Denver and the state of Colorado are massively overrated.

[Beechwood]

I was out of curiosity looking at maybe moving to Colorado someday in the future. I have some family that liver there part of the year. To my surprise asking around to people I know who have been to Colorado, and reading about the state on chats forums, no one liked Denver it seemed like, and overall held a negative view about the state.

When I was younger I heard nothing but good about Colorado. Seems like today the place has changed for the worse.

To make matters worse, was reading that recently Democrats took over all parts of government. The first thing the Democrats did was to raise taxes, property taxes, and other taxes. Colorado used to be a more affordable place. Now though as I read it is heading toward California type high costs of living. Think I'll be taking a pass on Colorado.

 

[Seahawks Fan]

I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been there. All I know is that, at Seattle’s airport, it’s easy to pick out the people who live there. They’re either Chinese, or they’re white guys who look incredibly depressed (probably because of the weather) and have big nappy beards.

@mozfonky Does this sound right to you?

 

[DanSavage]

Doesn't Pueblo have one of the highest crime rates in the US?

No. That's just mayoral race political talking points.

Crime is actually decreasing despite the PPD being down 60 officers and the PCSO also being understaffed.

See: Fact check: Is crime rising in Pueblo? Are the homeless bused into town in large groups?

In the buildup to the 2023 municipal election, crime and homelessness have been popular talking points among several mayoral candidates, some of whom have claimed crime is hitting a tipping point in Pueblo and that homeless individuals are bused into town in large numbers from other cities or states.

Some Puebloans have even directly asked city officials and political candidates about those claims throughout this election season.

During a debate last month, mayoral candidate Chris Nicoll relayed a claim from a Belmont security guard who alleged that many of the city's homeless are being bused into Pueblo in large groups. Randy Thurston, another mayoral candidate, shares that belief and acknowledged it on his campaign’s Facebook page when asked about it.

However, statistics show that crime across Pueblo is actually decreasing this year, and city and county officials say no concrete proof has emerged of the busing claim. Here's what we know.

Police chief says worst types of crime are decreasing in Pueblo

"Part 1" crimes, the most serious types of criminal offenses, are down 15% from Jan. 1. to Oct. 26 of this year compared to the same period last year, Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller told the Chieftain.

Part 1 crimes include offenses like murder, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, auto theft, sexual assault, and felony theft.

The 15% decline in such offenses comes despite the Pueblo Police Department being down almost 60 officers, with only 174 positions out of 230 currently filled, Noeller said.

"Despite that personnel loss, the guys and gals in uniform and the detectives have had a huge impact on our crime," he said.

Noeller noted that one area in which police have seen an increase over the past year is motor vehicle thefts, with 1,471 stolen vehicles reported from January through October last year compared to 1,530 in 2023.

...

Sheriff's office reports its own significant decrease in crime

Overall, crime reported in the county is down 16% this year compared to January through October of 2022, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero told the Chieftain.

Certain types of crime have seen even larger reductions, according to the sheriff. For example, robberies are down 37.5% and burglaries are down 35%.

Lucero attributed some of the department's success in reducing crime to campaigns conducted to raise awareness and increase enforcement, as well as cooperation between Colorado State Patrol, Pueblo PD, and the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.

 

[TeTe]

If you're not into mountainy things, then it's nothing special. A lot of people that are smug there are California transplants trying to play gatekeeper.

Good riddance.

 

[Jesus X]

Seems like it is getting worse with the meth use last time I was there they stole a dudes bike in about 1 min. Their beer scene and restaurants are nice but you get hammered fast being in a high altitude.

 

[Romulas]

Staying here right now (and yeah insomnia hitting hard) and this is the 8th time I have visited the city and the state in the past five or so years. I have gone to Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Aspen. Everyone hypes the state up as being heaven and every time I go, it is depressing as hell compared to most other states I have been to.

Every time I have visited Denver and the state of Colorado, I have found the place depressing.

1. Most of the people are on drugs or hopped up on some serious narcotic. One time on my flight back, years ago, I saw one dude hopping around like crazy with pink eyes when we were going through the security checkpoint and the security did absolutely nothing. Like this crazy bum is going to get on a flight with someone and security saw it, didn't do jack.....incompetent morons.

