What are some of the negatives about living in FC?

[krh6609]

John is right. Once again, I think that those who don't view it this way are living in the past. I have several friends, with winter homes, who used to depart Colorado in late November and return in March. Now they are out of here in late September and don't come back until Mid-late May. Even if you are an outdoor enthusiast, how can this be enjoyable in the brown and wind? I see people riding bicycles home at night in 25 degree weather and wonder "why?". Many will argue the cold and wind point, but , for outsiders information, who here will argue that other than a few mid-day hours, can you really be outside without being layered up? I have a get-a-way in Florida and, even though the summers are a bit heavy, I can honestly be comfortable 8 months of the year, all day. Colorado was more that way in the past, but the new reality is the historical norm. Stock up on the PBR

[davemess10]

State of the Climate | National Overview | Annual 2011

I think NOAA might want to argue with you. In the 3 minutes of research I did, I found websites stating the last 3 winters have been warmer than normal.

I'll restate that how you view FoCo winters largely depends on where you came from. ie. come from Florida, Georgia, or Arizona, you'll probably think it's pretty cold. Come from the NE, Midwest and you'll find it more tolerable than where you came for.

It kind of sounds like you're upset that you need to wear a coat to be outside in winter in Colorado?

[davemess10]

Originally Posted by xeric

We need some underpasses or overpasses, but considering the ridiculous price tags attached to these proposals, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Agreed, that's why I think the cheaper option is just to run a line out east, where there aren't quite as many roads.
The Springs runs their RR through town and there are MANY under/overpasses.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by davemess10

Agreed, that's why I think the cheaper option is just to run a line out east, where there aren't quite as many roads.
The Springs runs their RR through town and there are MANY under/overpasses.

Our town recently made all 'guarded crossings' (Every block in some areas, but only about 20 crossings) They have X armed barriers + centerline cones and SILENT / plastic of some kind aprons. The train now can roll through town at 50 mph (every 20 minutes) and never blows a whistle (unless engineer wants some attention). Pretty significant improvement for RR commerce.

IIRC, the train traffic in Ft Collins is pretty light, I think most stuff rolls up Highway 85 through East Greeley to Cheyenne. If there are few / minimal sidings down stream to DEN, they could pretty inexpensively link the '85' route to NE Ft Collins. (I think there is an existing Sugar Factory RoW across there, I would assume this would be very desirable for the RR... Berthoud might not be impressed (I think there is still some train commerce there)). BUT... it has dramatically improved livability since they re-routed 287.

[BlackSquirrel]

So much of it depends on your personal value system, and therefore, it is tough to be objective. I learned my lesson the hard way--you have to be very deliberate in deciding where to relocate and carefully evaluate the tradeoffs.

I would say that the housing market is absurd considering what most jobs pay. Fortunately, we don't have kids and bought a really nice town home as a short-sale. We fixed most of it up (just have the bathroom to tackle this summer) and we love it. The two free-standing homes (new construction) that we owned in the Omaha area paled in comparison to this one built in the 90's. If you want a 2000+ sq foot home here, it is going to cost over 200k. In our case, we actually preferred a townhome and tried to find one in Omaha, but the few available were shoddily built. It does seem that people take on huge mortgages around here, but don't be fooled, people did that in Omaha as well. They just get more square footage for their money.

I guess I would also say that the town caters to outdoorsy types. So, if you aren't a runner, cyclist, hiker, etc., you might be bored here. Again, we are runners, so this is not an issue for us.

There is a lack of variety in restaurants here, but then again this doesn't bother us because we have restrictive diets.

Confession: I love clothes. Shopping here sucks. Buyers play a role in what the stores stock and they know what sells and my take is that people don't care much about fashion around here. I am not thrilled that this the land of polar fleece and clogs, but I knew that before I moved here. I am one of the few people who wears dresses and skirts to work--vestiges from working in the South for 7 years. I recognize this is a petty criticism.

I would also say that FoCo is middle of the road in terms of friendliness. I took a one-day sewing class here and the group was straight-up nasty and ill-mannered. Conversely, I've met some nice people through work and running.

There is also a surprising amount of traffic for a town this size. There have been times it has taken me almost 10 minutes to cross Shields on foot.

In general, if you are an urban-type who isn't into outdoor activities, you will probably be pretty unhappy here.

[huggytailscupcake]

i'm thinking of moving to FoCo as well from New ENgland. I want sunshine, outdoor recreation and a fun lifestyle. I'm mid fifties and single and no kids. My good friend wants me to move to Boulder to live near her but I think I want a less crowded hectic life. But will I feel as though I don't fit in if I'm not married and don't have kids?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by huggytailscupcake

i'm thinking of moving to FoCo ,,,, fit in if I'm not married and don't have kids?

