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Denver, The Mile ‘High’ City, Named Best Place to Live in U.S.

Denver Voted Best City To Live

Culture

Denver, The Mile ‘High’ City, Named Best Place to Live in U.S.

Best Place To Live

“High” is a word that could be used to describe Denver, Colorado in all sorts of ways. It’s situated at a high elevation—exactly one mile above sea level. It’s right in the foothills of the mountains John Denver sings about in his famous song “Rocky Mountain High.” Thanks to its 420-friendly laws, it’s now one of the best places to get high in the entire world.

And now, Denver has a new high to add to its list. It was just named by U.S. News and World Report as the number one best city to live in the United States.

The list, which was published yesterday, attempted to rank the top 100 places to live in the country.

It used some different categories and metrics to figure out which spots are the most desirable. Some of those criteria were the cost of living, job prospects, and overall quality of life.

Denver came in at the number one spot, followed by Austin, Texas; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

“Warm weather, good vibes, nice people,” one Denver resident said about why he thinks the city is being recognized as such a great place to live.

And while all that may be true for many Denverites, as well as for those attempting to rank the best places to live, Colorado’s marijuana laws have also been a contributor to the city’s growing recognition as a top destination.

In fact, more than 200,000 people moved to Colorado between 2013 and 2014. That’s a critical period, since those are the months immediately between the state’s 2012 decision to legalize recreational cannabis and its 2014 implementation of the change.

Out of the many people flocking to Colorado, many have gone in search of a safe way to access medicinal cannabis. So many, in fact, that they’ve become known as “marijuana refugees.”

In recent months, there have been numerous headlines about parents moving to the Denver area so they can access alternative medicine for their children.

Similarly, there have been many stories of war veterans who are unable to get medical marijuana through their VA doctors. Instead, many have moved to Colorado, where it’s easier and safer to access cannabis.

It’s impossible to say exactly how legalizing cannabis has affected the overall standard of living in the city of Denver.

But judging by the sheer numbers of people moving to the area, it seems pretty clear that cannabis has been a very real contributor to Denver’s increasing recognition as a good place to live.

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