DENVER: Amanda + Syd

This week, we're on another double date with Amanda and Syd, joining live from "Menver" Colorado. Amanda shares her Hinge success story (which involves SXSW and a rock climbing date) and Syd gives a financial planner's perspective on having the not-always-sexy money conversations. Hope you love it as much as we did. Rate, review, share with your friends! 

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Transcript

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Megan 0:00

Hi, Spencer.

Spencer 0:01

You look so beautiful.

Megan 0:03

We have like our, associate dinner tonight with like the young partners. Yeah. And then I'm going on my third date after that.

Spencer 0:15

So this is the outfit. Okay. Looking so good. Thanks. So hard because it has to

Megan 0:21

be like work to date. Of course.

Spencer 0:23

You know, honestly, honestly, people try and act like that's like an, you know, like in magazines be like day to night. Yeah. It's actually not that

Megan 0:29

easy.

Spencer 0:30

Like for example, as you know, as I've mentioned to you, I do have a big event with one of our biggest clients tomorrow night karaoke. I didn't realize this, but it's actually this like very chic hotspot in New York City. They apparently have a karaoke room stop. I know. Um, but obviously I wanna look hot. Yeah. So I, I'm gonna have to spend some time today putting together a. And also I, I typically, once I've got a little few cocktails in me, I get a little, you know, my body is writhing loose. Yeah, yeah. So it's got to be, it's an athletic fit as well. Mm-hmm.

Megan 1:04

Yeah. Yeah. Completely. And like, no, nothing falling. Oh, that's okay. Oh, okay. I client sees a nipple that's just more business for the firm also, I can't do anything else, Megan, I can't do, I can't breathe. I can't sleep. No, I'm, I'm totally consumed. It's literally like on my phone right now. I'm, I'm 70%

Spencer 1:31

Yeah, on the first one. So first one on the first one, babe.

Megan 1:34

Well, I know, but Spencer, why would I rush through it? Like you are done now and you're having to search for new things. So why would I want this to end?

Spencer 1:42

Well, I just have to wait 48 more hours for the next episode. God, I know. I'm so excited. I, I can't tell you the last time something affected me in this way. Yeah,

Megan 1:49

no, I completely feel that way. Like I was like. Try like racking. Oh, and for everyone

Spencer 1:54

listening, we're talking about heated rivalry. Oh yes.

Megan 1:56

And I mean, I've been telling everyone this and I'm like, I'm so happy that we're early. We're like the first ones on the train. Really? Which, shout out Madeline. Like she's the first one that brought it up to me.

Spencer 2:08

Yeah.

Megan 2:08

But it going to be everywhere. It's going to be everywhere. It

Spencer 2:13

already is. Like it is already imploding. Yeah. But by next week. It's gonna be so mainstream.

Megan 2:19

It's like the next 50 shades. Completely. Yeah. But it's better. It's actually well written.

Spencer 2:23

Well, I mean, 50 Shades I like didn't even finish the first movie. God, don't Get Me. You were, you were there, you were locked in.

Megan 2:29

No, I hated

Spencer 2:30

it. Oh, really? Yeah. I mean, yeah.

Megan 2:32

Well, I, I mean, I thought the movies were fine, but like, I genuinely hated the book. I thought it was so poorly written. I was so upset.

Spencer 2:38

But these are not poorly written books.

Megan 2:41

No, no character development. Incredible.

Spencer 2:44

I love them. Like they were my own family. Every

Megan 2:47

sentence I consume, like a, a dying man in a desert finally found a pool of water. Okay, so I have a crazy story for you when you're ready.

Spencer 2:59

Okay. Let's hear it.

Megan 3:00

Um, okay. So one of my friends went on a date last week and he picks like two really good places in Venice. Um, Dudley Market, one of my favorite restaurants. And they're gonna get drinks at not no bar before another great spot. It's like, it's really cute. And so we're like, okay. He's got like good, you know, he's picking good places. This will be good. What.

Spencer 3:26

He is got Riz,

Megan 3:28

I don't know if this is Riz, I don't know if that counts as Riz, but Spencer's trying to make sure that she's using her modern vocabulary. Um, and she, I used to work with her she's like mid, late thirties. So this guy's 37. Okay. That's a great age. Yeah. So they go to dinner, um, go get drinks after go back to her place on a first date. You know, we're not, we're not judging, but once they get there, they're like hanging out and then she decides like she's not actually into it. And so I think she just tells him like, okay, great night, but like, you know, I'm gonna tuck in. Wakes up the next morning to a Zelle request. For $150.

Spencer 4:14

You're actually joking.

Megan 4:15

I wish. And a

Spencer 4:16

37-year-old man.

Megan 4:17

Yep. And it says like any sane person wouldn't let someone pay for dinner that they're not interested in. Yep.

Spencer 4:29

Did she pay it?

Megan 4:30

No, of course not.

Spencer 4:32

And is, and like, honestly, I don't know. I'm laughing so hard at the Zelle of it all.

Megan 4:36

No, I know. Not even Venmo. Even

Spencer 4:39

Venmo. He's too old. Yeah, he did it through his bank. Oh my god. What an absolute. My new favorite word for talking about men is freaks because No. Yes. That's the best. That's the only way that I can describe this man. Yeah. He's a freak. He's an absolute freak. He hates women. Yeah. Micro penis, obviously.

Megan 4:57

Completely. Here's the thing, it's like, it's not even, like I've heard, I, I've seen this film before, right? We've heard of this happening. Tell us all

Spencer 5:04

the time, like, I don't know why I opened my mouth in shock,

Megan 5:06

like I'm ungraded, but no, it's just like, I didn't know it was real. I thought it was like an old wives tale. But here's the thing. I was like, this isn't even the. The case, the classic one is like you go to dinner and then you say like, oh, I'm not, I didn't feel a connection. Totally. And then they ask like, okay, well would you like pay for your dinner? That's that one I've heard of. In this case, he specifically found out that she wasn't going to have sex with him and then true after the money back. So it's like you are blatantly saying that like. I bought you dinner, so you were supposed to hook up with me. You were supposed to hook up with me and because Yeah. It's not like,

Spencer 5:42

like that's the thing. That's the thing. It clearly wasn't about like the dinner because she was still engaging after dinner. She let this man into her home.

Megan 5:51

Yep. Like she was, she clearly was

Spencer 5:53

considering a romantic connection with him.

Megan 5:58

It's like just, it's so brazen.

Spencer 6:00

It's so brazen. Yeah. Did she text, like did she do any, did she just like, I mean, I guess the bigger person thing is just to decline and not contact, but I know the way that I would have literally probably picked up the phone.

Megan 6:13

One of her coworkers was like, you should like. Send him, you should send him a request that's like your billable rate minus dinner and be like, here, well since like we're just doing like an exchange. This is how much my time costs. Right. Since

Spencer 6:26

this, since this has become a transaction. Right. Exactly.

Megan 6:29

But no, she didn't like, she didn't respond at all. I think she was like, if he follows up then I will. Like he didn't send it an accompanying text. He literally just sent this out request.

Spencer 6:39

Which is like, which means he couldn't even articulate. Right. Like what he wanted to say. Yeah. Because he knew that any way he said it was not gonna was going to come off in a bad light

Megan 6:49

and Yeah. Absolute freak show.

Spencer 6:51

Yeah. Yeah. Men are crazy.

Megan 6:53

These are the men that walk amongst us.

6:59

A recent survey found that most single men and women between the ages of 18 and 34 say that they want a romantic relationship. But nearly all of those surveyed, including 91% of men, and 94% of women say they think the current dating environment is more difficult than ever. We are getting to the bottom of this with conversations with real people dating in cities across the country because our democracy is under attack. But so are our sex lives. I'm Megan. I'm single and dating in Los Angeles. I'm Spencer. I'm married, living in New York City. Welcome to Date of the Union.

Megan 7:41

So we've been lucky enough to kind of expand our network as we've recorded episodes and my friend Remy had suggested early in the season if we needed anyone in Denver. She had a friend there, who had moved to Denver from New York, immediately got engaged. As one does. Um, and that she had a best friend there who was single and like really living the Denver member lifestyle, if you will,

Spencer 8:10

the member lifestyle. Yes.

