OT: San Diego, Chicago, Seattle, Denver | The Boneyard

OT: San Diego, Chicago, Seattle, Denver

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Four places I'm seriously considering (in roughly that order) for my next city once I'm done with Boston, which won't be longer than ~21 months if I have anything to say about it. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, but at this point pretty much the only things tempting me to stay longer are proximity to college friends, Harpoon, and the sheer volume of college-age girls. Boston is also an amazing city for working in the medical field. However I don't feel like there's much left here for me to experience besides the revolving door of college chicks, the weather is , housing is absolutely ridiculous, and the night life generally blows, even when compared to Seattle and Denver, which have roughly the same population.

Anyone have any decent experience with any of these cities? I'm obviously going to check each out at least a good week before I judge for myself but if any of y'all got any info to help, that would be great. If it helps whatever advice/info you may give, I will just be turning 26 if I move when I plan to; will be working in the medical field; looking to move in to a place in the city's downtown area; looking for good nightlife.

Things I've gathered so far:

San Diego: Top 3 cities for weather, beach, active/attractive inhabitants, lots to do around town, lots of beautiful Mexican girls (can't lie I have a thing for latinas), fairly good nightlife
Chicago: awful winters (but I will have been through 8 or 9 New England/Boston winters so how much worse could it be), Top 5 nightlife, sheer volume of people means there are plenty of cool people/pretty girls to meet, good place to work in the medical field
Seattle: beautiful weather (anything else you've heard is a myth), active, clean city, relatively intelligent inhabitants, decent nightlife
Denver: active, clean city, decent nightlife, obviously the best skiing in the country

Oh also those last two: pot is legal
 
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If you can live in San Diego, that would be my choice and anywhere else would be a distant second. The first shorts and flip flops day in winter, you'll wonder why you considered other places (and they don't get the oppressive heat that other parts of SoCal do in summer). Even if you like skiing and fear you'll miss it, it's only a 2-hour trip to Big Bear Lake in the winter. And it's a straight shot to Vegas for when you feel like a road trip. Only down side is property values when you look to buy a home.

My brother has lived there for 15 years and has loved it. He's gone from the Ocean Beach party scene to the quiet condo in the burbs.
 

pj

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San Diego is nice until you have kids. Denver would be my choice.
 
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None of the above.

Austin is great, Charleston or Tampa would be great

LoDo is Denver is a cool area, but it seems like everyone lives 45 mins outside of downtown other than kids. Seattle is very nice, very crowded and weather blows 9 months a year. San Diego is great, expensive and another place that you'll live 30+ minutes from anywhere. Chicago is great is summer, winter is brutal.


San Diego is nice until you have kids. Denver would be my choice.
 
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None of the above.

Austin is great, Charleston or Tampa would be great

LoDo is Denver is a cool area, but it seems like everyone lives 45 mins outside of downtown other than kids. Seattle is very nice, very crowded and weather blows 9 months a year. San Diego is great, expensive and another place that you'll live 30+ minutes from anywhere. Chicago is great is summer, winter is brutal.
Typical post by you; I already addressed most of those points. People who currently or have lived in Seattle tell me it's a myth that the weather is bad.

I know Chicago winters are brutal; but if you read my post I believe nearly a decade in New England will have prepared me.

Re: Denver and Sand Diego I explicitly said I'm looking to live downtown where those "kids" are and within 30 minutes of everything.

Compare what you can get for 2k/month in any of those cities to what you can get for the same amount in Boston and tell me any of them are expensive lmao
 

CTBasketball

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Syracuse, NY. Where the girls are men, and the boys are abused.
 
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Typical post by you; . . . . lmao
You're into "college chicks." And you're 24? How much longer you figure you'll be into college chicks? And you blast the guy for giving you input, even if it wasn't within your parameters.
You're abrasive, immature, and you give me the creeps. Fortunately, I live where the weather sucks and there are few college hotties, so we won't be meeting.
 

Fishy

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If you're 24 and you're not into college chicks, there is something wrong.

He asked about four cities. If someone doesn't have anything to add pertaining to those four cities, they should just STFU.
 
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You're into "college chicks." And you're 24? How much longer you figure you'll be into college chicks?
As long as I have testosterone flowing in my body.... you starting to run a little low?

Put him on blast because he redundantly brought up points I've already addressed. Other points are simply poor/misinformation, which I obviously don't appreciate.
 
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Moved to Denver 8.5 years ago. I've made the full progression from single to married to kids. Denver is probably the most affordable out of what you listed.

The economy is doing well, and pretty much everywhere you look in city limits has new construction going up (mostly condos and apts to handle the population boom). As for the medical field, not sure, but most of the hospitals out here are under major expansion projects.

