Moving from Michigan to Fort Collins Area?

[Sunderpig2]

Originally Posted by Fort Collins resident

I've lived in Fort Collins for about a year and a half now and it is terrible. the train Blair's its worn all hours of night as it goes to town because of the students that have been killed in the past. the traffic noise pollution is very high as well. the main roads seemingly are shut down due to construction all summer long it seems like. you can't park your car on the road for more than 2 days or they will tow it anywhere in Fort Collins that is a town law.

Hmmm. Doesn't sound anything like the town I know. And noise? This is no huge metropolis.

By the way, what does "the train Blair's its worn" mean?

[Jbhub]

I know this is a year late response but for whoever is looking for more advice...I'm a single female in Ft. Collins with no family here from MI I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Don't pay too much attention to these top ten lists...the best city is the one that works for your lifestyle.

I had NO allergies. Been here since last August and between the months of August-October and now in April, it has been very difficult for me to walk around. I use to be very motivate walk to campus and around town the first few months but now I just drive to campus to avoid irritiation. I've noticed a lot of people here from MI and other parts of the Midwest and some have the same issue.

I don't am contemplating getting allergy meds but if you think MI is bad....with the dry hot climate here...you will definitely need your meds here.

In terms of work in the medical profession, it would seem counter-intuitive leaving Michigan when you have some of the top three medical research universities and hospital groups there constantly hiring. Anyways, I am in a social group here in Ft. Collins and many of the people with no jobs have medical and pharma backgrounds and on government assistant. I'm not saying that represents all of Ft. Collins, but decent paying jobs seem to be a major complaint I hear from people that don't work at CSU. And whenever I hear of a major accident happening in Ft. Collins, the victim has been helicoptered to a hospital in Loveland. I think Denver or Colo. Springs would be good options for work. I loved Colo. Springs when I visit.

Ft. Collins has a lot of good things to offer if you like outdoorsy stuff and beer. And I certainly would not be able to live here if I didn't make more than the average public school teacher. Being from MI you will experience price shock. Housing whether buying or renting is overpriced. There's an obvious housing bubble...yet no one seems to care, then again there's not much anyone can do about it. 80K won't be enough unless maybe you can get into a trailer park or just use it all to pay rent. I recommend the outskirts of town to find a decent place, unless you like hearing college students at 1am partying.

As far as safety, it's hit of miss. Being a single female who has lived in several major cities, I am not the most trusting of strangers and I definitely notice a lot of shady characters. I had random people at night knock on my door. But for the most part my suspicions have been wrong and you will find the majority of the people here are nice. I've lived in Saginaw for a short time and crime has always been a concern there. I will say the police here are fairly efficient and fast. They take care of any small inquiries I've had. The only crime I ever see typically are bike-car collisions and several suicide attempts.

Fort Collins isn't going to be fun without money. Make sure you secure some job interviews before your visit. Be realistic.