Megan 8:11

And we've, we loved our double episode with our Austin girls, so we thought that this would be another fun opportunity to chat to two girls, kind of success story. And then someone also still in the trenches, and Amanda and said, we're amazing. We had so fun. They're like, Amma.

Spencer 8:26

Incredible. Incredible.

Megan 8:27

Um, yeah, so it was a great episode. So insightful. So I'm really excited about it.

Spencer 8:33

We, we have been to Denver. I mean, Megan's probably been, it's, it's so funny with these places. A lot of places. It's like, I've gone once, Megan has gone multiple times. Um, which is just really interesting because I thought we did everything together. So

Megan 8:47

conversation for sure. How many

Spencer 8:49

times have you been to Denver?

Megan 8:51

I think three. Okay. Or

Spencer 8:54

four?

Megan 8:54

Yeah. Wow. Um, I spent a couple weeks there during COVID. Because we were remote at law school and Rachel had just moved out there. And I was like, why not? Um, and that was like the only cool thing that I did during COVID. I feel like people were living in like freaking Puerto Rico and stuff. Yeah.

Spencer 9:15

Don't get me started in other bullshit. Other people did. Yeah,

Megan 9:17

exactly. So I was in my

Spencer 9:19

childhood bedroom studying for law school. Right,

Megan 9:21

right. So that was like the one thing that I did. Um. And so then for like a year after that, I would tell people, yeah, I lived in Denver for a bit.

Spencer 9:32

That tracks so hard. I will say I'm obsessed with Denver. We also went on a girl trip to visit our best friend Mary, who had lived out there at that point, I guess for like a little bit over a year. Yeah, maybe a little bit longer. Um, it. Amazing. And it's so cool. The proximity Cool to other amazing places Right. Is really cool too. We did some Vail time. Um, I can strongly say I know that it's not the place that I am supposed to live. Like I'm not a Denver girl. No.

Megan 9:56

Yeah, yeah. Like not, yeah, yeah. Right. Completely. But the people that do live

Spencer 10:01

there

Megan 10:01

are so cool.

Spencer 10:03

Yeah. And so, yeah, 100%. I've got a couple fun facts about Denver. I can't wait. Hear them. Okay, cool. This I can fuck with. This I can get down with with Denver. Okay. The first permanent structure in all of Denver was a saloon. Stop. When the prospectors arrived during the Gold Rush, they built their first permanent structure building. Not for housing, not for banking or for government, but for drinking. I love them. So was the priority before anything else was established? Yeah. Hell yeah. Incredible. So beautiful. And then now I have two creepier fun facts. Denver has an entire underground city block of tunnels. I didn't know. Under the downtown Civic center area, there is a prohibition era. There are prohibition era tunnels used by that. Were used by politicians, bootleggers, and even mobsters. Some connect to old hotels, and the bars most are sealed up and inaccessible now.

Megan 10:56

Whoa. That's insane, right? That's so crazy. Yeah, I know. They should get to them.

Spencer 11:01

I didn't do any further research. But like they've, some, they've gotta do tours or something.

Megan 11:06

Yeah, but I've never heard of them before.

Spencer 11:08

Crazy. Right. Okay. Last fun fact. They're

Megan 11:10

tunnel keeping.

Spencer 11:14

Ooh. Um. Okay. Last one. There is a famous hotel in Denver called the Oxford Hotel, and I thought this one was pretty good for, for the tone of our podcast. The Oxford Hotel has a ghost who hates unmarried couples. So room three 20 at the Oxford Hotel is one of Denver's most haunted rooms. Guests report if they're an unmarried couple. Unexplained screams, blankets pulled off of them, sudden cold spots. Legend says it's the spirit of a woman killed there in the 1890s, and who gets angry when unmarried couples stay together? Incredible, right? Oh my God. Legend to be that bitter. Know, I know.

Megan 12:00

No, it's like me as a ghost. Except it would be happy. It would be happy couples.

Spencer 12:05

Unmarried, fine, right? Happy.

Megan 12:08

Yeah. Yeah. If you're unmarried and you're fighting, you can sleep peacefully. If you guys are just like really

Spencer 12:14

enjoying each other's company, I'm gonna function up. Can't stand for that.

Megan 12:18

Yeah, no.

Spencer 12:19

Yeah. So I'll see. Obviously I didn't do one about the airport. Well, I

Megan 12:22

think the thing about the airport is that, you know. We wouldn't get any facts because it's called no, there's no facts,

Spencer 12:28

right? I mean, I do believe there's something deeply, yeah, satanic, nefarious. Nefarious about the airport

Megan 12:37

completely.

Spencer 12:37

The horse at the top, right. It's not beautiful. No, it's

Megan 12:43

demonic. It's

Spencer 12:43

not, there's no connection to Denver. Right. Like, oh, they're the Broncos, but I don't know which came

Megan 12:49

first. Oh, right. Actually. Let me just look up origin of the Denver demonic horse. Yeah. I'll throw you a bone here. The blue Mustang. Okay. It's not even a Bronco. It's notable for its striking appearance and for having killed its sculptor when it's Yes. Yes.

Spencer 13:06

Well, you didn't know this. No,

Megan 13:07

it, it fell on him during construction, right? Oh my God, yes. So it was supposed to be a buffalo stampede, and then he proposed a Mustang, a symbol of the West in an early method of long distance travel. He modeled it on his own horse. Yes. And then one of the three sections came loose, pinning him against a steel support in 2006, and he bled to death, his life's work killed him. He bled to death on his studio floor

Spencer 13:40

and they still allowed it and allow it to be kept in front of the Denver airport.

Megan 13:44

Yeah, the city of Denver has like. People have tried to remove it. They call it Lucifer, I was just gonna say, Every time I'm in the airport or I have a layover there. I'm like, I'm gonna take the time to go and explore and try to find the look. The horse isn't, isn't the only thing. There's other creepy shit, right? Yeah, of course. Of course. There's like wild artwork on the tunnels. While you're traveling. It's like also Satanic, but suspiciously, every time I'm there, I just seem to forget to look for it.

Spencer 14:18

They're putting something through the air. Mm-hmm. Air conditioning unit.

Megan 14:21

Exactly.

Spencer 14:22

And of course the Illuminati has their headquarters down. Of course. Yeah. Underground.

Megan 14:25

Under

Spencer 14:25

the, under the ground. Yeah.

Megan 14:27

And, um, lizard people.

Spencer 14:30

Okay. So should we talk to the girls? I can, yeah. Can't wait for y'all to hear this one.

Megan 14:40

Hi. Hey, it's nice to meet you guys.

Spencer 14:45

Totally. Listen, thank you. And thank you so much for doing this.

Megan 14:47

Um, yeah, so, and shout out Remy, of course. Um, so wait. Yeah, like

Spencer 14:53

Remy knows everyone, it feels like.

Megan 14:54

No, I mean she has, like, her circle is actually far too large. But, um, one of our beloved listeners, um, Remy went to college with Amanda. Okay. Mm-hmm. And, um, yeah, she was like, and I guess she's visited you guys in Denver?

Syd 15:10

Yes. It was the best vibe. She was here for, I think Amanda's birthday.

Spencer 15:14

How long have you guys each respectively lived in Denver?

Amanda 15:18

We both lived here for four. We moved like right around the same time. It's funny, we met each other like when we were both nomad and visiting a year prior to both of us moving and Oh, funny. I told Sid, like, I wanna move in around like November, December. And Sid was like, I just signed a lease from New York. I'm not gonna come for another year. And I was so upset because I really liked her. And I was like, yeah, this is my new friend. And then I wound up moving in November, like I said, and then literally like the day I moved here, Sid texted me and was like, just kidding. I'm moving in like two weeks. Yeah, yeah.

Spencer 15:49

Please wait. No way. Sidd how, what, how did you, I mean, first of all, an act of congress, finagling yourself out of like a New York like lease. Oh,

Syd 15:56

it was truly, um, it was really like the most kismet thing of all time. So I really wanted to, I like pre COVID. I was like, miss New York City. I was like, I'm never leaving New York City. I love it so much. And then during COVID, I did like this whole like nom mading journey. Ended up in Denver, loved it. I was like, I kind of wanna move here. And I was just like, I worked in finance and I was like, my whole life's in New York. Mm-hmm. Oh, also, please forgive the pigtails. I literally just walked into the house from skiing.

