Boulder Vs Fort Collins

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by RangerDuke08

As you prob know the saying then of "trust fund hippieville", I spend a lot of time in Boulder but FOCO is a lot more down to earth. And CU takes about 50% out of staters who pay out of state tuition while CSU takes 75% residents, at resident tuition which you can get after a year here, so you might want to consider that as well. Good luck!

That is an exaggeration. About 33% of CU's undergrads are from out of state. It is hard to get resident tuition. This has been discussed on many other threads. If you are under age 23, which you are, you will have to show that you are "emancipated", plus meet a bunch of other criteria. CU is harder to get into than CU, at least for in-state students. There is a joke at CU: "What do the students at CU and CSU have in common?" A: "They all got into CSU".

[Rumblebelly]

I noticed you are from Albany and you mentioned the snow. I think it just snowed a bit in Boulder

Anyway, I lived in for Fort Collins for ten years. It's less humid there and there is more variation in the weather. The winters are less gray and the snow disappears quickly due to the dry air and altitude. For me, the summers are a wash in terms of comfort level because it does get hotter in Fort Collins.

Fort Collins is a great town, down to earth like others said and there is a lot to do. The nightlife is much more vibrant than Albany and most of the activity is centralized. It's very similar to Saratoga Springs in that regard. I haven't been too impressed with Boulder but I haven't lived there either. Downtown Fort Collins just seemed more visually pleasing and more well-rounded in regards to the people living there.

[ls2008]

I used to live in upstate New York - oh the trees in the fall were gorgeous!

I have lived in Colorado for over a decade now in a small town midway between Boulder and Fort Collins. Things I would caution you on:

Wind. No one warned me about the high winds that exist on the front range between the mountains and I-25. I am not talking gentle zephyrs here. Its sustained 10-20 MPH with 45-50 MPH gusts. I have horses and it makes any farm work very unpleasant, if not downright dangerous and impossible. They happen at all times of the year and can go on for several days. 300+ days of sunshine are great, but not when you are trapped in your house by hurricane force winds.

Red State: It is one. Be aware that while there is a liberal area that stretches from Fort Collins to Denver, it pretty much ends there, and its a very populous, but small area of the state. Get used to your state going republican in all the national elections.

High desert plain. If you live in Boulder or Fort Collins, you live near the mountains, but on a high desert plain. Its high altitude ( sunscreen is a must at all times) desert (things don't grow here unless you water them constantly - and I mean constantly. Its very very dry - it will take your sinuses years to adjust. ) and it is a plain - anything out east of the rockies has little visual interest.

Wild Weather swings: You can have 4 inches of snow one day and sixty degree temperatures the next. It happened last week and again this week. Not so bad for spring and fall, but bear in mind you have very snowy winters and it regularly gets up past 90 degrees and into the hundred degree mark in the summers. That's when you escape to the mountains.

I enjoyed living here for a while, but frankly I am ready for a change. After a few years here, you have pretty much seen everything there is to see. If you are an enthusiastic skier or hiker, you would be better off in the mountains themselves.

Sounds like you are college bound though, so if you want a more typical college town - FOCO is your best bet, the Poudre river canyon is close and beautiful. If you want a more urban experience - go for Boulder. Either place has perfectly awful traffic planning. Man, I wish I could be more positive. Ok the people are nice and the mexican food places are really great!

Good luck with your move!

[Rumblebelly]

ls2008 is right on pretty much everything and I'm glad they brought up all the negative stuff instead of me...heehee.

It does get really windy, especially in spring. Think of the windiest day in Albany...that's a calm day on the Front Range. Also, we had to water our lawn several times a week to even keep it moderately green. I felt terrible about it and if we didn't move I would have xeroscaped it. Other people need that water more. My wife, who grew up in Upstate, ended up with really bad sinus headaches when it got really dry.

Most of the stuff is new along the front range. Think of Clifton Park, that's pretty much what the majority of the developed areas are like...but without the trees. Fort Collins has a similar sized downtown (looks somewhat similar too) as Saratoga Springs but Fort Collins serves about 100k more peeps living in the surrounding burbs.

