[Fort Collins, CO] Any CF'ers live or have lived here?

@heypartner is your source for all things Colorado. I have been to Fort Collins and will say that anywhere Colorado is a nice place to live. Fort Collins isnt that big of a city but does have Colorado State University there. I will also add that since weed legalization; rent and housing prices have skyrocketed all around Colorado.

 

Visited there for work in October, stayed 2 nights....without taking into account cost of living or job market, it seemed like a very nice place to live. Good size town but not too big (though seemingly growing because everything looked new), seemed to be plenty to do. Quite scenic, especially compared to Houston.

 

@rhino17 has much more history here than me.

I've lived in Boulder for 9 yrs. Love it. Miss Houston/Texas a lot, too. But it's not too far away. Hell, all my vacations were here anyways. Now I just do everything here,,,,day trips/weekend trips are so freaking easy. My vacation days now are used up more with visiting family.

Ft Collins is similar to Boulder, but smaller. People love it. About an hour away from Boulder. And Boulder is like Woodlands to Houston. It's a long, sprawling metro corridor. Lot of high tech companies all around the area/job wise -- both Boulder and Ft Collins

If you like skiing, Ft Collins is further away from it that Boulder, but still a day-trip, there and back same day.

Weather ... I always like to say that the front range is not nearly as cold as it looks on paper, nothing like the Midwest. Most sun days in the US, I think. There's no humidity, so it rarely feels bone-chilling cold here. You don't see ppl walking around with their face wrapped up in scarfs and eskimo hoodies, like you do in other large towns in midwest and east, for instance. But it can get very windy in Jan/Feb. Those days suck.

 

Been there 50x, mostly just passing through, but have spent 12hr-24hr there many times. It's laid back.. nice people, nice scenery. It's growing just all DEN area, so there's new construction (mostly new stores), but there's more a suburb-vibe there than closer central.

Weather isn't as cold as you'd think. Forty degrees there is like 50-55 in HOU. I think humidity makes cold colder same way it makes hot hotter. Not much humdity in CO. It snows, but it melts <3 days mostly. The real snow is in the mountains which you can see in the distance with any little open space.

It will be windy, as it's barely 45 minutes from Wyoming. Seems like land prices would be fair vs larger metro areas, but the farther from I-25 you get, the cheaper.

 

My girlfriend is from Colorado, and is wanting to move back... which has me looking at home/rent prices, and wow - you aren't kidding. The cost of living in Boulder is 75% more expensive than Houston, while Denver about 25% more while Fort Collins is about 20% more. I have a brother in Denver who owns two homes, and rents one out - and he said he has more than doubled his rent the past 18 months and was able to rent out his spare home with ease.

 

About a month ago my fiance was offered a job in Fort Collins. She ended up not taking it but we were starting to look forward to living there. She got a tour of the town and she loved it. Small but scenic and away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

 

Totally understand that feeling. I love Houston but I wouldn't mind moving to a small town. Saving is a good move too. I know people who left without much in their savings and ended up struggling hardcore to settle down. It's not easy but if you plan right it'll be smooth.

 

Pueblo is pretty much the only place in Colorado you want to avoid.

I'd love to work remotely and just have a cabin in the middle of nowhere in Montana, Wyoming or the like. Being that I work in IT, hopefully that day comes sooner rather than later.

 

I've been here about 9 years as well (4 in Boulder, 2 in Avon, 3 in Denver).


I haven't made it up to FoCo in a few years, but everyone that lives there loves it. It's a bit small for my liking, but its a nice town. Great brewery scene, Old Town, close enough to the city. Although, skiing is a little further if you are into that.

But what everyone else said, CO is getting extremely expensive. I pay an outrageous amount for my 550 sq. ft. apartment in Denver.

 

Been here in Fort Collins for the past 2.5 years....in Colorado for the past 18. I would recommend it for most.

Here's the breakdown on Fort Collins:

Pro:
Beer - huge craft beer market.
Booty - No shortage of supple college wenches
Bud - Plentiful and potent
Pleasant intelligent folk,very few radical douches from either end of the spectrum.
Good place to raise a family..good schools
Weather is 10 times better than Houston, even when it's cold.
Job market is pretty good, especially tech.

Con:
Real estate is a b**** in town...especially on the Harmony corridor. Your best bet is find something outside of the city. Windsor, LaPorte, Loveland,
Traffic gets kinda dicky sometimes....especially going east or west. But it's nothing like the Houston/Dallas madness.
Food - No What-a-Burger, no decent Tex-Mex, no kolaches, mediocre bbq. But there are a scattering of mom & pop places.

I would recommend trying to find a full time job first though. Cost of living will eat your lunch if you're not working full time. But if you have a big dreams and big balls, come on up. It won't be easy, but you'll be alright.

Do NOT come up here if:
you don't have plan and a backup plan
you have a bad attitude
you're a lazy bum
you're a jazz fan

 

SadatX, I'm in my 40's. Just like you, I also eventually want to move to some place relatively small, buy 1-3 acres, build on it, and eventually sit back and watch Rockets games on a big screen with beautiful scenery in my backyard. The only reason I'm still in the DFW area is because of job opportunity. Cost of living here has crept up higher from where it used to be so what used to be the big draw for Texas' big cities is no longer as big an advantage. I'm still looking around for a place to eventually retire and Colorado is on my list, but I can't stand a ton of snow and ice. But wow, is that state beautiful. The other issue is that, just like Texas and other lower-cost states, housing prices have shot up in Colorado, too. Much of it thanks to the movement of tech companies and the arrivals of East and West Coast transplants.

I just looked at the temps for this Saturday... 3 for a high and -7 for a low... eek. I'm guessing that's not normal? I don't mind cold temps, but damn, that would make an ice cube shiver.

 

wrt to Housing prices in Colorado, bare in mind that there is much less property tax in this state -- especially compared to Houston (and I assume Dallas, as well). So, as long as you own, your taxes will be cheaper, to include the state income tax.

Not normal. It was 50 degrees two days ago. And today, I still didn't put on a knit hat....just a ball cap. Although after a few blocks of walking my dog, I wanted the knit hat. Point is, 3 degree weather in Chicago, there is no way I forget that knit cap.

I grew up in the midwest. The lack of humidity makes a huge difference in what the temperature actually feels like compared to Midwest and East Coast temps. Only when it gets windy is it brutal.

I'm describing the Front Range, fwiw. If you get a retirement place in Summit County, along Rio Grande valley, Gunnison/CB, San Juan's or anywhere 7-8000 ft up, it can get brutal cold.

 

Actually just saw you said Saturday temps. I was talking about today

 

If you are willing to travel a little further south, these 2 do at least exist in the state now, which could not be said a few years ago.

 

My brother used to live in Boulder, but has lived in Denver for several years now. He loves it there. You need to be okay with the cold and snow. Hopefully you love the mountains, nature and beer, because they have lots of that.

You did pick the wrong time. A few years ago my brother was super underwater on his house, then last year he was able to sell it for a very substantial profit. No cheap housing.