Megan 16:24

I love it. Yeah. Okay. And that's like the most, that's like the most ING ever. Yeah.

Syd 16:29

So I was like, I, I was like, let me go back to New York and Denver's not going anywhere. Like I'm living this like fantasy COVID life.

Megan 16:39

Mm-hmm.

Syd 16:40

Whatever. So I moved back to New York. It actually worked out. It was really easy. I like subletted from a friend who lived with my other best friend. So like, I, it was great. Um, and I don't know, I was in New York for like two months and I just like wasn't happy. I was like, I really like, wanna be in New York. I at UBS at the time, which is like a bigger bank and they had offices in Denver. It was like Halloween weekend of 2021. And at the breakfast with the guy, I was like, can you put me in touch or just like, send my resume? And he was just like, a little bit like, I don't know, because like, you don't have the experience. And I was like, I just wanna move to Denver, like please. And um, he's like, okay. So he put, he sent the guy my resume. Um, and the guy who's now my boss still four years later, who's like the biggest blessing in my life, um, called me and he is like, Hey, I know you really just wanna like move here. He is like, you went to University of Maryland. I'm from Baltimore, let's meet for coffee. Oh my gosh. And um, also to make a long story short, my roommate, I've also been living with Rachel, who's my best friend and roommate for four years. She was also visiting during Holly. And she's like, let's look at this house. And I'm like, house? Like I don't have a job. I don't dunno. And I got coffee with Michael. He's like, okay, great. Like I wanna hire you, but you have to move here in a month. And

Megan 18:00

I'm like, oh my God, finally.

Syd 18:03

And he's like, okay, what if I get UBS to kind of like help relocate you? Mm HA lot of things. And I was like, okay. And then Rachel's like, let's look at this house. And I was like, oh my God, so many things are happening at once. So we ended up getting this house. I went back to New York. I literally packed myself in like five minutes.

Spencer 18:21

And then, and now it's been four years, but it was all like, it was obviously all meant to be.

Megan 18:25

Yeah,

Spencer 18:26

yeah.

Megan 18:26

You just literally were like, Hmm, maybe I should move to Denver. And the universe was like, okay, she's going. Yeah. Okay. So should we just dive in? Yeah, let's do it.

Spencer 18:35

So whoever wants to go first, but definitely wanna hear from both of you guys, like age, how long we, we talked about how long you've been in Denver, but like, what do you guys do for work, um, and your, your relationship status.

Amanda 18:47

Um, okay. I'm Amanda. Um, I'm 29 years old. I'm a solutions engineer at a AI startup and I'm currently engaged getting married in September.

Spencer 18:57

Very exciting. Where are you getting married?

Amanda 19:00

I'm getting married at

Megan 19:01

Vail.

Spencer 19:02

Oh my God. Oh, it's gonna be beautiful. Wow.

Megan 19:04

Yeah, we act. So Spencer and I came to Denver to visit one of our friends that lives there now, and we did a girls' weekend in Vail, so we're a big Vail fan. Oh

Spencer 19:12

yeah. We were like, this is the greatest place we've ever been.

Amanda 19:14

Yeah,

Megan 19:14

yeah,

Amanda 19:15

yeah. We're obsessed with it. We like love skiing there, so it was kind of like a no brainer of where to get married. It's so

Megan 19:21

cute. Where, where are you from originally? Or both? Oh, I'm from New York. Okay. Yeah. Cool.

Spencer 19:25

Oh, okay. This will be good perspective.

Amanda 19:27

Yes, for

Megan 19:28

sure.

Syd 19:30

Um, I'm Sydney. I am 30. I'm a financial advisor at prep Wealth Management firm in Denver. Um, I am single and I am originally from Miami. And then lived in New York for three years and now I've been in Denver for four years.

Megan 19:48

Oh, amazing. Miami is another,

Spencer 19:50

we like are obsessed with my kids.

Megan 19:52

Um, and you guys kind of touched on this, but you met visiting Denver. Yeah. And was it through mutual friends or what?

Amanda 20:00

Yeah, so Sid and I have a mutual friend. My best friend from high school is Sid's, very good friend from college and so she introduced us because like Sid said, during COVI, we both kind of decided to nomad leave our apartments in New York and like bop around and Denver was a place. So we got brunch together and then just like loved each other. Then I

Syd 20:21

party together that same night.

Amanda 20:23

We hung out the rest of the day. We like left each other and then came back. Yeah, and we went to like a house party and. Then from there, just like immediately hit it off and knew we were gonna be friends and now four years later we are Love it.

Spencer 20:36

Wait, I love that. It's also one of those like crazy feelings. It's almost like it's worse than like with a guy that you like with a girl that you like that it's almost like you almost feel creepier when it's like, wait, do, does she like me as much as I like her the first time, it's like, are we feeling like we're on the same wavelength? Yeah.

Syd 20:52

I also think moving to like a new city with like not that many friends. When you're in your like mid to late twenties mm-hmm. It's like you like want to like girl date 'cause you wanna make friends. Yes. And so you have like your like going out friends and like that kind of like gets a little old then you like felt couch friends. For example, Amanda's an amazing example. Like, you really learned to like love your couch friends. Yes.

Megan 21:13

Wait, I love that. That's such a good way to put it. I feel like I've been thinking about that recently. Like it was such a huge change. Like in my experience living in LA from when I went to just having a ton of friends that like, I would go to dinner and go out with, to like having friends that I'm just like, I don't want, I don't wanna do anything today, but do you guys wanna hang out? And that's like, what really makes you like, feel comfortable somewhere is having like those types of friends couch friends. That's awesome. And you have to, you just, you have to like cross, like even if it's, if they're both types of friends, it's like it is something that you have to cross into to be like. So we've been hanging out like yeah, doing cool things. What if we hung out and did nothing like,

Spencer 21:59

Okay, so what is you guys' favorite thing about the other person?

Megan 22:04

Oh, I love this

Syd 22:04

question.

Amanda 22:06

Okay, so now you have to go first.

Syd 22:09

Amanda has truly the best attitude and like a smile on her face about everything. And I think it is the most phenomenal quality, like in a person. Like we can be in like a dire circumstance and I feel like Amanda will get us out of it because she's one like very smart and also has really good attitude. Like this is a very like minor thing, but it recently happened. I had to make a cake for this. Like I'm on the board of this like nonprofit and I had to make a cake and everyone at this event was like 50. So I felt like the event like cake had to be really beautiful. So I make a bunk cake. We let it cool. The bug cake and it doesn't bun like it just like falls in and I sometimes can be dramatic and I was almost about to start crying and Amanda's like, it's gonna be okay. We can fix this. And she's like looking up solutions and it is like cutting it. And anyway, we ended up cutting. Wait, that's so sweet. I was like,

Amanda 23:07

we can make a cake pop. We can like make this

Syd 23:10

what to do with non bunt

Megan 23:12

bunt cake. She fixed

Syd 23:13

the problem and made me smile and everything was okay. Aw. So I love that

Amanda 23:18

about her. amazing. Um, I feel like, going back to like the couch friend comment, like, I feel like what I love about Sy is, and like personally me, I've like benefited for it, but like everyone that knows Sy just loves her immediately because she's so comfortable. Like there's no like awkward phase 'cause she's just mm-hmm. Down for whatever. She's so interesting that she can relate to like every single type of person. And so I just feel like Sid's the person that I call for anything. It's like if we wanna like have a fun night and be like silly. We would call each other and like, go and do that. But if we also just wanna watch a movie or sit on the couch, we could do that. We can call each other and go out, we can go skiing and stuff like that. And so you're just so multidimensional and interesting.

Megan 24:01

Thank you. You're welcome. It's beautiful.

Spencer 24:05

I love

Megan 24:05

this. Unrelated to dating, what's something that y'all love about Denver as a city that you think makes it unique from other places you've lived or visited?

