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Hello! I've been researching blossoming cities in the west and at first Colorado wasn't attractive because it seems to becoming oversaturated because of the "green rush" due to the recent legalization of cannabis (I imbibe, but I really don't enjoy the lifestyle of the "weed snobs" out there). Nonetheless, Ft Collins came on my radar. My girlfriend and I are looking to move out of Florida next year. We are interested in homesteading and creating an ecotourism site and/or starting a farm to table restaurant. Our current location doesn't offer the opportunities we want.
A little about us: We will both be college graduates, she graduates in December in Psychology/Education and I graduated in 2007 in Business/Philosophy. She will be 23 and I will be 30 by the time we move. We are both from northeast Florida (Jacksonville). We want to get out of Florida due to the lack of variety in seasons (it's hot and humid 85% of the year and chilly for about a month or two on and off), lack of variety in native flora (no apple/pear trees here or wild mushroom harvesting, just citrus, pecans and a whole lot of palmettos ), and lack of variety in topography (it's very flat here and there are no natural stones or boulders anywhere, plus you can't build underground due to the high water table). We are both some kind of mix of hipster, hippy and redneck; meaning we are trendy and progressive, anti-corporate, love local economy and art/music scenes, craft brews, farm to table restaurants, co-ops, music and art festivals, have compassion for all life, believe in preserving the environment and working towards harmony with nature through sustainable practices, permaculture and technology, love the outdoors and hiking, working hard outside all day on farms and building things out of wood and cob and a general DIY lifestyle.
From what I've read so far about it, Ft Collins seems like a great up and coming city with a decently strong job market compared to the rest of the US.
What I want to know about Ft Collins:
What is the artist/musician culture like? Is there a decent local music scene, art galleries, art shows, music festivals, etc? Do good national tours stop there?
What are the outdoor activities like? Are there trails/parks/caves/old forests, etc nearby?
What is the climate like? Is there four full seasons? How much does it snow in the winter? How long is the growing season? Does the weather allow for fruit trees to produce every season?
What is the average cost of raw acreage land? 1k-5k per acre would be ideal, but I know that's rare these days unless you're in the desert.
Any other tidbits you can offer are appreciated. Thanks for reading!
That was not a very productive reply... What I meant was places like Boulder are seeing a big influx of hippies due to weed being legalized now. There's a lot of people from my own city moving there to do just that - grow weed. I don't want to do that, I'd rather grow food.
Hello! I've been researching blossoming cities in the west and at first Colorado wasn't attractive because it seems to becoming oversaturated because of the "green rush" due to the recent legalization of cannabis (I imbibe, but I really don't enjoy the lifestyle of the "weed snobs" out there). Nonetheless, Ft Collins came on my radar. My girlfriend and I are looking to move out of Florida next year. We are interested in homesteading and creating an ecotourism site and/or starting a farm to table restaurant. Our current location doesn't offer the opportunities we want.
A little about us: We will both be college graduates, she graduates in December in Psychology/Education and I graduated in 2007 in Business/Philosophy. She will be 23 and I will be 30 by the time we move. We are both from northeast Florida (Jacksonville). We want to get out of Florida due to the lack of variety in seasons (it's hot and humid 85% of the year and chilly for about a month or two on and off), lack of variety in native flora (no apple/pear trees here or wild mushroom harvesting, just citrus, pecans and a whole lot of palmettos ), and lack of variety in topography (it's very flat here and there are no natural stones or boulders anywhere, plus you can't build underground due to the high water table). We are both some kind of mix of hipster, hippy and redneck; meaning we are trendy and progressive, anti-corporate, love local economy and art/music scenes, craft brews, farm to table restaurants, co-ops, music and art festivals, have compassion for all life, believe in preserving the environment and working towards harmony with nature through sustainable practices, permaculture and technology, love the outdoors and hiking, working hard outside all day on farms and building things out of wood and cob and a general DIY lifestyle.
From what I've read so far about it, Ft Collins seems like a great up and coming city with a decently strong job market compared to the rest of the US.
What I want to know about Ft Collins:
What is the artist/musician culture like? Is there a decent local music scene, art galleries, art shows, music festivals, etc? Do good national tours stop there?
What are the outdoor activities like? Are there trails/parks/caves/old forests, etc nearby?
What is the climate like? Is there four full seasons? How much does it snow in the winter? How long is the growing season? Does the weather allow for fruit trees to produce every season?
What is the average cost of raw acreage land? 1k-5k per acre would be ideal, but I know that's rare these days unless you're in the desert.
Any other tidbits you can offer are appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Yes Fort Collins is well talked about around the country, but the secret that nobody talks about is that Fort Collins not only draws plenty of people directly but they also seem to be the next choice once people figure out they cannot afford to move to Boulder.
As for land, you will find it goes for a wide range of money, depending on water and mineral rights. You see water is the biggest problem in Colorado, and not all land comes with water. Those that do may not even come with good water. If your plan is to open a farm and use it to build a restaurant, I would say you have a ton more research to do.
Colorado as a whole is semi-arid, and much of the land could actually be considered desert, people have this vision of a ton of snow coming into Colorado every year, but that is far from the truth. Water is always in short supply when farming, and between the soil and the lack of water it is difficult to grow many different types of crops.
