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Here is an article from a year ago on Denver's brown cloud. I ruled out Denver because of this and traffic, primarily.
I've read here on CD that traffic in Fort Collins can be a pain, like 40 minutes to get across town. Another negative is no jet airport. On the plus side, crime is relatively low there. All things considered it seems to be a nice place.
On weather, I was in Grand Junction, CO a couple weeks ago. The temp was 34F at the lowest, with snow on the ground, but didn't feel cold. At 45F and sunny, there were some people sitting outside drinking coffee. In Orlando during an Arctic blast, I was miserable. Like in the Seattle area when it's around 40F, the cold + humidity seeps into any opening of your jacket. Of course in CO it can get very cold despite the low humidity.
On meth in CoS, I doubt it's significantly more prevalent there than anywhere else, per capita. Before buying or renting a house anywhere, one should check the meth house registries. There's one for CoS and a national one. If CoS closes down at 10pm, that's fine with me. I don't want the big city anymore, not everyday. When I do want it I'll spend a weekend in Denver.
Issues with CoS are, lots of potholes and roads in generally poor condition, and the SE part of town is a little sketchy (lots of pawn shops and liquor stores). Its traffic is more than acceptable to me. Overall, it's a very nice city compared to most I've seen, and that includes the cost of living.
Wow, Ft Collins to Cos, that is a broad swath. I'll throw some generalities out for you;
Ft Collins and Cos both started around a decade apart in the latter part of the 19th century. Ft Collins was a military outpost that evolved into an agricultural colony. Colorado Springs began as a resort town for rich eastern patrons who did not want to live in the wild west nature of Denver. The mining boom of Cripple Creek brought a lot of money to Cos and development that continued the theme of refined living and began attracting TB patients from the east. However, after WW2 Ft Collins pursued education, research, and agriculture while Cos pursued Government cheese and technology. As such, Cos has grown at a much greater pace than FtC but has lost its refinement in the process.
Being the home of CSU, Ft Collins does have a very strong educational focus with an active arts culture. Its also home to several large craft breweries and is seeing a recent surge in spirits distillation. It's location in the north end of the state means Ft Collins can train and support the technology and manufacturing taking place north of Denver, Boulder County, as well as being home to several technology companies its self. Ft Collins is close to several fair sized river routes and has a lot of small lakes in the area and is close to water recreation as well as the always popular mountain recreation. Ft Collins has regularly appeared in several quality of life polls. Top employers are in education, technology, and local government
Cos began actively recruiting military installations after WW2 and is home Ft Carson, the Air Force Academy, Peterson AFB, and Shriever AFB which is home of US Space Command, which took over for NORAD. It developed a strong manufacturing base in the 1960s and began to evolve into technology manufacturing in the 80-90s and had slightly more concentrated technology work going on than Ft Collins, earning the nickname Silicon Mtn for a while. This influx of tech from many east and west coast companies also led to a large influx of evangelical Christian groups in the same period. The crashes of 2002 and 2008 combined with a decidedly unfriendly local politics have driven the biggest tech players from Cos, but there are still a fair number of manufacturers in town. Cos is high plains desert and only has the confluence of to small creeks for natural water. All water is collected from mountain run off and piped in from various locations so there are no water sports in Cos, although its closeness to the front range means it has all the same recreation as Boulder and Ft Collins. Biggest employers now days are in the military, healthcare, and primary education, although CU's expansion at its local campus has made it the fastest growing university in the state.
The Denver metro area, what can I say about it...its booming. There are a lot of jobs and many pay well. Its popularity means that housing prices are outpacing the rest of the state by a significant margin. It is the arts, entertainment, and cultural center for a huge swath of the high plains and mountain west. However, Denver is not a mountain town and is further removed from them than FtC or Cos. it is, after all, know as the Queen City of the Plains. $400k spent on housing in Denver would be the same as $500k-700k in either FtC or Cos. Other costs of living are somewhat similar. Population density is a whole 'nuther matter though. There is somewhat non-stop population from Denver to FtC. Cos, on the other hand, has its own hub of growth around it that radiates outward to capture its own set of small town, but is otherwise somewhat isolated from other urban areas.