Amanda 24:14

I, I feel like this is my classic story that I always use Amazing about Denver, which, but I feel like it really sums up what I love about it. Like, I love coffee, I love going to coffee shops like. Making coffee at home, whatever. Totally. And like the only way that I could explain, I'm gonna compare it to New York or like why I love Denver versus New York is like, I remember right before I was leaving New York, I was like going to order a coffee and I was like asking for like a straw to the barista, and the person behind me was like, Ugh. Like as if me asking for a straw was like. Taking so much time up in there right day that like they couldn't to New York. Ima like imagine that I was taking one extra second to like add straw or whatever. And then like every time you come to Denver, like everyone's just like so happy, relaxed, chill. Mm-hmm. Like you can have a, oftentimes I'm like waiting for a while because everyone's chatting with the barista, like, how are you? What's up? What are you doing? Like, I love your this, or whatever. And I just, I feel like the people are very happy. Everyone's really laid back, even from like a work perspective. Like I had the same job from New York and Denver and everyone just like appreciates life and we'll leave work to go on a walk and then like come back or go hike and do stuff like that. And so I just, and no

Spencer 25:27

one dies. Like no one dies because you went on a walk. Yeah. Everyone acts like they're a heart surgeon in New York City.

Amanda 25:32

Yeah. And that somebody's on the

Spencer 25:33

table.

Amanda 25:34

Yeah, exactly. And so I love that, just like general. Peaceful, like everyone's just happy to be here enjoying life. That I feel like is consistent with just everyone that I meet and the situations that I'm in. So yeah, that's why I love Denver. Love that.

Syd 25:51

Yeah. I've gonna to piggyback off of what Amanda said, and I love that. No. The coolest part about no one here is their job. Like, yeah, everyone here has some really cool like unique passions and it's like really celebrated. So if it's like skiing or hiking or music, whatever it is, mm-hmm. People here have really interesting stories, so you can just like strike up a conversation with almost like any random stranger and learn something new because they're like, I did this like five day backpacking trip, like. In Leadville and you're like, what? And it's just like biking like, and as soon as you think you're good at something, someone's 15 times better. Yeah. Than you. It's just like, I love that the people here have like a, a zest for life, which is awesome.

Spencer 26:38

Wait, this got me thinking. If the question, the first question people ask in New York is, what do you do? And then the first people, oh yeah. Question that people ask in LA is, who do you know? Mm-hmm. What do you think the first question that people ask in Denver is? I have two. One

Syd 26:53

is Icon or Epic Pass.

Megan 26:56

I was gonna say that.

Syd 26:59

And the second one is like, do you listen to the Grateful Dead?

Spencer 27:04

Wait, that's so good. Oh, though they're so good.

Syd 27:06

They're like, what kind of music do you like to listen to? Those are the two.

Amanda 27:10

Yeah. I feel like, do you like Icon Epic? Or like do you Ski is like very high up in like, how do I like get to know you or. Put you into like where, where do you ski? And it's like if you say a few mountains, you're like, oh, okay, you're one of those.

Spencer 27:25

So we kind of already talked about this, but like what kind of person lives in Denver? Just kind of holistically, obviously making massive assumptions in generalizations, and then also how did you guys find your friend group in Denver?

Amanda 27:40

I feel like the average person, like, well first of all, Denver is like known as like men, where it's like so many men. So I would say you find a lot of, like, it's definitely a pretty homogenous city. Like everyone looks the same, acts the same, um, likes the same thing. So definitely I would say someone that's like very active, like is interested in like the outdoors, whether that's skiing, snowboarding, or like hiking and biking. Mm-hmm. Um, and yeah, and just like prioritizes that in in their life over like. Someone who likes just like good restaurants or maybe like eating and drinking. Like I don't, I wouldn't say a typical foodie comes here. Yeah. People usually come here 'cause they want like a little bit of city life, but access to the mountains. Yeah. Um, yeah. Syd, do you have anything to add?

Syd 28:26

Like, when we get dressed up for a nice dinner here we call it prom because if they're like so few and far between,

Spencer 28:31

that's so funny. Meanwhile that's like all I listen, oh my God. Like it's all, yeah. That's all we know.

Amanda 28:37

Yeah. I'll say, I was like, last night I went to a party, so it was prom and I like blew my hair for like one of the first times and used like my air wrap, which I genuinely used once a quarter. And I was like, I felt like it almost feels like. So overdone. Like, I was like, this is crazy. Like, who am I? Like you're playing dress up. Yeah. Yeah. And then you're like, no

Spencer 28:58

one, look at me too hard when I get there. I didn't try that hard. Yeah. I'm like this embarrassing.

Amanda 29:02

Like, am I overdoing it? Meanwhile, like literally all I did was like blew my hair out. But then we went to dinner at this like really good taco place, but it's like very hole in the wall. We went to El Taco, to Mexico. Sid and I, I'm in prom, like I'm dressed prom. I'm into like a, a delicious taco place. I'm sure you have them like in LA too, but like anything like, like hole in the wall vibes. Yeah.

Spencer 29:25

Right. Yeah.

Amanda 29:26

And I'm just like, this is it. We went to a really cute cocktail bar where like everyone was also dressed up, so that was fun.

Spencer 29:33

Yeah. Um,

Amanda 29:35

but yeah, definitely like Carhartt beanies over the years. Flannels Blu stones. That's kind of your, okay. Vibe of these people love that. And then they're cini

Syd 29:47

and then the only thing on is like, I love music, so I'm like very heavily in the music scene. Mm-hmm. So in addition to the Carhartt and the flannels, lots of Grateful Dead Billy Strings, Phish t-shirts. Yeah. And that's the great way that I've met a lot of people since I moved here and made a lot of amazing friends literally through just talking to someone from a concert or like one of a mutual friend being like, oh, you like this musician? Like so does is my friend. And like mm-hmm. Having that immediate bond, like you know, that they're a good person, like, you know, you can hang out and enjoy their company. So that's like another, um, characteristic of like a lot of what I know here.

Megan 30:25

Yeah, I

Amanda 30:25

think it's very

Megan 30:25

unique for sure.

Amanda 30:27

It's really easy to make friends in Denver 'cause it's such like transient city where people are always like coming in and coming out. So in general, like. I kind of feel like I'm always been in the a more the merrier situation. Especially like when we're going to concerts or shows like usually someone will like get a bus to bring everyone to Red Rocks or something like that. And it's always like, how many times Sid have we somehow just mashed together like 20 people? Or we'll go and like tailgate in the parking lot and it's just like friends of friends of friends of friends. I mean that's the best way to

Spencer 30:58

do it though. Yeah.

Amanda 30:59

And it's so fun. So I would say like half for me, like, I mean Jewish geography just like always obviously helpful. That's kind of, I feel like our like first friend group that we met here was like most mutual friends from New York, but yeah, my fiance, he's actually from Colorado, so I've met a lot of friends through him because he like born here a lot of his Nice hometown

Spencer 31:20

plug.

Amanda 31:20

Yeah, hometown plug went to Boulder, so like mm-hmm. It's like a New York Boulder crew.

Megan 31:28

That's so fun though. It's like you get like a taste of home, but then also like these people that are actually from here, so you get like. Authentic too. Okay. So member, I just Absolutely love that. Um, do you know where the name comes from and like, do you find it fair? Are you like, hell yeah. This is like where all of the men are. This is Paradise, right?

Syd 31:51

I think member is an accurate nickname for the city, but like, I think people think about it in like, not necessarily like the correct way. Like when you think of men as like maybe a single girl in another city who's dating, you're like, oh, mm-hmm. Denver must be like best place to date. Right. Whereas it's like, there are a lot of men here who are great, like I have a lot of guy friends and the dating senior I will not say is bad. Like I think there's a good dating scene here. Mm-hmm. There's just like a lot of men here because the activities are. Stereotypically activities that men have to do, like breweries, hiking, skiing, music, like, so it attracts a lot of, like what Amanda said earlier, just like a homogenous crowd. Yeah.

Megan 32:33

Okay.

Syd 32:34

That makes sense. So like, just like for context, like when I have to pee at a concert, like there will be no line and when the boys have to be, there is an extremely long line.