I moved out here primarily to enjoy the outdoor activities. The first 5 years or so I mostly spent my time climbing, hiking, skiing, mountain biking etc. With kids its changed a bit, but I'm a short drive from any of the above with a baby sitter or accommodating wife. If any of those are important to you, Denver might be a good choice.

As for night life, its good, but probably no San Diego, and its a smaller version of Seattle. I would describe the population as young professional. You've got DU, and few community colleges or branch campuses, but its not really a college town. It's a lot of transplants fresh out of college looking for something new. There's a booming brewery scene (think small tap rooms that you can walk to in your neighborhood). Denver is a good sports town, even if the teams suck (see Rockies, Avs, and Nuggets). People still go to those games in numbers, and all of them are located right downtown.

Make no mistake however, you will experience the full brunt of every season here. Summer days are mostly 90+ degree days, but no humidity, and you'll have your fair share of brutal cold and snow in the winters. I can guarantee its better weather than New England.

You dont seem to be concerned with the long term, but out of these 4 towns, Denver is probably the best to start a family. The quality and cost of the suburbs probably cant be beat if put up against the others.
 
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Moved to Denver 8.5 years ago. I've made the full progression from single to married to kids. Denver is probably the most affordable out of what you listed.

The economy is doing well, and pretty much everywhere you look in city limits has new construction going up (mostly condos and apts to handle the population boom). As for the medical field, not sure, but most of the hospitals out here are under major expansion projects.

I moved out here primarily to enjoy the outdoor activities. The first 5 years or so I mostly spent my time climbing, hiking, skiing, mountain biking etc. With kids its changed a bit, but I'm a short drive from any of the above with a baby sitter or accommodating wife. If any of those are important to you, Denver might be a good choice.

As for night life, its good, but probably no San Diego, and its a smaller version of Seattle. I would describe the population as young professional. You've got DU, and few community colleges or branch campuses, but its not really a college town. It's a lot of transplants fresh out of college looking for something new. There's a booming brewery scene (think small tap rooms that you can walk to in your neighborhood). Denver is a good sports town, even if the teams suck (see Rockies, Avs, and Nuggets). People still go to those games in numbers, and all of them are located right downtown.

Make no mistake however, you will experience the full brunt of every season here. Summer days are mostly 90+ degree days, but no humidity, and you'll have your fair share of brutal cold and snow in the winters. I can guarantee its better weather than New England.

You dont seem to be concerned with the long term, but out of these 4 towns, Denver is probably the best to start a family. The quality and cost of the suburbs probably cant be beat if put up against the others.
Thanks man. This is exactly the kind of stuff I was hoping for. No, I'm not too concerned with the long term because I want to ultimately do 2-3 of the above before settling down. I'm not planning on staying longer than 3-4 years at each city. Bold is pretty much exactly the scene I'm looking for: young transplants such as myself looking to try a new city.
 
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As long as I have testosterone flowing in my body
You strike me as the kind of person who would be better off without your nuts.
Yeah man - you just strike me as a creep. You "work in the medical field." You are moving somewhere at the age of 24 and a big parameter for you is targeting "college chicks."
So Fishy points out that every straight dude at 24 is "into" college chicks. Yeah yeah, we all get that. Young chicks are hotter than older chicks. Evolution and all. We mostly all prefer 18 yo stars to 48 year old ones.
But the point is you went out of your way multiple times to point out that this was an important to you, and preferably latinas, and so on. "revolving door of college chicks". And you're 24. By the time I was 24 the novelty of chasing skirt had long worn off. It's not a question of sex drive. It's a question of not being owned by your biological simplicity.
 
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By the time I was 24 the novelty of chasing skirt had long worn off. It's not a question of s e x drive. It's a question of not being owned by your biological simplicity.
By the time I was 21 the novelty of drinking had worn off; didn't make it less fun

There is nothing biologically simple about meeting, engaging, attracting, and having quality intercourse with young quality girls, and your describing it as such leads me to believe you don't have much experience, or at least your understanding of it is at best shallow. Social interaction, let alone between the sexes in modern society, is some of the most abstract and complex work we put our brains to, mostly because so much of it is subconscious and we are constantly reading and responding to another complex human. If you want to be all condescending with your opinion of what I do with my cock, that's your prerogative, but it just makes you look like someone who is bitter and who never really got much. I find it very odd that you find it offputting that a young, single guy is somewhat interested in the female population of the town in which he lives/is looking to live. Unless you don't find 24 to be young, which IMO would be kind of sad.
 

joober jones

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I've lived in SD. Beautiful city, great beaches, amazing food and beautiful women in bikinis are the biggest assets. The only downside to San Diego is that driving anywhere is an absolute nightmare.
 
