Visiting Fort Collins to see if we could live there (Denver: rentals, hotels)

[karen_Zab]

Currently live in Austin Texas where it's been over 100 degrees for the last 2 weeks. Husband's been wanting to move someplace cooler and smaller with access to lots of outdoor activities year round so we thought we'd come visit Fort Collins. Don't boo me for thinking about moving to Fort Collins, everyone is moving to Austin too to the tune of 159 people per day. Has just gotten too big, and way too hot.

We fly into Denver Friday late afternoon Aug 11th and want to spend a few days checking out the Fort Collins area and then head into the mountains for a few days. Looking for ideas on how best to get a feel for Fort Collins and enjoy ourselves while visiting with an 11 year old.

Interested in learning about cool neighborhoods with character, lots of kids, that have a great middle and high school and close to restaurants, coffee shops and small retail. Tall order? Are there any good resources to hit up when we arrive to learn more about the different areas of town and what life in Fort Collins is like?

Other questions:

What's the rental market like? Might want to rent for a year and make sure I can handle the winter after living in Texas for 30 years but a move is at least a year out, maybe two, as I'd like to live there a summer before making a big move and I know the housing market can change.

My daughter currently goes to a little, independent girls school, 150 kids total K - 8. Anything like that in Fort Collins? Or really highly regarded middle schools I can look into?


Thanks.

[Mike from back east]

I think you could live there just fine but your post is so plain that we've very little to go on.

Are jobs an issue? What is your budget?

Excellent that you are visiting. Also suggest another visit to COLO SPGS, maybe even Golden.

Before visiting, urge you use our search tool and find tons of existing info on any of these cities.

Though it'll be way cooler here, you must drink a lot of water as the elevation and dryness can cause you real grief early on.

[karen_Zab]

Thanks for the quick response!

Jobs are not an issue. I can work remote and my husband has his own business that he can move. I do want to be near a major city for the airport or future job opportunities if need be.

Only one kid so would like around 2000 sq ft, little more little less. Budget is up to $600k but would love not to spend that much.

Been googling a lot, looking at homes on Zillow, and looking back through the City-data forum. Any other good online resources you can recommend?

[Mike from back east]

Zillow is good. I've used realtor.com and recolorado.com might work well for some areas.

For $600k in COLO SPGS you could live like a king, with an airport there. Look in zip 80920 for my favorite area there, good D20 schools, and 75 minutes away is the huge DIA in Denver.

I'm not familiar with housing prices in Fort Collins but I'd bet you'd be fine there too.

Even at $600k you can pretty much forget about Boulder and a lot of Denver which is very busy with traffic you want to avoid.

[Thoreau424]

Originally Posted by karen_Zab

Currently live in Austin Texas where it's been over 100 degrees for the last 2 weeks. Husband's been wanting to move someplace cooler and smaller with access to lots of outdoor activities year round so we thought we'd come visit Fort Collins. Don't boo me for thinking about moving to Fort Collins, everyone is moving to Austin too to the tune of 159 people per day. Has just gotten too big, and way too hot.

Interested in learning about cool neighborhoods with character....

What's the rental market like? Might want to rent for a year and make sure I can handle the winter after living in Texas for 30 years but a move is at least a year out, maybe two...

I'm familiar with where you are from, and Fort Collins too (5 years). It sounds like you've put in a lot of time in the Lone Star State, as I have. I'll try to comment on what I've edited above.

It gets hot here too. Days in the 90s are very common in the summer. You would still face hot summers here. I wouldn't say that there are "lots of outdoor activities year round" around Fort Collins. Austin's got way more to offer, and you can easily do things year-round there, with the mild winters there. My family has been incredibly bored here with outdoor activities. There are a few parks and stuff, but there is a severe lack of the lakes, rivers, and watering holes like in the Hill Country. It's simply dry as a bone here.

I can't think of any "cool neighborhoods with character" here. It just doesn't have the variety and vibe of people in Austin. It certainly doesn't have that "Keep Austin Weird" stuff. It's really very plain vanilla, very similar, etc. Most people look, think, and act the same. If you spend enough time here, you'll see the Stepford Wife kind of thing going on. It's also has very much a northern and western culture here, and essentially no southern or coastal.

The rental market seems to be crazy. Rentals usually get snapped up very quickly. Lots of people are moving here too, like Austin. The traffic won't be as bad, and the town has a little more land to expand, but those are only beneficially differences that I can think of. I've encountered quite a bit of anti-Texas sentiment too. It goes back several generations at least. And that's even with no mention of having any connections there. Texans are thought of as dumb and uncivilized.

It's an okay place to live, but personally, my wife and I can't wait to get back to TX. It's just too bland for us, and the people are just so different. Way too serious for one thing. We're used to more sociality and party spirit. It's very quiet and family oriented here, which is nice to a point, but we're not ready to retire. It feels like a bit of an old folks pace around here. Message me directly if you want more specific and detailed information.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

It gets hot here too. Days in the 90s are very common in the summer. You would still face hot summers here.