Spencer 32:42

And you know what? Good because they never have to deal with that. Yeah, exactly. That's beautiful. So I think that's

Syd 32:46

a

Spencer 32:46

good way

Syd 32:47

to

Spencer 32:47

illustrate

Syd 32:47

member.

Amanda 32:48

I feel like especially when I first moved here and was like going out more like mm-hmm. Going to bars or going to pregames and stuff, I definitely felt like it was like 80, 20, 70 even at like a pre-game, like there Wow. Way less girls than guys. But I wouldn't say that it necessarily like. You said Sid, like increases your chances of like finding someone. Mm-hmm. If the men are so interested in like each other that like, not in like a bad way, but I feel like I feel like, especially it's, it's definitely the mentality. I feel like a lot of men it's like, I don't know, this is an assumption that I have, but it's like Denver's kind of like a huge playground and they're just here to like have fun with their friends and like ski Yeah. And hike and whatever. And it's like, I'll eventually make time for like girls dating. Yeah. Like, it's not like a priority. So I think it's accurate that it's like pro unproportional, like there's more men than women, but I don't think that means that like, like I wouldn't like walk into a pregame and everyone was like, oh wow, there's girls here. Finally go out

Spencer 33:45

with me. Yeah. It was like, okay, whatever. Like they came to this place for hobbies. Yeah. Yes.

Megan 33:51

That's so interesting. Yeah. That makes total sense though.

Spencer 33:55

What is your typical Denver guy? Jobs are important, but really we're talking about like personality characteristics.

Syd 34:03

I like to add to like the skiing and the active and like all those things. I have noticed that like a lot of the men here, kudos to Denver, like also like to cook, like are very much like protectors and providers. Like not necessarily Oh, in a financial sense. More so in like a, they also like to clean and like they Wow. Participate and Yeah. Um, like I can count on Jason's Amanda's fiance, but like any of my friends' partners will like. Make sure that like I'm taken care of if we're on a ski trip. Uhhuh, I like really appreciate that about like, the men that are part of my life here.

Megan 34:43

Wow. Amazing. Yeah,

Syd 34:45

that's the New York man would never,

Megan 34:47

yeah. Clean. I'm, I'm shocked. I'm actually speechless.

Amanda 34:51

Yeah. Is that, do you agree? Yeah. It, it wasn't like the first thing that came to my mind, but I do feel like people are very independent. Like, I don't know, it's because this is gonna be a, an interesting, but I feel like a lot of people move here, or at least like, we know a lot of people that moved here kind of in their like mid to late twenties that like already had been in like the, you maybe from like a major city or kind of like did their city era and now we're like moving here and like, maybe it's just 'cause they can like live on their own because like the cost of living is much cheaper so they become more like inde or like you have a car and you just have like responsibility so you're not as. Fratty, but they're still fratty. Yeah, I

Spencer 35:30

see what you're saying.

Syd 35:31

You also have time to cook and clean 'cause you're like not working New York City hours. Yeah. So like, I mean, fill the calendar with you can

Megan 35:37

become a whole person. Well,

Spencer 35:38

that's what I was gonna say is that it seems like in New York, it's a city that caters to, you're literally doing two things. We don't have anything but cement. So you go out and you drink and you go to bars, period. Yeah. And during the week, it's like there's bodegas on every corner that you work at your office. There's a subway that takes you right there. You go to work and you work long hours and then on the weekends like you drink. So it's like, it caters towards like kind of keeping you a little infantile, like longer. Mm.

Amanda 36:03

Yeah.

Spencer 36:03

Right.

Amanda 36:05

Yeah. Yeah. I like this. It wasn't what I was originally thinking, but yeah, like there's, I don't think people here like usually like order in or like maybe that leads to it. Like we have kitchens, we

Syd 36:15

cook, we clean, we're humans like, like our guy friends, our guy friends have all. Left like most are back in New York or Minnesota. Okay. Or like our guy friends had a cooking club called the Schmalz Boys and like they would get together and Oh my would get mad because we didn't get the invite. Wait, thats incredible. What together? Like better than anything I can cook.

Spencer 36:39

Yeah. I'm beside myself. Yeah. Holy crap.

Amanda 36:43

I will say though, like, I think in terms of like stereotypical mm-hmm. There's a lot of engineers here like, but like engineers are like environmental engineers and like Yeah. Salespeople and people in tech, but you don't see a lot of like finance or mm-hmm. Maybe those are just like the people that I'm friendly with. But Yeah. So I think that, like Sid was saying, the typical Denver guy, like I feel like is pretty like laid back, chill, like all of the. Crunchy, granola. All of the stereo. Yeah. Stereotypical ideas of Denver is like very much the type of people that it attracts. But yeah, I think people are just generally like very nice, sweet, interesting. And like wanting to meet other people. Like it's not like in New York where, especially for me, like I went to school in New York, everyone from New York came back then lived in New York City. Mm-hmm. Like I remember in my first job meeting a lot of friends and they were all really interested in like becoming friends outside of work. But I was like, I have my crew, I have my high school friend group. Yeah. College friend group. I have friends I went to camp with, like, I wasn't interested in meeting new people, so like, or I was, but not, they wouldn't take the slot of like my friends. But you had a full roster, you didn't need it. Yeah. Yeah. But like here, I think people are more interested in mm-hmm. Everyone's just generally like nicer and more like inclusive. Yeah. Like meeting other people versus like, I feel like New York, it was more of. These are my friends. I'll hang out with you at some points, but you're not my like core group where everyone here was like interested in meshing and becoming friends with you. Yeah.

Spencer 38:18

Amanda, how did you meet your fiance?

Amanda 38:22

Yeah, so we met on Hinge when I like first moved here. So I moved here in about like November and we left, we met in February. Oh wow. Um, but. I think to the point of like making new friends in like a new city. Like I moved here very much on my own. I had people that I knew, but I didn't have much to do on like a Friday, Saturday night. So I kind of used like hinge as also just a way to like have plans and like, like I think it was very good when you're moving to a new city to be like, I don't have any plans on a Friday night or a Saturday night or a Thursday night. So like I used it to like make dates and make plans for myself, which was great. So yeah. So we met on Hinge. Um, the first like couple months of us dating was like crazy just because we both were super busy. Like I was in a very busy work travel slash foot travel situation. Yeah. Like. We wound up not starting to become like official boyfriend and girlfriend until July. Okay. But that's just because we would try to make plans with each other's with dates. But like he was going here and I was going here and we just both living lives. Yeah. The living lives. But it was kind of like, I think it relieved looking back, it like relieved some of like the pressure. 'cause I didn't, I wasn't even thinking about us going on dates or like when the next date would be because we were both like doing so much and then we would come back. Yeah. Hang out for one night and then like not see each other for like a few weeks again. Yeah. A girl that

Spencer 39:51

I hung out with in college once, like her mom gave her the advice, like when she was dating, to be mysterious and busy. Oh. And like that was some of the best advice I'd ever heard was that like, if you have a full calendar and a full life, like that's actually when you're gonna find a person because it's like you're so fulfilled by everything else going on. That and there. And also men are attracted to women who are like, sorry, I'm doing something. Sorry, I'm doing something right. Like, there's something very cool about that. Yeah.

Amanda 40:17

Ja says like when we first met on the first date, and this is like, I mean it's like a snapshot of I guess who I am as a person. But like I wasn't actually like that busy. But at the point of time I was like about to go to Spain for work, about to speak at this conference called South by Southwest, which like was just crazy that I was Wait, you were Yeah. South by Southwest. Yeah. And then I was like going the, oh, casual. So I was like, I was like, yeah, I'm like busy. 'cause I'm like about to go to Spain, like I'm going to Austin for a week 'cause I'm speaking at South by Southwest and then I'm going to like Coachella. So like I can't really talk. And he was like, who are you? Yeah, I'm sure he was

Megan 40:52

overwhelmed by that.

