Colorado Springs OR Fort Collins (Denver, Boulder: real estate market, hotels, school districts)

[Krick123]

Hi ~ Looking at a move to CO. We still have one child in elementary school. Visiting both Colorado Springs and Fort Collins in the next few weeks. Good public schools are a priority for our youngest (who has some learning disabilities). Our oldest attends CU Boulder so either would be a nice distance. Love the looks of Flying Horse but don't want a retirement feel community (I have no idea if that is one). Any opinion from some people who know both places would be SO SO appreciated!!

Ty

[YoYoSpin]

COS is more hilly, more tourist oriented, has more bike trails, attractions and close-by outdoor things to do. You'll find the COS hotels to be fully booked during certain times of the year. The south side of COS will feel military, and the north side will feel retirement and family oriented. FC is pretty flat, has a more attractive and walk-able downtown, with a young adult college town vibe. Both towns have urban sprawl, but COS is much larger, both in terms of people and land mass. There are 9 different school districts within COS (click here for map), whereas FC only has one (Poudre). Google each district's name to get tons of data and opinions.

[Krick123]

Originally Posted by YoYoSpin

COS is more hilly, more tourist oriented, has more bike trails, attractions and close-by outdoor things to do. You'll find the COS hotels to be fulled booked during certain times of the year. The south side of COS will feel military, and the north side will feel retirement and family oriented. FC is pretty flat, has a more attractive and walk-able downtown, with a young adult college town vibe. Both towns have urban sprawl, but COS is much larger, both in terms of people and land mass. There are 9 different school districts within COS (click here for map), whereas FC only has one (Poudre). Google each district's name to get tons of data and opinions.

Thank you so much!! Def helps!!

[SYS]

I live in Colorado Springs, but I've had a chance to visit Ft. Collins on numerous occasions over the past 15 years. One thing I've noticed in the past couple visit to FC is that the place isn't what it used to be 10-15 years ago. It used to have some quaint charm about the town, but in recent years the place had experienced a population growth or something. It's now hard to find a parking place anywhere I go, restaurants, grocery stores, name it. I don't know for a fact that there's been a population growth or not, but I just don't visit the place any more. I've always loved Colorado Springs for convenience about everything: driving, no traffic or parking congestion (with an exception to downtown, but even then it's whole lot better than other cities), near distance to everything, great air (no smell of cow dung first thing in the morning closer you get to the vicinity of Ft. Collins) and scenery. Lots more educational resources available here than FC. Very decent public education system.

[TCHP]

Other than good public schools, what else are you looking for?

Both areas have great and varied activities to do year round. There is quite a difference in size between the two with Colo Sgps at #2 (465k) and Ft Collins at #4 (190k). Demographics are different as are the physical environments around the cities and into the counties and the politics. Population density around the cities is also quite different.

Good schools can be found in both places. Colo Spgs does have three outstanding districts in D12, D20 and D38, and even within our largest, D11, there are some very high performing schools. For special needs, it would be best to talk to the individual schools about specifics needed for you child. Colo State Universirty is a dominate fixture in Ft Collins while Colo Spgs has an entirely different feel with the Air Force Academy, a top rated liberal arts college in Colo College, and the fastest growing university in the state with the CU extension campus UCCS.

[Krick123]

Originally Posted by TCHP

Other than good public schools, what else are you looking for?

Both areas have great and varied activities to do year round. There is quite a difference in size between the two with Colo Sgps at #2 (465k) and Ft Collins at #4 (190k). Demographics are different as are the physical environments around the cities and into the counties and the politics. Population density around the cities is also quite different.

Good schools can be found in both places. Colo Spgs does have three outstanding districts in D12, D20 and D38, and even within our largest, D11, there are some very high performing schools. For special needs, it would be best to talk to the individual schools about specifics needed for you child. Colo State Universirty is a dominate fixture in Ft Collins while Colo Spgs has an entirely different feel with the Air Force Academy, a top rated liberal arts college in Colo College, and the fastest growing university in the state with the CU extension campus UCCS.

Thank you TCHP..We are looking for lots of activities, festivals, great dining/shopping options, mountain scenery, etc. We like to hike. We have lived in SC for 7 years (originally from New England) and love it, but the heat is relentless and it prohibits a lot of outdoor activity unless you have a boat (we aren't big boating people). We def want a community that has children and pools. I look at pictures of COS and it just looks so beautiful..like fake a fake backdrop!

[Krick123]

Originally Posted by SYS

I live in Colorado Springs, but I've had a chance to visit Ft. Collins on numerous occasions over the past 15 years. One thing I've noticed in the past couple visit to FC is that the place isn't what it used to be 10-15 years ago. It used to have some quaint charm about the town, but in recent years the place had experienced a population growth or something. It's now hard to find a parking place anywhere I go, restaurants, grocery stores, name it. I don't know for a fact that there's been a population growth or not, but I just don't visit the place any more. I've always loved Colorado Springs for convenience about everything: driving, no traffic or parking congestion (with an exception to downtown, but even then it's whole lot better than other cities), near distance to everything, great air (no smell of cow dung first thing in the morning closer you get to the vicinity of Ft. Collins) and scenery. Lots more educational resources available here than FC. Very decent public education system.

Thank you SYS.. thats a huge help. Cow dung is just not one of my favorite scents. I read about the quaint charm of Fort Collins and I think that is what drew me to it but the beauty of the mountains around COS is MUCH more enticing to us. Love that the air quality is better in COS (my daughter has asthma). TY.

Quick question..how are the water bills in COS? We are guessing very high?

[otowi]

It will depend on where you live in COS - there are some different water companies. What do you pay there? My parents pay over 100/month in summer sometimes, but I'm on a different water company and my bill has never exceeded $40 - although I gather that is unusually cheap for around here.

[SYS]

I live in Briargate area (across I-25 from USAF), and typically my utility bill comes to around $250 during winter months (heating) and summer months (watering) and the rest months around $170 on average.

Water bills have never been what I'd consider "expensive" at all. I've cut down on my sprinkler activities. I have a really large backyard, and I stopped the sprinkler watering some years ago when we had a water shortage. I now only water manually some fruit trees and some gardening areas. My front yard isn't large, so I use the sprinkler system as needed.

One thing I like about CS is the overall cost of living. In fact, in the most recent Newsweek rankings of the best places to retire, CS came in #2. CS usually makes the top 25 best places to retire or to live in most of the magazines that do such rankings, but #2 is the highest I've seen. The real estate is really taking off here. Although it has gotten much higher in just a couple of years, it's a great time to get in on it, as the forecasts are that the real estate market will just go up in the next decade or two as CS is expected to take over Denver as the major city in Colorado. I do expect to see worsening traffic in the next decade, but with recent road improvement projects on Woodmen, I-25 and other places, I'm hopeful.

[Krick123]

Originally Posted by otowi

It will depend on where you live in COS - there are some different water companies. What do you pay there? My parents pay over 100/month in summer sometimes, but I'm on a different water company and my bill has never exceeded $40 - although I gather that is unusually cheap for around here.

We pay $500/mo for A/C and average $200/mo for water