So tell me all about it!

I got a traineeship/apprenticeship (I'm not sure which it's called!) with a dance company there, and booked my flights yesterday!

I'm pretty psyched, and also pretty nervous. I don't know anything about Denver, really…

Is anyone on DDN from Colorado?

(yay!)

I live in Aurora, a suburb to the east of Denver. It's a great city!

If you don't like the weather, just wait a few days and it will change (usually). It can snow in September but then we can have an Indian Summer through October. In February it can go below zero one week and be shirtsleeve temperature the next week. But this summer we did have what may have been a record number of unbroken 90+ degree days.

The metro area is trying to get a real public transportation system established. We have buses which are OK if you are trying to go into or out of downtown plus the skeleton of a light rail system. The light rail is a big success and the regional transportation district is expanding it as fast as money will allow. But we don't yet have much of a transportation "grid" like NY or Chicago; so for hopping from one place to another around the greater metro area you generally need a car. The light rail has accommodation for hopping aboard along with your bicycle and there are some bike lanes downtown; so a lot of people do this even though in some places I would find competing with the auto traffic just horrendous.

In general, Colorado's economy was not as hard hit as some states at the beginning of the recession. On the other hand, while a few other states are now starting to pull up, especially in terms of the real estate debacle, Colorado is lagging in terms of recovery.

It is not as expensive to live in Denver as it is in some big US cities. But this isn't the least expensive, either -- probably somewhere in the middle.

The area is very health- and sports-conscious due to the skiing, hiking and camping available in the mountains just to the West. It's not quite as arts-conscious, although it has really a lot to offer and has gotten rid of the Cow Town image it had a couple of generations ago. The city of Boulder, not far to the north, is especially known for nurturing the arts.

Congratulations on the trainee/apprenticeship! What dance company is it with? (Not that I'll have an opinion on it -- I'm way out of the loop these days.)