relocating in June. Questions about neighborhoods for middle schoolers/high school (Fort Collins: real estate, rentals)

[movingon23]

We will be relocating in June to Fort Collins. We are in the process of looking at neighborhoods and schools for our family. We have 2 boys Ages 11 and 12. They are athletic and into all sports. We would like to make sure the neighborhoods we look into are kid friendly and have a neighborhood feel. Has anyone recently moved with kids? Is it an accepting community that they should be able to make friends easily? Are some areas of town better than others for our age of kids? Thanks to anyone willing to help with any info!!

[barefootmeg]

We live in Old Town. Our neighborhood schools were Dunn, Lincoln and Poudre. (The kids are all currently at Poudre High School.) We've liked every school the kids have been at. The teachers at Dunn and Lincoln are fantastic. Although I've met some teachers from Poudre, I haven't gotten to know them quite as well. (By the time the kids reach high school, you just don't go into the school as much.) Poudre's football team beat the other 3 local high school's teams. But Lincoln's sports seems are more along the so-so lines.

But remember that Colorado is a choice state. So it doesn't matter where you live. You can send your kids to any school. The upside is that you can live where you want and send your kids where you want. The downside is that people who choice have to drive their kids to school daily and play dates are kind of a chore to plan.

Old Town has a lot of kids. Our kids all have friends within walking distance (as in, about 3 or 4 blocks away).

[Jenneelee28]

We recently moved to Ft. Collins (past June). We love it here. The people are very friendly and our boys play baseball so we have met people from all over town. The school choice thing is hard. I have found there are some schools that don't take the school choice because they are full. We ended up renting South of Trilby which is Loveland Schools. My boys attend Cottonwood Plains. It is a very good school. My oldest is slated to go to Lucille Erwin next year for Middle School. I would definitely check out the schools websites and see what they have to offer and try to get into to the school boundaries. I hear that some of the Poudre Middle Schools also have some crowding issues and may be hard to "Choice" into. Also, not sure if you are going to rent or buy but I was surprised at how fast the house were going around May/June. We panicked and threw other logic out the window. I do like where we live but there are a few things I would change. If you want to message me with other questions, please feel free.

[Arkansas Girl]

We are also moving in June. Went and visited this last summer. We found neighborhoods in NW FoCo that we loved and Blevins Middle School has good reviews. Our boys are 10 & 12 and one plays soccer and the other is in band. One of the things we noticed is that around the middle school the neighborhoods had a lot of kids in them, also there are bike trails that actually go through the neighborhoods to the school.

We are going to be renting and I am sort of nervous about finding a house. But the neighborhood that we are looking at has plenty of family homes that rent all the time. We are going to visit again end of march to look at housing, schools and jobs. One of the things that I am hoping for is pre-leasing in March. That would be really helpful. Once I find a house I think I will stop being so nervous.

Just for reference this is the post I made after we visited in August:

fell in love with the city. We stayed in the Poudre Canyon in a campsite that was just lovely and private without being out in the middle of nowhere. We ate at the Mish (can't wait to go back for more food and a concert or two). We spent some touristy time in Old Town, I think it has to be the friendliest place on earth. We ended up by pure accident at Cheeba Hut for lunch and well, that was enlightening. It was an awesome sandwich (which they promised) and an interior that was a bit of a surprise. We were not prepared for how um, well, liberal that subject is there. Very refreshing . In the middle of the day we saw a jazz band in the town center with children playing in the water. Sweet and picturesque. We found a neighboorhood and church that we are excited about. It seems as though housing pops up frequently in that area so we should be able to find something by June. We are looking in the neighborhood by Blevins Middle School and Foothills UU church area.

