Anything positive about Greeley??? (Denver, Fort Collins: where to stay, rent, crime rate)

[dojilynn]

I have read through the threads that are about Greeley. I am wondering if there is anything positive out there about this town. I understand that there are apparent negatives, but I'd like to hear the other side of the story, if there is one.

Is the crime really that bad?
If so, is there a portion of the town where it is better to live?
Are people really afraid to be out and about at night?
What are the best schools?

Oh, and just out of curiosity, what is the winter weather like there?

Thanks to any and all who care to respond!

[Tom Emmerling]

As with any town I think it has its ups and downs. It is a growing community that is slowly transforming. It use to be considered a blanket community years ago, but now they are really building up the business industry there. They also have an excellent hospital there. I have had several family members in there and they did a wonderful job of taking care of them. They are known for their great burn, and cardiac care. There are good and bad neighborhoods as in any community, but crime rate is still pretty high throughout the town. They have a lot more gang activity than say Fort Collins, or Loveland, but not as much as Denver, or Los Angelas. There have been multiple murders in the past couple of years also. Greeley does have a great college too (University of Northern Colorado). Very good nursing program there.

Overall I would not say I would be afraid to be out there at night depending on what part of the city I was in. The housing prices are lower there than in Fort Collins, and Loveland. Winter is pretty much the same there as it is along the front range. That is a pretty broad question though. It depends on the winter. Last year we had snow around for months that just would not melt. In years before that the snow would come and go within a couple days to a week.

[Ignatz]

The public school district has a pretty bad reputation. It's on "accreditation watch" from the state because of low test scores. That said, the people I know with kids in public/charter schools are satisfied with the schools.
Some areas of town, like Cranford and Glenmere, are very pretty, with big trees and older homes. There are quite a few newer subdivisions which are nice.
I have to differ about UNC's quality. The nursing, education, and performing arts departments do have good reputations. But administration and faculty dislike each other throroughly at present, and faculty turnover in some departments is enormous. Having worked there, I know: it's dysfunctional to the point where it's affecting the students.
In terms of weather, I've noticed we're always at the extremes for the Front Range, either colder or hotter than other towns.

[wintersjanis]

I grew up in Greeley, have lived here almost 29 years. I have attended the University of Northern Colorado.

I'll tell you one very positive thing we have here and that's Aims community college. You can knock out your general education in 2 years for a fraction of the cost of UNC and then transfer. UNC will take all of the credits.

As for the crime rates, there are semi-scary parts of this city but they are somewhat isolated. Campus, the east parts of town and the north side of town are rough at night. Locals know where to stay away from. There is racial tensions here but out in the open in the daytime it's not that bad. I generally am polite and friendly to the Spanish speaking population and many are just small families scraping by who are polite and friendly in return.

The living expenses here are cheap. There are some decent restaurants here and they are also cheap. There is some kick booty Mexican food here. The smell can at times be pretty horrible but you get used to it. It is more tiring to hear people complain about the smell then it is to actually smell it.

My parents own a farm just East of town, so another bonus for me is that I get to have horses 10 min. away from where I live. We have an awesome rodeo and 4h clubs for kids who are interested in agriculture or always dreamed of riding horses. The 4h club people are so nice that they will make every effort to help a kid who doesn't have a horse to ride find someone who has an extra nag they can spend time with.

UNC can be a bit dangerous for the youth because the partying scene is rough and the temptations are everywhere for drugs, booze and sex.

If you'd like to stay clear of conflict, stay in the southwest of the town and in Evans. If you'd like to enjoy cheap rent and cheap food, beautiful trees, character of a semi historic town, go east.

Just my opinion. Also, I will agree that Loveland and Ft. Collins are apparently nicer and have more stuff to do. Luckily, you can zip up hwy 34 or 85 and in less then 40 min. be at either location enjoying their fun stuff without paying their high living expenses.

Ah, and if you're a cheap a$$ Wal-Mart connoisseur like me, we have two very fine Wal-mart stores. One for our spiffy west population, and one for our financially challenged Mid/eastern population.

[dojilynn]

Thank you all for the responses! Keep them coming.

Also, people have mentioned staying on the southwest portion of town. Can anyone give me street coordinates so I can figure out where the available homes lie in the good/bad parts of town?

Thanks again!

[bco24]

Originally Posted by dojilynn

I have read through the threads that are about Greeley. I am wondering if there is anything positive out there about this town. I understand that there are apparent negatives, but I'd like to hear the other side of the story, if there is one.

Is the crime really that bad?
If so, is there a portion of the town where it is better to live?
Are people really afraid to be out and about at night?
What are the best schools?

Oh, and just out of curiosity, what is the winter weather like there?

Thanks to any and all who care to respond!

No, Greeley is not that bad, yes there are some bad parts of town. Just like any other towns in the area (Fort Collins and Loveland), crime rate isn't much different from Loveland or Fort Collins, Greeley does have a little bit more crime but it is not much. Honestly it's probably no worse than Fort Collins or Loveland. Personally I think Greeley gets a bad rep for some reason, there is a big Hispanic population, so like the person stated before me there is some racial tension.

The best part of town is the west side, areas around UNC are good, there's really a lot good places to live in Greeley. The worst places would be the North-Northeast, and some of south Greeley, which is mostly Evans. As far as being out and about at night, if you're not in the bad parts, you should be fine.

[deadwood43]

Originally Posted by dojilynn

I have read through the threads that are about Greeley. I am wondering if there is anything positive out there about this town. I understand that there are apparent negatives, but I'd like to hear the other side of the story, if there is one.