Of course; there are plenty in your shoes... FC is FIRST a college town (lots of single N/K profs and academians.) Second a recreation town (Plenty of interests / activities for all). 3-4 a family town.

[A2Mich]

I moved to Fort Collins almost 2 years ago, and previously lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Orlando, Florida.

Weather - I can't really complain about the weather at all - coming from Michigan with 6 months of grey, dreary skies, and LOTS of snow, winters here are generally not bad. A lot of people here cry and panic if they get 6 inches of snow and wondering why they haven't closed the schools. If you're from the deep south or southern Cali, I can see the panic of winter, but coming from the midwest, winters here are pretty tolerable, especially considering that the days you actually get snow are fairly limited, and it's sunny nearly every day. Summers can be hot, but are more tolerable due to lower humidity. 100 degrees and 16% humidity is MUCH more tolerable than 90 degrees and 90% humidity.

Traffic - I don't find traffic here to be a problem for the most part. At "rush hour", it may take 2 light changes to get through a major intersection and at most, 20-30 minutes clear across town. People think this is bad? Try living in a bigger city! Living in Orlando, it could EASILY take 2 hours or more across town, and even their traffic is minor compared to NYC, Chicago, LA, Miami, etc. Even in Ann Arbor, which is a similar sized town as Fort Collins, the traffic would be horrendous due to narrow two or at most 4 lane roads. At least Fort Collins major roads are all at least 4 lanes, if not 6. As far as the trains, yes, they do seriously tie up traffic here at times. As stated before, they really need to move the BNSF tracks to east of I-25. The worst places for the train backups are the Riverside/Mulberry area because they have a siding track there, which can tie up traffic for quite some time. Another bad spot can be at Timberline and Vine, as there is another siding track there and can back up badly. I really think something needs to be done with the tracks running right up the center of Mason - I'm surprised there aren't MORE accidents than there are. As for commuting times, I don't find it too bad, but then again, anyone who lives here and drives a lot like I do, will know to stay off of College and Harmony if you can at all avoid it. The north and south drive is MUCH faster on Shields or Timberline than College. Likewise, I can also make much better time east and west on Horsetooth (which also tends to be faster than Drake or Prospect, BTW) than Harmony.

Shopping - I don't find shopping here to be terribly bad, but then again, I'm not a mall-shopper. If you "have" to have a huge mall with 500 stores, we don't have one. Most of the shopping here is in strip malls, which incidentally, can be difficult to find and access sometimes, particularly off of College or Harmony. Most of the strip malls sit back quite a ways off the road, and many times don't have signs listing what stores are there. Many times, these parking lots have to be accessed off of a side street, as there is not a driveway off of the main drag.

Restaurants - not a terribly bad selection, but certainly is missing the variety. Though I must say there is no shortage of Starbucks or Noodles and Co. Lots of pizza places for sure, and quite a few bars/clubs, but more so on campus. Oddly enough, even the fast food places are scattered quite a bit across town from each other. No shortage of convenience stores either. I can think of at least 7 7-Elevens alone. Actually, there are more 7-Elevens than there are McDonalds in this town.

Schools - depends on the particular school. The IB schools are rated very highly, as both of my kids go to McGraw elementary. However, this is a school-of-choice district, so there can be a huge waiting list for certain schools, particularly the IB schools.

Housing - all over the map. Generally overpriced in town, but there are a few areas that are not too terribly expensive. Housing costs are generally, but not always, lower in Windsor, Severance, and parts of Loveland. Keep in mind though, that Loveland has a fairly noticeable low-income population, more so than Fort Collins.

Other - as far as rail-access to the airport, and why there are no 16 lane freeways in Fort Collins, most of us live in Fort Collins to get AWAY from that. If I want to ride a commuter train, I can ride the RTD in Denver if I really feel the need. As far as airport access, it is quite a drive to DIA, but I don't have a huge need for quick airport access. If you travel a lot for business, I can see this as being a downside. But the upside is that we're not listening to airplanes overhead all day long. Do note that commercial flights do land at Fort Collins/Loveland airport on Allegiant Air, but most, if not all of those flights were connections out of Denver, and it is also possible to fly into Cheyenne, depending on how light you want your wallet to be. Air quality here is generally excellent, as we don't have the Denver "Brown cloud." As for the previous posts on MMJ users here, I don't see them very often here at all - besides, I'd rather have the MMJ hippie users of Fort Collins over the meth-heads of Greeley and Evans.

That's all I can think of for now....