Denver's weather is *better than Chicago's +3

Background, Context, and Assumptions

*Better will be different to different people. You can see my assumptions below. Obviously, employment opportunities, cultural events, and other opportunities are better in Chicago. But if your just a kids and don't care about anything in the summer time, but having nice weather to ride your bike around in, consider the discussion points below.

I got my info from here: http://www.bestplaces.net/climate/ or http://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/denver_co/chicago_il/climate

Best reasons to agree: +5

1. The comfort index (with higher numbers being better) is 68 in Boise, 57 in Denver, but only 47 in Chicago. 
1. I attribute that to how windy it is in the winter, and how the humidity will really get you in the summer, which everyone knows, but also gets you (I assert) in the winter. Places that get lots of rain are nice to look at in the summer, with all the green plants, but they aren't as comfortable outside if your kids just want to be outside doing stuff... 
2. Chicago has 189 sunny days, Boise Idaho has 206, only 17 more than Chicago. 
1. While Denver has 246. The average in the USA is 205, but 17 days a year is 1/2 a month each year of sunny weather... 
3. Boise only has 11.7" of rain, but Chicago has 35.9" of rain, or 3.1 tunes the amount of rain of Boise. 
1. Of course if you are a farmer you might like the rain. However, if you have a back yard and are a kid, usually rain is not so great. Especially if your parents don't have a concrete floor that can be hosed off periodically. Denver gets 12.6".
4. Chicago gets 27.5". Boise gets about 70% as much with 19.5". Denver gets 54".
1.   will say less is better. Especially because Boise is in the foothills and is much closer to world class skiing, snow mobiling, and anything that might make snow good. Boise does get enough to let you go sledding once a year, and gets many feet of snow in the mountains. 
5. The Average high in July in Chicago is 83 and 90 in Boise. 86 in Denver. But it is a dry heat, and because of the high elevation it gets much cooler at night time, which makes sleeping comfortable. Megan hates (I think) summers in Chicago. Average January low is 22 in Boise and 18 in Chicago. So I guess Boise is 7 degrees hotter in summer and 4 degrees hotter in winter. Denver actually has a higher temperature in the Winter than Chicago, which surprises my friends from Chicago. 
6. The springs are so rainy and short that you can't really enjoy them... It seems that you go strait from bitter cold to unbearable heat... The spring time is very painful, because you are dying to get outside after a long winter, but it is soo freakin rainy... No I'm not just talking about a little Seattle drizzle... it is a freakin torrential downpour. Rivers over-run their bounds, peoples basements get flooded... that just doesn't happen in Boise... Maybe it is because Lucky Peak dam stops the river from flooding. Maybe people in Boise are just smarter, and don't build their homes in flood planes, but every spring you hear about homes around the Chicago area getting flooded, so that the 1st level is almost completely under water. Maybe I just didn't pay attention when I was a kid, but I don't think that hardly ever happens in Idaho. Flash floods can kill campers who are near creeks... at least in the scouts that was a fear, but the girl who cleans my teeth's parents and aunt had their house totally covered with water with the stop sign out in-front of their street totally submerged... 

Best reasons to disagree: -

1. Sure, if you live somewhere that gets lots of rain, you might get flooding. However, if you live in the West, your whole state might burn down each summer. So pick your poison: too much or not enough rain.
2. Denver get more snow than Chicago, which can be bad for traffic, but is good for skiing and sledding and stuff. 
3. Because Chicago gets more rain, you see less places that are just left to go to weeds in Chicago. Everything is green, and generally people mow their grass in Chicago. In Denver, people don't water that grass, it dies, goes to weeds, and sometimes looks crappier than Chicago. 

Score:

# of reasons to agree: +6

# of reasons to disagree: -3

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0

# of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0

Total Idea Score: +3

Don't like the score? It is easy to change the score. Just post a reason to agree or disagree with the overall idea, or any of the reasons and the score will change.

Images that agree:

Our back yard turns to a pond every summer.


Bolingbrook is a bit like Venice Italy


Its kind of hard to see, but through the aches you can see the bleacher that are mostly covered.

Best Videos that agree: +1