Considering a Move to Fort Collins or Frontrange (Denver, Thornton: how much, homes)

[kini3]

Hey there, we are moving to Colorado before Christmas. My Husband has secured a position, that will include some travel out of DIA and driving to Wyoming. We have one child in Kindergarten so schools are extremely important to us. We love the outdoors, and our son is very active into sports, soccer, swimming...
How are the schools in Fort Collins, finding very mixed reviews.... Also is the commute to DIA horrible?
Thanks so much. We like the sound of FC online, obviously need to visit. Any help would be great, Thanks again

[cobmw]

Two of the best schools to be found anywhere are located in Fort Collins: Liberty Common and Ridgeview Classical. Do some research and you'll see that they rate at the top every year in Colorado for academics. Both are charter schools.

[cobmw]

I referred a friend to Ridgeview. There was a waiting list for kindergarten, but they were lucky and their daughter was accepted. The mom was amazed when on the very first day her daughter came home with a map of the world and was able to name the continents. First day of kindergarten and they were learning world geography.

Kids can do a lot more than we expect of them. Both of the schools I mentioned keep the students continually challenged to learn and achieve. Take a good look at them.

The drive to Denver is not bad up to Thornton. Then traffic crawls the rest of the way to downtown. It's a two lane (each direction) highway for about the first 15 miles then it becomes a three lane highway. I've not driven it much in bad weather, but I'll bet it's a slow grind all the way in the snow.

[kini3]

Thank you, I do not know much about charter schools, but will do more research. I'm wondering how limited we will be transferring in mid semester. Any recommendations on neighborhoods? 375K or less.... Thanks again!

[Mike Weber]

You will want to stay on the east side of Fort Collins to keep the commute reasonable. If you live on the west side, you can add 20 minutes to the Denver or Cheyenne commute on a good day, and 35 minutes at rush hour.

When I lived in Clydesdale Park, I could be in Cheyenne in 40 minutes and at DIA in about 50 minutes. Other neighborhoods with easy access to I-25 include Observatory Village, Harvest Park, and English Ranch.

Greatschools.org is a good resource for checking out schools, and the local school district's website, www.psdschools.com has a school locator tool into which you can enter an address and find out in which school's attendance area a home is located.

Good luck!
Mike Weber

[Cosmicstargoat]

Originally Posted by kini3

Hey there, we are moving to Colorado before Christmas. My Husband has secured a position, that will include some travel out of DIA and driving to Wyoming. We have one child in Kindergarten so schools are extremely important to us. We love the outdoors, and our son is very active into sports, soccer, swimming...
How are the schools in Fort Collins, finding very mixed reviews.... Also is the commute to DIA horrible?
Thanks so much. We like the sound of FC online, obviously need to visit. Any help would be great, Thanks again

The drive to the airport is not bad at all. It depends on where you are in Ft. Collins or Loveland as to how long it takes you to get ti I-25. After you are on the highway, it is a piece of cake to get to the airport. The traffic doesn't really start to get heavy in Denver until you are south of the Airport Exit.

The schools up here are great as is the area. I live in Loveland, have been here 2 years and love it. Good luck with your move.

[kini3]

Thank you for all the advice. Keep it coming, we appreciate it!

[kini3]

Are there any neighborhoods that don't feel cookie cutter? With decent yards, nice tree lined streets, where my son could walk or ride to school? I'm not a huge fan of homes that don't have much charm or that are all lined up in a row.... thanks!!

[StealthRabbit]

There are plenty of '60's & '70's neighborhoods with large lots, curvy roads and decent homes / neighbors. I too, WILL NOT buy or live in a housing tract that is generic (very hard to sell when 5000 equivalent homes are on the market.) Get something with appeal (to you and others). I really like Hogan Dr (near So College and E Harmony). I have a few friends in that area. There are many similar enclaves that will suit you.

~ 1 hr to DIA, and Bus shuttles available so you can do Prep work for your business trip.
~ 40 min to Cheyenne on clear roads... some days the road will be closed, several days the road will be a challenge. (wind and or ice), Those are good days to stay home (and none to frequent ~ 10- 15 / yr).

Schools are good and some are excellent (both private and public).

[dcofas]

We lived in FC for ten years. Found the schools lacking somewhat compared to other states we have lived in. Math program changed 3 times while my kids were in Kruse Elementary. I put them both in Kinard (core knowledge) and was happy with that choice. We lived in Willow Springs n'hood. South of Harmony on Timberline. Just depends on how much you want to spend on housing 'cause it can get expensive. Also lived in Fossil Creek and kids walked to Kinard and Fossil Ridge HS.FRHS is fairly new, but clicky. If your kids don't mind that... a lot of folks like for their kids to go to Rocky, but I think all the HS's are good. It's the JR High's and elementary's you should search out.
Most of the n'hoods have walking areas, trees and all you would want. Definitely east or southeast for commuting. If you are going to Wyoming, then you might consider Timnath. It's growing. Harmony n'hood is very nice but pricey.

There are other nice towns along the range. Longmont is nice, Windsor and Loveland. You are an hour either way if in FC. I drove to DIA a lot so I know that commute. Timberline Church is great if you need a a church home. Great place for kids to grow.
My best to you. It is a nice town, but with a strong west coast influence due to HP probably. Good luck!