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Does anyone have any insight on how Fort Collins, CO compares with Austin, TX? My husband and I are both originally from TX and live in CO now. I know the population is bigger down there, but we are looking for a little more diversity, a longer growing season for our vegetable raised beds, and warmer temps! My husband is a jack of all trades and I teach in Title I schools.
Does anyone have any insight on how Fort Collins, CO compares with Austin...
I can think of nothing that compares them. I can think of many things that contrast them. But why the focus on Austin? If looking for more of a rural scene there are better Hill Country options than Austin.
If I had to choose where to live full time, I'd opt for Ft. Collins in a heartbeat. The major trade-offs being cooler drier vs hot humid summers. And colder vs milder winters. To say nothing of the differences in traffic gridlock/congestion.
I can think of nothing that compares them. I can think of many things that contrast them. But why the focus on Austin? If looking for more of a rural scene there are better Hill Country options than Austin.
If I had to choose where to live full time, I'd opt for Ft. Collins in a heartbeat. The major trade-offs being cooler drier vs hot humid summers. And colder vs milder winters. To say nothing of the differences in traffic gridlock/congestion.
You kind of missed her points and substituted yours in. All valid points, mind you, but not addressing hers.
Diversity
Depends on what you mean by diversity? If you mean racial, then Austin is about 50% Caucasian and 35% Hispanic. Black and Asian are each about 6-7%. Fort Collins does appear to be pretty pale - 83% Caucasian and 10% Hispanic with a smattering of Asian, Black, mixed, and American Indian.
Economically, FC has a poverty rate of 17.6% and a median home value of $263k. Austin is 17.8% and $235K. Median household income in FC is $56.5K and Austin is $56.4k (that is about as close as you are going to get!).
My take (just from the stats)? That there is actually quite a bit more racial diversity in Austin than Fort Collins, and that takes some doing, as Austin has a very small non-Hispanic minority community. Of course, depending on your neighborhood, it will look exactly like where you are proposing to leave. Economically, the areas look very similar on paper, but again, the economics groups tend to be geographically separated. Austin (city limits) is about 6X as large as Fort Collins, so there is a lot more room to segregate. And that is not even comparing the whole of the metro, which is something like 2,000,000 people versus 300,000.
Longer Growing Season
I am assuming yes? But...
Fort Collins - 130 to 172 days
Austin - not sure, but a lot longer? The heat is almost more of an issue than the cold.
Warmer
Careful of what you ask for. 'Warm' is not usually the word associated with summers around here.
Now, for comparison/contrast outside of those - traffic is more like Denver (worse, by ratings). It definitely cycles from really bad during rush hour to not really that bad at all during off-hours.
Property taxes vs. Income taxes - do your math so you aren't surprised.
To get what you are looking for you'll have to be out a bit further, probably west into the hill country within about an hour-hour and a half commute of downtown Austin. Housing costs in the area are pretty high in comparison to other parts of the state, so be aware that you will have to pay a premium for that rural yet close to the city feel. I say that, however, east of the city may be an option, however, the land isn't nearly as good (isn't it a different consistency and settling is easier?) in the eastern part of the area. I would look into Manor and Del Valle as options as well. They are a bit closer to Austin than the western areas. This is a list of the Title I schools in Austin Independent school district. They are spread out throughout the city. I'm sure there are some scattered throughout the outskirts of the Austin area, but I would focus a job hunt in the AISD schools. You will be driving a lot (which if you're in Fort Collins you might be aware of). While it's driving, it's a lot of driving in traffic. You might be looking at an almost 1 1/2 - 2 hour commute at peak times and if there is an accident (I could take an hour to get about 12 miles on some days...now I'm five minutes away and so happy). I would reccomend doing lots of research before even adding Austin (and surrounding areas) to your list of places you may want to move.
I can think of nothing that compares them. I can think of many things that contrast them. But why the focus on Austin? If looking for more of a rural scene there are better Hill Country options than Austin.
If I had to choose where to live full time, I'd opt for Ft. Collins in a heartbeat. The major trade-offs being cooler drier vs hot humid summers. And colder vs milder winters. To say nothing of the differences in traffic gridlock/congestion.
Thanks for the input! I think you are right... we are going to focus more on the Hill Country towns. I was born in Dallas and went to college in DC but also lived in Portland ME, Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix, and Loveland/Fort Collins CO. My husband lived in Houston for 20 years and also lived in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and CO. We have always lived in big cities but now have an appreciation for living in a smaller town. The winters here are harshly cold and windy and the growing season is short due to early fall frosts and mid-May snows. During the few weeks of people weather, the mountains are packed with people- Coloradoans and everyone else from thousands of miles away. It gets dark in the four o'clock hour for 2 months of the year, and it is so windy and unbearably cold. I just got back from a vacation to Tampa and had to put on a jacket when temps were in the 80s... Phoenix was my favorite weather of any place I've ever lived. Everyone has a different perspective, for sure.
I'm with you about the big city blahs. We are interested in the rural Hill Country towns but I am struggling to gather impressions on them via the internet. Making a trip that way soon...
