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Old 07-07-2008, 04:05 PM
 
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Where am I going to find the most green and most trees in CO? I know the obvious answer would be in the mountains, but I have to get a job too, so am looking at Ft. Collins, Co Springs or Boulder. Which of these cities is the greenest?
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Old 07-07-2008, 06:59 PM
 
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Well, the OP asked about Fort Collins, Boulder, and Colo Springs, not Pueblo. I think the answer depends greatly on whether you are talking about natural vegetation (of which there is very little in any Front Range city) or planted trees.

If you mean natural vegetation, all three are just east of forested mountains, but only Colorado Springs might actually offer some natural evergreen forested areas in town, but then only on some of the bluffs around town. Boulder would come in second, seeing as parts push up right against the foothills but mostly on the treeless plains, and in Fort Collins case, it's next to the mountains but located entirely on the plains.

If you mean planted vegetation, all three will have nice mature trees in their city cores, with little more than new saplings in the newer neighborhoods. By this measure, Boulder probably has the most trees, seeing that it has almost no neighborhoods built in about 25 years, so the trees have had time to mature. Fort Collins and Colorado Springs both contain lots of newer, suburban-style neighborhoods -- and in both cases you'll have to sit around and wait for 30 years for the trees to grow up, though in both cities older neighborhoods you will find mature trees.
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Old 07-07-2008, 07:16 PM
 
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Thanks-- I wish I could base my decision on where there are more trees (of course, then I probably wouldn't be looking in Colorado at all) because I LOVE trees, love the green of the Midwest (in Wisconsin now and while the only impressive feature of the landscape is the green, MAN is it GREEN!)... but I suppose I will have to compromise for sunnier winters and less humidity.

On that note, is it feasible to find a rental home in the mountains that would be commutable to one of these cities? (By that I guess I mean a rental home that an average working couple could afford--under 1k a month for sure.)
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Old 07-07-2008, 07:45 PM
 
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Originally Posted by angelaf View Post
On that note, is it feasible to find a rental home in the mountains that would be commutable to one of these cities? (By that I guess I mean a rental home that an average working couple could afford--under 1k a month for sure.)
Your best bet for finding a foothills location that's both CLOSE and in that price range would be north and northeast of Colorado Springs, in Monument, Palmer Lake, or Black Forest. I believe we have several regular posters who live in that area, so they may be able to chime in. These are not actually in the foothills, but are densely forested because they're on a high-elevation outcropping called the Palmer Divide. The cost of housing there is slightly higher than the springs itself, but rent in Colorado Springs generally is quite cheap, much cheaper than Denver or Boulder. I'm pretty sure you could find something for around 1000-1200/month around there.

Boulder County might have some mountain living west of Boulder, but no way would you find anywhere near your price range in Boulder County. It's very expensive there.

You'd also have a tough time finding something in your rent range in the Fort Collins area, either, though somewhere NW of Fort Collins like Bellvue might be the best bet if you're so inclined. Fort Collins is cheaper than Boulder, at least.
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Old 07-07-2008, 07:58 PM
 
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Cool, thanks for the suggestions! I have yet to lay my eyes on Colorado-- going out for our first (and with any luck, last!) drive around/look for jobs and houses trip in early September. I had kind of zoomed in on Ft Collins but am thinking (after looking for rentals there) that we shouldn't close our eyes/minds to other areas as well. We'll prolly drive around to all these areas since everything we're looking at is a reasonable driving distance apart. I'd would LOVE to live in the mountains, surrounded by trees, with my dogs and cats chillin on the porch... maybe we'll get lucky and find this perfect place! (fingers crossed)

'Preciate the help!
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Old 07-07-2008, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Colorado Springs
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Originally Posted by tfox View Post
Your best bet for finding a foothills location that's both CLOSE and in that price range would be north and northeast of Colorado Springs, in Monument, Palmer Lake, or Black Forest.
You forgot Manitou Springs and the communities going up Highway 24 to Woodland Park. :-)

Green Mountain Falls, Chipita Park, up to Woodland Park. I know of people that live closer to Divide that commute to the Springs for work even. Crazy with gas prices these days but they do it.

It still gets pretty brown around here but it's kind of a release when the trees turn green again.

Most all Front Range communities are going to be brown from about the end of Sept to the end of March. Lots of bedroom communities along the Front Range but given gas prices...

Oh and you can find trees that aren't specifically evergreens that will stay green all year. I have one such bush as do my neighbors. I don't know what kind of bush it is but it stays green all year. Oh and when I lived in the Denver Metro area, my strawberry plants stayed green year round too. Odd that.
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Old 07-07-2008, 09:03 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
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Originally Posted by tfox View Post
Boulder County might have some mountain living west of Boulder, but no way would you find anywhere near your price range in Boulder County. It's very expensive there.

You'd also have a tough time finding something in your rent range in the Fort Collins area, either, though somewhere NW of Fort Collins like Bellvue might be the best bet if you're so inclined. Fort Collins is cheaper than Boulder, at least.
You might be able to find something in your price range in Nederland, and commute to Boulder. tfox is correct that the central city area of all the cities you are interested in, plus, I would add, the older suburbs of those same cities, e.g. all the inner suburbs of Denver, and old Louisville, old Lafayette, most of Longmont, old Niwot around Boulder. I'm not as familiar with the 'burbs of COS.
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Old 07-08-2008, 12:36 AM
 
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Off-topic, but what's bringing you out here?
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Old 07-08-2008, 12:00 PM
 
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Thank you! I will definitely check out those areas. Re: commuting--is the pay generally higher in Boulder than Ft Collins or Co Springs?

Lived in the Midwest all my life and sick to death of the winters. Love the mountains and bored with the plains. Have been planning a move to North Carolina for the past couple of years, but recently decided we need to be closer to family in Salt Lake, so started looking at Oregon/Nevada/Colorado. Oregon is not sunny enough, Nevada isn't green enough, so Colorado it is I guess!
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Old 07-08-2008, 12:09 PM
 
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Why not Salt Lake? The front range cities where most people live in Colorado are on the plains, which you say bore you, and it can be a long drive into the mountains. That said, the views from the flatlands are gorgeous. Salt Lake has much better accessibility to the mountains. Have you considered Utah? I think it's one of the most beautiful places in the country, and I've lived in a lot of places!

BTW, Oregon is a l-o-n-g drive from Utah.
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