Still, concern over transplants has been a constant since we started Westword more than four decades ago, when people drawn to Colorado by John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" were greeted by bumperstickers mimicking the state license plate emblazoned with the word "Native." Another big influx came a dozen years ago (yes, before marijuana was legalized), as people flocked to Denver during the recession — and the city became the number-one draw for millennials.
And now Denver again rates as the top destination for millennials, and perhaps the top city for debate over the difference between natives and transplants, as evidenced by the Westword Facebook page with the post of the story "Denver Is the Number-One City for Millenial Transplants...Again." Says Jeannie:
Who could blame anybody for wanting to live here? Colorado is an awesome place to live.Replies Nathan:
Well, maybe stop having an amazing state and I'll move back home.Warns Scott:
Queue all the "natives" moaning about transplants - life and or work causes people to move, it happens. It's okay that some people haven't spent their entire lives in the same place. Funny how we're all Americans until it comes time for a story on people moving here, then it's all this "us vs. them" tribalism crap.Responds Talina:
We're not whining, we're leaving. We've finally outgrown Denver. The transplants can have it.Notes Scott:
But then you'll be a (shudders) transplant where you move, then what will you complain about once there?Reminds Rebecca:
Everyone is a fucking transplant except for the native natives, grow up with this shit already.Adds Joe:
If your parents or their relatives lived here before 1850, you can call yourself a native.Comments Summer:
I work with a lot of transplants and they're wonderful people just trying to make it like you and me... who'd have thought. Maybe we should just chill out on them already? It's been like ten years since it really started.Concludes Laurie:
Good, new people bring fresh ideas, different ways of accomplishing goals, and diversity. All of which are good for our state.For this latest study, SmartAsset analyzed data from the most recent American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, published in 2019, to determine the number of people in the 25-to-39-year-old demographic who moved in and out of the state to come up with a net migration amount.
And not only did Denver finish in first place, but its net total of 10,974 millennials moving here shows a difference of 56 percent from the second-place finisher, Seattle.
What do you think of the growth in Denver? Post a comment or share your thoughts at [email protected].
