Better place to live? Denver or Charlotte?

Question

I am a single 27 yr old Asian (Korean) male looking for a fun place to live with friendly people and alot of things to do. I heard great things about both Charlotte and Denver, however I was hoping someone that lives there can tell me what it's really like. I am a VERY americanized asian, I don't have much asian friends so being in an area without my race is no problem. I have gotten stares in some parts of the country I've visited like Mississippi and New Orleans however. Which state would be more accepting to me? Where would it be better for me to fit in and make friends?

Can you please list both the pros and cons for each city? Also for work, I am a pharmaceutical representative. How's the job market in each city? Cost of living comparison? Keep in mind if I moved I would definetly want to live in the "fun" part of town. Doesn't have to be downtown but somewhere other young urban professionals like myself would live.

Answer 1

I would choose Denver. It is a great, fun city, and I wouldn't call it "small" either. The people here are accepting of any race of people, so you'll be fine on that note. If you do decide to move here, don't just stay in Denver, visit the rest of the great state of Colorado also. The Most fun part of the city is definitely downtown, but there are plenty of other great neighborhoods to choose from.

Hope to see you here.

Answer 2

Check out LODO neighborhood of Denver.  My brother lives in a loft there and enjoys the fact that it is a neighborhood full of young professionals with access to dozens of bars and restaurants within a small area.  It is also where Coors Field (baseball stadium) is located.  You may also want to check out Uptown neighborhood which is slightly less dense on the housing but with a similar attitude.

Denver is a city with a fairly small town feel.  The traffic isn't terrible.... but it seems only about half the population knows how to drive.  The people are relatively friendly and I don't think you'll run into any racial animosity within Denver which is a fairly liberal city (we effectively "legalized" marijuana) in an otherwise conservative state.  BTW the Boulder area which our local conservatives not so affectionately call the "People's Republic of Boulder" is liberal to the extreme and that is coming from a fairly left leaning person.  

As far as I am concerned personally... it's the mountains and all they offer that make Denver a great as opposed to good place to live.  There is also a tremendous number of brewpubs and microbreweries around the state... so if you are a beer man that has to enter the equation.

If you are active or at least active enough to become a regular at a local bar you should have no trouble meeting people at all.  This is not the South... nobody is going to stare at you for being non-caucasian.

I would say the job market is somewhat tight depending on the field you work in.  I am not sure about pharm. sales although my girlfriend is  a pharmacist and had a position long before we even arrived in town so maybe that's a good sign.

I've got no input for comparison to Charlotte.  It is not really that cold here in the winter... but we do get occasional heavy snow.  That snow generally melts pretty fast down in the city.  People here who ski actually look forward to winter... and then also look forward to spring for hiking and camping.  It's a healthy active place with the lowest obesity rates in the country.  It is pretty hot in the late summer... but the humidity is so low it is very tolerable i.e 94 degrees with 10% humidity doesn't make you sweaty.... I know Charlotte can't claim that.