I'll jump on the bandwagon and say employment opportunities will drive your ultimate location. Cos is not booming nearly as much as Denver and the northern Colorado areas, but is moving forward at a somewhat deliberate pace. You may find jobs easier and at higher pay ranges in the northern part of the state, but your housing will also cost significantly more. In general, I'd say Denver may be comparable to slightly cheaper than south FL, FtC may be 5-10% cheaper and Cos will be 10-15% cheaper.
Crime stats will be similar between most places your considering, but I think Cos may be a couple ticks higher than Denver overall and higher than Ft Collins. But a large percentage of Cos' crime is located within only a few of zip codes so its pretty easy to avoid. I have seen several people on CD opine that Cos is probably as attractive a place to live as Boulder. From my recollection, so is FtC. Cos recently passed a tax increase to address road issues and the recently elected mayor and council are showing some promise on working together. All front range cities have the possibility of dealing with weather inversions that bring a brown cloud to the area. Unlike LA, it isn't smog so much as it is dust and dirt, but its still there none the less.
I haven't been to FtC in quite a while, so others will have to provide direct input on it. Since I'm in Cos, I can tell you that it has a brood range of housing and neighborhoods. The core of Cos, its west and south west side, and Manitou are home to a large and broadly priced collection of homes built between 1860 and 1930 that range from small 4 room houses to Edwardian mansions. Out around the south, east and near north parts of the city are the 1950-1980 building boom. Further north and east of the city and far out into the county are the houses of the 1990 to present building. These all tend to be the newer developments that people seem to either love or loath depending on perspective.
Other things to know when you come here...its dry. Like suck the moisture right out of your face dry. Your nose will be crusty and may start bleeding dry. That is normal. Drink lots of water. Its also a mile closer to the sun, bring sunscreen. Since you'll be here in the winter, its entirely possible for you to get a raging sunburn on your face while your butt gets frostbite from wind driven snow. Just to prove we like variety, Its possible next day it will be 70* and you'll see people out in shorts.
Wow, Ft Collins to Cos, that is a broad swath. I'll throw some generalities out for you;
Ft Collins and Cos both started around a decade apart in the latter part of the 19th century. Ft Collins was a military outpost that evolved into an agricultural colony. Colorado Springs began as a resort town for rich eastern patrons who did not want to live in the wild west nature of Denver. The mining boom of Cripple Creek brought a lot of money to Cos and development that continued the theme of refined living and began attracting TB patients from the east. However, after WW2 Ft Collins pursued education, research, and agriculture while Cos pursued Government cheese and technology. As such, Cos has grown at a much greater pace than FtC but has lost its refinement in the process.
Being the home of CSU, Ft Collins does have a very strong educational focus with an active arts culture. Its also home to several large craft breweries and is seeing a recent surge in spirits distillation. It's location in the north end of the state means Ft Collins can train and support the technology and manufacturing taking place north of Denver, Boulder County, as well as being home to several technology companies its self. Ft Collins is close to several fair sized river routes and has a lot of small lakes in the area and is close to water recreation as well as the always popular mountain recreation. Ft Collins has regularly appeared in several quality of life polls. Top employers are in education, technology, and local government
Cos began actively recruiting military installations after WW2 and is home Ft Carson, the Air Force Academy, Peterson AFB, and Shriever AFB which is home of US Space Command, which took over for NORAD. It developed a strong manufacturing base in the 1960s and began to evolve into technology manufacturing in the 80-90s and had slightly more concentrated technology work going on than Ft Collins, earning the nickname Silicon Mtn for a while. This influx of tech from many east and west coast companies also led to a large influx of evangelical Christian groups in the same period. The crashes of 2002 and 2008 combined with a decidedly unfriendly local politics have driven the biggest tech players from Cos, but there are still a fair number of manufacturers in town. Cos is high plains desert and only has the confluence of to small creeks for natural water. All water is collected from mountain run off and piped in from various locations so there are no water sports in Cos, although its closeness to the front range means it has all the same recreation as Boulder and Ft Collins. Biggest employers now days are in the military, healthcare, and primary education, although CU's expansion at its local campus has made it the fastest growing university in the state.
