Greeley / Windsor / Loveland / Longmont / Broomfield - are these rough areas? (Denver: low income, high crime)

[Monkey10]

Hi,

I'm wanting to know weather or not these towns / cities are rough?

Reason I ask is that if I ever move to Fort Collins or drive to Denver and perhaps pop over to see surrounding towns id like to know where I should avoid?

I heard Loveland is meant to be really nice and Greeley the opposite.

Thank you

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Monkey10

Hi,

I'm wanting to know weather or not these towns / cities are rough?

Reason I ask is that if I ever move to Fort Collins or drive to Denver and perhaps pop over to see surrounding towns id like to know where I should avoid?

I heard Loveland is meant to be really nice and Greeley the opposite.

Thank you

LOL. All of these cities meet the definition of "not rough". Even Greeley.

Greeley is more working-class than the rest of them, but it is most def far from rough.

[Monkey10]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

LOL. All of these cities meet the definition of "not rough". Even Greeley.

Greeley is more working-class than the rest of them, but it is most def far from rough.

Hi,

How come on Wiki and forums that city is getting a bad reputation for gangland culture and high crime?

[jesusitadelnorte]

I visit Greeley about twice a year. My cousin lives there and trust me, it's not rough. It's home to UNC and draws a lot of students from rural CO, NE and KS. It does have a greater Hispanic population than say Loveland. Greeley has a lot of agriculture jobs which draw immigrants from Mexico and beyond. My uncle immigrated from Chihuahua to CO to work at Monfort in the 70s so this is nothing new. Unfortunately, some people equate a high number of Hispanics with gang activity. That's not to say Greeley doesn't have active gangs--most mid size and large cities do. However, I don't think that Greeley, or any of the places on your list, should be avoided due to safety concerns.

[Katarina Witt]

Broomfield is more "north metro" (Denver) than northern Colorado. Just curious how it got on your list. I would not call it "rough", either, though it does have some lower-income areas, also some very high income parts. Not to say that low income equates to "rough", either.

[Monkey10]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Broomfield is more "north metro" (Denver) than northern Colorado. Just curious how it got on your list. I would not call it "rough", either, though it does have some lower-income areas, also some very high income parts. Not to say that low income equates to "rough", either.

It was one of the larger towns that's why it was on my list so that if I take trips through to Denver id like to stop by some towns and villages on the way.

[feanix]

Originally Posted by Monkey10

Hi,

I'm wanting to know weather or not these towns / cities are rough?

Reason I ask is that if I ever move to Fort Collins or drive to Denver and perhaps pop over to see surrounding towns id like to know where I should avoid?

I heard Loveland is meant to be really nice and Greeley the opposite.

Thank you

Being semi-new to the area (I live in Ft. Collins), I felt comfortable driving around in Windsor, Loveland, and Longmont. I did not feel comfortable driving around parts of Greeley, but I would say the majority of Greeley did not bother me. I was told the further East I went into the Greeley the more I would start to feel uncomfortable and I found that to be true, in my experience. We drove through Greeley at night, by the way.

"Rough" is relative to where you are coming from in respects to describing Greeley. If you are coming from a Southern Ca. neighborhod riddled with gang activity Greeley won't come across as rough. If you are coming from a primarily upper class neighborhood with little exposure to gang activity, yes, you will find Greeley rough. The area I came from was a mixture of problems and hard working people and Greeley reminded me of that area. (I moved because I got sick of being the hard working family stuck living with hoodlums.) While I doubt I'd have much reason to drive to Greeley, as it's just not a convenient trip for the most part, I was not put off to such a degree that I would avoid it. In fact, I rather enjoyed my trip through Greeley, though I won't be moving there any time soon.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Monkey10

Hi,

How come on Wiki and forums that city is getting a bad reputation for gangland culture and high crime?

Beats me, but I never felt unsafe there. It's kind of quaint in a way.

[tfox]

Greeley has never been a high-income town. The presence of meat-packing and feedlots generate smells that virtually guarantee that the upper classes will stay far away. What's more, on this very forum there's plenty of people who disliked Loveland and Fort Collins because of agricultural and feedlot smells emanating from Greeley (I can't say I ever noticed this in Fort Collins but did a couple times on the far eastern end of Loveland -- but maybe my nose isn't sensitive enough).

So, that leaves in Greeley a collection of students, farmers, meat packing plant workers, and people looking for low-cost housing to commute to other places. Yes, many of the above are Hispanic, though by no means all. Some of them are involved in gangs and crime, but I wouldn't say an abnormal share.

It is true that Greeley has acquired a bit of a reputation of late for gangs and crime in recent years -- that's fairly new -- back in the 80s and 90s it was more for being kind of all cows and ag. I'm not sure that perception matches realtiy but sometimes perception does shape reality.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by tfox

I'm not sure that perception matches realtiy but sometimes perception does shape reality.

Sad but true. Great post BTW.

On my several voyages to Greeley, I've never smelled anything, and I've never seen evidence of gangs. I see a working-class town with pretty old houses and a neat looking college. And that chicken dancing.

But then again, my personal perspective is as someone who originally comes from a place that is full of Hispanics, funny smells, and gangs. So maybe I'm immune.

But, I'd totally live in Greeley.