North Colorado - Denver/Fort Collins Area

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Big_w_powah

Trakanon Raider
1,887
750
Hey all,

My job is toying with the idea of moving me up to Northern Colorado. Have offices in Denver and Fort Collins, and I'd get my pick. I'm leaning towards Fort Collins.

Was wondering what kind of culture shock I'm in for, having been born and bred a Texan?
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,467
7,382
I've spent a considerable amount of time in both. Ft Collins is probably going to be more left-leaning than what you're used to given that it's a college town. But Denver is really close politically as well. Culture-wise, there are a ton of transplants in Denver which means you'll probably be able to find something you're into. It's got a great scene when it comes to food, music, beer (probably the best in the country here), and outdoor living.

I've been a city-dweller for my entire adult life with a most of that being in SF. So from my urban-centric sensibilities, I think even Denver is a little too small for me. Denver has a lot going on but it's lacking in infrastructure. You're stuck driving everywhere. Plus the airport is like a 40 min drive outside the city (it's a little over an hour from Ft Collins to give you an idea) and it's very inconvenient. Now you might not care about these gripes at all, but they're things I have to deal with every time I visit.

The convenience of the mountains is fantastic - in both summer and winter. Whether you prefer hiking/biking or skiing/boarding. CO resorts are pretty pricey but I'm sure there are some cheaper ones locals are aware of. But most I've seen are more expensive than even Tahoe which is horrifying. But the mountain towns are very beautiful and most have a rustic old west charm to them. Great weekend getaway spots if you live in the area.

The music scene is probably the biggest driver for me. It's sick. Tons of quality local music coming out of there and everyone stops through. You have Red Rocks which is arguably the best concert venue in the world and a major destination stop for music tourists such as myself. I try to go at least once every other year. However, this music scene can attract some pretty crunchy people. I'm talking dirty wookie hippies. And this has only gotten worse since the legalization of marijuana. I'm sure I see this more often given the music I go there for (Phish, Umphrey's McGee) but Denver is a staple center in the US for this scene and I don't see that going anywhere. So you're in for what I assume would be a very non-TX crowd in that regard.

The beer. Oh man the beer. The concentration of breweries in Denver and Ft Collins is absurd. And it's some of the best around. Once again, I'm not terribly familiar with the TX scene, but it's very much a part of CO culture. A lot of the best restaurants even brew their own.

Almost everything here applies to both Denver and Ft Collins. You just get all the typical perks and cons for living in a smaller town in Ft Collins. Less people/traffic, more sense of community, less options/culture, dealing with the college influx and the desolation of summer. But Ft Collins is a pretty great place. I may even prefer it to Denver.
 

Big_w_powah

Trakanon Raider
1,887
750
I've spent a considerable amount of time in both. Ft Collins is probably going to be more left-leaning than what you're used to given that it's a college town. But Denver is really close politically as well. Culture-wise, there are a ton of transplants in Denver which means you'll probably be able to find something you're into. It's got a great scene when it comes to food, music, beer (probably the best in the country here), and outdoor living.

I've been a city-dweller for my entire adult life with a most of that being in SF. So from my urban-centric sensibilities, I think even Denver is a little too small for me. Denver has a lot going on but it's lacking in infrastructure. You're stuck driving everywhere. Plus the airport is like a 40 min drive outside the city (it's a little over an hour from Ft Collins to give you an idea) and it's very inconvenient. Now you might not care about these gripes at all, but they're things I have to deal with every time I visit.

The convenience of the mountains is fantastic - in both summer and winter. Whether you prefer hiking/biking or skiing/boarding. CO resorts are pretty pricey but I'm sure there are some cheaper ones locals are aware of. But most I've seen are more expensive than even Tahoe which is horrifying. But the mountain towns are very beautiful and most have a rustic old west charm to them. Great weekend getaway spots if you live in the area.

The music scene is probably the biggest driver for me. It's sick. Tons of quality local music coming out of there and everyone stops through. You have Red Rocks which is arguably the best concert venue in the world and a major destination stop for music tourists such as myself. I try to go at least once every other year. However, this music scene can attract some pretty crunchy people. I'm talking dirty wookie hippies. And this has only gotten worse since the legalization of marijuana. I'm sure I see this more often given the music I go there for (Phish, Umphrey's McGee) but Denver is a staple center in the US for this scene and I don't see that going anywhere. So you're in for what I assume would be a very non-TX crowd in that regard.

The beer. Oh man the beer. The concentration of breweries in Denver and Ft Collins is absurd. And it's some of the best around. Once again, I'm not terribly familiar with the TX scene, but it's very much a part of CO culture. A lot of the best restaurants even brew their own.