2. People are rude and smug. You go to a restaurant and every waitress or waiter talks down to you. They seem to brag about their beer and do it in a condescending way. Like we get it, you don't serve Guinness or Modelo here but you staring intensely at us with your eyes wide open as you explain why your no-name beer from some irrelevant brewery is great is not convincing me to get it.

3. The people give off a very shady vibe as if you are in a horror flick. You cannot talk to strangers normally and when you do, it seems like you are talking to someone that has something seriously off with them. You don't meet as many decent people there as you would in a lot of other states even if you are making small talk with strangers in a bar.

4. Denver felt really unsafe as well. I walked around and saw more homeless tents than usual and the homeless seemed way more aggressive than in other cities. Walking around at night was made me feel more uneasy than doing it in a city like NYC, Boston, Miami, or even Atlanta. Like WTF happened.

Then for the rest of the state of Colorado, yeah it has nature but that seems to be about it. When you take the nature part of the equation, you just feel like you are in Silent Hill (movie or game) with the kinds of people you see in the state. Weird state with some weird cities man.

The Ski areas are great in the winter and the outdoor beauty there is top 10 in the US.

I would absolutely never consider living there outside of spending a winter there snowboarding.

 

[Jesus X]

Big city but it's close to some beautiful mountains. If you're not into outdoors then I understand being underwhelmed.

Seems like utah and colorado have that in common but utah has the creepy mormon vibe, nevada is better at hiding the Mormonism.

 

[mozfonky]

@mozfonky Does this sound right to you?

Dunno, I never hung at seatac, I heard it's a spot for gays to pick up dudes. Maybe those depressed chaps are sad to not get picked.

 

[Bobby00]

Homeless have a lot of cardio since its high elevation. I dare you to go 5 rounds with a Denver bum.

 

[therealdope]

Seems like utah and colorado have that in common but utah has the creepy mormon vibe, nevada is better at hiding the Mormonism.

I spend a lot of time in SW Utah, there are so many transplants that the Mormonism isn't what it once was.

 

[zapataxiv]

No. That's just mayoral race political talking points.

Crime is actually decreasing despite the PPD being down 60 officers and the PCSO also being understaffed.

See: Fact check: Is crime rising in Pueblo? Are the homeless bused into town in large groups?

lol
like I said before if you're middle class or up
my family was deep in the eastside and bessemer through the 70's 80's and 90's

gangs drugs and lifestyle going no where fueled by alcohol ( and heroin) took most of them out


I would never live in Pueblo
my dad worked hard to get out
and growing up there screwed my big brother up

 

[method115]

I’ve been 3 times and I’ve loved it every single time.

 

[Morning Star]

Lived in Denver for 6 months during the start of the pandemic and have visited many times before and after. Western Colorado is absolutely gorgeous, Eastern Colorado is empty and ugly AF. Denver itself I do like, it's 30 minutes to an hour from thousands of amazing trails, very close to snowboarding/skiing, has every sport and lots of activities to do in the city. The worst thing about Denver is the ugly ass people with all the fashion sense of a homeless person, it's filled to the brim with a bunch of rejects from CA and NY, feels like Portland lite, it also doesn't feel like a community or have a real identity, transplant community basically.

Also like a lot of major cities the homeless population went through the roof once the pandemic hit. Went before COVID a few times and never noticed so many homeless people.

 

[Seahawks Fan]

Dunno, I never hung at seatac, I heard it's a spot for gays to pick up dudes. Maybe those depressed chaps are sad to not get picked.

Well I heard it's a spot for people to catch a flight
. Maybe those depressed chaps are sad because they're experiencing a layover.

 

[mozfonky]

Well I heard it's a spot for people to catch a flight
. Maybe those depressed chaps are sad because they're experiencing a layover.

not a frequent flyer, probably been there, less than ten times in 55 years. Anyplace where people are going or arriving seems sketchy as hell whether it's an airport or a bus station. The greyhound used to have a rep for all kinds of shit, and it wasn't too far from there where some 16 year old girls try to make a little money off of me. We're a helluva species all things considered.

