Happy Fourth of July

Well, first off, Happy Fourth of July. Today, we celebrate our nation's freedom by barbecueing, a symbolic act where tyranny is represented by steaks - or perhaps hot dogs - that get roasted over the searing flames of justice, made hot by the lighter fluid of national sovereignty and finally washed down with cold beer of freedom.

I am writing this from my buddy Scot's house. He lives just outside of Denver, and our family is visiting him for the holiday weekend. Acually, we're in the middle of moving our friends across country to Chicago, and this is the midway point.

Denver is really kind of a perfect city. I was surprised how much I like it here. If I had to move, I think I'd move to Denver. It's climate's far more temperate than you'd think: they hardly get any snow. There's little humidity, and right now, it's about 78 with a soft breeze from the mountains.



Nature:
Tie. The Rockies are gorgeous, but it's hard to beat the Redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains. Great skiing in CO, but Tahoe is pretty world famous too. And Tahoe is just as rad in the summer. Colorado has thunderstorms, which the Bay Area doesn't, but the Bay Area has the ocean, which Colorado doesn't.

Sports teams:
The Bay Area has two baseball teams and two football teams, whereas Denver only has one. Both have a sucky basketball team, and each have one NHL team. But the way the Niners and the Raiders have been playing...

Housing Market:
Denver - Scot's 2200 sq. foot house on a half acre cost $250,000. I suppose you could say, however, that San Jose's massive growth is actually better, but if you're looking for a big, afforable house with lots of room for the fam, the Bay Area isn't the place to be.

Climate:
Tie - Denver's more temperate in the summer, rarely topping 85, but has lower winter temperatures. I was surprised to learn that snow is actually rare in Denver, and when it does snow, it melts by the afternoon. Scot bought a snow shovel and has yet to use it.

Cost of Living:
Denver. Much cheaper here. Gas is 2.10.

Demographics:
Bay Area. Although I was surprised to learn that Denver is a primary immigration point, you can't top the Bay Area in terms of diversity of languages and nationalities. Denver is pretty WASP-y.

Anybody else have a place they've been that should make the short list of great places to live?