I'm not trying to deter you from moving to Colorado. Like ls2008, I figured it's important to inform you about the differences you will run into. There are bad things about the Albany area that I don't care for and sometimes I wish I was still in Fort Collins. Fort Collins/Boulder areally nice areas. Less crime, less ghettos, people seem to care more about upkeep of property.

I know several people that are from back east that love Colorado. Best of luck.

[ds495]

We visited both last Nov. Haven't lived in either. Boulder - nice place, clean smelling air, foothills right next to town. Growth is contained, but I see that people are living in suburbs like Longmont (north) or Littleton, Superior (SE) and commuting in. Housing in Boulder - about 316K for a small one story house in a not so nice area, built in 1960's. One major shopping street - Pearl Street. Trendy but affordable. Houses within walking distance of that street are much more expensive. In the trendy area NW of Pearl St. run about 550-770K for a super nice neighborhood with large lots. One night there was a game at the U. and traffic was socked in on two major roads. People were nice there. Major new large shopping areas to E of Pearl St around 29th. Met some drunk college kids in Boulder at the pizza place. Not sure where people live.

Fort Collins -
More on the plains, with mtns in the distance. Downtown is great and well-preserved. We were there during a weekday in Nov. Did see some tourists, but not a ton. Maybe it was a weird time to be there. The old downtown is about 9 blocks around. Disney used it as a model for main street in Disneyland. Some of the buildings are from the 1800's, and red stone. Very nice. The U. campus is nearby. Stores were full, not empty for the most part. THink the economy is pretty good, but get the sense that Boulder is richer, but poor people maybe can't afford to live there.

Many people commented that Ft Collins is a safe, family friendly community.

Driving in it looked more like suburban sprawl, with mini malls. Didn't see as much of that in Boulder. (There they were more landscaped shopping centers.) In FC there are train tracks that run right on the street just N of the downtown area, just like in pioneer days. A freight train came by after we had just had lunch!! Didn't get to see the houses there because we were staying in Boulder, and drove in and out that day.

[Katiana]

Very good synopsis of the areas. One tiny correction, Littleton is not a suburb of Boulder; it is a southern suburb of Denver. Possibly ds495 was thinking of Louisville? I think most of the shopping in Boulder for things you really need (clothes, shoes, etc) happens at the 29th St. Shopping Center. Pearl St. is more for restaurants, buying cutesy stuff (kites, kitchenware, etc). Where do people live? The college students tend to live in central Boulder around the University, and on the west-central area called "The Hill". "Regular" people live in north or south Boulder. Is the house for sale you refer to in Martin Park in SE Boulder? That is one of the more affordable areas of town. There are a lot of student rentals there, too, mixed in with the townies.

I don't really know Ft. Collin well. It seems like there is a major traffic problem on the main N/S street/road. At least that's how it's been when I have been there on a Saturday afternoon.

[nelumbo]

I never, never shop at 29th st mall, or at Pearl St, and I live in Boulder. More often, the stores on 28th north of Walnut, the Table Mesa shopping center, or the Village on Arapahoe across from 29th st mall, have things that I am looking for (pet stores, thrift shops, hardware, fabrics). 29th is mostly (but not all) 'upscale' type shops (apple store, organic dog biscuits) and restaurant chains (like Panera and California Pizza Kitchen). There are tons of generic strip malls along Arapahoe, 28th St, 30th, and other parts of central Boulder.

East boulder also has some more affordable housing - condos, rentals, and ranch homes. Not a whole lot of students (or at least not undergrads).

[RangerDuke08]

Originally Posted by Katiana

That is an exaggeration. About 33% of CU's undergrads are from out of state. It is hard to get resident tuition. This has been discussed on many other threads. If you are under age 23, which you are, you will have to show that you are "emancipated", plus meet a bunch of other criteria. CU is harder to get into than CU, at least for in-state students. There is a joke at CU: "What do the students at CU and CSU have in common?" A: "They all got into CSU".