 

[mozfonky]

I spend a lot of time in SW Utah, there are so many transplants that the Mormonism isn't what it once was.

we get mormons coming to our ton, or maybe they aren't all mormons but they all seem pretty troubled, least the ones I met. One was a popular piano bar owner and he blew his head off out of the blue, after always smiling and laughing and giggling. Sad even though I really never liked that sort of goofy shit as a musician myself. I always thought that big shot, laugh at everything act was fake but I didn't think any of those guys were in that much of a pit. Mormons are phenomenal musicians, there's another one who works at the same joint and there's some youtuber who's phenomenal but I think he had to lay back because of his religion. The musical part is good, churches used to be where america's brightest talents came from whether it was rock and rollers like Elvis and jerry lee or little richard or soul singers like Aretha, marvin and sam cooke. That's not true anymore.

 

[Seahawks Fan]

not a frequent flyer, probably been there, less than ten times in 55 years. Anyplace where people are going or arriving seems sketchy as hell whether it's an airport or a bus station. The greyhound used to have a rep for all kinds of shit, and it wasn't too far from there where some 16 year old girls try to make a little money off of me. We're a helluva species all things considered.

Yeah, I don't have much experience with SeaTac either. I use it once or so a year, usually to fly home to Jersey to see family and old friends. If I'm traveling out of state but remaining on the West Coast I usually take a train or bus, or on rare occasions drive. But honestly, relative to other airports that I've experienced SeaTac ain't too bad. Remove the homeless loiterers and I would even go so far as to say SeaTac is a pleasant experience if we're just talking airports. For example it's night and day when I take a flight from SeaTac to JFK. JFK is a legit shithole that will have you questioning whether humanity is redeemable in any way. It's like the worst elements of NYC get swept into the general vicinity of the airport. I always feel anxious and on edge when I have to be in or around that place. I remember back in 2012 when I went home for Christmas and I flew into JFK from SeaTac. Instead of getting a taxi to my mom's house I decided to take the subway that adjoins thr airport and leaves you off at Newark. I walk down and there's a big commotion on the platform and blood on the ground. I see paramedics surrounding a woman on her knees with a bloody face. And I'm hearing everyone saying some bum bit the woman's nose off and ran. And no one looked shocked or overly bothered, just normal NYC/JFK shit going down.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Buncha Smuggies

 

[mozfonky]

Yeah, I don't have much experience with SeaTac either. I use it once or so a year, usually to fly home to Jersey to see family and old friends. If I'm traveling out of state but remaining on the West Coast I usually take a train or bus, or on rare occasions drive. But honestly, relative to other airports that I've experienced SeaTac ain't too bad. Remove the homeless loiterers and I would even go so far as to say SeaTac is a pleasant experience if we're just talking airports. For example it's night and day when I take a flight from SeaTac to JFK. JFK is a legit shithole that will have you questioning whether humanity is redeemable in any way. It's like the worst elements of NYC get swept into the general vicinity of the airport. I always feel anxious and on edge when I have to be in or around that place. I remember back in 2012 when I went home for Christmas and I flew into JFK from SeaTac. Instead of getting a taxi to my mom's house I decided to take the subway that adjoins thr airport and leaves you off at Newark. I walk down and there's a big commotion on the platform and blood on the ground. I see paramedics surrounding a woman on her knees with a bloody face. And I'm hearing everyone saying some bum bit the woman's nose off and ran. And no one looked shocked or overly bothered, just normal NYC/JFK shit going down.

that's terrible we're all so desensitized to any one else's problems, have to be, we'd go nuts if we didn't.

Last couple times i was at seatac it was just to pick someone up or wait. I last flew about 15 years ago, didn't like all the excess security folks.

 

[Seahawks Fan]

that's terrible we're all so desensitized to any one else's problems, have to be, we'd go nuts if we didn't.

Last couple times i was at seatac it was just to pick someone up or wait. I last flew about 15 years ago, didn't like all the excess security folks.

Oh damn, I would hate to have to do pickups at SeaTac, the traffic in and around that area is God awful. It's a veritable haven for potential road rage incidents.