Is the crime really that bad?
If so, is there a portion of the town where it is better to live?
Are people really afraid to be out and about at night?
What are the best schools?

Oh, and just out of curiosity, what is the winter weather like there?

Thanks to any and all who care to respond!

Let me put it this way. When you watch Denver News channels, Greeley and Weld County have more "issues" than any other area of Colorado. That leads me to believe that the crime is really that bad. We feel like we are imprisoned as all the codes in the city of Greeley are over the top. I would prefer to live someplace where dirt bikes and dogs barking are not the major issues to be dealt with. If you own a dog, I would suggest living in another town in Colorado. Maybe there is a nice neighborhood in Greeley; I don't know where it is. Our neighborhood has grown men (look like men, act like boys) who whine and complain if you park your vehicle on the street or if your dog barks or if you play music with the volume down real low. They constantly look for reasons to call the law - real neighborly folks. Being out at night is no worse than being out during the day. I got flipped off & cussed out the other afternoon in Walmart parking lot by a man (looked like man, acted like kid). I guess he thought I was supposed to stop and let him back out of his parking place. Most people I have met in Greeley are very uptight and way unaccepting. This is an extremely strict police town; 1st place we have ever lived in our lives where a dog can not bark. And I am middle age and have lived in a number of cities & states. I have heard good things about some of the schools, but I have heard horrible things about District 6. I don't know much about UNC as I graduated from college in another state. Our 5 kids have and will attend college elsewhere as they do not care for Greeley. The winter weather here is normally not too harsh. Occasionally a blizzard and usually enough snow in the winters to keep it a little exciting. I would love to tell you something wonderful about Greeley as I do want Greeley to be known as a nice town so that someone will buy our home someday. The medical care here is great. The humidity is not a problem. There are a number of parks. It would take a good while for me to sit here and come up with any more positives. Sorry.

[moustique33]

I moved to Greeley fairly recently (within the past 14 months) and when I was preparing for the move I stumbled upon this website. Needless to say, the negativism about Greeley really left me feeling a bit hesitant about my upcoming move. Once I got here, I realized that a lot of the kvetching was just the typical whining folks do about smallish cities--and in Greeley's case, some of that complaining is the result of xenophobia. A certain segment of the population will never accept the fact that the city has a large Hispanic population and they let the city's demographics color (no pun intended) their assessment of Greeley.

In any case, I'm single and youngish and I don't find myself hesitant to go outside at all! I lived in an Eastern city of about the same size and walking in my neighborhood at night was more of an issue there than it is in Greeley. I'm constantly out and about and feel exceedingly safe. Denver is the place that's having serious issues with crime lately; the news is fully of stories about shootings and violence in Denver.

I make extensive use of the trail system in Greeley, which can take you all the way to Windsor. Eventually, they say it will go all the way to Fort Collins, but I think that will take some time to be completed. Sure, Greeley doesn't have a vibrant nightlife, but it is a reasonable distance from Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins and I often go to one of those places if I'm looking for something unusual to do. With the money I save in housing costs, I can afford to indulge in side-trips to the nearby cities. Like someone else, I find the complaints about the Swift plant smell worse than the smell itself. I've also found it just didn't smell as often (the smell comes and goes normally) over this past 6 months as it did when I visited here last winter and when I first arrived last August. Maybe I've just grown used to it! Besides, one has to realize that if you live in a ranching/farming area of the country, you must accept agricultural smells! I grew up in another part of the country that was known for ranching and there was also an issue with smell from pigs and cattle. Without those farms, the economy would be in rough shape, so I feel it's inappropriate to complain. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, or from which you feed. Also, I once lived near a pulp and paper mill and cow smell cannot hold a candle to the noxious oder created by paper mills!

One of my nephews attends UNC and I think he's getting a great education. The class sizes are certainly much smaller than at comparable institutions and the tuition is certainly much lower. He's never had a class with more than about 50 students and most are MUCH smaller than that. His sister is at another school with a supposedly better reputation and she has a hard time getting her professors to give her the time of day. Most of her classes are HUGE (more than 100) and she only gets attention from graduate student TAs. My nephew, on the other hand, talks about having a very good relationship with his professors and is so pleased with their willingness to meet with him one-on-one and help him with coursework, career plans etc. I honestly think his school is preparing him more fully for his life after he finishes college.

[esya]

The county (weld) has a better than usual government structure because it is a relatively recent home rule structure. This adds to the ability for the county to plan. It also has protected agricultural and rural lifestyles much better than many places in the state. so if you value being able to both visit places like fort collins, boulder, etc. and also to get out of the rat race to the mountains or the country, Greeley is a good location.

[bestshot]

My family and I moved to So Utah 2 and a half years ago and have finally realized that we made a huge mistake. Greeley is a town that grows on you. Sure there are good and bad areas but show me a state and town that dosn't have them. One needs to stay towards the hwy out by Kelly Farms, the new community pool park, and State Farm's corp office. We lived over in Kelly Farm and were commin home the end of this month for good. What an eye opening experiance. I don't care what anyone says the grass is not greener.

You think the people are clickish there you have no clue, my kids are looking forward to seeing their friends and I never thought I would say it but Im looking forward to our return. Neighbors that drink in there yard football games on big screen tv's and invitations to BBQ's those of which I have not experianced in 2.5 years in UT . Im in a town of 130,000 people and there is one bar, 3/2 beer and it closed at 10:00pm wow. Greeley has a liquor store on every coroner sorta like gas stations, never thought I would say I miss that area but I do.