Boulder vs. Fort Collins (Denver, Windsor: best cities, insurance, houses)

[LivinInJersey]

I've looked through the pages and didnt see a post comparing these 2 specific places, so I figured I'd be the first.

I'm interested in moving to either of these areas next summer, and just wondering which would be better. I'm going to be 25 next year, and have literally spent the past year and a half saving up for an eventual move. I had planned all along to finally be able to get out of my parents house here in Jersey, I just wasn't sure where I was going.

I'm planning on moving out without a job for the obvious long distance search thing, but I'll have plenty of financing available to me. I plan on doing the whole roomates.com thing, so housing price will not be a factor. I also could care less about politics around town.

I was also interested in these 2 towns because of the general higher standard of living compared to the Denver area, but also because I plan on going back to school to get my MBA in a few years.

I graduated from Florida State in 2004 with a degree in Marketing, and have spent the past few years as an underwriting assistant. As such, I pretty much prepared to take a job in any business related field (finance, insurance, banking, marketing/advertising, etc).

Taking these things into consideration, which of these cities would be better? I've done the research on the weather, outdoor activities and such, and in those areas the 2 cities and surrounding areas seem very similar.

Hopefully I can get some comparisons on FTC and its surrounding cities, as well as Boulder and its surrounding cities.....I'm not looking to make the 35 mile commute to Denver though.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jumpshooter]

Boulder is more scenic and tends to have more to do, especially because of its proximity to denver and the mountains (it lies right up against them). Fort collins traffic is terrible. Fort collins isn't bad but isn't surronded by much except loveland which is a fair sized city. Boulder has a lot more cities surrounding it. Both are nice cities though but Boulder's has a few better qualities than FC.

[hoosierteacher]

It looks like from pictures that Boulder has nicer views but seems real expensive. If you had the choice where would you live? Ft. Collins looks (from pictures) real flat with some moutains off in the distance. What are the views like in Colorado springs?

What are some smaller towns close to the mountains in the same area as those cities that are smaller that might be worth looking at? (5,000-20,000 pop.)

[Snowbird]

Ft. Collins has been voted one of the best cities to live in the country recently. I lived in Boulder for 12 years (not now, I live in Utah) and have visited Ft. Collins quite a bit. I would say Ft. Collins wins hands down. The town is getting to be very updated and diverse. Good brewpubs (if that's what you like), good restaurants, very close to lots of outdoor activities, less expensive homes and a more down to earth feel. Boulder is beautiful but crowded and expensive. They are both college towns, but Ft. Collins seems more easy going, less pretentious. Just my opinion.

[duster1979]

I'd agree with Snowbird; Boulder is in a nicer geographical setting, but Ft. Collins wins on pretty much every other point in my opinion.

As far as smaller cities goes, there really aren't many in that part of the country, unless you count outlying suburbs of Denver. Windsor is a very nice town of about 10,000 and growing; I used to really like Berthoud, but I haven't been there since the population boomed (it's around 5000 residents now). Both of those towns are out on the plains, but not far from the mountains.

[hoosierteacher]

All I want is a nice mountain view. That's what I thought about Boulder, looked nice but crowded and expensive. Were moving to Colorado to find some peace. We've had a lot of stress in our lives the last 4 or 5 years (I know it sounds crazy because were so young and w/out any kids, yet) and we are looking forward to the views and the outdoors. Indiana is beautiful, especially this time of year but I look forward to mountain bike trails, rock climbing, hiking, backcountry camping, skiing, things you have to look really hard for around here.

Ft. Collins seems to be the place I'm looking for. Is it hard to find homes on the outskirts of town with a few acres? I'd like to have something a little secluded, woodded.

[hoosierteacher]

Almost forgot! Thanks for your replies!

[BlueWillowPlate]

FWIW
I agree with Snowbird and Duster.

[samsavenger]

I live in fort collins and work in boulder. (yes it's a pain... they're about 75 mins away from one another).

Boulder is much more expensive, and although it has less people, it seems a hell of a lot more crowded. It's impossible to park in downtown boulder (pearl st or the hill), and people seem to think it's ok to casually walk in front of your car while you're going 40mph. In Boulder you're competing for space with 90,000 residents, 30,000 students and about 100,000 people "just passing through and seeing the sights", whereas in FC, it's just 120,000 residents + 20,000 students, and over a much larger area with much better facilities to deal with it.

Traffic in both towns is honestly pretty comparable when it comes down to it, maybe boulder is a bit worse... It's just that boulder is much more centralized than the fort - so it seems quicker to get around... When you live in fort collins for a while, you'll start to figure out the fastest ways to get around town and the traffic isn't an issue anymore... The main problem is the lights are timed badly going east/west - just don't use S. College as your main commuting route, and try to avoid the trains that come through the middle of town every so often, and you're a-ok. You'll be hard pressed to find a regular commute within fort collins to be over 15 mins including traffic.

In terms of looks, Boulder is much more pleasing to the eye. The architecture is nicer, the urban planning is better, and the mountains are beautiful. Fort Collins has nothing too spectacular in the way of views, and some parts of town (particularly south) are riddled with strip malls and cookie cutter houses. Old town fort collins is beautiful though.

In terms of culture, Fort Collins is more about the pub scene, it's laid back, fun and easy-going... It's a comfortable place and nobody has a chip on their shoulder about anything. There are lots of arty type shops downtown, we have a couple of hookah bars, lots of head shops, lots of funky little coffee shops, an arthouse cinema, a couple of places for bands to play, etc. It's definitely a progressive/liberal type place but people are generally non-partisan and don't care all that much about politics.

Boulder on the other hand is extremely liberal. It's the kind of place where you'll see people with 'save the earth' bumper stickers on their V8 ford expedition SUV's going through the mcdonalds drive-thru. There's a strong social niche in boulder that some people call 'trustafarians' or 'corporate hippies' that this seems almost exclusive to. Boulder has quite a large homeless population and it's pretty common to be panhandled (asked for money), which is something I've never seen the homeless people in FC do before (if you're lucky enough to see them at all). People seem to talk about 'racial diversity' and 'multiculturalism' in Boulder a lot more than anywhere else I've been, but I've noticed it's very rare to see people from other races/cultures in Boulder - probably because the ridiculous housing prices make it unpractical for anyone but young, white, upwardly mobile, cell phone bearing individuals to move there. Another thing you'll notice about boulder is that it's IMPOSSIBLE to get a table in any decent food distributing business from about noon to 2pm. That's if you can get a parking spot to begin with.

Fort Collins is really another normal town. It's a real place, it has a real economy and real people living in it. It's also doing pretty well for itself and its extremely well balanced for a small american city in all ways. It evolved from an agricultural settlement into a solid, prospering city that works very well.

Boulder, on the other hand, was the site of a gold prospecting settlement. People first went there because of the promise of instant fortune. That mentality has carried through today, except now people just go to Boulder in an attempt to instantly escape the the reality of their lives. You can be the judge of whether it works or not, or whether it's healthy.

[Colomonter]

I agree will cil, Snowbird, Duster, and Samsavenger nailed the comparison right on the head.