Almost everything here applies to both Denver and Ft Collins. You just get all the typical perks and cons for living in a smaller town in Ft Collins. Less people/traffic, more sense of community, less options/culture, dealing with the college influx and the desolation of summer. But Ft Collins is a pretty great place. I may even prefer it to Denver.

Yep, VP dies if she backs outta this idea. Dies good.

I loves me some good beer.
 

Sludig

Silver Baronet of the Realm
8,852
9,133
Coming from Texas? I'd say stay there in some respects as long as you arnt already in a shit show for traffic city there. I live here, lived in Ft Collins for a while etc.

10 years ago it would be an exstatic yes fort collins!. Now days. I would say theres some draw backs and things to consider that the visitors might not get.

For sure as he said, much more liberal area. Our state has been going blue and blue'r with some really assinine gun laws passed a few years ago if you are into that. Between our oil and pot booms, traffic is getting pretty fucking awful in the Denver area, as well as the I25 corridor North of US34. (So basically the highway from ft collins down to loveland/greeley. Denver suffers from highways that are hard to expand and not a lot of alternatives the way the metro spawl is. For example anywhere in South Denver coming from the North suffers from you leave and get there an hour early, or leave 15mins later and magically will arrive late.

Aside from Politics and traffic is some of our crime rates have been going up with the huge amount of young professional transients that have infected many camping areas and north fort collins and the rest of the state. Not anything that would prevent me from moving, but something that is visible in some areas and certainly a lock your shit up and dont leave things outside of the garage kind of thing.

Housing is absurd. Lots of the country has cooled or even gone down, but our housing market is still looking at big gains every year. (Pot businesses will buy houses then flip them or rent them because they can't use a lot of banks due to federal law.) Exacerbated by Californians coming in droves as well as again pot/oil. Rental market is tight, so you are usually paying way way more for rent than you would on a mortgage even as overpriced as houses are getting. Depending what the company is doing as far as relocation expenses and whether this place is at least near some of the major exit roads from town, you would possibly want to look at commuting a little and finding housing in the surrounding areas. I'm about 20mins from US 34 and north side of Metro Denver has afforded me a little better house for the money and I can go each way up the highway to go anywhere in the state a bit easier, though technically nothing is close either.


As others have stated, our pluses are beer, mountains super close by. (Especially up in the Fort Collins area) If you are into guns, a bit of a drive for some of the best ranges but we have a shit ton of pretty good gun stores though I'd say that's a bit more towards Denver. Right up the road is Cheyenne which has some neat events including a machine gun shoot every year or two. There's a few members here. (Moon, Jooka, and another I forget) If you are into motorcycles/guns/archery I'm up for hobby buddies.

Any other specific questions that come up ask. I focused mainly on the negatives because it's easy for anyone to spew a lot of great things, but as a local those are some of the gripes I have actually living here. (But grain of salt is I'd prefer to move out east middle of nowhere on a few acres and a prefab house + big motor toy barn than be anywhere near urban areas)
 

Big_w_powah

Trakanon Raider
1,887
750
I work in the DFW area now. Denver is half the population of Dallas. I have to drive through Dallas traffic every day.

I can't imagine it being as bad as it is here. Shit, we're like fucking LA sometimes. Sit in one spot for 30 fucking minutes.

and housing here, is fucking absurd as well. My former boss dabbled for years in real estate rentals. Because of the boom over the last 1-2 years in DFW housing, he just funded his entire retirement fund off of 3 homes he bought less than 5 years ago.
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,467
7,382
some of our crime rates have been going up with the huge amount of young professional transients that have infected many camping areas and north fort collins and the rest of the state. Not anything that would prevent me from moving, but something that is visible in some areas and certainly a lock your shit up and dont leave things outside of the garage kind of thing.

Why would young professionals increase crime rate? Them moving in is usually a sign of positive change in a neighborhood.
 

Sludig

Silver Baronet of the Realm
8,852
9,133
Why would young professionals increase crime rate? Them moving in is usually a sign of positive change in a neighborhood.
Not sure if being silly/sarcasn or not understanding. The professional transients we get are 20s-30s young folk usually with nappy hair etc hauling kids around living in our parks and campgrounds. Usually have phones and nice quality backpacks but are here living homeless and running around signing up for benefits.

Been covered in the news, by local sheriffs social media etc. Working downtown sometimes,and its a noticable change I see in the types of people loitering.
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,467
7,382
I wasn't being sarcastic. Typically "young professional" means they're making a solid earning wage. Also a lot of times I assume no kids. It's people with expendable incomes. Unless their college debt is through the roof I guess.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,366
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I think if you referred to them as young professional hobos instead of transients Alex might get your drift a bit better hehe.
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,467
7,382
I totally missed the "transients" word. Yeah those people suck. Haight St in SF has become a bit of a cesspool because of them.

Like I said, it's the crunchy dirty hippie wooks. First GIS result for "hippie wook".

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