Fort Collins has a smattering of hot days. Austin is above 90 for nearly 1/3 of the year. The two are not even remotely comparable in terms of heat.

Number of days where the average high temp is at or above 90 degrees:
Austin - 103
Fort Collins - 0

Average number of 90+ degree days during the year:
Austin - 108
Fort Collins - 34

Average number of 100+ degree days during the year:
Austin - 12
Fort Collins - < 1

Average daytime high (Jun, July, Aug)
Austin - 91, 95, 95
Fort Collins - 81, 86, 83

Average nightly low (Jun, July, Aug)
Austin - 72, 74, 74 (Humidity SUCKS)
Fort Collins - 52, 57, 55

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

I wouldn't say that there are "lots of outdoor activities year round" around Fort Collins. Austin's got way more to offer, and you can easily do things year-round there, with the mild winters there. My family has been incredibly bored here with outdoor activities. There are a few parks and stuff, but there is a severe lack of the lakes, rivers, and watering holes like in the Hill Country.

Some perspective is needed here. Austin may be hot stuff by Texas standards, but it'd be pretty run-of-the-mill if you plopped it down in any of the outdoorsy areas of Colorado.

I will agree, Austin has Fort Collins beat handily in terms of water (lakes); however, when it comes to camping, hiking, backpacking, biking, whitewater rafting/kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing Fort Collins wins in a landslide.

Let's also not pretend that (with the noted exception of water sports) an unbearably hot Austin summer is somehow more amenable to outdoor activities than a Fort Collins winter. IMNSHO I'll take a winter in Fort Collins over a summer in Austin simply because Fort Collins winters aren't uniformly cold. It's not uncommon to have 50, 60, or even 70 degree days in Fort Collins in December, January, and February. OTOH mid-summer days in Austin below 85 are uncommon, and days below 80 are almost unheard of.

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

It's simply dry as a bone here.

And lemme tell ya that dry air is freakin' glorious come summertime. I bet you we ran our AC in Texas more times in one summer than we have cumulatively in the 6 years we've been back here. It's GREAT. Windows open at night. No breathing recycled air 24/7. No $400 electric bills, either. We do run our heat more during the winter, sure, but like I said winters here aren't uniform like summers are in Austin.

Fort Collins is dry and brown for a fair portion of the year, yes, but Austin isn't a lush and green paradise year-round, either. Fort Collins browns up in mid-June, then greens up in mid-late July during monsoon years, and then is brown from early August 'til April. The Blackland Prairie between Austin and DFW dries up and is yellow and brown from mid-late July until early-mid February. The clay soil there is also notorious for cracks that are 2 inches wide and so deep that you can run a hose on them for a half hour and not fill them up.

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

I can't think of any "cool neighborhoods with character" here. It just doesn't have the variety and vibe of people in Austin. It certainly doesn't have that "Keep Austin Weird" stuff. It's really very plain vanilla, very similar, etc. Most people look, think, and act the same. If you spend enough time here, you'll see the Stepford Wife kind of thing going on. It's also has very much a northern and western culture here, and essentially no southern or coastal.

Won't necessarily disagree with you here, but honestly Fort Collins isn't any more or less bland than the desirable suburbs of Austin, DFW, and Houston. Few are diverse, and damn near all of them are dominated by boring, cookie-cutter tract houses and soccer moms in minivans. FWIW, Old Town Fort Collins served as part of the inspiration and model for Main Street, USA at Disneyland.

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

I've encountered quite a bit of anti-Texas sentiment too. It goes back several generations at least. And that's even with no mention of having any connections there. Texans are thought of as dumb and uncivilized.

I don't see Texans as dumb or uncivilized. All I ask is, for the love of all that's holy, leave the Texas Pride behind. If you do the right damn thing and register your cars here instead of being a cheapskate scofflaw like so many of your fellow brethren and don't blather on and on about how it was back in Texas nobody will give you any guff.

Overall Fort Collins isn't a bad town if you're outdoorsy, but if you're really focusing on outdoor activities, Colorado Springs and Denver have a much wider array of activities. The good ski areas are more accessible down here than they are up north.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by karen_Zab

We fly into Denver Friday late afternoon Aug 11th and want to spend a few days checking out the Fort Collins area and then head into the mountains for a few days. Looking for ideas on how best to get a feel for Fort Collins and enjoy ourselves while visiting with an 11 year old.

First off, the biggest transition will be the population difference. Size and isolation-wise Fort Collins is comparable to Waco (minus the Waco baggage that "Fixer Upper" tries to gloss over). I'll leave it to a local to give you cool hangouts, but there's probably not going to be a whole lot of them.

Where are you planning to go in the mountains? Last-minute reservations for hotels and camping spots this time of year can be difficult. Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park are beautiful but they'll be a flippin' madhouse of humanity. You might be better off seeing if there's something available at the western edge of the Poudre Canyon or see if you can get a yurt or a cabin at State Forest State Park near Walden (80 miles west of Fort Collins).

