Two Reasons to Get Out of Denver for the Summer

While it almost seems as if I just got back to Denver from Maine, it’s only five months until I’ll (hopefully) be heading back there for another summer on the water. And this summer, there are some solid reasons to be getting the hell out of Dodge:

1. Democratic National Convention:
   

   With as many as 35,000 attendees expected, the convention will be the “largest traditional convention” in Denver’s history, according to the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB). (link)

   35,000 people congregating 10 blocks from my place? No thanks.

2. Costs:
   

   But these heavenly amenities come at a cost. While it may be getting more enjoyable to live in Denver, it’s also getting more expensive. Last summer, The Economist released a study that said Denver had become the eighth-most-expensive city in the country. That we ranked so high was surprising; that we ranked ahead of such burgs as Boston, Seattle, and Honolulu was downright shocking. The omission of housing costs in the study offers a partial explanation for Denver’s unexpected standing, but according to the FDIC, between 1995 and 2005, housing prices in Colorado outpaced income growth by 32 percent, and in 2005 Forbes magazine called Denver the ninth-most-overpriced city in the country because of the disparity between housing costs and income growth. (link via:Bree)

   I remember visiting Denver in the years after college and being shocked at how little everything cost; apparently those days are coming to an end. One thing I can confirm, however, is that real estate is still significantly cheaper in Denver than in Boston. When I recently was considering selling my place here because of the valuations, I checked Boston’s market for curiosity’s sake. Despite the fact that that market has been crushed, I’d be getting half the square footage or less in Boston for the same money. Just a little perspective

In preparation for both the potential summer in Maine and a possible co-working arrangement, I’m ramping up efforts to finalize my Asterisk implementation. With any luck, I’ll be able to handle all the phone number repointing that’s required myself.