Moving to Colorado!

Speed_Cult · 02-15-07, 01:44 PM

Well the time is getting near. Looks like 2-25 a 24' Budget truck towing my $Runner (yes the $ was on purpose) will be pulling into either Colorado Springs or Fort Collins! Decision made based on which house we rent LOL. Seen some great pics of the snow. Anyone local have good/bad things to say about these 2 towns? Moving out of AZ to get away from the congestion and wife going for CVT training at one of the best hospitals! Any advice on which city is better?

nuclearlemon · 02-15-07, 02:18 PM

fort collins area is the way to go...down to earth, farm county. colorado springs is full of out of staters idiots that have absolutely no clue how to drive

calphi27 · 02-15-07, 02:22 PM

If you like the older, retired, and/or military crowd, then the springs is your best bet. The Fort is a college town and was ranked the #1 city to live in by us news. There is also a brand new hospital that opened yesterday near fort collins in loveland. We also have some great breweries in the area.

fzj80kidpen · 02-15-07, 02:23 PM

Ft. Collins has the beer

JJS · 02-15-07, 02:39 PM

I can't help you on the city, but congratulations. I would give my left nut to move to CO.

srplus · 02-15-07, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJS

I can't help you on the city, but congratulations. I would give my left nut to move to CO.

Most of your neighbors might kick in on that.

Speed_Cult · 02-15-07, 02:44 PM

Teil-Deutscher seiend, liebe ich "echtes" Bier!

Well we do want a more mellow place to live, but being a gear-head I'd hate to disturb the bluehairs at night LOL. Just kidding, we're in our late 20's and have 4 kids (yeah here comes the rabbit/mormon jokes) so we want a decent community that's close to good schools, minimal gang problems, etc. If I give you guys the cross streets, could anyone let me know? So far the people that we'll be renting from have been more then helpful with pictures, but you know how it is. They may be looking to rent ASAP because local folk know better LOL.

goschbrandon · 02-15-07, 02:49 PM

Either will do- I'm a springs native going to school in Tempe right now. Fort Fun is nice, I have a lot of friends going to school there. Colorado Springs is nice too- as long as you stay on the west side of town, IMO. The east side is full of the out of staters as described earlier in this thread. If you like climbing, mountain biking, etc., again, either will serve you well. I prefer the drive to skiing from Colorado Springs (less traffic), but other than that, I don't know if you can really go wrong either way. Traffic in CO is ten times better than Phoenix (if that's where in AZ you're coming from).

FJBen · 02-15-07, 02:52 PM

Come to Ft Collins!!!! it's only about 30mins from me...nice town...lots of stuff to do...downtown is fun!

Close to mountains...you'll love it!

Speed_Cult · 02-15-07, 03:24 PM

Ok so Fort Beir it looks like. Cross area is Riverside and Prospect. We live in East Mesa here in AZ and 5 years ago, this was considered the outskirts of east mesa! Now it's like any other area. Lucky to have a couple close areas to 'wheel, but to make a point... we used to have this OHV area set up called Spook Hill. Most cars could climb the back side. The front required alot of speed on quads or bikes. Going down in anything was possible but a rush and usually dangerous on anything 4 wheel. The place is now a park with 2 lakes and lots of cement bike/rollerblade paths. Not to mention that the cookie-cutter homes have sprouted like weeds! The other trouble is, if you try to move into a "nice" area, the trouble seems to follow. Nice area = nice pickin'? Oh well, we're really happy with what we hear so far. And the traffic is only slightly worse in Phoenix then here. So any break would be most welcome.

NorCalDoug · 02-15-07, 03:35 PM

I'm following this thread with great interest...

I'd love to move to CO and Ft. Collins has been high on my list, but I've been wondering about Colorado Springs as well.

Money Magazine picked Ft. Collins as the #1 small city to live in for last year (2006).

Not to hijack the thread, but aside from these two options, where else would you recommend and why?

jsaltlick · 02-15-07, 04:10 PM

I lived in Fort Collins back in the mid 90's and had a blast. I then moved to Denver and had more fun and then Vail and it was the best. I now live in suburban hell just south of Boston.

