Considering a move to Ft. Collins

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by inkitnow

My husband and I are thinking about moving to either of these two towns. ...We want a small home (under $300K) with a view of mtns or open space and not too far from town. I am retired; my husband will telecommute.

Having lived in both, I prefer Loveland 'hands-Down' if you are close to retirement. Ft Collins has more going on, but it is nicer to visit than to live (so is Estes Park).

Try to get within walking distance of Lake Loveland, come visit for this event, tho it is a bit crowed that weekend.
Loveland High Plains Arts Council
The balloon fest is a nice time to visit and look around.
Engaging Loveland - Making Our Community a Better Place

It is a nice community for retirees, plenty of walking / swimming venues. I would avoid east Eisenhower (SR 34) as it has traffic as bad as Ft Collins (one main drag handling commerce / commuters / soccer moms. )

If in Ft Collins, try to get near a park.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by xeric

Fort Collins isn't a true desert (like Grand Junction) but it's pretty close (15" average precip. per year which is too dry for natural tree growth). I will admit, however, that it's been annoyingly wet lately.

Funny to see my thread revamped, as it's been well over 2 years since I posted this question. We left Grand Junction and moved to Bend, OR. However, I've been thinking a lot again about Fort Collins.

We have lived in Fort Collins before during our college years, so I'm well aware of the weather. I miss Colorado weather! It's been a very long, cold, wet spring here in Central Oregon (I was told by many the weather was very similar to CO-not). It's made me reconsider our move and head back home to Colorado. This won't happen this year, but I still check these boards frequently to see what's going on in N. Colorado.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Having lived in both, I prefer Loveland 'hands-Down' if you are close to retirement. Ft Collins has more going on, but it is nicer to visit than to live (so is Estes Park).

Try to get within walking distance of Lake Loveland, come visit for this event, tho it is a bit crowed that weekend.
Loveland High Plains Arts Council
The balloon fest is a nice time to visit and look around.
Engaging Loveland - Making Our Community a Better Place

It is a nice community for retirees, plenty of walking / swimming venues. I would avoid east Eisenhower (SR 34) as it has traffic as bad as Ft Collins (one main drag handling commerce / commuters / soccer moms. )

If in Ft Collins, try to get near a park.

I don't know that bad and traffic belong in the same sentence regarding Fort Collins. I guess bad is relative.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by delta07

Funny to see my thread revamped, as it's been well over 2 years since I posted this question. We left Grand Junction and moved to Bend, OR. However, I've been thinking a lot again about Fort Collins.

We have lived in Fort Collins before during our college years, so I'm well aware of the weather. I miss Colorado weather! It's been a very long, cold, wet spring here in Central Oregon (I was told by many the weather was very similar to CO-not). It's made me reconsider our move and head back home to Colorado. This won't happen this year, but I still check these boards frequently to see what's going on in N. Colorado.

Have you been through a Bend, OR summer yet ? Unlike Colorado, summer is the dry season in the Pacific Northwest. Looks like Bend, OR is cooler in the summer than Fort Collins, though. 46 is a pretty cold average low for July. The average July low is 55 in Fort Collins.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by Davros

Have you been through a Bend, OR summer yet ? Unlike Colorado, summer is the dry season in the Pacific Northwest. Looks like Bend, OR is cooler in the summer than Fort Collins, though. 46 is a pretty cold average low for July. The average July low is 55 in Fort Collins.

Yup, moved to Bend in July of 2008. I absolutely love the summers here. It's just the long winters/springs that are making it hard. It is cooler than Fort Collins on average, especially the night time temps. I miss those Colorado thunderstorms too! We rarely get a nice one here.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Davros

I don't know that bad and traffic belong in the same sentence regarding Fort Collins. I guess bad is relative.

Yeah, I prefer to live in a county that has NO stoplights. One trip down College Ave in Ft Collins is about a 5 yr dose for me. FC was OK when there were ways to skirt the jams, but lately (last 10 yrs) it has been very painful to negotiate. Our many friends who drive it (FC traffic) everyday (several times), really hate it, and have been in several rear-end multi-car collisions.

I would say FC traffic is good for Chiropractors and Auto Body shops.

My last FC job required me to traverse FC from N-S everyday. Even then it took 15 min, now it can take 30+min during high traffic periods. Soccer moms in SUV's scare me when worrying about a rear end collision in my VW Rabbit. It is tough to replace a 30 yr old 50 mpg car that insurance companies value very low. (have had 3 claims in last 3 yrs from cell phone talking SUV soccer moms). They don't stop too well on wet pavement.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Yeah, I prefer to live in a county that has NO stoplights. One trip down College Ave in Ft Collins is about a 5 yr dose for me. FC was OK when there were ways to skirt the jams, but lately (last 10 yrs) it has been very painful to negotiate. Our many friends who drive it (FC traffic) everyday (several times), really hate it, and have been in several rear-end multi-car collisions.

I would say FC traffic is good for Chiropractors and Auto Body shops.

My last FC job required me to traverse FC from N-S everyday. Even then it took 15 min, now it can take 30+min during high traffic periods. Soccer moms in SUV's scare me when worrying about a rear end collision in my VW Rabbit. It is tough to replace a 30 yr old 50 mpg car that insurance companies value very low. (have had 3 claims in last 3 yrs from cell phone talking SUV soccer moms). They don't stop too well on wet pavement.

This is what scares me a bit about possibly moving back to FC one day. I remember the traffic being bad (yes, it's all relative to where your coming from) when I left in 1999. I'm sure it's a lot worse these days. But, then again, you adapt. 15 minutes isn't really unbearable to me. An hour, on the other hand, would get old real quick!

[JukieF]

I lived in FC from 1985 until 1994, when I moved first to Portland, Oregon, then to Switzerland, and then a year in Rockland County, NY. I moved back in 2000. I was shocked at how much growth there had been in those seven years. When our realtor was driving us around to look at houses, sometimes I couldn't even tell where I was! :-) We bought a house on the southwest side of town, which had changed the least. The traffic is much worse now than it was the first time I lived there, but then, there are a lot more people, too. I found that I could get around a lot faster on a bicycle some days than in a car.

We were forced to move away from FC last year when my husband lost his job. Although I love our new home town (we live in southern New Hampshire), I find myself pining for FC. It's a great place to live, and we'd gladly go back in we had the chance. We're going "home" for a visit next week and can't wait to see family and friends and eat at our favorite restaurants. We miss the Colorado/New Mexico style of Mexican food SO much!

[JukieF]

Originally Posted by delta07

This is what scares me a bit about possibly moving back to FC one day. I remember the traffic being bad (yes, it's all relative to where your coming from) when I left in 1999. I'm sure it's a lot worse these days. But, then again, you adapt. 15 minutes isn't really unbearable to me. An hour, on the other hand, would get old real quick!

So true about it all being relative. We live in Manchester, NH, now--the largest city in the state with a whopping 107,000 people. :-) It's the main shopping area for lots of little towns around us, so a lot of people drive into Manchester to shop and to work. I often see people complaining on the NH forum about the horrible traffic in Manchester. And yes, compared to the other parts of the state, the traffic here must be like driving in Rome or something. :-) It always makes me smile, especially after living in NY and doing a lot of driving in the tri-state region. Compared to that, Manchester is like living in the middle of the country.