Bad areas in Fort Collins? (Denver, Craig: apartments, rentals, condo)

[lilnickles85]

I am setting up appointments to view apartments in Fort Collins (relocating in 1 week-yea!), and was reading some bad reviews on apartmentratings.com. I am specifically looking at Ramblewood Apartments. Some reviewers stated that there were frequent police calls, meth-heads looking in dumpsters, etc. However, I was under the impression that there is no real "bad" area in Fort Collins (I realize that bad things can happen anywhere, though).

So my question is, is there any areas that really need to be avoided?

[new2colo]

Fort Collins has no ghettos. In my experience, the area immediately north of Old Town is lower-income, but it doesn't seem dangerous at all. There are druggies scattered around the city, but there are no neighborhoods where it's especially unsafe to walk around at night or where people will break into your house frequently.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by lilnickles85

I am setting up appointments to view apartments in Fort Collins (relocating in 1 week-yea!), and was reading some bad reviews on apartmentratings.com. I am specifically looking at Ramblewood Apartments. Some reviewers stated that there were frequent police calls, meth-heads looking in dumpsters, etc. However, I was under the impression that there is no real "bad" area in Fort Collins (I realize that bad things can happen anywhere, though).

So my question is, is there any areas that really need to be avoided?

I don't think there are any bad areas of Fort Collins at all, but yeah there are some meth users throughout town as new2colo said. There are meth users everywhere in the western U.S.. Maybe there are more police calls in some parts of Fort Collins than in others, but there isn't any part of it that you should "stay away" from. Personally, I prefer to stay away from the ritzier parts of Fort Collins with all the new stores, four lane roads, and traffic. That is, southeast Fort Collins. I avoid that part. But not out of fear, out of preference for the other parts.

Much of the crime in Fort Collins is related to students having too much fun, or people being addicted to drugs. If you stay out of trouble and stay smart you should be allright. Any crime that happens to your person would be very, very bad luck. Property crime is another matter. I did have my car broken into once in Fort Collins. It was probably some "meth-head" looking for quick cash. He didn't find any. Don't store valuables in a car. Again, stay smart, and you can avoid most problems other than bad rotten luck, which can happen anywhere.

[DRDMartinez]

i was thinking of moving with my kids to FT. Collins but all this talk of meth heads is freaking me out.

[Mike Weber]

Originally Posted by DRDMartinez

i was thinking of moving with my kids to FT. Collins but all this talk of meth heads is freaking me out.

I have lived here over 30 of the past 37 years and never run into a "meth-head", as far as I know. There have been a couple of properties within a mile of our house where meth was discovered (one of which remains boarded up), but I feel safe here, as do our kids who have lived here nearly their whole lives. Bad things can happen in or near good neighborhoods, but we don't judge the whole area by a few negatives.

[DRDMartinez]

thank you for that response Mike Wber. Also i wanted to know if outsiders are welcome or do the residents of FT COllins that have been there a long time stick togehter. Where I live know if you are not from here then you are an outkast and not excepted

[Davros]

Originally Posted by DRDMartinez

i was thinking of moving with my kids to FT. Collins but all this talk of meth heads is freaking me out.

My mention of "meth heads" was mere speculation that it was a drug addict who broke into my car. Mere speculation, and probably uncalled for. I wasn't trying to sound negative at all in my post. I think Fort Collins is a very safe city !!!!!!!

When I said there is meth everywhere in town, I meant that in the same way that I mean there is meth all over the west. I don't think Ft. Collins is a meth hot spot at all, but there have to be a good number of users in any city of that size. Meth is a horrible drug, very addicting. Most of what I know about it is what I've seen on Cops and the news. I've never actually seen anybody in real life that I knew was using meth.

[jdiddyinthatcity]

My wife and I lived in Fort Collins for about 10 years, and just moved to the Aspen area (Horrible) for my job.

Fort Collins is an AMAZING place to live, but not without it's issues. First and foremost, I feel that it is a super friendly town, and people are very welcoming. I attribute this to having a large mobile population associated with CSU, so new people are always coming, and locals may be leaving. I found it extremely friendly overall.

As far as "bad" neighborhoods, there are a few areas you may want to avoid, depending on what you are looking for. One of my buddies is a FC police officer, and I've done several ride alongs with him. We spent A LOT of our time, just east of Overland Trail (just due east of the stadium), south of Elizabeth and north of Drake. This area, due to some pretty crappy housing, houses some people with mental issues, drug dealers, meth houses and the like. But, there is a pretty nice condo/townhome subdivision just north of this area that a lot of college kids live in. The closer to campus you are, the more you are going to have college kids living around you, which means parties, more noise, etc. But there are some great places close to campus too.

There are some parts of Laporte (far north FC) that are kind of sketchy, but most of the town is great. Another thing you want to think about is what kind of neighborhood you want to live in. If you want to live in a more modern, but maybe with a little less character, you want to live in the southern part of town. The middle part of town is nice, dominated with mature landscaping and houses from the 50s-70s. If you keep heading north to the Old Town area, with CSU as the southern end and Old Town (the downtown area) as the northern end, this is the part of town that has the most character, is most like an urban setting, and is dominated my old houses (late 1800s to 1930s). This is an amazing part of town, but like a lot of these types of neighborhoods, you may have a wonderfully restored house next door to a run-down home. But overall, pretty awesome.

While FC isn't for everyone, but I grew up in a small town north of Denver, then moved to FC, have lived in other Denver metro communities, and now live in Aspen. Fort Collins is by far the best place I have ever lived and as soon as we have the opportunity, we will be moving back. The cultural vibe, diverse people, amazing restaurants, city amenities and the natural beauty all make FC a really great place to live.

Enjoy it!

[Davros]

Originally Posted by jdiddyinthatcity

As far as "bad" neighborhoods, there are a few areas you may want to avoid, depending on what you are looking for. One of my buddies is a FC police officer, and I've done several ride alongs with him. We spent A LOT of our time, just east of Overland Trail (just due east of the stadium), south of Elizabeth and north of Drake. This area, due to some pretty crappy housing, houses some people with mental issues, drug dealers, meth houses and the like.

I don't consider that a bad area at all, by most cities' standards. Now, granted, I won't argue with you about it getting more police calls than other areas since you are talking from experience and I'm not a police officer. But if this is the worst part of Fort Collins, then Fort Collins ain't got nuthin. I've walked through that neighborhood a few times, and I've known people who have lived there, and this is the first time I've ever heard it described as somewhere "you may want to avoid". I didn't spend a lot of time in that neighborhood, and never lived there, but I have never seen a crime commited there. You have so you know more than I do, but I still don't consider it a neighborhood to be feared.

Like I said, some areas get more police calls than others, but I wouldn't consider any part of Fort Collins to be a "bad area". Now as for your comment on parts of Laporte, CO being sketchy, I can't argue with that because I've never set foot in Laporte, CO in my life.

['M']

Originally Posted by Davros

...

Like I said, some areas get more police calls than others, but I wouldn't consider any part of Fort Collins to be a "bad area". Now as for your comment on parts of Laporte, CO being sketchy, I can't argue with that because I've never set foot in Laporte, CO in my life.

Having just driven out to the LaPorte area recently to look for apts and rentals...can say that the apts there weren't what I'd call 'inviting'. Have a friend and her husband who live on some wonderful property out that way and their place is lovely as are most of the other single family homes and properties in the area. Lots of houses with acreage are in LaPorte. At one time, I did find ads for rentals in LaPorte, but never followed up. Now there don't seem to be any ads, so there's no way to find individual rental properties. Even on Craig's List. Bummer!