How Do They Where I’m From?

The first time I visited he Mile High City was September 2008. Growing up in the deepest reaches of the South in Northwest Alabama, you can imagine the electric culture shock that jolted me to the core when I ventured downtown. I’ve always had a love affair with cities, and Denver made me feel right at home. The stacked buildings, the kinetic energy flowing along the streets with the orchestra of traffic, the plucking of people from all walks of life, the sense of unadulterated freedom. That sensation resonated down to my spiritual roots and took up residence there. I finally felt as if I belonged somewhere.

Compare and Contrast

It wasn’t until March of ’09 that I moved to Denver, but when I did, I got to fully immerse myself in the transitional phase of moving from a mostly conservative and deeply religious location to one that was more liberal and open-minded. It was the people, activities, houses, lifestyles, bars, food, vibe, culture, and physical surroundings. It was as if I had been disembodied for the first 23 years of my life and had finally found a space where I could feel alive, could breathe for the first time.

There’s no denying that Southern cooking is unlike any other on the planet, but there’s also no refuting the fact that your waistline and health will pay the price of overindulgence in rich and fattening dishes that stick to your ribs. I remember when I first visited Denver how hard it was for me to find anyone who was obese. Not everyone here is buff, lean, and fit, but there is quite a noticeable difference when you grew up thinking that being obese was just a fact of life.

Capitol Thrill

I lived in Cap Hill when I first moved to Denver. I figured it was the perfect spot for a writer and budding bohemian. While there are a few small clusters of “open-minded, open-hearted” spaces in Alabama, there wasn’t an entire community where you could wear, do, and be whomever and whatever you wanted. It’s not that Cap Hill felt like a revival of the 60s hippie movement, although it felt quite close to that, but there was this sense of otherness about it that I found refreshing.

But there were a few unpleasant bumps in my transition.

Back in Alabama I never had to worry about where or when to park on the street. I felt as if I owed monthly tithes and offering to the City of Denver for all of the parking tickets I received when I first moved there. I also didn’t live near clubs and bars before I moved, which meant I never had to struggle to fall asleep to the sounds of bar and club patrons stumbling, chatting, and sometimes yelling their way home. Ah, city life.

Palate Cleanser

Being a vegetarian where you have options other than sides was a welcome change when I moved to Denver. The fact that there are entire restaurants devoted to vegetarian and vegan dining made me feel less like a freak who was used to living around carnivores. Denver taught me how to be a better vegetarian and showed me possibilities and options I never knew existed.

While there’s a lot more to compare between Denver and Alabama, these are the differences that struck me the deepest. Even though I’m no longer a resident of the Mile High City, Denver will most certainly always have a home in my heart, just as I had a home in hers.