Adjusting to Fort Collins,Co from Phx. Az.

[bluskiez]

I came from small town Kansas 5 years ago. I am amazed at how friendly everyone is, no matter where I am in Fort Collins or what activity I am joining. I always make the first move to speak first. I've never gotten a cold shoulder yet!
I LOVE it here and would recommend it to anyone.

[Mexdavet]

Originally Posted by Elkman

I'm sorry to hear that. Just curious, did they speak Spanish? I ran into that problem at the DIA airport.

What difference does it make whether they spoke Spanish or not? [mod cut] People are either friendly or unfriendly regardless of the language they speak. Mostly it depends on the initial contact, and making an effort to be friendly and outgoing. Spanish-speaking people can be just as friendly as those who speak any other language. Being Hispanic isn't a determining factor in whether someone is friendly or not. Get a clue!

[Cosmopolitanwithbigdreams]

Funny, I made the opposite move that you did! I moved from fort collins to phoenix in order to go to school at asu. If you liked the outdoor activities in AZ, there are plenty more in CO, you just have to venture outside of the fort. I don't know if you knew this or not but Fort Collins was voted the Best Place to Live by Money Magazine in 2006. As a young adult, I do agree that it's hard to find a job with all the college students who tend to stick around during the summer (it's not like phx where a lot of kids will go home for summer). I hope things get better for you. I don't know what part of fort collins you live but there are some nice neighborhoods outside of the area, especially near windsor

[Rumblebelly]

I moved to Fort Collins from out of state and lived there for 10 years. Never had a problem from fellow transplants OR the natives. I always had the feeling that most people in Fort Collins are from out of state, just like the original poster. There's a transient feel to the whole front range area. People come and go. Like me.

Try moving to an area where everyone is from that area. If you put yourself out there in a positive fashion, people will respond in a positive manner.

[jlz32185]

My fiance and I recently visited Fort Collins and loved it! We are both from Pittsburgh and found the people in Fort Collins much more friendly than Pittsburghers. Although I'm sure there are the exceptions. We actualy loved Fort Collins so much that we are talking about possibly moving there after we get married and he finishes school. The laid back atmosphere seems like the perfect place for a young couple to start a family. He lived in Laramie, Wyoming for 6 months and spent every weekend in Fort Collins, and after two visits I'm ready to pack my car up and move!! It is such a refreshing change in pace from the east.

[eynewman]

Posted by Mexdavet: "Being Hispanic isn't a determining factor in whether someone is friendly or not. Get a clue!" Elkman didn't say "hispanic," only asked if they spoke Spanish. Most of the time, out of not knowing someone else's language, someone approaching a person using an unfamilar language causes the approached person to seem unfriendly. I live in Calif, and I can tell you from many personal experiences over my lifetime that this is so, whether the person you're trying to talk to speaks Spanish, Korean, Farsi, etc. It's just that most foreign language spoken here happens to be spanish. Don't be so sensitive. He's not being "anti-Latino."

[Event08]

Hi All,
Just my fives cents. My husband and I just spent four days in CO. driving around the many cities and small towns and loved it. We are too looking for a wonderful town to call home away from TX. We have friends that have lived in Longmont for the past 3+ years and they have pretty much the same things and many persons here. We felt very welcomed as visitors but I am concerned reading many of these notes that perhaps as permanent residents in CO. it would be hard to make new friends. BTW, our reasons for moving are many but foremost is be in an area that is more real for our family and not so superficial as the Dallas area is. We both love cycling, mountains, skiing, and more time outdoors which is hard to do in TX due to climate and crime and lack of outdoor activities. So in short, we have always wanted to live in CO. but we only want to make the move if the door is open to "outsiders". Thanks for letting me chat.

[robor007]

Hello all... I stumbled across this forum in a search about info for Fort Collins and I read the entire thread. From what I can tell it's a mixed bag with some good and some bad experiences. I've been in my condo for 8 1/2 years and I know very few of my neighbors. Maybe I'm standoffish?

Seriously though, I'm currently living in FL and have grown tired of long, hot, humid summers. I checked Ft. Collins on weather.com and the temperatures there look more like what I'd like to live in. My wife on the other hand doesn't like it really cold. Our winters here in FL are very mild - we didn't even run the heat this past winter and the condo never got below 62. My question is, what are the winters like in Ft. Collins? A friend visited there and told me often while it's 'cold' because the humidity is low it doesn't feel as cold as the temps indicate.

Thank you very much for any feedback!

[bproven]

Originally Posted by robor007

I checked Ft. Collins on weather.com and the temperatures there look more like what I'd like to live in. My wife on the other hand doesn't like it really cold. Our winters here in FL are very mild - we didn't even run the heat this past winter and the condo never got below 62. My question is, what are the winters like in Ft. Collins? A friend visited there and told me often while it's 'cold' because the humidity is low it doesn't feel as cold as the temps indicate.

Thank you very much for any feedback!

Well, you are really opening up a can of worms on that one. I would say you do need to determine what YOUR tolerance for cold is. If you are coming from FL it may be very low. I would say it isn't bad and I came from the same climate as you (southern Louisiana - Gulf South). NOT having the humidity really does make a difference, but I will not lie to you as there are days (2-3 weeks spread thoroughout the winter) where it is damn cold - single digits and teens. But the dry cold is definitely better than wet, humid cold. For what it is worth, I lived in Louisiana all my life and moved to Fort Collins about 2.5 years ago and I would NEVER go back. The overall quality of life is 100x better IMO. Oh and the summers/fall beat the heck out of the humidity laden summers/fall in the Gulf South

Your best bet on determining if you can take the cold would be to visit for 1-2 weeks during the winter. I would say any time between Jan-March would be a good test

[robor007]

Originally Posted by bproven

Well, you are really opening up a can of worms on that one. I would say you do need to determine what YOUR tolerance for cold is. If you are coming from FL it may be very low. I would say it isn't bad and I came from the same climate as you (southern Louisiana - Gulf South). NOT having the humidity really does make a difference, but I will not lie to you as there are days (2-3 weeks spread thoroughout the winter) where it is damn cold - single digits and teens. But the dry cold is definitely better than wet, humid cold. For what it is worth, I lived in Louisiana all my life and moved to Fort Collins about 2.5 years ago and I would NEVER go back. The overall quality of life is 100x better IMO. Oh and the summers/fall beat the heck out of the humidity laden summers/fall in the Gulf South

Your best bet on determining if you can take the cold would be to visit for 1-2 weeks during the winter. I would say any time between Jan-March would be a good test

Thanks for the reply, brpoven. I have no concerns about me tolerating the cool/cold weather. I lived up north (Ohio, Illinois, Penn) until I was 13 and I remember cold days where we wouldn't go outside unless it was to play in the snow or shovel it. After living in both extremes I can safely say I would rather have a few months of cold than 6 months of 85+ temps in FL. The way I see it, you can always put on more layers but there's only so much you can take off. My only grip with cold weather might be dealing with the snow. When I was young it was something to play in and shovel for money. These days I'd have to deal with it for free and drive in it. So, just how much of a bother is the snow there?