Regret thread
“I was curious if anyone else had made the move and ended up being disappointed in their decision? Did you end up moving back to Colorado Springs...”
Mile-high sunshine and the outdoors at your door. What the postcard misses: a housing market that got away from itself, 300 days of sun that includes 200 wildfire smoke days in a bad year, and a population growth story that paused.
Median age 35. Tech, aerospace, healthcare, a still-significant energy sector, and a federal government footprint. Millennials who came in the 2013-2019 boom are now parents with strollers and opinions about schools.
Most cost calculators stop at rent and groceries. This one runs federal and state income tax, FICA, state and local sales tax, property and auto insurance, and average utilities through the brackets, for this city specifically. Change the inputs to match you.
Tax brackets: IRS 2024 federal, Tax Foundation 2024 state. Insurance and utility averages: NAIC homeowners, III auto, EIA utilities, 2024.
Thirty-year NOAA climate normals. Not the brochure.
Every city has them. We read the threads so you can decide whether you are signing up for these specific ones.
Denver home values roughly doubled in that window. They have flattened since 2022 but not retreated. A middle-class household earning $150K can still afford, but not comfortably.
5,280 feet means less oxygen, drier air, and worse sleep until you acclimate. Exercise feels harder for 2-6 weeks. Alcohol hits faster. Hangovers are worse. This is physiology, not drama.
Denver has 300 sunny days and also some of the most dramatic summer hailstorms in the country. Car comprehensive insurance is higher than it sounds for this reason. Wildfire smoke is a real and growing summer hazard.
Denver Water is competent but Colorado River compact negotiations are ongoing and the snowpack has been below average more years than not this decade. Long-term water is a real risk; short-term it is fine.
The ski weekend traffic from Denver to the resorts is legendary. What should be a 90-minute drive can be 4 hours on a February Saturday. If you moved here for the mountains, understand you are paying in hours.
The Epic and Ikon passes made season skiing $800-1000, but they also made lift lines brutal on weekends. For the experience most people picture, mid-week skiing or a truck to Loveland is required.
Denver Public Schools have bright spots and known weak spots. Many families go to the suburbs (Cherry Creek, Littleton, Jefferson County) or private. Do the school diligence before you commit to a neighborhood.
Denver is reliably blue. Colorado as a whole has moved blue but the state legislature still has moderates and the ballot initiatives reflect a real debate. This affects housing, transit, taxation.
Top-ranked Reddit and forum discussions about moving to, living in, and regretting Denver. We link to the source. If you care about the honest read, these are the threads to read.
“I was curious if anyone else had made the move and ended up being disappointed in their decision? Did you end up moving back to Colorado Springs...”
“I would describe Denver as a highly-livable city: safe, clean, well-run, not too big or too small, prosperous and dynamic. It's also sunny,...”
“My wife and I are debating moving back to the Denver area in summer 2024. Would love to hear advice from anyone who has made the move.”
“I love living in Denver. I've also lived in Houston and Chicago. What Denver has going for it is the climate. It has all 4 seasons.”
“Totally regret it. It's an insular, lonely place. The crime rate is probably higher than reported. People are passive agressive, gossipy, angry.”
The ones people actually move to. Rent ranges are 1BR at the time of this writing; they move quickly.
Dense, walkable, historic, loud. Renters, young professionals, state-capital adjacent. The urban Denver of books and movies.
Post-gentrification restaurant row. Old bungalows next to glass buildings. 30-something professionals with young families and strollers.
River North. Breweries, art, mural district. New construction mid-rise rentals. Party adjacent, still very new.
Craftsman bungalows, a big beautiful park, families. The established-professional Denver that has been stable for 15 years.
Master-planned, family-focused, good schools in spots. Car-dependent but bike-friendly. Where people go when LoHi gets too loud.
Suburbs west. Older homes, mountain views, much cheaper. Light rail connects parts of Lakewood to downtown.
The regret clock runs between months 14 and 24 for most people who leave. Use the first year to lay the foundation that keeps you here, or to know honestly that you won't stay.
Get Colorado driver's license within 90 days. Vehicle emissions inspection is required before registration.
Understand altitude. Hydrate, sleep more, cut caffeine, take iron if you have any history of low ferritin. This is real.
If you did not bring a car, rethink. Denver is transit-mediocre; the ski and hiking life requires a vehicle.
Sign up for Denver Water and Xcel Energy. Do not skip renters or homeowners insurance (hail).
You have survived the altitude adjustment and one winter. Winter here is dry cold, not wet cold; dress accordingly.
Join a ski group or climbing gym for the friend problem. Denver is outdoors-forward and friend-making follows that path.
Reassess ski access. If you have not actually gone skiing yet, the "move here for the mountains" narrative deserves scrutiny.
Property tax reappraisal happens every two years. Protest if your number is out of line.
You have lived through hail, smoke, and a 60-degree Christmas. This is normal weather here.
If you are still here and happy, join something long-term: buy gear, commit to a sport, find a mountain town you return to.
The ski pass decision for year two. Epic vs Ikon vs local pass, based on which resorts you actually used.
If you have not put roots down in 12 months, be honest. Denver is a 3-year city for many people.
We will not tell you what to do. We will tell you whom this city actually works for, and whom it does not.