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Work hard, play hard

Colorado consistently ranks among the top-10 happiest states to live in, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index with a location that provides a unique combination of urban cosmopolitanism amid the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains.

But we don't need a poll to tell us that. Happiness truly is all around, whether it's in the way it feels to wake up and see fresh snow embracing the Rocky Mountains, snuggling down with a classic novel at the legendary Tattered Cover Book Store, meeting friends for a University of Denver Pioneers hockey game, or catching a late show at the restored Mayan Theatre in a nearby arts district.

Whether you arrive in Denver in a car or on an airplane, your first glimpse of the Mile High City will tell you that Denver is different. It's the quality of the light: Denver sits on a high mountain plateau a mile above sea level and enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year.

But there's more that makes Denver different. This metropolitan city of more than three million people enjoys top-drawer cultural and educational institutions along with world-renowned, year-round outdoor recreational amenities.

Ballet along with knee-deep powder on the ski slopes at Vail. Enjoy one of the 300 plus days of sunshine by catching a Rockies' baseball game or Broncos game, or go for a stroll up one of the dozens of 14,000-foot-high mountain peaks. When the cold winter nights set in, hunker down and cheer on the Denver Nuggets or the Colorado Avalanche. If that doesn't suit your tastes then perhaps a ticket to a show at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts will please you -- it's second in size and scope only to Lincoln Center in New York.

In the summer, enjoy the view and some of the world's best musicians at Red Rocks, a spectacular natural amphitheater in Denver's foothills. Year-round, the city's music scene rocks with venues including the Fillmore Auditorium, the Ogden Theatre, the Bluebird Theater, the Gothic Theatre and many other spots easily accessible to the University of Denver (DU) campus. And all of this is available to you as a student at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies via a quick ride with your free student's pass on the city's state-of-the-art light rail -- from a station on the edge of the DU campus.

Between Denver and Boulder, the 27-mile stretch has become known as Colorado's Silicon Valley with major high-tech employers establishing regional headquarters home to thousands of jobs. At the same time, Denver's 17th Street, known as the Wall Street of the West, is the region's financial capital, with banking, insurance, financial and real estate services industries employing thousands.

In addition, Colorado ranks among the top five states in the number of federal-government jobs per capita. Major federal employers include the Denver Federal Center, the North American Air Defense Command, Buckley Air Force Base Fort Carson, the National Renewable Energy Lab and the National Bureau of Standards. 

In addition, Colorado is home to a burgeoning higher-education community. Students and faculty from DU enjoy interaction with the state's flagship University of Colorado and its three metropolitan Denver campuses; Metropolitan State College of Denver; Colorado State University; the University of Northern Colorado; Regis University; Johnson & Wales University and a host of smaller state colleges and community colleges.

This progressive, bike friendly city is home to century-old, nationally ranked cultural institutions including the Denver Art Museum and its intriguing new wing designed by architect Daniel Libeskind; the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Colorado History Museum.In addition, the new Museum of Contemporary Art has drawn art and design buffs from around the world to view its collection, housed in a stunning building designed by architect David Adjaye.   

Denver's vibrant nightlife scene, a quick ride away on light rail, is home to dozens of bars, microbreweries, restaurants and clubs. The downtown skyline's sparkling skyscrapers stand alongside numerous construction cranes, often referred to as the "official" bird of the city of Denver.

The beautiful University Park neighborhood, the setting for the historic DU campus with its century-old trees alongside state-of-the-art new campus buildings, features dozens of student-friendly ethnic restaurants, chic cafes and neighborhood eateries featuring cuisine representing regions from around the world. Nearby Washington Park -- one of more than 200 parks in the city of Denver -- draws students and neighborhood residents to its walking and running trails, tennis courts and gardens.

There's always something to do in Denver, whether it's participating in the DU campus' thriving cultural scene or reaching out to the amenities in the city including the vibrant art scene, concerts at the world-renowned Red Rocks and dozens of other music and theater venues.