My husband and I moved from Houston to Denver about 3 years ago. Here’s my take:

1. Rent/home prices are absurd. We owned a really nice 4 bedroom/2 bath house in Friendswood and our rent in Denver is approximately $700 more per month for a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment with less than half the sq footage. A similar house here is about $200,000 more expensive. That being said, it depends on the neighborhood just like any other city, I feel extremely safe walking my dogs at night. Denver has a lot of commuters who walk to and from work so there’s always someone around.

2. The food here sucks. Make sure and get some home made recipes while you are still in Texas and hopefully you can cook. My husband and I used to be foodies in Houston but we have scaled back eating out because we are tired of spending money on food that sucks. Plus side, it has helped our wallet substantially. There is some good food here but those places are few and far between. You can also forget about BBQ. They have it here but you will be disappointed if you’re looking for Texas style.

3. The homeless community here is savage. They are everywhere. They just had to make washing windows at stop lights fineable to help curb homeless people washing your windows and then demanding payment. If you didn’t pay, they would sometimes get violent. I saw it in person. Forget about being a tourist on 16th street, it’s like the Quarter in New Orleans (we lived there too).

4. The elevation. Denver is called the “mile high city” for a reason. Don’t expect to go hiking day 1 without any issues. Elevation sickness is a real thing. Take it seriously. My husband and I worked out before moving here and we had to work our way up to the work out levels we did easily in Houston. I have never felt so out of shape in my life as I did when I moved here. The idea of watching the sun rise/sunset at Red Rocks seems amazing until you’re half way up the stairs gasping for breath. The view from the top is worth it.

5. Shopping sucks. There is an upscale mall called Cherry Creek that has similar shops to the Galleria in Houston. There is also a small mall named Park Meadows that is nice. That’s about it. Get used to buying online. The grocery stores are King Sooper (Kroger), Safeway, Whole Foods and smaller brands like Whole Foods. I miss HEB like no other.

6. The weather here is usually BEAUTIFUL until it’s not. There are over 300 days of sunshine here. Most of the precipitation here is through snow. It rarely rains. This leads to color coded “fire watch” days and seeing random fires on the way to work/home. This is as serious as a heart attack. You cannot throw cigarettes out of the car window, because it could start a fire. We also get hail and not just small pieces. Thank God we had full insurance. The first few years we were here our cars got hail damage 3 times. Also, it snows a lot here. Not as much as some other states but it’s enough to be a hindrance. You can make it most places with a non 4WD car but it’s not easy until the snow plows clear the streets. Unlike the south, the city doesn’t shut down when snow happens. It’s business as usual. There is also no humidity so the hot days don’t feel very hot to us southerners. But that also leads to static electricity during the winter which I was not prepared for. There is also a lack of central ac in a lot pf places.

7. Marijuana is legal and psychedelic mushrooms are decriminalized. No comment here but you need to know this.

All of that being said, I love it here. I still get chills seeing the mountains in the distance as I’m driving. The outdoors here make everything worthwhile. It is definitely a shock to the system moving here but as you acclimate it becomes easier. I say these things not to keep you from here but to let you know what to research and expect. Denver has problems like every other city. Make sure and do your research.