Curious about Colorado (loveland area) (Denver, Colorado Springs: job, high school, college)

[mamaof3]

My DH might be job applying for a job in Greeley. We are from Long Island, NY and are looking for a change of lifestyle. We have 3 small boys and want them to have a good school district and be close to shopping and outdoor activities. I am alittle nervous about people saying that there is a negative attitude towards newcomers. However, being from the NYC area I think we could handle it. Other people were saying the drivers there are agressive!! Have they ever been on the LIE?? How far of a drive is it from Greeley to Loveland or south Fort Collins??? I was also reading about the political parties out there. We are fairly liberal. Anyone know how much teachers make in Colorado?? I heard it wasn't the greatest. I have over 10 years experience teaching high school Spanish. Anyway, I know I threw a lot of questions out there..... hope someone can help us!!! Thanks.

[Micktooth]

Welcome, you will love CO. My family and I moved to Louisville, just south of Boulder last year from New Orleans. I grew up on Long Island and went to school in MI and TX. I have never seen a nicer community in my life. There might be some negative attitudes, but I've yet to see it. We have 2 kids 13 and 11 and they were accepted readily into their new schools. My daughter is in special ed and we love the programs she is in. My 13 yo son has made many friends and he says the kids are very friendly here. We opted for the Boulder Valley School district and we are very happy with it. As far as the drivers, you will always find some crazies around a big city, but compared to NY, I think you will find it quite calm. The Boulder area is very liberal, in fact some people like to call it the "People's Republic of Boulder". I don't know specifics about the Greely-Loveland area but I know that Ft Collins was rated one of the top places to live in the country recently. There is a lot of development in the area and I'm sure people will give you more specific info. As far as teaching positions, try to contact the individual school districts and I'm sure they can give you some info. Remember, people like to post more negative than positive stuff online. Don't let any of that deter you. You will absolutely love Colorado.

[tfox]

Commute from South Fort Collins to Greeley I'd say about 40 minutes. Loveland to Greeley about 30 minutes. Maybe a little less in both cases if you live right off of I-25. There's luckily not all that much traffic (at least the last time I checked), so at least it's not a very frustrating drive though it is rather long.

Northern Colorado you'll find more conservative than you're probably used to, but there is a balance of political opinion there. It's not nearly as liberal as Boulder, but not as conservative as, say, Colorado Springs or the southern Denver suburbs either. Fort Collins proper is probably a little bit more progressive than the surrounding areas, but I think coming from the northeast I think you'd still find Fort Collins and all of Northern Colorado conservative.

When I lived in Fort Collins, I knew a lot of teachers who complained that it was extremely difficult to get a position in the Fort Collins (Poudre R-1) school district and some were forced to take positions in neighboring districts. That may turn out to be difficult, but my info is a bit out of date since I left Northern Colorado several years ago.

I don't think people are really all that unwelcoming to newcomers here. I think sometimes people like to complain about "Californians" and "Texans" (very convenient -- we get to blame all our problems on them!), but it's mostly jokingly and I think few if any have animosity against any individual newcomer in particular.

[Rumblebelly]

We know a couple from back east (she's from Brookyln and he's from Jersey) and I haven't heard anything from them in regards to people not welcoming them. Their accents are pretty thick, I think people here find that charming.

They like it here a lot. Even their families followed here!

[ladyfish]

I would definitely say have a job before moving. It's a very difficult job market up in that area. I know -- we had to move away because of it. I think that they're all relatively liberal cities, esp. Fort Collins with the college there. Greeley has a college too, but I believe it is somewhat more of a "cow town." There is tons of development in all areas. You may want to check out the new Centerra development in Loveland (closest you'll get in Loveland to the highway to Greeley).