Amanda 40:54

And so like I think that. But again, like that is like I do that isn't abnormal in my life. But I don't think I've ever done those three things. Like I've never done that again. I haven't, I haven't. You know, so it's just like a snippet of my life. But I think that, yeah, in like a very cool way, I wasn't thinking about it and I was so busy and I was like living such a cool life. And I feel like what I always think and advice sometimes that I give to my friends is like, 'cause they always ask me like, did you, when did you know that you were gonna marry? Yeah. Yeah. This, that. And I'm like, honestly I don't. It definitely wasn't. And we both say this like our first date, like, oh my God, this is the love of my life type of thing. Yeah. It was a 50 50 shot. He also didn't me the night of the date. Like we didn't talk till like two days later. Oh my God. Oh my God. He didn't

Spencer 41:42

like text you after like had a great time. No,

Amanda 41:45

but like I don't even think I thought about it 'cause I was leaving to go to a ski trip. Yeah. You don't even have

Megan 41:50

time to worry

Amanda 41:51

about it. Yeah. And so I think he texted me that. Friday and was like, you know, how's Winter Park? And I was like, it's fun. But I didn't even think about it. 'cause I went to bed on that like Thursday night or Wednesday night. Wow. I got up and then I like drove to the mountains and then he texted me and I was like, cool. But yeah,

Megan 42:07

you were like on the way

Amanda 42:08

up. I met my husband. Yeah. No, definitely, definitely not. Um, and so like I always say like if nothing's, if you have no like red flags, then like, and maybe this is more of when I met him when I was like 25. So I wasn't, I didn't have all of these like criteria that I think some, like even Sid, like you now very much know what you want and what you don't want. But like I was in the realm of like, if we're happy and we're having fun, then like I'm just gonna keep going. And I think it's interesting now 'cause when I talk to more of my friends, like on the first or second date, they'll text guys or guys will text them or they'll text guys and be like, I don't think. I see a future with you. Yeah. And sometimes I get it. Yeah. But sometimes I'm like, I had no Id a future. I wasn't even, I don't even know if I saw a future with him until like six months into dating. Yeah. And that's not bad. But I do think

Syd 42:57

Amanda, if you didn't see a future, you would've known. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I think there's a difference between like not knowing and knowing. Yeah. Yeah.

Spencer 43:04

Yeah. Like if you're like, I absolutely know Yeah. That this is not my person. Yeah. I

Megan 43:09

think when people, I think that's like a mistake people do make though, like saying like, oh, if it's not a hell yes. And it's like, I don't think it needs to be a hell yes. I think it needs to be Aho. Yeah. I think it needs to Like anything

Syd 43:22

above a hell no.

Megan 43:23

Yes. Yeah. Hell, hell no. Is

Spencer 43:25

only thing we should like bottom out. Yeah.

Amanda 43:27

But on like red flags or red flags. But if there are no red flags, then like totally give, give it another shot. Or like what do you have to lose? Types of things. But. Yeah, that, that's kinda how we met. And we did some funny That's awesome. Very Denver dates. Like our second date we went climbing at like a, 'cause it's like a big climber.

Spencer 43:45

Oh my gosh. That's awesome. I love that. Okay, Syd, so what about the guys that you're dating? How do you meet them? Like how are things working out holistically? Which is a broad question, but

Syd 43:56

I think Denver's like a great, like Hinge is a great place to meet people. I always say it's like passive income, like taking a healthy break from the apps is important, but like, why not be on them? You know me, um, like setups, I think I've like gotten set up a couple times. Mm-hmm. And like that I always, I love a setup.

Megan 44:14

Yeah. We're huge on setup.

Syd 44:16

Huge set people. I don't think when I'm like, oh, I have a single front, I'm gonna set you up with them. 'cause it's like, just 'cause we're both single doesn't mean we're necessarily correct. Yeah. But like my dentist set me up, like, why, why not? Did it turn what? No. But like, was it

Megan 44:28

like another patient?

Syd 44:30

Um, I think it was like her brother's friend,

Megan 44:32

but I think another patient would be like

Spencer 44:33

was she just like these pearly whites they need, this girl's got some good teeth.

Syd 44:37

I'm like very openly. Proud. And like I talk about, like my, if you meet me, you know I'm Jewish within five minutes. It's like a huge part of my life. Uhhuh. And my dentist is also Jewish and I feel like the Yenta energy is just like, yes. Follow up. And she's like, I need to set you up. Like, that's amazing. Um, so I think setups and then a couple of 'em actually met through music, like in the, in the wild.

Megan 45:02

That's so cool. Like,

Syd 45:04

yeah.

Megan 45:04

Cool girl energy.

Syd 45:05

Yeah. I think when I first moved here, like again, I was like 25. I don't think I was like, dating wasn't, was more of like a way to meet new people than New City. Yeah. It wasn't something so like, oh, like who's this person gonna be for forever? So I feel like it was, I didn't take it seriously, maybe? Mm-hmm. Not seriously, but like, it just wasn't top of mind for a while. Um, I think like now it's become more like important to me. Um, like I'd love to find a life partner. Like that's what I'm in the market for when I'm dating and I'm very. Sure about that for myself. Um, and I think it's been a little bit harder with like that lens over it. Yeah.

Megan 45:43

It's hard to change that mindset, but it's also like we have to

Syd 45:46

Yeah. And I think that's like any, like, I think that's in any city that you're in. Yeah.

Spencer 45:50

I think we talked about this when we were texting about getting you guys on Yeah. Can you talk about how single girls should be approaching dating and wealth and the way they should approach those conversations with, with a partner or partner? Are we like not

Megan 46:02

asking on dates that we should be Yeah. Like when do you talk about it?

Syd 46:05

I think it's really important to like, remove the, like this is an awkward thing to bring up because like, it, it really isn't, and I think when we're 25 it's like, oh, is he gonna pick up the bill? And like now it's like, okay, okay, he's gonna pick up the bill, like, what's next? Yeah. And you know, I'm speaking like in general terms and like my experience and today I don't wanna like offend anyone if they feel differently. But, um, I think it's really important to like pay attention to like people's nonverbal. Things like in when you first start dating, like are they mm-hmm. Like really generous tippers. Like if you're like doing something together, will they plan ahead to like buy the tickets? Like things like that when you're talking about traveling, like is this person staying in like hostels or are they staying in Airbnbs or are they staying at the Ritz Carlton? And does that align with like, how you see yourself traveling when you get older? Um, I think when you hear people talk about their families, you can pick up on like a little, a lot of like money, because I think that's where you're raised has a lot to do beyond how you see money, right? Mm-hmm. So like just picking up on things and like, if you hear something that's like, sounds just like interesting or different or like, just ask like the more qui you can be and the less assumptions you can make, I always think the better. I think also like as you get older, like, you know, we're generating savings, like money in your 401k, like paying off student debt, things like that. Like. A lot of my friends are buying their first house. Like when you're coming to the relationship, like what equity and what debt are you bringing? And like mm-hmm. What's your plan to pay it off If it's debt and if it's equity. Yeah. Do you wanna bring your partner in on that or is it yours?

Spencer 47:42

Um, yeah. Or if like they have debt like you, that's something like, I just remember the Love is Blind thing where like a couple, do you guys remember that? I had so much credit. What the fuck? Yeah.

Syd 47:52

Had so much debt. And even this season in Denver, like that one couple didn't work out because they just like lived two. Yeah. Like it was a Ritz Carlton and a, I don't like a Best Western. And neither is wrong. Neither is those wrong. Yeah. But they didn't wanna like meet in the middle.

Megan 48:08

Yeah. I'll just ask like from a personal perspective, and I'm sure people can relate, but like, I still am paying off my student loans. Like I went to Duke Law School. I will probably be done with that when I'm 50. Um, oh, Megan, hopefully, hopefully much sooner. Yeah. Um, when do you, like, when, as a, as a financial planner, like when do you tell people like that? They, like, when should I bring that up on a date? Like, I obviously don't wanna be like meeting someone for the first time and be like, yeah, yeah, well just FYI, but like, when do you have that conversation?

Syd 48:43

I don't think it has to be like a hard, like, okay, we're going to the fifth date. Like we talking about debt. Right. I think like sometimes, and I'm an open book so I can't speak to everyone, but like, I think sometimes me being more open and more for forthcoming, I've seen that reciprocated. Like I think if there's a wall up it becomes like taboo to talk about certain things. Mm-hmm. And like when I say I'm a financial planner, like boil up being like, so what should I do with my finances? Right. I'm like, well if you really wanna talk about it. Yeah.