You want to learn more about the water issues, go to the main Colorado board there are usually threads about the issue almost daily as people figure out the truth of things here.
Growing season really is usually about 5-6 months, while the average high temperature is usually in the 40s throughout winter, there are usually cold spell starting in late September through mid March that can freeze and destroy anything not already harvested. Fruit trees and just about every plant outdoors is shut down for about half the year.
As for the job market, I do not know where you see that the job market is good in Fort Collins, there may be jobs, but there is a limit on good jobs in the area, and having a college degree is not going to set you apart when last I heard 66% of the people in Fort Collins have a degree. I know of people with doctorates working as cab drivers and waitresses, and not in worthless professions. I am talking about electrical engineers, psychology, and finance majors, that have chosen to stay in Fort Collins and now cannot find anything in their field. For more information look into the average cost of living as compared to the average household income in Fort Collins, it is pretty eye opening when compared to much of the rest of the country.
Now there is a growing art scene in the area, and there are mountains to explore, and outdoor activities to pursue, but reality is that you need more than that to live on.
Fort Collins does also have 4 seasons to a point, sometimes in one day, although there are a couple of things to realize, 4 seasons does not always mean moisture, nor does it mean that the wind stops blowing. One thing to realize, the windiest city in the United States is Cheyenne Wyoming, the closer you get to there in Northern Colorado the worst the wind gets. While it is not so bad in actual Fort Collins, when I lived just about 2 miles north of town, the wind was enough to drive you crazy some months.
The rosy picture painted by national publications make most of Colorado and especially Fort Collins seem like the perfect place, yet when you read their methodology you realize that many of the writers have never traveled to let alone lived in an area long enough to understand the realities of the places they write about. Fort Collins is a nice city that has some major issues starting to rise up, there are a severe lack of good jobs, there is a big problem with artificially rising housing prices due to the lack of building options, and the long term water future is terrible according to those who study it.
That was not a very productive reply... What I meant was places like Boulder are seeing a big influx of hippies due to weed being legalized now. There's a lot of people from my own city moving there to do just that - grow weed. I don't want to do that, I'd rather grow food.
They are not moving to Boulder to grow weed, unless they have a ton of funding then Boulder is one of the last places to try to grow weed. Instead they are moving to warehouses in older industrial areas, where the buildings are isolated away from schools and day care type places or they are building on isolated farms, and than selling through dispensaries in Denver and a few of the mountain towns as places like Boulder's prices are too restrictive to getting the resources to do what they want to do.
Thank you jwiley. I appreciate the local knowledge. I'll be visiting there this summer and touring an organic diary farm that has job opportunities. We are also looking at relocating to either Northern AZ (Flagstaff/Sedona/Prescott) or Southern Oregon (Ashland-Medford or the Myrtle area) as well. We are visiting them all this summer, should be interesting as I have never been to any of these places, mostly a Florida boy.
I'll just quickly respond to the original questions in the second half of the original message:
Job market - Okay, but not great. I've personally struggled to find anything matching my jobs in a previous (large) city
Music scene - The area is ripe for a good music scene, but I've been disappointed that there isn't a lot more activity. I don't see much live music out in the open, much in the way of music festivals, etc. Just the handful of indoor clubs on a regular basis, and a few things in the summer.
As far as outdoor activities, there are no significant forests, and no caves that I know of. It really isn't foresty until you get deep in the mountains.
There is the potential for snow over a large period of time. Last season (2012-13) it went from mid October to May 1st. Fall and Spring are very short, basically about 2 months each. Summer is long (May-September). The growing season is probably roughly May-October. I know of apple trees that survive each year, but not sure of others.
The whole "pot thing" is way overblown in the media. I never see signs of it anywhere, though one might see some in the college area. Certainly nothing different from other towns...
That was not a very productive reply... What I meant was places like Boulder are seeing a big influx of hippies due to weed being legalized now. There's a lot of people from my own city moving there to do just that - grow weed. I don't want to do that, I'd rather grow food.
Not sure where you are getting your info... Boulder is not seeing a "big influx of hippies" growing weed. LOL!
Jwiley is right. Unless your friends all have big fat trust funds... I supposed that's possible.
Not sure where you are getting your info... Boulder is not seeing a "big influx of hippies" growing weed. LOL!
Yeah, I agree. Boulder is much into the fitness and health craze. I can't see the stoner mentality fitting in there at all. That's basically 180 degrees from the mood and culture of the town.
As far as the music scene goes, we're gearing up right now for FoCoMX, which is a huge 2 day music event. Then there's Bohemian Nights at New West fest in the summer. You could Google for both of their sites and get a sense of the breadth and depth of music offerings there. There's also music all summer long downtown. I think we're pretty spoiled. The fact that FoCoMX charges is killing me. It's so easy to hear music for free so much of the year that having to pay to see the same bands seems harsh. Then again, for $20 you can see a gajillion different bands all around Old Town, so I totally recognize that I'm being whiny only because I'm spoiled.
I agree with the folks about the "influx of hippies." Haven't seen it. Haven't even heard of it. And of all places they're going to go, it won't be Boulder. Much too spendy.
If you're looking for farm land you might want to search around Wellington, Ault, Nunn or a few of the other further out towns. They're all close enough that you could come into town easily, but far enough out that land prices might be a bit cheaper.
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