Several things that were unexpected. We about froze our first night. When it is August here it is one billionty degrees, even in the middle of the night. We had to do a little thrift shopping in Old Town to buy some appropriate clothing for the weather. It is very dry climate and we needed a lot of lotion and chapstick. And the elevation was strange feeling but we were comfortable within a day or so. Strangers chatted us up, baristas were pleasant and non-rushed, the atmosphere is hippy-ish without the pretense. The signs are so small and I have been telling everyone about the taco bell stucco house. And for all the time we were there we didn't see one Walmart. I know, be still my heart....we are moving from the land of The Walmart. So happy to see just plain old grocery stores, we loved it.

Traffic. Oy vey. This is the thing; no one cares if you drive like crap, there is very little honking and very sloooooow driving. Of course we were new to the area and were lost a bit but people never even blinked an eye when we were in the wrong lane or had to merge suddenly. The layout of the city is ok, we didn't get turned around too much.

And I'm almost certain that if you move to Fort Collins you should be issued a dog, a bike and a Subaru.

Now we only have ten short months to plan our move, find jobs, and find a house. So excited.

We are crazy excited to move. I'm hoping all will go off without a hitch. My husband is going back to school to get his engineering degree and will need a part-time job. He does smart device repairs (iPhones, iPads, etc.,) we hope to find a repair place that will be hiring then. I'm a massage therapist and work for a company that has a franchise in FoCo so I hope to be able to transfer seamlessly. I have a long spa work history so that might be in my favor.

If anyone knows of any housing, jobs or belongs to the UU church, message me.

(sorry, I think I made this about me!)

Good luck to you guys! You'll love it.

[movingon23]

Thanks for the info. We are considering Loveland also. We have been looking and looking at houses. Maybe the best thing to do is rent. We are getting more and more confused. We met with a realtor the end of December. Did you sign your boys up for baseball in Fort Collins. Was it through the park district? I hope I can talk with you more about the move.

[StealthRabbit]

If you have jobs and location nailed down... Then you can buy.

If you will need to move in the next 5 yrs... rent.

I would choose Loveland, but I only like the west side / no suburbia sprawl (I don't do Eisenhower / HWY 34, it has traffic lights ) I only do Ft Collins between 2AM and 6 AM (blinking traffic lights). If you have a N-S commute on College Ave, it might take a good part of the day (and dangerous for crashes / disability)... best to live near work and take a bike.

Don't sweat BUYING a house. (unless you buy a rental to live in, and then Rent it out AFTER You find the BEST house (and location) for you. That can take a few yrs to find nirvana when you are new to an area.

Rentals are best purchased as a Duplex (if you can find one that has not been "colorado Condo'ed" / plit and sold individually )

Cap rates are tough to get positive cash flow in Colorado. (Do that in Tax Free TX!!!) investment real estate... + a deductible 'Business trip' to go HOME for BBQ!

[Jenneelee28]

Originally Posted by movingon23

Thanks for the info. We are considering Loveland also. We have been looking and looking at houses. Maybe the best thing to do is rent. We are getting more and more confused. We met with a realtor the end of December. Did you sign your boys up for baseball in Fort Collins. Was it through the park district? I hope I can talk with you more about the move.

Did you get my message? I am still trying to navigate this forum. I sent you a private message with more info!

[movingon23]

we will be moving to the Loveland area this summer. I have 2 boys 12 and 14 they are in 7th and 8th grade. I am concerned about the schools. We really like Loveland. Are there any middle schools that are better than others. Any that you would shy away from. We are coming from an area out of state with really bad schools. It's just a concern. I know there is choice but I would prefer my kids to go to a neighborhood school. I have seen many promising homes that are slated for Walt Clark. I see the school on the Great Schools site is a 5. Have any of you relocated recently? How did your kids adjust? My boys really want to move, I'm a little nervous for them changing schools. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Jenneelee28]

They are opening a new school in Loveland for the 2016-17 school year which will be K-8. I would move as close to that as possible. It is going to be called High Plains. It will feed into Mountain View HS. We are transitioning out of Loveland schools and going to Fort Collins Schools.