How Dallas's West Village Became a Model Shopping Center (in Denver, At Least)

Well this is really great and interesting to read. No doubt Texas is the center of U.S trade.

Yes, it does seem that Denver has a very tender and exposed nerve in comparing itself to Dallas. And I wouldn't go so far as saying that it has more things to do "outside". That's too much of a generalization. I'd agree that it has mountain scenery nearby, but there's a lot more to the outdoors than mountains. Dallas' set of massive lakes is just as outdoorsy as Denver's hills. And when we look at city life, the things that only an urban area can offer, Dallas has much more to offer.

That's why the Dallas metro is 3 times the size of the Denver metro... it has more to offer.

Coloradans resent Texans and Californians because of the tourism industry, and Texans especially based on perceived differences (red state, blue state). They hate the notion that their beautiful state would be poorer without us.

The comments on the Denver Post article have a sort of knee-jerk tone of glee to them. It's painfully obvious that typical Denverites spends a lot of their time thinking about Texas.

If mountains were the be all end all of great cities, then every great city would be next to a mountain. Most of them aren't. Denver is a mountain getaway that got big thanks to modern civilization. It has an exceptional list of things to do outdoors, but the key word there is exceptional. If you compare your city's outdoor potential to Denver's, you lose. There's nothing wrong with that. Not everybody gets to live in Hawaii, either.

There are many many many places that are more important than Denver, but none of those places make Denverites feel inferior like Dallas does. I mean, at least Austin has SOMETHING going for it, but why are we less important than DALLAS?

What is especially pitiful about the Denverites' sense of pride is that it depends on the existence of nearby mountains.

Seems silly to me. The people of Denver didn't create those mountains, they had nothing to do with their existence.

By contrast, the people of DFW did create their lakes. And they have a legitimate stake in their pride of ownership.

More than that, however, the cities of Denver and Dallas were created by their people. And Dallas people did a better job, seeing as how DFW is 3 times as populous as Denver. 3 times as many people want to live in Dallas as want to live in Denver.

Would you compare Dallas to New York? Sounds absurd, doesn't it. NY metro has about 20 million people, whereas DFW has between 6 and 7. And the activity in a city is roughly proportional to its population. DFW is about one third the size of NY.

Well, trying to put Denver in the same class as Dallas is equally absurd. Metro Denver has about 2 millions which is just a fraction of the 6-7 millions in DFW.

I just looked at a Google map of the countryside around Denver. And then I saw it... where are the lakes? Doesn't Denver have any lakes?

Nope. No water sports, no jetskis, no swimming off a sand island. No lakes.

According to the TheaterMania guide, the DFW area has listings for 105 shows. The entire state of Colorado, including Denver, can come up with a big, whopping list of --- 34 --- theatrical performances.

One final thought on this. Look, I've hiked in the Rockies. I love them. They are majestic and beautiful. Cities in Colorado have much more natural beauty and more opportunities for hiking and camping. So does Austin, where I spent the weekend.

But, here we are. We live in Dallas. There is actually quite a bit to do here for the outdoor enthusiast. Not just the KATY trail and white rock, but several local nature centers. Do I wish we had more? Absolutely. The people involved in building trails in the Trinity River Forest are doing something about that.

It just gets tiresome to hear that there's NOTHING to do here for people that are finding lots of interesting ways to spend their time, including the out of doors.

The funny part is that Larimer actually looks and feels like part of a real, historical city. West Village feels like some shit that a real estate company came up with, and it is. Cities like Dallas shit all over their history and then try to build "historical" looking buildings, whereas cities like Denver restore historical buildings. Sure, they might still house douchey businesses, but at least they try to make it look real.

Look, I'm just saying there IS indeed shit to do outside in Dallas...those examples were off the top of my head, and I don't even really do much outdoors. Yes, Denver is nice and all, but those nice pretty mountains? 30 minutes away from downtown. People who live in Dallas and bitch constantly about how there's nothing to do are just being lazy.

*edit* discuss is a dick about names. This is Coleman responding.

One word: D.O.R.B.A.

http://dorba.org/

Hear are things to do for the next 30+ weekends...unless, of course, its raining.

Ugh...anyone that says there is nothing to do in Dallas is virtually the laziest person on the planet. Sure it's no New York but seriously? Anybody that is bored in this town on a regular basis is either broke or lazy.

So sad for Denver, Dallas copies from Chicago and the East Coast then Denver copies us, how long does that take ?

I think the WV phenonom is far reaching and gives every RE Developer a big boner because of its success, but really how many Gap stores can a given disposable income base soak up ?

I hate when people say there's nothing to do here... Are you freaking kidding me? I can find a million things to do in this town. That's such a bulsh answer!

"things to do" is a pretty relative yardstick.

Hmmm...I don't think that "not much else to do" is really true for the entire state.For Dallas, yes.

Denver IS Dallas, with a much better view. And things to do.

Pretty tame by Colorado standards. Luckily they hate Californians more for driving up real estate prices. Too bad Dallas didn't copy Denver when it came to things like, oh, stadiums downtown. Coors Field jump-started a major resurgence of their entire city center.

Doesn't Jenkins have a bike trail to chart or a mountain to climb? Call us when you crack the Top 20, Denver.