Bend vs Wenatchee vs Fort Collins

[TCHP]

I've got a niece that goes to school in Bend, a nephew that went to school in Wenatchee and my daughter goes to school in Fort Collins so I've had chance to visit all three, but have never lived in any of them.

Bend and Wenatchee feel much more isolated than Ft Collins. The nearly 3 hours drive from either to major cities through significant mountains or forest adds to this feeling. Ft Collins is only an hour away from Denver. Additionally the area around Ft Collins is moderate to rural density to Denver. Bend and Wenatchee are surrounded by miles and miles of very rural farm country. This isolation will drive them to offer more concentration of services in Bend and Wenatchee than might be found in Ft Collins but that also means there may not be a lot to find outside of the towns.

School wise Bend has University of Oregon and Ft Collins has Colorado State, both sizable institutions. Bend is an extension university from the core college in Corvalis while CSU is a land grant college. Wenetchee has the Wenatchee Valley College, a much smaller, liberal arts and vocational school compared to the other two. All three are more liberal leaning towns surrounded by a sea of red voters that view the towns and students with some contempt, although Wenatchee is probably the more centrist of the three.

Flagstaff does offer a couple of private colleges and a couple of public colleges and is right off a major interstate. It still has an isolated feeling with a 2 hour drive to Phoenix, several Native reservations and the Grand Canyon nearby.

Any of them are at risk for signficant wild fires and as pointed out, Ft Collins had a couple of them last year.

[JayZ750]

Originally Posted by Phil P

Absolutely. Once an areas been burned with a crown fire, it's basically unusable. Trails are shut down due to erosion and danger of falling burn trees in addition to it not being scenic. It takes about 10 years to become usable again. And Ft. Collins just had 2 huge wildfires in the mountains close to the city. Not that this disqualifies it from the table, it's just something to be aware of.

A fire isn't going to get Ft. Collins, they are stopped as soon as the forest runs out.

I gotcha. Yeah, we were in Estes Park last October when the fire came real close to the town. I got some amazing pictures... but yeah not cool and scary it was so close, but i gotcha on it not reach Ft. Collins.

You got any towns you like a lot like Fort Collins either in Denver or elsewhere?

[509]

Originally Posted by Activefam

Looking for a more layed back outdoor town to relocate. Wanting close access to outdoors; hiking, mountain biking, fishing, skiing, trails thru town, and obviously feel safe is ideal. 4 seasons would be great. Work remotely, but want home purchase to be a good investment in a healthy economy. A bit more conservative but mostly just wanting an friendly community. Population of around 80-200k is kinda the good medium for not too small and not too big. Have teens so good schools and proximity to college is a bonus (does not need to be big University). Foodie town is always a plus!
Love Bend, super friendly, but lacked a few amenities and is a bit pricey and most housing close together for not being sure.
Colorado has everything but wasn’t crazy about any Denver suburbs, and would prefer skiing closer.
Looking at a few central Washington towns; West Richland, East Wenatchee, also around Maple Valley on the other side of Cascades.

I have lived in Wenatchee for 35 years and traveled to Bend on business trips frequently. Have friends that lived in Ft. Collins.

All three towns at one time time were great places to live. All three have been flooded by rich urban refugees over the past 30 years. They are all on a rapid downhill slide in the quality of life they offer.

For outdoor activities. Bend, Wenatchee, Ft. Collins in that order. Both the Deschutes and Wenatchee National Forests get slammed EVERY weekend ALL YEAR LONG by folks from Portland and Seattle. Ft Collins is more of a drive to the mountains and plains. You won't be alone on the trails or lakes.

For technology infrastructure. Wenatchee, Bend, and I don't know about Ft. Collins. Wenatchee has had fiber optics layed in the community since the turn of the century. Head and shoulders above the technology infrastructure even in urban areas.

Conservative and friendly community. Ft. Collins, Bend, Wenatchee in that order. Wenatchee is not conservative or friendly. It is part of the PNW and one of the most unfriendly parts of the nation. Bend is liberal politically. Wenatchee is politically conservative, but it is not called the Peoples Republic of Chelan County for nothing. For example, I get my electricity, water, sewer, cable TV, internet, and phone service from the County. I lived in Berkeley, where they talk about socialism. Chelan County lives it, but voted for Trump and Republican since 1964. Socialism might work if Republicans ran it!!!

Good Schools: Ft. Collins, Wenatchee, and Bend. Oregon has some of the worst schools in the country ranking down there with Mississippi and California. Oregon schools are awful. Washington state and Wenatchee are a little better, but still pretty bad. Education is Washington state is totally controlled by the teachers unions. They get paid well, but the kids don't learn much. Ft. Collins for good schools.

Foodie town. Uh, do you mean restaurants or food?? Bend, Ft. Collins, Wenatchee for in that order for restaurants. For food....Wenatchee, no contest. It is a winery, orchard, wheat and everything else grown in the vicinity. Great fruits, great wines, and everything else. If you cook your own food, instead of buying meals you want to live in Wenatchee.

Housing. They are all really expensive. At this point, Bend and Wenatchee are about the same. The orchards make money, so housing supply is very limited in Wenatchee. Crowded housing. Really not enough land, so instead of single family housing there are lots and lots of apartments are being built in the valley. The new houses are being built with environmental restrictions so your looking out your window at your neighbors window even with high end housing.

Awful traffic. No contest. Wenatchee, Bend, Ft. Collins. Wenatchee is approaching grid lock and there is NO WAY to fix it. Bend has lots of traffic, but they have more flexibility in fixing the traffic problem. Don't know about Ft. Collins on traffic.

Fire and smoke. Best is Ft. Collins, next Bend and then Wenatchee. I worked wildland fire for 35 years, there were TWO places on your red card that got you instant credibility with any firefighter. Southern California and Wenatchee. Bend can have some pretty bad wildfires, but they are much more rare than Wenatchee. You can be sure to be under evacuation orders almost every year if you live on the outskirts of Wenatchee. In 20 years, I have had fires burn within 50 feet of my house three times. Evacuation orders every other year.

The good news is that Chelan County is a great place to be for disasters. They really know how to manage them!!! Lots of real practice.

My choice?? At one time all three towns were on my very short list on places to live.

Today....I would keep looking. The future is grim when it comes to quality of life in these towns. Of course, if your coming from a hell hole like Seattle, Portland, or California they will look good at the initial move into town.

If you MUST pick one of the three....reading your post between the lines. I would do Ft. Collins, Bend, Wenatchee.