Moving to the Fort Collins. / Loveland area (Denver, Longmont: rentals, new home)

[Hershal]

Good morning all.

My wife son and I are looking to move to the Fort Collins area in March. I have taken a job up here and I will be moving from Houston. When I moved to Houston from Australia a year a go thus forum wad nothing but helpful. Hence I thought I would wrote again and get some information on the Fort Collins area.

I was hoping to get some information about the area. And the amenities. We have a horse that we have to put in stables and my wife would like to be close to a gym and a library for my boy.

We are potentially looking to build a new home. But would be looking for a rental to start with. Is it possible to get a 6 month lease term?

Also some nice areas would be nice that are not too pricey. We would like to try and stay under 1700 monthly for rental for. Minimum 3 bedroom house.

Thanks in advance for ll the information.

[Mike Weber]

Welcome to the area.

There are places to stable your horse on the outside edges of town, usually on the north-east side of town. One friend has one stabled in the southwest part of town and another friend has stabled a handful of horses over the years, so I could tap her knowledge.

The city has 3 libraries, one in the south-east part of town, one in the south-west part of town, and one in the north-central part near Old Town. Poudre River Public Library District

This is an active town, so you are rarely far from a gym.

You may be able to find a 6 month lease. Many properties are leased on a yearly schedule that runs with the school year at Colorado State University. These leases usually start August 1 and go through July 31. There are several property management companies here in town who have websites that have available property listings. Keep in mind that if you are near campus, you may have student neighbors. If you want to keep your son in the same school when you build your home, you may wish to look at rentals in the same general area as the new construction. This would put you in the NE or SE part of town.

Good luck with your move.

[Thoreau424]

Coming from Houston to Fort Collins, you will have a large increase in housing costs and cost of living. Land might be harder to come by, and certainly shaded land like would be more common in Houston. It is more open here. The weather is much different here compared to Houston and Australia. It isn't the milder, more humid, coastal weather. It is very dry and temperatures can get below zero (like -12 degrees just recently). Snow is another factor that you might have to get used to. I recorded over 70 inches the first year my family moved here. Winter weather can last essentially 6 months out of the year. Rents seem to be - in my experience - mostly 1 year, but maybe you can find something. Have you visited this town, to see what it's like?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Hershal

...
I was hoping to get some information about the area. And the amenities. We have a horse that we have to put in stables and my wife would like to be close to a gym and a library for my boy.

...

1) where is your job (region / addy / cross streets)?
2) How old is your son?
3) How often do you ride your horse?
4) Will you be trailering your horse to destinations? (if so how often?, Mtns or events?)


I know FC will seem to appear EZ traffic / hassle from houston, BUT for better Quality of life and enjoyment of family and Fort Colllins...
PRIMARY!!!! cut down the daily commute, as FC can be a traffic disaster (soccer moms in BIG killer SUV's hurrying everywhere) FC has a very abnormal 'city (serious) wreck frequency', and I have seen 'rollover's on the main streets! 2 of my friends have endured years of Physical Therapy from FC city accidents. Do not go there (traffic risk) if you can avoid it.

Keep the daily commute as close as possible, biking to work, gym, horse, & library would be ideal!
Coming home from work for lunch, and between meetings can be very nice if kid is pre-school or homeschooled.

[Hershal]

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

Coming from Houston to Fort Collins, you will have a large increase in housing costs and cost of living. Land might be harder to come by, and certainly shaded land like would be more common in Houston. It is more open here. The weather is much different here compared to Houston and Australia. It isn't the milder, more humid, coastal weather. It is very dry and temperatures can get below zero (like -12 degrees just recently). Snow is another factor that you might have to get used to. I recorded over 70 inches the first year my family moved here. Winter weather can last essentially 6 months out of the year. Rents seem to be - in my experience - mostly 1 year, but maybe you can find something. Have you visited this town, to see what it's like?

I have been working up this area for the last 6 months. My wife is from Germany so we definitely know what it is like to live in Snow. As long as it is not as Humid as Houston then we should be ok. Looking forward to nature and some more seasons.

Coming from Australia originally I know what the costs of living can be. Australia is very expensive.

Just looking for an area where I can maybe get some land and more open spaces

[Hershal]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

1) where is your job (region / addy / cross streets)?
2) How old is your son?
3) How often do you ride your horse?
4) Will you be trailering your horse to destinations? (if so how often?, Mtns or events?)


I know FC will seem to appear EZ traffic / hassle from houston, BUT for better Quality of life and enjoyment of family and Fort Colllins...
PRIMARY!!!! cut down the daily commute, as FC can be a traffic disaster (soccer moms in BIG killer SUV's hurrying everywhere) FC has a very abnormal 'city (serious) wreck frequency', and I have seen 'rollover's on the main streets! 2 of my friends have endured years of Physical Therapy from FC city accidents. Do not go there (traffic risk) if you can avoid it.

Keep the daily commute as close as possible, biking to work, gym, horse, & library would be ideal!
Coming home from work for lunch, and between meetings can be very nice if kid is pre-school or homeschooled.

My dailyt Commute isnt really an Issue, My shop will be in the Ft Lupton Area, However I will hardly every be going there and working interstate most of the time.

My boy is almost 2 now so schools have not really come to mind yet and my wife just wants to be about 1 10 minute drive from library and shopping areas.
When it comes to the Horse, the stables will need to be fairly close as my Wife does like to ride at least 4 times a week

[NorthDenverGirl]

Hi from another Aussie, I live in the north Denver area now but came from Newcastle, just north of Sydney, many years ago now. Have you checked out the Waltzing Kangaroo yet in Ft Collins? Meat pies, sausage rolls, vanilla slices all that good stuff!

If your shop is in the Ft Lupton area you may want to check out some different areas, especially if you are looking for horse space. Longmont would be worth checking out, you could live close enough to the downtown area for your wife to walk places. Erie is another area worth checking and Firestone is growing and coming along quick and they have a lot of family friendly activities. This may offer a better choice if you have to be at the airport a lot too!

If you are set on staying closer to Ft Collins, check out Loveland, it won't be as expensive but you still may be able to find the walkability factor you are looking for.

Let me know if you want to connect with some other Aussies in the area!