[StealthRabbit]

Great weekend to come!
Home - Sculpture in the Park
but 2 days AFTER the county fair Larimer County Fair & Rodeo (dear from my many yrs in 4H...)

Estes Park is worth the trip (lived near there as a kid, Big T alumni, Big T Canyon Life). Thus I prefer Loveland as ez access to Ft C, Estes, Windsor / Greeley / Boulder.

I know what it is like to be chased from FC by Texans (1979 for me... after ~26 yrs in CO)
so... I finally joined them and have a Hill Country home now as well as places in CO and WA (PNW) for 'cool' summers. Each are rented out, but have extra living spaces / cabins / guest homes & shops and barns for me. (We have been spending Thanksgiving in Comfort, TX for 25+yrs). (Only been 86 - 90F in my HC TX home this week, but I am in PNW enjoying fresh berries, salmon, and 50F sleeping nights.)

COLORADO...
I prefer South FC, but really prefer Loveland. There are several good private schools in the FC / Loveland / Windsor area. but... if you have a true academic on your hands... come on up to WA during High School and she can attend FULL TIME University or Jr College for FREE (Tuition) during HS years. Need to test during JR high to pass a College entrance exam, but 10's of thousands of HS'rs enjoy this GREAT edu every yr since 1990). Including some of my bosses, as well as my kids and all their Homeschool classmates!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Start Hawaii has similar program, but not FREE. Remember WA has NO INCOME TAX (like TX) which was handy to help me retire 16 yrs early after exiling from CO.

Lots of options, depends what your passion / recreation / desires are. AND what your DD talents / plans are.

Colorado is often quite mild for winter. I rode my bike to work all but 3 days that last yr I was FT in CO (1979). I still come back several times / yr even in winter to get a glimpse of the sun! (and STARS!!!)

Nearby WY has no income tax great schools and CHEAP (and GREAT university ... A&M level!
SD is another income tax free state, with similar weather, terrain, recreation as CO. (much smaller mtns, but it has Wall Drug!)

WA really has lots to do!! (Ocean, Sound (inland waters) and mtns and VERY near to BC!) Water and mtn sports galor + many Universities / Art Centers, international trade and exposure. (quite important for kids edu / workplace / community knowledge and experience)

Wages are left cost high ($15/ hr minimum wage soon in SEA), Seattle has very spendy housing, but most areas homes cost similar to urban CO prices (too high also) as is Austin. I have found very nice $300k rural places in all three areas. but TX is the STAR for low cost property and HIGH rental income. (long range wealth)

[karen_Zab]

Thanks for all the comments and perspectives! Especially good to hear from folks who have lived in both Tx and Co.

I realize no place is perfect for everyone and I love Austin but have been here 30 years and the idea of moving to a new place is a bit exciting and adventurous. Would love to be able to do summers in the mountains of Colorado and winters in Austin but alas I have not won the lottery yet. Austin is humid and the family has horrible allergies, especially to Cedar, which Austin is notorious for, so hoping for relief from that as well as the heat. And the idea of winter sports is appealing - skiing, snowboarding, although the it's possible I may be so cold I never leave the house. My daughter is also a big rock climber so we'll have to check into climbing while there.

And I'm not originally from Texas, came here for college and just never left, so no worries about the Texas Pride.

Comparing FC to Waco doesn't do FC any favors.....Here in Austin I live central, so not in the 'burbs, and was hoping a smaller town would have a central core also with older neighborhoods with lots of trees and character close to the amenities. Guess I'll find out in a couple weeks!

The reason we hadn't thought of Denver or Colorado Springs is we thought if we were making a big move we'd want to move to a smaller town but can always rethink that. Just so darn tired of the traffic. And we are in Austin, the only blue spot in a state of red, so would like to land in a community of like minded individuals. Definitely past the partying stage in life and more focused on family activities and are introverts at heart so actually making new friends in a new place might be a stretch. Don't even have that big a circle here!

The hubby is from Oregon and loves the Bend area, also arid high desert climate, but it's very isolated from a big city and international airport so not optimal for my work. Truth be told I am not sure how I'd like living in a 'small' town, never have, so we'd probably rent for a summer, when the kid is out of school, and see if it's a good fit or not.

As for the mountains we've decided to head to Steamboat Springs for a few days.

Much appreciated.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by karen_Zab

Comparing FC to Waco doesn't do FC any favors.....Here in Austin I live central, so not in the 'burbs, and was hoping a smaller town would have a central core also with older neighborhoods with lots of trees and character close to the amenities. Guess I'll find out in a couple weeks!

The only reason I compared the two is because they're similar in size, and both are located 50-100 miles from a much larger city. Fort Collins isn't perfect, but it's not rundown and ghetto fab like Waco. I can't imagine the reactions of people who go to Waco having only seen it on "Fixer Upper." I had to go there for work when I lived in Dallas. It's a really crappy city. Chip and Joanna will never run out of inventory for their business.

Originally Posted by karen_Zab

As for the mountains we've decided to head to Steamboat Springs for a few days.

Much appreciated.

Good choice. Hike up to Fish Creek Falls while you're there.