Thanks for the input! I think you are right... we are going to focus more on the Hill Country towns. I was born in Dallas and went to college in DC but also lived in Portland ME, Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix, and Loveland/Fort Collins CO. My husband lived in Houston for 20 years and also lived in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and CO. We have always lived in big cities but now have an appreciation for living in a smaller town. The winters here are harshly cold and windy and the growing season is short due to early fall frosts and mid-May snows. During the few weeks of people weather, the mountains are packed with people- Coloradoans and everyone else from thousands of miles away. It gets dark in the four o'clock hour for 2 months of the year, and it is so windy and unbearably cold. I just got back from a vacation to Tampa and had to put on a jacket when temps were in the 80s... Phoenix was my favorite weather of any place I've ever lived. Everyone has a different perspective, for sure.
I'm with you about the big city blahs. We are interested in the rural Hill Country towns but I am struggling to gather impressions on them via the internet. Making a trip that way soon...
Small towns in the Texas hill country have zero cultural diversity and are politically conservative and very Christian, but it's a trade-off, I guess.
To get what you are looking for you'll have to be out a bit further, probably west into the hill country within about an hour-hour and a half commute of downtown Austin. Housing costs in the area are pretty high in comparison to other parts of the state, so be aware that you will have to pay a premium for that rural yet close to the city feel. I say that, however, east of the city may be an option, however, the land isn't nearly as good (isn't it a different consistency and settling is easier?) in the eastern part of the area. I would look into Manor and Del Valle as options as well. They are a bit closer to Austin than the western areas. This is a list of the Title I schools in Austin Independent school district. They are spread out throughout the city. I'm sure there are some scattered throughout the outskirts of the Austin area, but I would focus a job hunt in the AISD schools. You will be driving a lot (which if you're in Fort Collins you might be aware of). While it's driving, it's a lot of driving in traffic. You might be looking at an almost 1 1/2 - 2 hour commute at peak times and if there is an accident (I could take an hour to get about 12 miles on some days...now I'm five minutes away and so happy). I would reccomend doing lots of research before even adding Austin (and surrounding areas) to your list of places you may want to move.
The soil in the area east of Austin, east of I35 to be more precise is GREAT for growing things!! It is not as good for building house and you can get issues with soil. In many parts of metro Austin to the west (and extending into the Hill Country) the soil is extremely thin and your only options for gardens is raised beds with soil that you bring in. But foundations, especially drilled piers, are better.
Hill Country towns will not be very diverse and might offer fewer activities than Fort Collins.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Give Boerne, TX a look, it is quite near NW SA for more employment options. Fredricksburg is worth considering, and it is changing a lot (plus and minus, but you would be new, so see if it is heading your direction (likely))
I did 25 yrs near Ft Collins (Masonville) and 25 in PNW.(gardener's paradise) I also have a place in Kerrville. I do TEX from Oct - March, and PNW July and Aug. Colorado for 'shoulder season'. You would not find me in TX in Aug and Sept. (As a Master Gardener and commercial grower.... I will miss my TX harvest, but I can grow more in the prime PNW season of 6-10 weeks, that I have ever grown in CO or TX. With the correct structure and water reclamation, TX and PNW work for yr round gardening. You will want to create you own soils in TX, tho there are places east of I-35 that have good soil.... I wouldn't enjoy living there like I do in Hill Country.
Picking fresh wild and domestic berries and eating fresh salmon & steelhead while enjoying 50F sleeping nights keeps me in the PNW during late summer. We get over 400# of Blueberries alone from our 'edible landscape'.
Grab some of the $15 Bear Den flights on Frontier and enjoy the wildflowers in the Hill Country. (Go soon!)
Give Boerne, TX a look, it is quite near NW SA for more employment options. Fredricksburg is worth considering, and it is changing a lot (plus and minus, but you would be new, so see if it is heading your direction (likely))
I did 25 yrs near Ft Collins (Masonville) and 25 in PNW.(gardener's paradise) I also have a place in Kerrville. I do TEX from Oct - March, and PNW July and Aug. Colorado for 'shoulder season'. You would not find me in TX in Aug and Sept. (As a Master Gardener and commercial grower.... I will miss my TX harvest, but I can grow more in the prime PNW season of 6-10 weeks, that I have ever grown in CO or TX. With the correct structure and water reclamation, TX and PNW work for yr round gardening. You will want to create you own soils in TX, tho there are places east of I-35 that have good soil.... I wouldn't enjoy living there like I do in Hill Country.
Picking fresh wild and domestic berries and eating fresh salmon & steelhead while enjoying 50F sleeping nights keeps me in the PNW during late summer. We get over 400# of Blueberries alone from our 'edible landscape'.
Grab some of the $15 Bear Den flights on Frontier and enjoy the wildflowers in the Hill Country. (Go soon!)
I've never been to the PNW but your post makes it sound like paradise in the summer! Definitely need to move it up on my list and it was already pretty high.
To the OP, to second some of what has already been said my yard has pretty decent black loam but between the heat and the insects I've had a pretty hard time getting things to grow. Could get way more tomatoes in less time and with less effort out of a small patch in Maryland than I have here. Going west of Austin the terrain gets more arid and rocky and soil would have to be brought in.
If you really want to live in a hill country town I definitely recommend visiting them first, they are similar in some ways but I feel each one has it's own feel; some are way more touristy than others. As others have said if you are seeking amenities and entertainment the hill country towns can get pretty remote. Take a look at the Lockhart area, I think it would check a lot of your boxes. It is more diverse than the hill country and has better soils / climate for farming and growing and there are faster highways into Austin when you do want to go to town.
One other thing to consider, if you think the parks and mountains are crowded in Colorado it is going to be at least as bad here. Texas in general has very little public land and Austin has an outdoor enthusiast crowd and lots of tourists; what public space we do have is packed.
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