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I've lived in SD. Beautiful city, great beaches, amazing food and beautiful women in bikinis are the biggest assets. The only downside to San Diego is that driving anywhere is an absolute nightmare.
But I've heard from girls who grew up there say a car is pretty much required. I've been looking at the downtwon east village/golden hill area, can I get my needs met in that area with public transportation and walking? Then again there's also the concern of where I'll be working and probably needing a car to get there. Thanks for the info; would you say that only downside is tolerable? Or is it like Boston winter where at times you're thinking to yourself "wtf am I doing here"?
 

CAHUSKY

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If you're looking at San Diego, and you like collegeish aged women, I'd suggest Ocean Beach or Mission Beach. The talent is spectacular and the bar scene is fantastic. I'm 46 and I'd consider moving down and splitting the rent.
 

intlzncster

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San Diego. Weather. Surf. Half naked women. Ocean breeze. Healthy food. Mexican food. Women. Weather. Golf if you like that. Access to the Baja peninsula where there is more mexican women, surf and cheap beer. Access to OK snowboard/ski mountains. I could go on.

The people you know who live(d) in Seattle either have never lived in San Diego or are delusional. San Diego weather >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Seattle weather. While not merry ol England, Seattle isn't remotely in the same league.

Though if you enjoy picking mushrooms, Seattle has great access to that. Also, lot's of hipsters.

Chicago winter's have that ice cold wind off the Great Lakes. Sucks. Conversely the breeze is nice in the summer though.
 
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intlzncster

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But I've heard from girls who grew up there say a car is pretty much required. I've been looking at the downtwon east village/golden hill area, can I get my needs met in that area with public transportation and walking? Then again there's also the concern of where I'll be working and probably needing a car to get there. Thanks for the info; would you say that only downside is tolerable? Or is it like Boston winter where at times you're thinking to yourself "wtf am I doing here"?

All the positives of San Diego outway the negatives. That said, joober is not wrong that driving is a nightmare. It's not LA nightmare, but worse than Boston.

If you look for a spot after you find work, and plan accordingly, you wouldn't need a car. But you'll never get the full experience down there without one. I'd put a car high on my list, but would also try to find somewhere to live that has public transport to work (while meeting your other requirements. It's the commute during rush hour that is the real soul drainer.

For myself personally, I couldn't live in SD without a car. I'd feel like I'm missing out on too much (and I would be). Plus, I like to surf, so it's pretty much a requirement.
 
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I went to grad school out in Seattle from 2009-2011, so take anything I say from the perspective of a broke student.

First off, the bad weather is and isn't a myth. Yeah, it rains frequently there, but the volume of annual rain is supposedly less in Seattle than in New York or Boston. Most of the time it's kind of misting or piddling. It's also warmer in winter in Seattle than either of those two cities, and when it is drizzling in town, it's usually dumping snow in the Cascades. If you ski or snowboard, this is a great thing. Alpental and Stevens are both on passes, so you generally have a clear path right until you reach the resort, where the moisture turns to snow. The payoff for the crummy weather in winter and spring is three months in summer when every day is warm, dry, and cloudless.

As far as nightlife goes, I didn't have much time or money to indulge, but my impression is that it's a decent scene. I do know that Seattle's a great town for live music. Showbox on Market Square and the Croc are both awesome venues that get hot acts. I saw Trombone Shorty at Neumo's, which is a bit dingy, but people were partying hard in there. Overall, Seattle nightlife offers good variety: live music, bluegrass/folk, dance clubs, hip hop... When I did go out, people were very much up for meeting and hanging out with strangers. I lived in Boston before Seattle, and I didn't have the same impression. In Boston, you stick with your people.

Seattle's got some great restaurants too. Lots of excellent seafood at places like Matt's on the Market and The Walrus and the Carpenter.

As far as local culture goes, natives like to talk about the "Seattle Freeze." It's a term for the distant manner that generally characterizes treatment of transplants by natives. I guess that exists to some extent, but I thought Seattle was a much easier town to live in as a transplant than Boston. It seems like only half the people in Seattle are from there or nearby. So many people arrive in town from other parts of the country. I have heard, though, that a lot of recent arrivals are Amazon corporate employees, meaning mid-20s bro-brahs. I think a lot of locals are upset by the effect this has had on nightlife and the dating scene.

Seattle's also a progressive city, as you might imagine. Take Cambridge and multiply it by six and you have Seattle. People are well into their causes there, but I like that about the place.

You said you'd be looking to live in the downtown area, but I don't think that's a great place to be situated in Seattle. It's really character-less and full of addicts and crazies. Some of the good nightlife venues are there, but Queen Anne just north of downtown provides convenient enough access and is a much more pleasant place to live. Capitol Hill used to be the place to be, but supposedly the hipsters and bro-brahs have killed its character in the past couple years. Across the Lake Washington canal, Fremont has great atmosphere, but it's also turned into a frat scene. Ballard was also going that way when I left. Georgetown, a former industrial area south of downtown, was the up-and-coming hood when I was in Seattle, but it isn't all that convenient to other parts of the city. West Seattle also has a good reputation.

