Fort Collins CO area

[cnelk]

Here’s some info for you

Colorado's population expected to reach 5.8 million in 2020

DENVER — Colorado is continuing to boom with new jobs, development and people, according to data from the state. In the last 20 years, Colorado’s population has increased by a little more than 1.5 …

kdvr.com

 

[Phaseolus]

I’ve lived in northern Colorado for 15 years. My wife and I moved here from South Carolina. We are just a little south of Loveland and Fort Collins, 13 years in Longmont and now 2 in Erie. I think this is a great place to raise kids. As a father of a special needs child, the services and facilities available for our daughter are unheard of in many parts of the country. Being in an area where you’ve got access to both urban and rural environments is nice. Real estate prices are really expensive. East of i-25 will get you more house for the money but the commutes gonna suck. Traffic along I-25 has gotten progressively worse. They are in the midst of widening it, but it’s pretty bad. However, if you’ve ever driven in Atlanta or Boston or LA, you’d probably laugh at what we are calling bad traffic.
I think the marijuana thing gets blown out of proportion. Sure it’s legal to buy it, but the people that make it sound like the whole population is walking or driving around high, are just constantly on the lookout for it to reinforce their negative view of “potheads”. I’d be much more concerned with the possibility of drunk drivers leaving one of the many craft beer tap rooms than I would be of someone whose smoked a joint.
The congestion in the mountains is the one thing that I hate about Colorado. It’s so bad now. Forget archery hunting designated Wilderness, because there is going to be 20 trucks at every trailhead. Forget those spur of the moment family camping trips because every campsite is occupied. Forget going for a hike if you didn’t plan right and leave the house at 4am, because there will be no parking at the trailhead. I will say though, Poudre Canyon is way less stressful than trying to come back down the i-70 corridor on a Sunday afternoon!
The area has definitely increased in population in the 15 years we’ve been here. But it has been a great place to raise our kids. When our kids are off to college and out of the house though, my wife and I are going to be looking elsewhere, most likely Montana.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Front Range life suckS, no doubt.

 

[LongWayAround]

I moved here from Iowa about six years ago. We really enjoy it. The weather is excellent, people are pretty nice. Traffic can be annoying but it's really not that bad, you might miss a few light cycles or do the 80mph inchworm deal down to Denver for an hour.

I usually drive a few hours to go hunting but have a few spots in an hour or less, my neighbor fishes the Poudre routinely after work and sounds like he does well.

They're building houses everywhere you look, though it is fairly expensive. Windsor and Berthoud are both cool little towns. I don't currently have kids but it seems like a good place to raise them.

As far as the mountains being crowded, it can be tough to find a camping spot if you hit the first gravel road out of town Saturday morning or take the obvious route from the parking lot but I really haven't had trouble getting away from people when I want to.

 

[Jimss]

Weather is about as good as it gets! The worse time of year for me is July and August when it can be in the high 90's. Be ready for culture shock! I moved to Ft Collins from Wyo and was amazed at the traffic and number of weekend warriors. It's nearly impossible getting away from people unless you hike off trails. If your wife enjoys shopping, restaraunts, and brew pubs....it's the place to be. FC is a super safe city. Lots and lots for family to do.

Fishing....Colo is reknown for stocker rainbows with scattered decent trout streams and lakes....be ready for company! Hunting is ok. If you like hunting with gobs and gobs of hunters try an OTC elk unit. The learning curve is super steep. I only elk hunt when I draw a limited tag. Deer hunting is tough to beat....althought this may decline dramatically with the new 5 year seasons structure. I've been fortunate to draw a couple bighorn and 1 mtn goat tag. Those hunts are amazing if you can draw a tag. I've never drawn a moose tag...don't ever expect to draw one in my lifetime.

The pref pt system can be tough depending upon weapon of choice and what units you apply. FC area has gobs of geese and ducks but be prepared to join a hunting club or know someone.

 

[5MilesBack]

I went to college there in the 80's. It was exactly what I wanted in a place to live and raise a family back then. Population was right around 80k including the 20k+ students at the school. Loved it. Larimer County used to be 75% conservatives. Came back there in the mid 90's and it was totally different even then. I haven't spent any considerable time there since then, but things certainly don't get "better" these days than they used to be, so can't imagine what it's like today. But I'm sure there are worse places to live.

Back in the 90's I had a buddy that had a house on a lake south of FC, used to ski on it all the time. Only three other houses on that lake back then, and wide open country all around it. About 10 years ago I tried to find it again. I couldn't even find the lake for all the new roads, condos, and houses.

The only thing that used to be East of I-25 there in the 80's, were fields.

 

[HarryHunter]

I live there as well. Pm me if you have an questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk