Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Colorado > Fort Collins area
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-08-2008, 01:02 PM
 
33 posts, read 281,613 times
Reputation: 19

Advertisements

Are you locked into your job? If not, my best advice would be to find a new job in Fort Collins, Denver or any of the western mountain towns...I survived college in Greeley and have to call a spade a spade: it is the ugliest, smelliest, most depressing place! (Actually, pretty much all of northern CO fits that bill except maybe Fort Collins).

If you can, save yourself the trouble and live in Denver for the summer! If you can't, I'd prefer the commute to and from Fort Collins over ever having to live in Greeley again -- it is a wasteland!! CO is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S., but Greeley is indeed the exception.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-16-2008, 04:30 PM
 
42 posts, read 247,013 times
Reputation: 43
Quote:
Originally Posted by janb View Post
I've lived in both, Find a place in Greeley near your classes; there should be plenty of affordable summer rentals there. Smell is not a deal breaker, get used to it it is only for a 'season', and some folks deal with it their whole lives, and many not by choice... (Dairyfarmers, wives, kids...). You should get to Ft Collins for a preview, but I would spend available free time in the mountains. I would also make sure to get to Loveland for the Arts Fair in Aug (north shore park) and Boulder is a nice weekend destination too, as well as Colo Springs, and Glenwood Springs. There is a summer music festival at the YMCA in Estes Park that is great also. ..thus spend your time and $$ on something you will enjoy and remember.

Living in Ft Collins is nice if you can afford it, but it comes with a price, and traffic and drivers are a real 'case'. Evans is the opposite corner of Greeley and too far for commuting at current fuel prices (plus you would be wasting 1.5 hrs / day). You could ride a bike if you lived near UNC. I had a nice little trailer house in Evans while I was a student (Aims and UNC) it didn't kill me...but it was pretty hot in the summer

Good luck, enjoy your summer.
I agree with this guy. Greeley isn't as bad as people say. It can smell sometimes, but you'll get use to it. Plus if you classes are in Greeley and you want to live in Fort Collins, you'll wish you would have stayed in Greeley because the commute back and forth can be tretorous.

The traffic between Greeley and Fort Collins on I-25 can be as bad as Denver.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-16-2008, 09:13 PM
 
Location: Bedford, Texas
5 posts, read 12,145 times
Reputation: 11
Default Wanted in CO.

Hi All,
Just my fives cents. My husband and I just spent four days in CO. driving around the many areas 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 said the same things as many persons here, treated as outsiders. 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. Thanks for letting me chat.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-19-2008, 08:47 AM
 
Location: Eastern Colorado
3,887 posts, read 5,734,709 times
Reputation: 5386
For the original poster, I have also lived in both Greeley and Fort Collins, and which one you like more is about who you, and next to impossible to tell you which is better without that.

Fort Collins is much more of the yuppie type place, there are plenty of things to do on most weekends downtown, and a few things to do with the kids around town (although for a lot of stuff you still must go to Denver), plenty of parks and trails, they are also minutes away from horsetooth reservoir which provides a great place to go boating or hang out with family and friends. The biggest problem I have with Fort Collins is that the people seem to care more about what type of car you drive,neighborhood you live in, where you are from, what sports your kids are in, whether you hike, bike, or climb mountains, and style of clothes you wear, then they do about some of the simpler things in life like being a fun person to hang around, being a good parent, enjoying what you do and your day, and other things of that nature. In Fort Collins image is more important then substance.

Greeley is pretty much the opposite side of the scale. Greeley is more of the blue collar type people that could care less what you drive, where you work, whether you are wearing designer jeans, or how many 14ers you have climbed (unless there is an entertaining story that is told with it). Overall they care more about whether they enjoy your company, if they can respect you, and if you are a decent person. The downside in Greeley is twofold, one is that you have the smell which is only bad if you are not used to life outside of the big cities, the other is that there are some bad neighborhoods which can and are at times dangerous.

A close friend of mine who works for a non profit as a counselor for Northern Colorado characterizes the differences as Fort Collins being the place that when a family is going through financial trouble a friend is likely to slip you the phone numbers of places to get help while distancing themselves from you until the problem is over. In Greeley they are more likely to make phone calls to help you find another job and take you to the bar to forget your problems for a little while.

Overall I would choose Greeley for me (and would move there if they had the programs for my special needs child, of which Fort Collins is among the best in the state). Some would disagree with me, including close relatives, and others will be upset about the generalizations (especially in Fort Collins) regardless of how true they are. Either way as someone who has spent all but one year of his life living north of 120th in Denver, including several in both Greeley and Fort Collins that is the way I see it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-09-2010, 10:03 AM
 
Location: Chanute Kansas >.<
1 posts, read 2,827 times
Reputation: 10
From what I have seen greeley is cheaper to live in. I have met many people from there, and no one complained for a horrible smell, so I cant imagion its to bad. I actually plan on moving there this summer. Now, a comment on somebody who suggested living in denver, unless you have a VERY goodp aying job I wouldent suggest it. I lived there for a year, and one of the only places I could afford was colfaz. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE decision!! I witnessed 3 shootings and a stabbing that was right by my house!!! I finally got out of colfax, but my apartment cost me about 920$ a month, not including utilities. So I would REALLY think about that one before doing it. Greeley is MUCH better. (now the surronding towns of denver may not be bad boulder and the like, but i suggest you cruze the town before making any denver desicions. Fun to party in, not so much fun to live in)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-13-2010, 03:10 PM
 
Location: Bend Or.
1,126 posts, read 2,920,486 times
Reputation: 958
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reed9874 View Post
I've lived in both citites (I currently live in Greeley) and my experience in Greeley has been much better. For starters the cost of living in Fort Collins is laughably high in comparison. There's a good many stereotypes floating around the state about greeley that made me have second thoughts about moving. they include:
stench: I never smell anything.
crime: please. a friend's bike was stolen. that's the worse I've seen so far
ghetto: a very large portion of the city is actually well off and rich households in pleasant neighborhoods. Besides even the "ghettos" aren't that bad
boredom: there's actually quite a few fun things to do around town, and if not denver is a pretty short drive away

Don't get me wrong there are parts of the city I try to avoid and the Greeley police stay very busy from what I've seen but for the most part it's a great place for a really nice price. And the commute from fort collins would definately get old fast
I've Lived here 14 years and agree completely.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-18-2016, 01:48 PM
 
2 posts, read 1,844 times
Reputation: 10
Default greely co

is there anyone looking at this blog in recent days Looking for some info on this area thanks
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-19-2016, 10:58 AM
 
1,822 posts, read 1,992,384 times
Reputation: 2113
Just pointing out that over six years have elapsed between the last post and the second to last post. A lot can change in that time! I've found conditions in this area declining over recent years, including cost of living increasing, home prices increasing, competition for homes increasing, and jobs/industry declining (especially in the area of manufacturing and engineering).

It almost seems like there ought to be some kind of visual flag on this site for posts older than say 2 years, because it's often not obvious to people visiting this forum, and could affect the accuracy of data. A simple flag could clue people in to potentially stale data.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2016, 08:32 AM
 
4 posts, read 6,100 times
Reputation: 15
I have been here since 1973. I would say your political point of view is a big deal when choosing between Greeley and Fort Collins. Greeley actually wanted to be part of the 'leave the state' initiative that was around a few years back. Marilyn Musgrave is a hometown 'son'...
They allow fracking, and have all that oil and gas paraphernalia to deal with. They actually experienced earthquakes in the not too distant past, which I believe was caused by it.
Fort Collins spent $$ and took on the oil and gas companies to enforce the voter decided moratorium on fracking. (State law has it that cities don't have any say in mineral/oil gas rights and therefore Fort Collins was going against the flow on that one!)
Greeley is more Republican in its point of view, Fort Collins is decidedly more like Boulder in that respect.
But not as 'hippy' or far right. Yes, FoCo is a GREAT place to raise a family...many parks, programs centered on children, and other family friendly things to do. Bet you could find similar in Greeley. That said, a 'child centered' city may not be that friendly to 20 somethings looking for fun! Used to be the dating scene was pretty sparse! And its difficult to get your child enrolled in a program..the lines are long, you have to sign up as soon as its open...so many people coming here, things are a bit overwhelmed! 20 people for each spot in a program, rents are crazy, and new huge houses are being built everywhere. Those of us who lived here for years can't afford to buy what the out of towners are demanding be built! But this isn't the first time this sort of thing has happened...late 1980s was the same, then there was the 1990's boon..with HP moving here..used to be just the college and surrounding support businesses..now every chain has a branch here, and unless you are VERY well educated..as in PHD! its difficult to find a job that will pay enough to make the rent on a single dwelling by yourself, let alone FIND ONE! We have a growing 'senior' population..people who have retired here, live in a big house, and use all the facilities Fort Collins offers. There is very little change when the college lets out..used to be you could tell, the city would go from humming like crazy to quiet little place..now its humming all the time! Hard to find a place for dinner without a wait!

Fort Collins had its migrant worker issues back in the '60 - '70s...but its pretty much gotten over it.
I think big money has much to do with it. Now Fort Collins has become THE place for out of state-ers to invest..our streets are deteriorating, and there are high rises going up all over the place. Not uncommon to see some decades old structure torn down to build student housing, with little parking!
The tax rate was 4.5% when I came to town, now there are 'special improvement districts' which hike the tax rate for purchases there to 7.5% and up...basically the consumer is paying the developer for building the shopping area! FoCo gave the developer a break on the land, in exchange for increased tax revenue! and we are paying it! The Mall, which was BRAND NEW when I got here, has recently been torn down for free standing businesses, and the town doesn't begin to look the same any more! The north end of FoCo was kinda run down..small strip malls, old strip motels where the low rent people went, and lots of the 'hispanics' lived...now its been revamped, up dated, there are grocery stores that wouldn't have TOUCHED that area 10 years back with big parking lots full of cars. Its not the same city. But, the planet had 2 billion people on it back in the 70's..now there is close to 8 billion...they gotta go somewhere!

Greeley still deals with that whole race thing..whites not enamored with providing for the hispanics..
Physically, has grown leaps and bounds. I think its still struggling with race issues, allowing big business to run the show - sort of like the farmers being peddled chemicals to increase their yields while polluting the environment - agribusiness is taking over..It used to be a farming community...now older farmers are selling out to agribusiness, making a bunch, and walking away from what that is doing to the environment because they are rich, old, and want to travel - able to buy that big RV and hit the road after years looking at cows!..its unfortunate what is happening to their 'town', but that's progress!

So, as I said, it depends on your politics. If your mindset is towards raising a family, enjoying the outdoors - we are VERY close to the mountains, and a more progressive liberal point of view, come to Fort Collins.. If you are Republican, think Big Business is right, and like rules, go to Greeley. The smell, which so many discuss, is relatively non existent! Used to be in the 70's that we had a feedlot smell in Fort Collins on occasion because of Greeley..
I actually looked into what was going on...farmers spread manure on their fields for fertilizer back then and the moist weather brought the smell to town. It might be from Greeley, or any of the fields between the two cities. Greeley also has a meat processing plant...ie they KILL cattle there...its on the north east side. Driving by that place can give you the willies! you can smell death there..but Greeley was made up of farmers, and they were used to it! That place has a feedlot and it smells. There are dairies outside of Fort Collins...good thing there are - we have FRESH milk...but they typically have a 'feedlot' set up, which many people object to the odors from..Which was first? the DAIRY! but out of towners want it to smell 'nice'..even tho they built their pricey home right next door! you can take the boy out of the country....There are prices to be paid for living anywhere!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Colorado > Fort Collins area

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:23 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top