Of the cities you list, I imagine Seattle's got the best scenery. Actually, I can't imagine another big city that can match it. When the sun's out, you've got a 14,000-ft snow-capped volcano looming overhead and clusters of mountains surrounding the city in three directions. And then you've got the water of the Peugeot Sound. For a variety of accessible outdoor activities, Seattle's gotta be the best big city in the country.
 
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By the time I was 21 the novelty of drinking had worn off; didn't make it less fun . There is nothing biologically simple about meeting, engaging, attracting, and having quality intercourse with young quality girls
Actually, I really like the above post, and my opinion of you has changed substantially based on that. Maybe it's just the way your first post was worded. Maybe I was on the rag when I read it. Not sure which.
I respectfully disagree with your perspective on men/women. To me, it's not much different than a bunch of dogs and running around sniffing each other, mounting, and getting into fights over sausages and muff. What you may discover when you get older is that you're uncertain why your hormones had such a strangle hold over your brain.

In any event, I've gotten lucky in life - despite a healthy libido, I was never attracted to most females. Over the years I've had the great fortune of having my fill of intercourse with a few women who I have found particularly attractive. Never wanted to have casual sex - never did. Not moralizing at all - to each his own. Just not my thing, and with the amount of creepy crawlies out there nowadays, I'd do it no differently had I it to do again. Just saw a 23 year old kid in my town have half his tongue removed - HPV-induced mouth cancer is increasing dramatically among the young.

San Diego sounds great. Except for the crush of humanity. Denver sounds great. Except for the altitude and cold. And so on. No place is perfect. I wish you well finding a place to call home for a bit (and getting as much tail as you can handle!).
 

whaler11

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I've spent a good amount of time in Seattle. When it's not raining the weather is great. But you better not have a problem with rain because it seems at time it will never stop.

Chicago is a ton of fun but if you can go wherever you want it would be a distant fourth for me on the list.
 
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I work with several people who live in Seattle and have been there several times. They complain about the weather and the 8 months of gray, where you rarely see the sun.

Chicago winters are worse than southern NE or Boston, much colder typically.

San Diego, Gaslamp, Mission Beach, great spots. Expensive as anything.

Typical post by you; I already addressed most of those points. People who currently or have lived in Seattle tell me it's a myth that the weather is bad.

I know Chicago winters are brutal; but if you read my post I believe nearly a decade in New England will have prepared me.

Re: Denver and Sand Diego I explicitly said I'm looking to live downtown where those "kids" are and within 30 minutes of everything.

Compare what you can get for 2k/month in any of those cities to what you can get for the same amount in Boston and tell me any of them are expensive lmao
 
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I lived in San Diego for 2 1/2 years and have visited Denver a couple times. Can't tell you much about the other cities.

San Diego is a great spot to live. If you like outdoor activity there is no better spot. The young party scene is located in PB and is probably where you want to be. Ocean Beach is also a party scene but much more of a stoner crowd versus college / fresh out of college crowd in PB.

I moved to San Diego from New York and tried to get around without a car for about six months. After awhile I realized a car was necessary and bought one. The public transportation is awful in San Diego and you will end up buying a car.

Having exclusively dated Latin women for the last 4 years (my current girlfriend is Venezuelan) I didn't really date Latinas in San Diego. But if you are looking for a Latina I'm sure she will be easy to find.

San Diego is the best city I've lived in so you definitely won't be choosing wrong if that's where you end up.

With that said if I move back to the US the city at the top of my list to live is Denver. I've only spent a couple weekends there, but every time I went it was a blast. There bars were a lot of fun and we went to a Rockies / Broncos game in the same weekend. The majority of the sports arenas and main nightlife are located in the same part of the city making it a fun spot to hang out. There's also a lot of outdoor activity to do in Denver and would be a great spot to live.

Personally I would also consider Seattle, but not Chicago. I wouldn't want to deal with Chicago winters. For what it's worth I was in San Diego a couple months ago talking to a couple that just moved from Chicago and they told me there is no chance they would go back to Chicago after living in San Diego.
 

joober jones

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But I've heard from girls who grew up there say a car is pretty much required. I've been looking at the downtwon east village/golden hill area, can I get my needs met in that area with public transportation and walking? Then again there's also the concern of where I'll be working and probably needing a car to get there. Thanks for the info; would you say that only downside is tolerable? Or is it like Boston winter where at times you're thinking to yourself "wtf am I doing here"?

It's probably tolerable for most people much more so than it is for me. I learned to drive in an area with virtually no traffic and few roads that are wider than two lanes, so the five lanes (on each side) that you'll often encounter in some areas of San Diego were a bit more vexing for me than they'd be for someone who didn't grow up in the sticks.
 

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