Austin vs. Denver

I have a friend moving to Denver from Austin. On her blog she wrote about the things that she will miss in Austin, and the things she will not miss (like girls wearing Uggs in 100 degree heat). It was cute. I responded with this list in hopes of giving her encouragement and realistic expectations:

Things to love in Denver:
1. Intimate music shows at cool venues that don’t have the crowds like Austin (check out the Blue Bird, The Ogden, and The Fox- in Boulder-)
2. Mountains, mountains, mountains….hikes, snow shoeing, skiing, rafting….and only 20 minutes away for some of that.
3. Neighborhood nooks with shops and pretty good food (not Austin good). All super cute and in walking distance of your house, if you choose to live in Denver proper
4. Brewery tours- Take the “short tour” at Coors in Golden. This is the land of beer connoisseurs. Every little mountain town has a great one.
5. Parks- Washington Park, “Wash Park” to the locals, will be your new Town Lake. Rose gardens, little lakes, the boat house, and fields of twenty somethings getting outside no matter what the weather….but watch out for the goose poop.
6. Young Life Camps just a hop, skip, and a jump away. They welcome you for lunch- just call ahead. And Wilderness Work Week is an amazing reward for a semester finished at seminary.
7. If you’re single the guy to girl ratio is like 10:6…except in the counseling department at Den Sem where it’s like 1:10.
8. Everything is 20 minutes away…at traffic maybe 40.
9. The drive back to Texas is fun. Stop at Hodies for BBQ in Hartley or Dalhart…can’t remember which.
10. Costume parties at the Arapahoe Basin mountain beach….you’ll be just in time for the spring parties.
10.5 THE COLEY FAMILY!

Things you won’t like about Denver:
1. The Mexican Food. Don’t bother. Just wait for a trip home. And if someone warns you something is spicy, try not to laugh.
2. Men rarely open doors for you….general Texas/southern warmth is not quite here. On the bright side you can get through the grocery store quickly, and without having 10 random conversations.
3. The grocery stores…..expect a big 7-11 and not the luxurious HEB’s where you can by a deli meat and custom made furniture all in the same place.
4. Denver drivers- speedy, zippy people in the scary, icy weather. But if it rains they go 5 mph.
5. It’s 75 one day and negative 10 the next.
6. Beige and brown- There was a big sale on beige and brown bricks when the city was built and it’s pretty much all you see.
7. Green goose poop. It’s everywhere.
8. The dislike of Texans…especially at the mountain towns. The up side is that Texans really bond in Colorado.
9. Uggs in May because it’s still snowing.