Megan 49:11

It's like, schedule an appointment with me and I'll charge you and then I can give you advice.

Syd 49:16

I think it's like, I think like all things in dating right? You have a conversation about like, are we seeing other people? I wanna start calling you my girlfriend. I wanna introduce you to my family. Yeah. Like, so whenever it feels like, and those things like hard conversations with the right person should bring you guys closer. So like. You know, if, like, my parents are divorced, for example. So like, I think that's sometimes like a good segue into like

Megan 49:40

mm-hmm.

Syd 49:40

Money and things like that. Um, I also think, like I'll talk to people who are, you know, getting married and they're having this conversation the first time. And like in an ideal world, it's just something that you talk about before. 'cause it's like so important you're aligned on that. Like, the number one cause of divorce is like

Spencer 49:57

Yeah.

Syd 49:58

Control issues. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, I think hiding things and lying things is, is the, the worst. Like I don't think there's, I don't think any amount of honest debt could be as bad as like, hiding even like the smallest amount of debt or just like Yeah. Something because that's gonna come out in the future. Yeah. I also, I talk about it too much, but like, I also just think it's important if. You think that one day you're gonna have to like care for your parents? Mm-hmm. Or a sibling or like things ex outside of the relationship. Like just being honest about it. Yeah. Again, when you're with the right person, like they're going to be open to it and it's gonna be like, it's gonna bring everyone closer. I think it's

Megan 50:39

like

Syd 50:40

honestly a tool in dating that could bring people closer faster and separate the wrong people quicker. Yeah, completely. People are scared to bring it up.

Amanda 50:47

I love that. Yeah. I was gonna say like, I do feel like just good communication in general in relationships is helpful and like even situations like I feel like Megan, it probably comes up like you went to law school. Right? Right. Yeah. Like

Megan 51:01

they can assume that. Yeah. And

Amanda 51:03

like I feel like the assumption is. Or like, not the assumption, but like most people have to pay for their school. Yeah, right. And take out loans. Right. And it's like, unless like obviously like we all grew up differently and maybe you had the opportunity where you're, you're family, whatever. So it's like, I don't think this stuff is crazy to think that like yeah, someone would have a student loan or this or that. Yeah. Or even just like when talking, like I feel like Jason and I would always talk about like college and I was like, oh my God. Like we partied, like everything. And it was crazy. And he would be like, oh, my experience was like very different. Like I was in a really hard major, like I had a Oh wow. And like this and that and like, I wasn't really partying, I was just trying to like get through school. Mm-hmm. With my jobs to keep, he like had a scholarship. Lame. But yeah. Keep my scholarship. That sucks. But like, I think again, like it wasn't something where I was like, today is the time that we're gonna talk about this. Yeah. But it's like, right. I think like what Sid says, it like naturally comes up. And now that we're like. Getting married, like we talk more and more about our finances, what it looks like, like, like Sid said, like family responsibilities and what you have to do and your long-term care and things, and just like how you wanna live your life and like, yeah. To me, I never thought about planting that seed, but it was more just like having open, honest communication with your partner. Like make all of that very easy and seem like something to do. Like we, I feel like we eventually spoke about our savings because we were like asking each other about like advice on like investing and then it was like, oh, you do this, I do this. Okay. Interesting. Cool. Yeah. Yeah.

Spencer 52:39

Being cagey about something should be an indicator to you and the other person that maybe something's not aligned. I'd

Syd 52:45

say at the very least before we move in together, like have a Yeah. Conversation. Yeah. To. Doing that.

Amanda 52:52

And that brings up natural stuff of like, when you're looking for a budget for a house, do you care about the same things? Like do you want, do you both care about having like a nice kitchen or a garage or this or that? Like are those priorities to you or are you,

Megan 53:04

do you wanna start her home and wanna focus on where you're going in the future? More than getting the big dream house right now? The Yeah, yeah. Okay. Um, what do you think are the best and worst things about dating in Denver?

Syd 53:16

The best things about dating in Denver is you can like, do cool, fun, different things. Yeah. Like if someone, if I go on a first date with someone and they're like super into like ex hobby, like how Amanda said her second date was climbing with Ja. Like, we can do that for our second date. And I think that's so fun because even if it's doesn't end up being like a romantic interest, like one, you do something that you've never done before and like, it's just like adding to your tool belt of cool experiences that you've had. Yeah.

Megan 53:43

Completely.

Syd 53:43

Um, worst, worst part being Denver is I think that like someone inden, like, I think, I don't wanna say, I think Peter pan's the wrong word, but like. I think Denver guys can be just like a little boyish and not like future thinking or like ambitious necessarily as like I, I personally am looking for Yeah.

Amanda 54:06

I have like a, my like worst could also be a best situation. Mm-hmm. I think with the apps something that was like very interesting. I remember when I was like on them in Denver is like, again, like compared to New York, like New York, a guy would come across my screen. I felt like I was two degrees of separation from anyone. I could like background check them. Yeah. I understood like where they went, like the schools that came up, it gave me a sense of like who they were. Again, not in like a bad way, but I was like, okay, this person is from Long Island. They went to Michigan. They work at this. Yeah. Like I know, I know exactly who this person was. Right? Or like maybe I had an idea who of who they were. And so you could kind of group them or, or get an idea if someone was like, of interest of you or not. I feel like in Denver, and I've heard this from both the girl and guy perspective, like. The schools are like Midwest schools sometimes that like you've never heard of like more people, you know, no one that went there. Yeah.

Spencer 55:02

You know, that went there. I love that actually. Like a sense of unknown.

Amanda 55:05

Yeah. And so I think in some ways that's like really good. Like I always say Jason and I would've never met if it wasn't for Hinge because like we, we had no mutual friends. Yeah. Like, maybe we both happen to like a very, we lived actually pretty close to one another and we like had the similar favorite coffee shop. So like, maybe there was a world that we could have walked in on the same day. Mm-hmm. But like the odds of us going up to each other and being like, hi. Yeah. Slim to none. Right. So, but I definitely felt like at sometimes I, I went out with a few people that I was like, oh my God, we have zero think in like common type of thing. And almost like,

Megan 55:39

we shouldn't have met we shouldn't have access to each other.

Amanda 55:41

Maybe I could have like filtered them out with Yeah. Which, which again, like, I think is a good thing. And it's a nice thing because you're not using those like preconceived mm-hmm. Biases or, or information of like what you want. And you really have this option of meeting everyone, but it's like truly anyone and, and everyone. Yeah.

Syd 56:00

And I'll like just add to that, I think living here after living in just like major cities, like you can meet people who like, like I dated people who like, were in like construction or in the music industry. Mm-hmm. Just like in like different worlds than like, that I'm not normally in, it's a lot

Spencer 56:17

more one note in other cities. Yeah.

Syd 56:19

It's just like, it's cool. It's like cool. Different people.

Megan 56:22

Yeah. Do you feel like, I mean, sad like you're about to move back to New York. Do you feel like a lot of people like know that they're in Denver only for a few years? Like, I had my, my friend that used to live in Denver, she met her boyfriend there and like he was about to move back to New York. They ended up moving back together. But like, I do feel like there's, that's. I see that in LA sometimes too, where it's like people know that they're going to move back eventually. And I think that changes the calculus with dating. Like if, you know, like, yeah, this is kind of like the fun place that I live in my twenties, but this is not where I wanna put down roots. Do you think that affects dating?

Syd 56:59

Yeah. And I think, I think Denver's a transient city. So in all transient cities, like, like Austin mm-hmm. The Austin cities, like when people move there, they're not necessarily like, am I gonna plant roots? Right. I'll speak to like, my personal experience when I first moved here, I again like don't think, I was like, oh, I'm moving to Denver for good. I'm like, I'm moving to a new city to see if I like it.

Megan 57:20

Yeah.

Syd 57:20

And

Megan 57:20

I, I

Syd 57:21

love it more than I ever could have, like pictured loving, to be

Megan 57:25

honest.

