Fort Collins versus Cheyenne (Denver, Aurora: real estate, houses, job)

[Electrophile]

Hi all! I'm a second year vet student and when I graduate in a couple years, I'm interested in moving back out west (I lived in Aurora when I was in middle school and have wanted to go back since I've been in Missouri way too long!). At first I wanted to go to Fort Collins because of the vet school, which makes certain things a lot easier as a practitioner, especially if I decide to do a residency there. But the price of living just 40 miles north in Wyoming seems a lot cheaper.

I know it's absolutely beautiful (and windy!) in both places, but is there much else difference? How is finding houses (with a bit of land for some horses) south of or around Cheyenne, but north of Fort Collins? How's the job market for my husband (he does project management/customer service/advertising, etc)? I don't have much experience with Cheyenne (I visited there once, I think, when I was about 13), but my father had to go up there occasionally for work when he worked for the Union Pacific. So any feedback on Fort Collins vs Cheyenne would be most helpful!

PS...I'd be willing to give away free time as a vet if someone wants to look after my future horses!

[Tom Emmerling]

There is a huge difference between Cheyenne and Fort Collins. First of all Cheyenne gets a lot more wind. This in return makes the drive in the winter along I25 North of Wellington very dangerous. My wife volunteered in Wellington for the Fire Department and if there was even a little bit of snow they were going out on car accidents up north. The cost of living there is much cheaper however.

I am not sure how much you are wanting to spend on a home but if you go northeast of Wellington the prices will be cheaper than in Fort Collins. You are still going to pay a fairly good price for land though. I am sure you would not have a problem finding someone to take care of your future horses for vet services. Vets are very pricey in this area. As far as your husband I am not familiar with his line of work in our area. Hope this helps.

[jazzlover]

Most would consider Fort Collins' climate preferable to Cheyenne (warmer and less wind). Fort Collins is basically an extension of the sprawled mess of the Front Range, Cheyenne is much smaller and more "small-town." Real estate is still overpriced in both places, but I think Cheyenne, overall, is more reasonable--especially for acreage. I lived in the Cheyenne area for several years and loved it--except for that wind.

I wasn't clear from your post--are you planning to practice eventually as a veterinarian in Colorado or Wyoming? I have several friends who are practicing vets around Colorado and Wyoming. I think all of them would discourage you from opening a practice, especially in Colorado. There is basically a glut of vets in Colorado--I would suspect more so around Fort Collins because of the vet school at CSU. At lot of vets who graduate from there want to stay in the area.

A vet I use in rural Colorado makes for a good example. He started out nearly 30 years ago essentially as a large animal vet. At that time, about 80% of his practice was large animals, about 20% small animals. Today, that percentage is reversed. In that time, the number of practicing vets in this particular county has probably quadrupled--the population hasn't even come close to growing anything like that. This fellow used to be backed up on appointments for up to two weeks (excepting emergencies) most of the time. Now, I can usually get an appointment within a day. He's not busy, and neither are most of his competitors. He told me that he doubted that a vet starting out could make it with the higher start-up costs of a business now, and the increased competition. He also said the large-animal portion of his practice was largely unprofitable. He only maintains that portion of it for his long-time farm and ranch clients.

The most successful of the about half-dozen vets I know is one in Cheyenne who specializes only in cats. The most talented vet I know quit his practice several years ago and went to work as a meat inspector for USDA, after getting burned out with constant stress of the business end of his vet work.

I would suggest that you talk to some practicing vets around Colorado and Wyoming before you make your decision to relocate.

[Electrophile]

Thanks Tom and jazzlover! We'd probably live just outside of Cheyenne. The older I get, the more I do NOT want to live in sprawl. I lived in Aurora outside of Denver when I was younger and I remember the sprawl in the mid 1990s. I'm not wanting to start my own practice for a while. I want to specialize in holistic nutrition (and behavior, though I don't think I'll pursue a separate residency for it), so I'll need to be nearby a vet school anyways to do a residency after I do private practice for a few years.

A vet I use in rural Colorado makes for a good example. He started out nearly 30 years ago essentially as a large animal vet. At that time, about 80% of his practice was large animals, about 20% small animals. Today, that percentage is reversed. In that time, the number of practicing vets in this particular county has probably quadrupled--the population hasn't even come close to growing anything like that. This fellow used to be backed up on appointments for up to two weeks (excepting emergencies) most of the time. Now, I can usually get an appointment within a day. He's not busy, and neither are most of his competitors. He told me that he doubted that a vet starting out could make it with the higher start-up costs of a business now, and the increased competition. He also said the large-animal portion of his practice was largely unprofitable. He only maintains that portion of it for his long-time farm and ranch clients.

That is actually how it is all over the country. As more and more small family farms are going under, the dedicated large animal vets are now more likely to work for large dairy or feedlot operations, which is something I want no part of as I have ethical objections to both in terms of animal welfare and its effects on the small family farm and local agriculture. If someone had a small hobby farm or family farm, I wouldn't mind doing routine procedures for them. In fact, I'd like to do a little bit of mixed practice work for variety, but 80-90% would be small animal/exotic and do nutrition and behavior consulting. I actually really enjoy the business side of things and my husband may want to be my office manager once I get board certified and I can actually start my own practice. He'd also like to get his MBA eventually, so perhaps CSU would be an option.