used to the grayer, wetter climate but didn't particularly care for it and is much more at home inland. He thought the traffic (and drivers) in Seattle was really bad compared to Denver (and he doesn't care for Denver traffic either - happy to be in less populated location). Cost of living (particularly housing) is higher there than Denver - but both are high so it is relative.
So, some Denver info:
Denver has almost the same latitude as No Virginia. It isn't really that north.
4 distinct seasons.
Denver is really sunny. We have way more days with sun than gray days in winter, so the cold doesn't feel that cold. Park days in February are not unheard of.
Snow - we get it - but not as much as people think. It usually doesn't stick around that long either. The "potential" snow season is long (Sept - May). but melts immediately in Sept. Oct. Nov and March April May if it does happen (which it rarely does except March which is our snowiest month). This year was really unusual in that we got hit with a snow almost once a week in April and early May - but gone the same day.
Amazing diocese to live in - one of the best in the west. There are few places comparable. Very vibrant Catholicism as well as orthodox. Amazing young priests coming out of our outstanding seminary. Lots of apostolates and organizations are coming here. Many top Catholic theologians and speakers live here. As far as being a Catholic, I don't know of many other diocese I would rather be in. Probably could name 3 parishes I wouldn't want to belong to.
And to address the fire issue - Last two years we have had a pretty bad fire season in the state and affected the city of Colorado Springs on the outskirts/forest. Live in the city - no fire danger. Live in the forest, fire danger.
So that gets to your point about the dryness. It is dry here - very low humidity (not that many pesky bugs either!). Having curly/wavy hair I prefer that to humidity - it I lived in Seattle my hair would be a frizzball. Not lush and green naturally but not desolate either. If you live in Denver or the older suburbs it is plenty green with lots of trees - new developments - houses stacked on top of each other and little vegetation. As Jodie mentioned it is not high dessert - it is short grass prairie/plains but running into woodlands. But the mountains are close - and the forests. Beautiful and lots of recreation opportunities.
knowloveserve wrote:
| The PacNW geographically can't be beat , IMO. mountains, beaches, farmlands, moderate weather... |
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I can not say that (we don't got no beaches ) but otherwise ...mountains, canyons, farmland, 4 seasons but not extreme...
Bethany wrote:
| Well, I'm not sure i want the sunbelt. We live in DFW and I have lived in Atlanta (aka Hotlanta), Phoenix, and Austin and grew up in Arkansas. These all have varying degrees of really, nasty hot weather. This summer has been exceptionally nice for Dallas so far, but usually I leave my house very little from June until September. The older I get, the more I hate the heat . |
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I think Aagot was referring to our sunny days as the sunbelt. Temperature-wise we are not like the sunbelt at all. We are not as "moderate" as Seattle - definitely have 4 seasons - but not that extreme in any temperature. Our summers have some hot stretches but generally just really nice and it cools down in the evenings so nicely - we have great summer evenings. And as mentioned our winters are winters with some snow, but not as cold as people think and little humidity so it is not biting cold - it is often just wear a light jacket cold.
Both Denver and Seattle are comparable in culture, museums, athletics, things like that. We have 7 professional sports teams though (more than Seattle if you are counting). Seattle beats us in coffee and seafood, we take it in beer and beef .
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Mary M. in Denver
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JennGM
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Denver tourism board should be paying you, Mary.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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MaryM
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Oh, and A LOT of Texans live here!
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Mary M. in Denver
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knowloveserve
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MaryM wrote:
Both Denver and Seattle are comparable in culture, museums, athletics, things like that. We have 7 professional sports teams though (more than Seattle if you are counting). Seattle beats us in coffee and seafood, we take it in beer and beef .
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To be fair... I could handle living in Denver. (I'd miss my beaches terribly though!)
I'll give you the crummy Seattle drivers and the beef... but we'd have to fight over the best beer label. There are some pretty fantastic little microbreweries around here.
(And just for kicks, it's important to note that while we are famous for Starbucks, the true coffee connoisseurs detest their brew --burnt and bitter-- and I've seen more than a few "friends don't let friends drink Starbucks" bumper stickers.)
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Ellie
The Bleeding Pelican
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Bethany
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Thank you all! I guess if given the choice it would probably be Denver. That's the more practical choice and is more like what we're used to. However, I've longed to be in the NW since I first visited in college. However, I HATE crowds and traffic . I've given up on ever being able to live somewhere smaller. I guess I might be able to once DH retires, but then I'll have grown kids and want to be close to them. So Denver really is about as small as I can get.
Surprisingly, TX has small yards! We have a very nice yard for DFW but we bought an older house and have had to do a lot of work. I'm tired of working on a house so I might want newer, I just have to see how much yard I'm willing to give up. I would love to just move in, unpack and start living my life. I also like being able to drive my Suburban without feeling cramped and parking easily .
DH really needs a new job, so we'd even go to Seattle if needed. Seattle would just be a lot farther from family. I'm just hoping and praying this works out because if not I may end up in Houston . Houston is not somewhere I ever wanted to live. It definitely has it's positives but is the wrong direction for me. I want cooler not hotter.
Thank you again and I'll let you know if it works out. If so, I'll be needing more specific information about either city!
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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SallyT
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And it sounds like Dallas is plenty hot right now! My daughter's working as an RA for University of Dallas's Arete high-school program, and she said it's been pretty fever-swampy: first wet, then sauna-hot.
I would be totally with you in wanting *cooler.* NC is warm enough for me, thank you!
Godspeed you in this journey. I really hope you wind up in a great place.
Sally
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MaryM
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| Posted: July 20 2013 at 7:54pm | IP Logged
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knowloveserve wrote:
| ... but we'd have to fight over the best beer label. There are some pretty fantastic little microbreweries around here. |
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I will give you that, Ellie. I know there are great microbreweries.  We just have more - plus we have Coors (largest single-site brewery in world) and an Anheuser-Busch brewery. Denver hosts the premier U.S. beer festival and competition - Great American Beer Festival. And in reality I think Portland beats us both...
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Mary M. in Denver
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Denver or Seattle?