Syd 57:25

It's phenomenal. Um, I do think that there's like a couple different trajectories. A lot of our, our friends who lived here moved here as couples and they're like, before we. Get married and we're ready. Have kids, you wanna like do something cool and fun and different. So we're gonna live in Denver for a couple years. Yeah. We're like

Spencer 57:41

that group. I actually know two couples who have done that. Yeah. They're like, let's go on our wild and pre-children adventure. Yeah. At Denver.

Syd 57:49

Yeah. Uhhuh and then Exactly. And then there's couples who move out here and they're like, oh, we like it more than we thought. And we're gonna plant roots here as a family and like hopefully, uh, in-laws, if they're in the picture, whatever, will like move in and like they kind of like blend their family that way. And that's amazing.

Megan 58:04

Okay. So, okay guys, I have to run. I'm gonna have a single girls chat with Sid. Thanks so much. Goodbye. It was so good to meet you Amanda. Have a safe flight. I love you. Yeah, safe travels. Bye. Wow. And then there were too. Um, but the big ones that I wanna ask you are like your recommendations in Denver for meeting people. Like if you're not using the apps, whether that's bars that you think are like really good and like mingy or obviously non, I mean, I, you've already kind of talked about this a little bit with like concerts and stuff, but like non-drinking activities where people are like maybe chatting or, um, yeah, meeting single guys.

Syd 58:44

Yeah. It's actually, so like, I used to be a huge partier. Like I was a huge like partier, like in terms of like going out, like yeah, totally going bars. I'd say in the past couple months I like dialed back on that so much. Mm-hmm. Only because I don't, I get hungover now, like I can't hang anymore.

Megan 59:00

No. 30 is so different. Like, yeah. So

Syd 59:02

I've been trying to like explore like myself, ways that you can talk to people. I mean, I will say in Denver specifically, like going to a brewery with live music, like you don't have to drink, like you can, like, and that's such an enjoyable experience. Mm-hmm. Whether you wanna drink or not. And I guarantee you, because Denver's such a social, like there'll be a picnic bench and you'll be with your three friends and like, there'll be a picnic bench of four people and you can start talking to the person next to you and Yeah. Build a connection there. Mm-hmm. Um, I like people like doing leagues here, like volleyball, kickball, things like that. We did a cup and hand kickball league. I didn't love it, but it was fine. It was a cool experience. Yeah. Um, but I genuinely think, and this is wherever you live, like anything that you're passionate about. Yeah. If you lean into it, like you're gonna meet people without even expecting. Mm-hmm.

Megan 59:56

I think we put this pressure to like be meeting guys, but it's like if you go to this really cool event and you meet people that like to do the same things as you, you're either just gonna have more friends, which is amazing. Or they're going to be people that like know you and know what you like, and eventually, you know Exactly, they set you up with someone that like ends up being your person.

Syd 1:00:16

You never know it's gonna come meeting people. And the other thing is like I feel, and I don't know if you're in a similar situation with your friends in LA but sometimes I'll be like, oh my God, all my friends are like. Or married or have kids. Yeah. And then I'm like, I just need to make more single friends because not everyone, a lot of people are, it's amazing. And I'm so excited. Like a lot of people are also just like single and vibe. Enjoying life and happy completely. Places like that is probably where you can meet more like Exactly. Cash, friends,

Megan 1:00:44

girls that are out, like having to do random shit like that. okay. Do you have a like nightmare, like worst dating story?

Syd 1:00:52

So, um, yes, but it actually didn't happen in Denver. Okay. You can't tell us. Anyway, this is just such a funny story. It really is. So I was at a wedding, this was in New York City. Mm-hmm. A wedding. And it was during, the US Open. Okay. And the wedding was on a Thursday night. And I was talking to this like random guy at the wedding mm-hmm. Who like at a wedding, like you have mutual friends. You think like, maybe the person's not gonna be a pathological liar.

Megan 1:01:17

I mean, yeah. One would hope.

Syd 1:01:19

He's like, oh, I have tickets to the US open tomorrow. Like, I'll take you. And I'm like. Yeah. Okay. I just got a date to the US Right. And I was not into the guy I really just wanted to go to the US at

Megan 1:01:30

Of course. And you're like, this is the greatest like wedding successful. So I like

Syd 1:01:33

text my boss from the wedding and I'm like, got last minute us open tickets. Like, are you okay? Are you okay if I like take a half day tomorrow? She's like, yeah, amazing. You're fine. It's a Friday in the summer. Like, yeah, remember? I'm like, okay. I go, I wake up the next morning from the wedding, I go to this girl's house. She's lending me like the cutest like outfit.

Megan 1:01:52

Yeah.

Syd 1:01:53

Excited. He's like, okay, take the train to like Long Island, okay. And Uber to my house and then we'll like drive there, which like I was. 25 when this happened. Now looking back, like if a guy told me to take a train and Uber to his house and then us open, I'd be like, excuse me, like Right. Send a car to pick me up completely. Yes. Um, so it's like, okay, so I take the train. I'm so excited. I'm telling everyone I'm going to the US open. This guy got me tickets, whatever board to his house, eight guys fully at his pool playing beer pong, chilling

Megan 1:02:28

like, oh.

Syd 1:02:30

And he is like, oh, like I just thought we could get, have like a quick drink and then go. So I'm like, okay, let's have a drink,

Megan 1:02:37

right?

Syd 1:02:37

Have a drink. I'm like, when? Let's go. And he's like, oh, it's too late. Like, we're not gonna go now. Like, let's just party at my house. What? I was like, wait, what? He was like, yeah, it's too late. So I like fully got hoodwinked. I don't think he obviously was never gonna take it. All of this is a lie. Then all the guys are like, we're hungry and they wanted to go to this like really fancy sushi restaurant in Long Island. So I was like, I'm gonna like milk this and get the free dinner at a minimum. At

Megan 1:03:07

least. At

Syd 1:03:07

least. But like, oh, I'll say, so I go eat at the sushi place with all these guys. Mm-hmm Then ready to go back to the house. I had already called an Uber, I Ubered back from work. Of course.

Megan 1:03:18

Yeah.

Syd 1:03:18

I was like, this is, I'm never getting hoodwinked like this ever. Oh my

Megan 1:03:22

god. And you took the day off. That's the devastating. Still having B US open. God, I'm so devastated for you. Okay, so our final question that we always ask, aren't you optimistic about the date of the union in Denver?

Syd 1:03:39

I am.

Megan 1:03:40

Okay, good. I am,

Syd 1:03:42

I'm optimistic. I think people at the end of the day just want to find love and it's like

Megan 1:03:46

you

Syd 1:03:47

gotta find the right person. You just gotta find one right person. I think, I think when I first was telling a lot of people that I was moving to New York, they were, the immediate assumption was like the men and look like, I think it's, uh, definitely like in the top three to five reasons.

Megan 1:04:01

Yeah.

Syd 1:04:01

Um, and that's not to say that there aren't great guys here and this isn't a great place to date as I get to know myself better and like date here and just like, really like make my list of like what I'm looking for. Um, I feel like I just want to enter like a different dating pool with different types of people. Yeah. And like see what opportunities that provides me. Mm-hmm.

Megan 1:04:23

Yeah. And like, whether that's, you know, you have to figure out, like, if you think that they're in the place that you are and it's all, it's so hard like, I feel like I'm going through that now because I have been four years in LA and it's, I, I've also been single for four years. Like, I broke up with someone to move out here and I have not had a relationship. But you're always thinking like, okay, is it because dating is hard in 2025 and like. Uh, everything's difficult or is it because I live in a city where my type of person doesn't live and I think that's, that's the hardest thing about like living, in a, for sure different city.

Syd 1:05:01

I think dating in 2025 and dating as a woman, I'd say as you get older, I don't know if it necessarily gets harder, but you get happier.

Megan 1:05:08

Mm-hmm.

Syd 1:05:09

Self-sufficient in your independence and like you're looking for someone to like add not completely.

Megan 1:05:14

Mm-hmm. Yeah. It doesn't get harder. It comes less out of a need and more out of a want. And so I think our standards get higher exactly. This is so much fun. I'm so glad to meet you.

Syd 1:05:24

It was so good to meet you.

Speaker 2 1:05:26

Okay guys, thanks so much for listening to this week's episode. Please rate and review and follow us on Instagram. God bless our listeners, and God bless the single women of the United States.