Down and Out in Denver

Denver. What’s an urban gay to do? Start a blog, it would seem.

A few confessions right off the bat: neither of us is much for blogging. One of us (Alastair) reads them more than the other (Blake). But one of us (Blake) likes to write more than the other (Alastair). Together we both have much to say about Denver, though up till now we’ve tended to say it to each other.

So, a bit of history before we get going: we both moved here from different cities on different coasts. Big cities. One could even say real cities. OK, one would. One of these cities has a population that is actually double the size of the entire population of the state in which Denver is located. And the other city is located in a state whose population is about seven times that of Colorado.

And we’ve been here for a combined total (between the two of us) of about five years. We moved here for jobs – jobs that we generally like, at least well enough to move to a strange and geometrically shaped state for – and got to know each other through friends, friends who remain in those real cities.

Though we are both gays, we are not gay together. As gays of both sexes know, this is not only possible but also the likelier situation, in that not all gays want to sleep with each other simply by dint of their shared homosexuality. But the straights tend to get confused about these things sometimes so we thought we’d clarify.

And finally, we don’t much like it here. There are a few perks: the weather is usually good (though don’t take today as exemplifying that, ‘cause it’s currently hideous outside). People are generally friendly. It’s very pretty. Rents are super low. The airport is a big hub, which means escape is both affordable and convenient (though the airport itself is not, in that it’s basically in Kansas). There are tons of outdoor activities, if you like that sort of thing (we don’t). And there are some good restaurants (this is the one aspect of Denver’s cultural life about which you will generally not hear us complain).

But other than that, it kind of sucks. So join us as we recount the complaints and foibles and rants and occasional good reviews of two transplanted gay urbanites who are Down and Out in Denver.