The Denver metro area, what can I say about it...its booming. There are a lot of jobs and many pay well. Its popularity means that housing prices are outpacing the rest of the state by a significant margin. It is the arts, entertainment, and cultural center for a huge swath of the high plains and mountain west. However, Denver is not a mountain town and is further removed from them than FtC or Cos. it is, after all, know as the Queen City of the Plains. $400k spent on housing in Denver would be the same as $500k-700k in either FtC or Cos. Other costs of living are somewhat similar. Population density is a whole 'nuther matter though. There is somewhat non-stop population from Denver to FtC. Cos, on the other hand, has its own hub of growth around it that radiates outward to capture its own set of small town, but is otherwise somewhat isolated from other urban areas.
I'll jump on the bandwagon and say employment opportunities will drive your ultimate location. Cos is not booming nearly as much as Denver and the northern Colorado areas, but is moving forward at a somewhat deliberate pace. You may find jobs easier and at higher pay ranges in the northern part of the state, but your housing will also cost significantly more. In general, I'd say Denver may be comparable to slightly cheaper than south FL, FtC may be 5-10% cheaper and Cos will be 10-15% cheaper.
Crime stats will be similar between most places your considering, but I think Cos may be a couple ticks higher than Denver overall and higher than Ft Collins. But a large percentage of Cos' crime is located within only a few of zip codes so its pretty easy to avoid. I have seen several people on CD opine that Cos is probably as attractive a place to live as Boulder. From my recollection, so is FtC. Cos recently passed a tax increase to address road issues and the recently elected mayor and council are showing some promise on working together. All front range cities have the possibility of dealing with weather inversions that bring a brown cloud to the area. Unlike LA, it isn't smog so much as it is dust and dirt, but its still there none the less.
I haven't been to FtC in quite a while, so others will have to provide direct input on it. Since I'm in Cos, I can tell you that it has a brood range of housing and neighborhoods. The core of Cos, its west and south west side, and Manitou are home to a large and broadly priced collection of homes built between 1860 and 1930 that range from small 4 room houses to Edwardian mansions. Out around the south, east and near north parts of the city are the 1950-1980 building boom. Further north and east of the city and far out into the county are the houses of the 1990 to present building. These all tend to be the newer developments that people seem to either love or loath depending on perspective.
Other things to know when you come here...its dry. Like suck the moisture right out of your face dry. Your nose will be crusty and may start bleeding dry. That is normal. Drink lots of water. Its also a mile closer to the sun, bring sunscreen. Since you'll be here in the winter, its entirely possible for you to get a raging sunburn on your face while your butt gets frostbite from wind driven snow. Just to prove we like variety, Its possible next day it will be 70* and you'll see people out in shorts.
WOW, TCHP!!!! Excellent post. You really helped create some focus for me as to how to narrow my search a bit!
"Since you'll be here in the winter, its entirely possible for you to get a raging sunburn on your face while your butt gets frostbite from wind driven snow. Just to prove we like variety, Its possible next day it will be 70* and you'll see people out in shorts"
This made be laugh really hard! Yes, Colorado seems to love keeping its residents alert in terms of weather, doesn't it? I am terrible about wearing sunscreen and have had several basal cell cancers surgically removed as a result of growing up a beach-baby and a terrible trend of teenagers in the 80s and 90s lathering themselves in baby oil and iodine to garner the perfect tan. What were we thinking??!! So, I will definitely need to be very conscientious of using sunscreen. And I just got my skin to a great place, so there goes that ! About 80% of my diet is raw fruits and veggies, so I'm hoping the high water content of my diet will help me transition a little better.
An interesting sidenote: I grew up in a town here in Florida named Fort Pierce. I was comparing crime rates on Sperling's Best Places with CO cities to get some perspective. On a scale of 0-100 (100 being the highest), Fort Pierce's violent crime score was an 80, while CoS was at appx. 60. I would NEVER move to Fort Pierce if I were looking at these stats, but it was a really lovely coastal town in which to grow up. One just steers clear of the dangerous areas...although my high school, and later my daughter's high school, was in the worst part of town (and still is and is highly rated as the best school in the district) and I never had an issue.
