What is Fort Collins, Colorado like? (Colorado Springs, Greeley: real estate, rent, house)

[5stones]

stick with native plants and your garden should do pretty well. The problem some people face is they try to plant "warmer weather" plants and they just are hardy enough to get though the late frosts.
(hey we had that problem here in Va in MAy!! a frost...nipped alot of plants)

leaf mulching in the fall help insulate the new growth in spring for those late frost on perinnieals.

[deegers]

Originally Posted by sberdrow

Wow, awesome, thanks for the effort. Its very nice looking. Has what I call the Leave it to beaver look. Thanks again

That's just what I'm looking for! My boyfriend Chris calls my home town Bloomingdale, IL exactly that, "Leave it to beaver" town. Thanks for the great laugh.

I super appreciate the pictures as well. It's just what I have been mising so much for the last three years. It's true about the jobseeking difficulties, but I still have hope! And if it's the big dogloving town you say it is, patrickmich, than a dog trainer like myself should find it a business opportunity!

Great thread and great information everyone!

[awama]

Are there water problems in Fort collins? Is there still land near Fort Collins available where one can put a well on? Having our whippets we need land.
Thanks for all the information!

[jazzlover]

Water-wise, the Fort Collins area is generally in better shape than Front Range areas farther south, but it is wise to thoroughly investigate the water situation on any land that is reliant on well water (especially in the foothill areas). Be prepared to pay plenty for any acreage around Fort Collins--it's pricey.

[awama]

what are the nearest towns to Fort Collins like? We are used to commuting to work and school. If anyone knows are the towns near Fort Collins, I would appreciate any comments. Thank you.

[tfox]

Personally, I don't think most the surrounding towns offer anything that Fort Collins itself doesn't.

However, if you do enjoy a smaller town closer to the mountains, there are some lovely small towns to the northwest: Bellvue and Livermore, as well as some foothills towns further out like Red Feather Lakes, though Red Feather Lakes is a fair ways from Fort Collins. North of Fort Collins there's also a lot of equine and lake subdivisions that you might like if you want some acreage or space; but they're not really considered a town.

If you're looking for cheap housing, Wellington to the north and Eaton to the east offer that. Greeley, a little further out to the east, is another town that people often select due to its low housing prices, but it's pretty far from FC.

Loveland to the south and Windsor to the southeast used to be considered affordable alternatives to Fort Collins, but that isn't the case any more.

Loveland has really grown and housing prices are roughly on par with Fort Collins. It is on the way to Rocky Mountain NP and Estes Park which is nice, and there are some nice scenery on the city's west side. It used to be known as a great place for retirees, but I think most of the recent growth has been families. Few students or single people live in Loveland, which some families might prefer. There's also a lot of road warriors that live there and commute south -- not recommended if you ask me.

South of Loveland there's a town called Berthoud -- once a farming town, now it's mostly subdivisions of commuters headed to Boulder County.

For some reason, Windsor, to Fort Collins southeast, is touted as a luxurious alternative to Fort Collins and Loveland. There's probably someone who lives there that I'm about to offend, but I'm not impressed with Windsor. Usually people live "out east" to save money, so it makes no sense to me why you'd want to live "out east" but actually pay more money. Well, I'm sure someone likes it out there.

I suppose it depends on what you want. Loveland is a nice enough town and close to Fort Collins; you may like it. North of Fort Collins you're looking at more of a rural lifestyle, and to the northeast and east you have cheap housing (except for Windsor). Personally, I'd take Fort Collins over all of them, but I recognize there's something for everyone around there.

[sberdrow]

I noticed a lot of limestone in pics, Texas has a lot of it. Im sick of lime stone. Does FT Collins have it everywhre too?

[JLC]

Hi... I am retiring within a year, and I am set on moving from So Cal to Colorado with my wife. We have been to Colorado many times in the past 16 years, and it fits our way of life better than Southern California.

I am looking at a place in or near the mountains, and we wish to buy property on a one (or more) acre treed lot for $600K or less. We need a dog friendly environment (for our four Rhodesian Ridgebacks). As this will be a retirement property, we need to have reasonable access to medical care.

Would Fort Collins offer what we are looking for?


JLC

[Hey-Odd]

Hi! Unfortunately, I don't have any answers for you, as we are also relocating to Colorado this summer from the Atlanta area with our two small children and three dogs. Your post caught my eye because you're from S. CA (so are we, originally) and you have Rhodesian Ridgebacks (LOVE them -- used to have a mix-breed.) Where in S. CA do you live? My parents are in Laguna Niguel right now, and they're planning to retire to the Boulder/N. CO area too, but probably not for 5 years or so.

Anyway, just thought I'd say hi. Sorry for the "no-help" thing!

[JLC]

Hey-Odd,

Thanks for the reply anyways!

We live in San Diego (my wife is a San Diego native), but we are looking to move to Colorado soon. I recently put a deposit on a five acre lot in the Black Forest area of Colorado Springs, but the covenants were just as restrictive as the gated communities here in San Diego, and we could not fence the lot for the dogs, so I backed out. Still looking in Colorado Springs, but I am also considering other areas.

I remember Fort Collins and the national park next to it fondly from my last vacation in colorado, but that's the problem: I have only been to Fort Collins as a tourist, and I would like to read comments from people who live there before checking it out for real.

JLC