Info for Bellvue/surrounding areas please. (Fort Collins, Estes Park: homes, college, pros and cons)

[Headed4Mountains]

Hi,

We are moving from Chicago to Colorado. After looking around we really like the Bellvue area. We are in our mid 40's, last kid left for college. Entertainment proximity does not matter to us at all, we are homebodies. We did the suburbia thing while raising the kids and we want out. We want at least 10 acres in the mountains. Water would be a plus.

My questions are the following:

1. Health care. My husband was in a man vs semi situation a few years ago and lost. He has alot of long-term issues associated with this including a pain pump implant. Is there a good hospital in that area.

2. We both work from home offices. High speed internet is important. Is this an issue in that specific area.

3. Is there another area that would meet our needs that we have overlooked?

4. ANY pros or cons that anyone can add would be greatly appreciated at this point. We are very excited about this move (it is what we have always wanted) but we don't want to miss some of the negatives in all of our excitement.

Thanks so much in advance!

[Mike Weber]

Bellvue is a small community located just outside Fort Collins, but there is a large geographic area that is served by the Bellvue post office, and therefore has Bellvue addresses. Properties with Bellvue addresses may be as close as a couple of miles from the Fort Collins city limits to as far away as the upper Poudre Canyon, roughly 40+ miles on a twisty mountain road. Both the Poudre Canyon and Rist Canyon are considered Bellvue, as is the Stove Prairie area.

Access to properties in this area varies greatly, from plowed highways and town streets to seasonal and 4-wheel drive only roads.

1. Given the above information, you may want to look closely at the properties and homes you are considering, and their proximity to health care. There is a good hospital in Fort Collins. It will be roughly 20 - 30 minutes from the closest Bellvue properties, and as far as 90 minutes (or more in foul weather) from some more remote Bellvue properties.

2. Some Bellvue properties nearer to Fort Collins have access to high speed internet, but in other areas you may be limited to Sky Beam or some other satellite service, as long as you have line of sight and are not obstructed by trees or a mountain.

3. Some other areas you may wish to consider include Lyons, Estes Park, Drake, Livermore, Masonville, and Red Feather Lakes. These are in similar proximity to health care and have similar pros and cons as Bellvue.

4. I lived nearly 7 years in the mountain at an elevation of 9300' and found some pros and cons.
Pros:

• Living in the mountains is beautiful.
• The summers are cooler than on the plains and life is peaceful.
• Northern Colorado is friendly.
• Colorado property taxes are reasonable.

Cons:

• Higher elevation will mean colder winters and higher utility bills.
• Winter access is also sometimes difficult. Properties with water (lakes, stream, pond, etc) will generally be more expensive and you will need to see if you can use the water or if it belongs to someone else and is merely traveling across your property.
• Properties with water seldom have expansive and distant views, and properties with expansive views seldom have bodies of water.
• There is significant pine beetle damage to trees in the Colorado forest, and it is spreading. Therefore, any trees on your property may be affected and may need to be removed. This means a forested property may look very different in a few years.
• Forest fire is another consideration. You will want to make sure you have cleared plenty of defensible space around the home. Look up news stories on forest fires in Colorado in the past month to see the potential.
• Wildlife encounters are common. You will want to keep small pets indoors because mountain lions are in the area. Rattlesnakes are common in the front range mountains. You will also need to take care to keep garbage inside so as to not attract bears. Be careful on the roads to keep from running into deer and elk, and moose in some areas. We hit a deer last spring and did nearly $7,000 damage to my wife's car.
• Well and septic systems. If you are building, consider these expenses. You will want to look into having a soils test to see how easy it will be to install well and septic, and also see how deep neighboring wells are to estimate cost.

Please feel free to post if you have further questions.

Good luck with your move!
Mike