Forward my Mail to Denver

I helped my brother find an apartment in Denver this weekend. By the time we found one (a cute one with hardwood floors, walkable to downtown, and an easy run to a couple of different running trails), I was convinced that actually I want to move to Denver. Here's why:

• Overall fitness of the population. It got so I turned my head to look whenever I saw fat people they were so rare. Granted, I wasn't exactly hanging out a Culvers, but still it seemed like everyone we saw was fit and tan and good looking. I wouldn't mind an occasional walk down the street to see that kind of scenery.
• Roving single-sex groups of friends or packs of not-paired up people my age. I'm surrounded by married people here in Minneapolis. It also seems like everyone does couple things all of the time here, so now that I'm in a period of not-being in a couple, I can only find situations where I'm some sort of extra wheel.
• Mixed race couples. Segregation is so complete in Minneapolis, we don't see nearly as many mixed-race couples here as it seemed like I saw in Denver. Of course this is a very non-scientific sampling.
• Mountains. It was a revelation to me when I first moved to Portland that you didn't have to live in the flat, boring part of the country. I got to see mountains outside every day. They looked mostly fake-y to me over there in Portland, and I can't say that I ever really got used to it, but the Denver ones looked more real. Maybe if I lived in Denver, I'd actually use the mountains to maintain my fit and healthy physique (perhaps going for hikes with my pack of female friends...)

However, if you know me at all, you know that my roots to Minneapolis run pretty deep, and I must say, Minneapolis in the Spring, Summer, and Fall is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Now, if only the people were more friendly and less xenophobic I'd consider it my utopia even with Winter.