Ft Collins is very clean, pretty and has amazing beer. The bar scene is excellent. The mountains are 10 minutes away and there are all sorts of canyons to drive through. There is a roadhouse called the Mishawaka that is built over the Cache La Poudre river and there are live bands and booze by the riverside all summer long. people don camping/ wheeling trips and hang out there every weekend. I LOVED living there. Boulder and Denver are easy drives. Plenty of great bands play Ft. C on off-nights before or after they play Denver.

Colo Spgs is a very military and VERY religious town. I have an uncle there and I always felt like the city has a weird and uncomfortable vibe.

I moved from Boston to Ft Collins in Jan 1996 and made a ton of friends in a matter of weeks. I still keep in touch with almost all of them 11 years later. There are very few places I would move to permanently and Ft Fun is at the top of the list.

I had a Nissan 4X4 back then and I used to go on camping/ wheeling trips to all the abandoned ghost towns and gold mines up in the hills. Very fun.

Hope that helps!

jsaltlick · 02-15-07, 04:13 PM

FYI The North side of downtown is a bit dumpy in FT. Collins but the rest of the city is great. Really no bad neighborhoods at all.

JJS · 02-15-07, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsaltlick

I lived in Fort Collins back in the mid 90's and had a blast. I then moved to Denver and had more fun and then Vail and it was the best. I now live in suburban hell just south of Boston.

Suburban hell is an understatement. After living there, what the hell would bring you back here?

Speed_Cult · 02-16-07, 12:10 AM

Well just talked to the guy this afternoon from the Fort area and sounds like a great place. Pretty much sold on it. Looking forward to working in a shop again. My truck driving job could transfer me to the Denver area, but I don't want that commute. Plus working in a shop has benefits such as lifts and better air supply for my tools. So any brew house in particular better then the others?

Team Zissou · 02-16-07, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NorCalDoug

I'm following this thread with great interest...

I'd love to move to CO and Ft. Collins has been high on my list, but I've been wondering about Colorado Springs as well.

Money Magazine picked Ft. Collins as the #1 small city to live in for last year (2006).

Not to hijack the thread, but aside from these two options, where else would you recommend and why?

It all depends on work. My brother's living just west of Denver (other side of the mountains) in Winter Park. He loves it, but he works on a ranch in the summer, ski resort in the winter and as a rafting guide in the spring. That wouldn't quite pay my bills.

I used to live in the Springs and would always drive out to Gunnison. That's my favorite area in the state, bar none. If I could find a family wage job there, I'd move in a heartbeat and live the rest of my life. But you see dads working two different jobs as a clerk somewhere and then bagging groceries later just trying to make enough to support their families because of the lack of work.

Buena Vista offers a little more size, not as isolated, and the whole town seems to be wanting to move forward in a non-yuppy kind of way which differentiates it from the ski towns. But again, depends on work.

Grand Junction or Durango are the two towns on the west side of the front range with the most work prospects. Although I've heard that Montrose, just south of Grand Junction, is really trying to attract a lot of entrepreneurs in consulting/technology that can essentially work from home.

usmcruiser · 02-16-07, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speed_Cult

So any brew house in particular better then the others?

I live about 15 south of the Fort in Berthoud. Nice little town (approx. 4,839 people) . I went to CSU and had a blast. If you live on the South or West side of town the college atmosphere is a little less.

The best brewery in town is New Belgium, amazing beer. IMO they will follow in Sam Adams foot steps and become a competing national beer. Another great one from when I was in CSU is the Fort Collins Brewery. Now I don't know if they are actually still in business, but they had the best beer called "Z". It had a woody smoke taste. It was amazing.

When you get here be sure to come to a CO/WY meeting.

trucruiser · 02-16-07, 07:50 AM

I live in the Northern Colorado area and a love it, Col-Springs is nice but it seems less laid back and seems to have more traffic than the northern part of the State(FtCollins).

FJBen · 02-16-07, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usmcruiser

The best brewery in town is New Belgium, amazing beer.

mmmmmmmmm sunshine wheat!!!!!

usmcruiser · 02-16-07, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usmcruiser

The best brewery in town is New Belgium, amazing beer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FJBen

mmmmmmmmm sunshine wheat!!!!!

The first thing you need to do. even before you unpack... is take the tour at New Belgium and sample all of their beers for free.