I feel like no matter what happens, we will be happy where we end up. It all seems very nice there. Do you recommend applying to teach at one school district over another? I have been looking at Douglas County and Jefferson County. I have been told to steer clear of Denver Public Schools.
Again, thank you for the background and demographics detail. It is extremely helpful!!!
Here is an article from a year ago on Denver's brown cloud. I ruled out Denver because of this and traffic, primarily.
I've read here on CD that traffic in Fort Collins can be a pain, like 40 minutes to get across town. Another negative is no jet airport. On the plus side, crime is relatively low there. All things considered it seems to be a nice place.
On weather, I was in Grand Junction, CO a couple weeks ago. The temp was 34F at the lowest, with snow on the ground, but didn't feel cold. At 45F and sunny, there were some people sitting outside drinking coffee. In Orlando during an Arctic blast, I was miserable. Like in the Seattle area when it's around 40F, the cold + humidity seeps into any opening of your jacket. Of course in CO it can get very cold despite the low humidity.
On meth in CoS, I doubt it's significantly more prevalent there than anywhere else, per capita. Before buying or renting a house anywhere, one should check the meth house registries. There's one for CoS and a national one. If CoS closes down at 10pm, that's fine with me. I don't want the big city anymore, not everyday. When I do want it I'll spend a weekend in Denver.
Issues with CoS are, lots of potholes and roads in generally poor condition, and the SE part of town is a little sketchy (lots of pawn shops and liquor stores). Its traffic is more than acceptable to me. Overall, it's a very nice city compared to most I've seen, and that includes the cost of living.
Oh no! That brown cloud looks ominous! I think it is becoming increasingly more difficult to escape the pollution every state is pumping into the atmosphere (some areas are definitely more difficult than others). A family member returned from China not too long ago and they have some seriously disturbing pollution. It's a scary issue, for sure.
I did not know there was such a thing as meth house registries, so that is a great idea to check those before renting. I will certainly do so.
You are right about cold here on the east coast. It seems like it wouldn't be so bad, but 40 here is COLD with all of the wind! Boston was terribly cold! I spent a week there in February as a student and we walked everywhere. Brrr! We spent a week in NYC in January and few years ago and stayed in a pre-Civil-War era building and froze to death. We honestly really enjoyed the cold weather and bundling up. It was a really nice change, but the wind whipping around with the wind chill definitely drives you back inside.
Living in CO's winters will certainly be an adjustment, especially the emergency road kits, tires, winterizing the cars, snow shoveling, etc. That sounds like a lot of work!!!
Hi Shelly, I'll answer what I can, which may not be much-
6th grade is considered middle school here, and you can find a job with a K-6 endorsement. Middle school teachers are definitely more difficult to find than elementary school teachers... I don't want to say if it is incredibly difficult to find jobs/easy, just... more difficult. I will say that most teachers we end up hiring seem to be from out of state, so I do not think it will hurt you at all for you to be from out of state.
CO districts, in my experience, start showing job availability more in April/May and throughout the summer- my caveat being that I have had a steady job for about nine-ish years, so across CO things may be different. February seems early, as job postings in my school district hardly start till the summer!
I teach in Colorado Springs. I love it here- I live in the Old North End and I cannot see myself moving anytime soon.
I do not recommend one district over another- it depends on what you look for in a district- over-achievers and over-involved parents/ students who are in low-socio-economic areas with parents who just do what they can to put food on the table/ a mix of both? Very frankly recent decisions by the Colorado Dept of Education is making my stomach sick so if you have issues in a district you likely will have similar issues in another district. We're in the same boat of all states, so there's no reason to jump ship from one state to another as an educator- it sucks everywhere.
I am not sure what the process is for ESOL. I know that at my high school, we have only one dedicated ESL teacher who give support to the regular education teachers. The middle school was similar.
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