Ft Collins, Loveland or Windsor (Fort Collins, Greeley: for sale, rental, HOA)

[moving to a base]

We are moving to the area (or atleast that is the plan) -- thinking Ft Collins but perhaps Windsor or Loveland are other cities to consider. Husband works for an airlines (as previous post stated) and had initially considered moving to a base (hence the name). However now the order of importance is to move closer to family. Family lives in Greeley and we have no interest (poor public schools, lower ses, etc).
So our house is for sale and once we have an offer we are planning a trip to go house hunt. All in all this is going to be a very rushed process.Would love to have a contract on our new home is CO before the end of April for the incentive. So I need the nity-gritty.
Need young family neighborhood, if the neighborhood had a pool that is a plus. Good schools, I know the two charter schools in ft collins are highly rated but seem hard to get into. Any knowledge on this?
Between the three Ft Collins has the higher rated schools (per the websites) -- which elementary schools rank the best in the real world (not only stats) -- HS??? Would like on with GT programs.
We have three young children.
Are there any other sub-urbs, small towns that I maybe missing? The closer to the mountains yet not backwoods is preferred. I do not like flat. I am having to leave the beautiful Adirondacks.
Any thoughts would be great!! (sorry for the lengthy post)!!

[kiki1964]

We lived in Loveland and loved it. Centrally located between Ft.Collins, Greeley & Longmont, more laid back for young families and close to Ft, Collins for when we wanted more activity. FC is more busy and more suited for our young adult children who like the college scene. Loveland is close to the canyon and Estes Park where we spent our weekends in the mountains. We found that the smaller towns could be more expensive and we liked having everything a short drive rather than in the next town, just our preference. I think all of those areas are great, we just liked the quieter feel of Loveland. Good luck to you!

[tfox]

Well, if you want to live in the foothills you certainly could. Fort Collins and Loveland are both at the foot of the mountains, not in them, and so are largely flat in-town. Remember that Foothills living is not for everyone -- you're much more prone to bad weather and snow than in town, and you may have to fend for yourself more when it does come rather than rely on maintenance.

Northwest of Fort Collins there are some small towns that are either in or right up against the foothills. Bellvue, Livermore, and Laporte come to mind. Laporte is the largest of the three. Might be something to look into.

As for schools, the vast majority of Fort Collins schools are quite good. As you mentioned there are many charter schools that are very well thought of, but I can't tell you exactly how easy or hard it is to get into each of them. I have some friends who send their children to Trout Core Knowledge and are very happy there, but you need to look into Core Knowledge and see if it's for your children. There are many other charter schools, and regular schools as well. It's not difficult to find an excellent school in Fort Collins.

[moving to a base]

Kiki--What neighborhood did you live in Loveland? And how are schools there?
Are the sub-urbs of Ft Collins a little for family oriented / less college?
What is core knowledge?

[moving to a base]

Mr. Mike realtor -- which neighborhoods match the above criteria -- young families, clean, safe, pool / park, HOA (although do not wishanything outrageous I find it keeps the neighborhoo up), close to good schools? What areas offer youth sports programs thru the city?

[moving to a base]

oh and does anyone have any knowledge of FAST (Ft Collins area swim-team) or the USS swim team in Loveland? I have looked at both web-sites but just curious about any additional info.

[Mike Weber]

Originally Posted by moving to a base

Mr. Mike realtor -- which neighborhoods match the above criteria -- young families, clean, safe, pool / park, HOA (although do not wishanything outrageous I find it keeps the neighborhoo up), close to good schools? What areas offer youth sports programs thru the city?

Most of the neighborhoods with pools will have an HOA, and the associated fees to support the pool. Some neighborhoods have an optional membership to the pool, and there are some neighborhood pools with open membership for folks from other parts of the city. Neighborhoods with pools tend to be in the southern part of Fort Collins and the northern part of Loveland. There are some newer neighborhoods that are planning on having a pool, but not until there are enough homes built to support the pool. A couple of these are in Timnath and newer parts of Fort Collins.

Specific neighborhoods with pools include (not a complete list):

Fort Collins
Observatory Village
Parkwood
Registry Ridge
Ridgewood Hills
Village West
Stetson Creek
Harvest
Fossil Lake Ranch
Paragon Point
Hearthfire
Huntington Hills
Willow Springs
Waterglen
Countryside
Highland Meadows
Maple Hill
Collindale
Nelson Farm

Loveland
Alford Meadows
Hunter's Run

Most of the newer neighborhoods in either town will have a park nearby. Fort Collins city planners have required parks in neighborhoods for many years, and you will find a park in roughly every square mile in the city.

Most of Fort Collins and Loveland are considered relatively safe. For specifics, you can contact the local authorities.

The school districts in Fort Collins and Loveland are both considered good quality. Details on performance for specific schools can be found at School Accountability Report - School Search (http://reportcard.cde.state.co.us/reportcard/CommandHandler.jsp - broken link)

The City of Fort Collins has a great recreation department that has many programs for kids. There are 2 indoor city pools and one outdoor city pool. Recreator: City of Fort Collins

I had friends that swam on FAST back in the day, but it has been years, so I do not have specific details for that organization.

Good luck with your move to our beautiful area.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by moving to a base

Kiki--What neighborhood did you live in Loveland? And how are schools there?
Are the sub-urbs of Ft Collins a little for family oriented / less college?
What is core knowledge?

The "suburbs" are definitely more family oriented than the campus area, but south fort Collins is pretty equally suburban. If you really want to remove yourself from the campus you might want to consider Loveland, however.

As for core-knowledge -- go ahead and look it up online -- it's one of about a dozen educational philosophies that guide different charter schools.

[kiki1964]

We lived in a rental that was in the Anderson Farms subdivision on the east edge of town. It was nice and convenient to everything but if we were to move back we would choose the northwest subdivisions as they tend to have views and are just farther out from the hustle and bustle. Our children are all grown and they did not move with us when we were there so I do not have personal knowledge of the school system. With Fort Collins, from what I saw, the southern area farther from the college was quieter and most desireable for families.

[JukieF]

We lived in the Fox Creek neighborhood in west Fort Collins--less than a mile from the foothills. In just a few minutes we could be up at Horsetooth and climbing our way into the mountains (we ride motorcycles and always headed west--and up--whenever we rode). I loved living on the west side of town. Of course, if you live farther to the east, you'll have a better VIEW of the mountains, but it will take you longer to get to them.