In-state enrollment a record for CU : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

CU is a great school, better ranked than CSU certainly, #50 vs #124 I believe. However what I was pointing out is ... it's currently at 40% out of staters which is it's RECORD LOW, read the link above, it was near 50% in the past few years, very very high percentage for a public school, list me a pubic school that tops that. CSU on the other hand though still has a high percentage of out of staters for a STATE school, is only half of that. Colorado has gotten a lot of pressure to increase it's enrollment in residents besides it's a University of Colorado and there's a "university OF in every state", it's primary focus should be for residents. Residents pay taxes in the State, they get a good qualty of education and that's what public institutions have always been about. A good quality education for it's residents for a low tuition. I have no objection against out of staters studying in Colorado, but what's the point of having a public school that does not cater to it's residents?

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by RangerDuke08

In-state enrollment a record for CU : CU News : Boulder Daily Camera

CU is a great school, better ranked than CSU certainly, #50 vs #124 I believe. However what I was pointing out is ... it's currently at 40% out of staters which is it's RECORD LOW, read the link above, it was near 50% in the past few years, very very high percentage for a public school, list me a pubic school that tops that. CSU on the other hand though still has a high percentage of out of staters for a STATE school, is only half of that. Colorado has gotten a lot of pressure to increase it's enrollment in residents besides it's a University of Colorado and there's a "university OF in every state", it's primary focus should be for residents. Residents pay taxes in the State, they get a good qualty of education and that's what public institutions have always been about. A good quality education for it's residents for a low tuition. I have no objection against out of staters studying in Colorado, but what's the point of having a public school that does not cater to it's residents?

The article discusses the percentage of out-of-state students in the freshman class. It is well known that many transfer back to their home state by sophomore or junior year. My stats came from US News and World Report college guide, which gives the percentage for all undergraduates. I recall reading somewhere that there is a Colorado law that requires a certain percentage of bachelor's degrees be given to Colorado residents. I do not remember that %, but I believe it's in the high 60s. The state legislature funds colleges so poorly, that CU has to recruit out of state students to pay cost plus tuition to offset the much lower cost to Colorado residents. None of this has anything to do with CU per se, it's the way education is funded (or not) in this state. The state colleges and universitites have a guaranteed admission to students with certain grades and test scores. Hardest to get into is Colorado School of Mines, followed closely by CU and CSU. They are also allowed to admit 20% of students who don't meet those requirements. I think there are different criteria for out-of-state students, mainly can they pay for it upfront? I used to have a copy of this matrix.

[RangerDuke08]

Originally Posted by Katiana

The article discusses the percentage of out-of-state students in the freshman class. It is well known that many transfer back to their home state by sophomore or junior year. My stats came from US News and World Report college guide, which gives the percentage for all undergraduates. I recall reading somewhere that there is a Colorado law that requires a certain percentage of bachelor's degrees be given to Colorado residents. I do not remember that %, but I believe it's in the high 60s. The state legislature funds colleges so poorly, that CU has to recruit out of state students to pay cost plus tuition to offset the much lower cost to Colorado residents. None of this has anything to do with CU per se, it's the way education is funded (or not) in this state. The state colleges and universitites have a guaranteed admission to students with certain grades and test scores. Hardest to get into is Colorado School of Mines, followed closely by CU and CSU. They are also allowed to admit 20% of students who don't meet those requirements. I think there are different criteria for out-of-state students, mainly can they pay for it upfront? I used to have a copy of this matrix.

Ah well put, I am glad they are getting Colorado kids up to par. CSU once put it on its diversity index that they have a hard time recruiting minorities because of all the dropouts in Colorado and it's a shame to see, so basically any out of state minority can apply and get into CSU. Colorado School of Mines on the other hand is something else, I mean it takes a lot of days with you underwear wedged up your locker before you know you want to rule the world with engineering and computer science.