Moving to Fort Collins (Denver, Boulder: rent, homes, job market)

[Lotsoflove99]

My husbands job might be moving us to the Fort Collins area. I naturally have some questions about the area. I would love to hear from people who currently live there or used to live there.

1. What is the weather like? Are the winters very long?
2. Are there a lot of dreary/grey skies?
3. Is the traffic bad?
4. What are the safest areas to live in?
5. Do people have problems with allergies? (mine are awful here in Florida)

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Lotsoflove99

My husbands job might be moving us to the Fort Collins area. I naturally have some questions about the area. I would love to hear from people who currently live there or used to live there.

1. What is the weather like? Are the winters very long?
2. Are there a lot of dreary/grey skies?
3. Is the traffic bad?
4. What are the safest areas to live in?
5. Do people have problems with allergies? (mine are awful here in Florida)

1. Spring and fall - Neither are well-delineated and are highly-variable. It can be 70 degrees one day and 35 the next.

Summers are short and hot at times. 80s and 90s are common, but the air is dry so it still cools off into the 50s and lower 60s most nights. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in July and August.

Winter - also variable. Daytime highs are normally in the 40s with overnight lows in the teens and 20s, but 50, 60, and even an occasional 70-degree day aren't unheard of. "Snow season" can start in fall and push into spring. Snow can fly from the middle of September until the end of May, but it typically occurs from mid-October until late April/early May. Fort Collins averages about 54" of snow per year, but it doesn't come all at once and doesn't usually stay on the ground for more than a couple weeks at a time. Snowstorms can drop up to a foot or more of snow, but 3-6" totals are much more common.

2. No.

3. Depends on your idea of bad traffic. The main N/S street, College Avenue, hasn't been widened in decades. It's primarily 3-lanes in each direction with a multitude of stoplights, and it can get congested occasionally, but overall traffic in Fort Collins proper isn't that bad.

4. I'll let someone else answer this as it's been a few years since I lived there.

5. Again, allergies are variable. Depends on what you're allergic to.

Questions for you:

1. Rent or buy? Budget?
2. What's your spouse's field? If it's IT, the job market in Northern Colorado is very tight, and IT jobs are sparse. Plus you're competing with a heavy pool of college grads who don't leave the area after graduation. That has a negative impact on wages.

[Thoreau424]

Here's a blog from one transplant. The comments are especially geared towards Fort Collins:
http://www.city-data.com/blogs/blog4...-colorado.html

Feel free to send me a message directly for more specifics.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

Here's a blog from one transplant. The comments are especially geared towards Fort Collins:
http://www.city-data.com/blogs/blog4...-colorado.html

Feel free to send me a message directly for more specifics.

Geez, that is very negative and not what I have heard from others at all. I thought the skinny people thing was more in Boulder. Also, from what I have read and those I have talked to, people are very nice there and a lot of happy people.

I suspect if you are a negative type of person, it would be just negative no matter where you live.

[Thoreau424]

Originally Posted by gg

Geez, that is very negative and not what I have heard from others at all. Also, from what I have read and those I have talked to, people are very nice there and a lot of happy people. I suspect if you are a negative type of person, it would be just negative no matter where you live.

You can come to those conclusions if you want, but I'm just laying out what I've seen and encountered. I have no reason for unnecessary negativity or criticality. I had strong hopes when I moved here, and expected that everything would be great. No one on this forum shared any of the potential issues with this area. I have an obligation to balance the scales, share what isn't being discussed, and fill in the gaps. Take or leave the comments, but don't gripe about information that might help others.

[EastwardBound]

Originally Posted by Lotsoflove99

My husbands job might be moving us to the Fort Collins area. I naturally have some questions about the area. I would love to hear from people who currently live there or used to live there.

1. What is the weather like? Are the winters very long?
2. Are there a lot of dreary/grey skies?
3. Is the traffic bad?
4. What are the safest areas to live in?
5. Do people have problems with allergies? (mine are awful here in Florida)

1. Depends on where you’re coming from. The first frost is around Sept 15 and last frost May 15, so while long, they are mild and very tolerable. Because of the low humidity, lack of moisture and blue skies, it’s very easy to spend all winter outside enjoying activities. Twenty degrees and blue skies is very comfortable to do yard work, walk/hike, etc. if you’re layered properly. We typically get a handful of snows, which then melt off within a few days and 2 or 3 very cold snaps that last a few days.
2. No, see 1.
3. Very easy traffic, except I-25 getting to and fro Denver, which is a nightmare all the time.
4. The entire area is safe. Bigger question is whether you want to be in Old Town with older homes and mature trees or a newer, suburban type area.
5. No idea about allergies.

[fgl2929]

1. What is the weather like? Are the winters very long?
2. Are there a lot of dreary/grey skies?
3. Is the traffic bad?
4. What are the safest areas to live in?
5. Do people have problems with allergies? (mine are awful here in Florida)[/quote]


1. Winters seem shorter every year. High desert climate cool days cold night "occasional" snow that is melted in no time.
2. NO, I think they brag 320 days of sunshine here
3. For those that have answered so far I just LOL. Traffic is Terrible here. College goes thru the entire city. It is Always congested on the south end and the closer to old town you get he Worse it gets. I-25 to Denver is as bad as driving LA rush hour, been there done that 2 years. And it is like that 7 days a week 18 hours a day. This area has Far outgrown its infrastructure !
4.Most is safe. I just would not want to live anywhere near campus. Older showing it's age definitely and just seems dirty. There are subdivisions on every plot of ground they can find now. Newer are south end but it is VERY Expensive to buy or rent here now. 3br 2 bath 1500 sq ft cookie cutter no yard to speak of $450,000. Those same specs rent for 2200/month.
5. I have allergies but only have rare troubles in early spring,not extreme at all.