Lots to do, but unfriendly people!
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4/17/2014
I agree with the posts regarding the unfriendliness of the Fort & CO in general. There are many positives for Ft. Collins, but if you value personal connections & friendly neighbors it is not a good place. I grew up in San Diego, moved to the Fort 2008-2012 with my parents to attend CSU, & have been living in Normal, IL for 2 years of grad school. I have never been in a state where the people are so strange & distant. The transient nature, increasing new-age movement & the creepy secret military presence contribute to a dark vibe. Good luck making any genuine friends or putting down roots in a spirit-filled church, if that is important to you. My family & I attended 20+ different churches & never found a home church (comparatively, I made multiple friends in IL within my first week, & the first church I attended became my home). In four years there I made maybe 4 good friends, all who moved away after graduation due to the lack of jobs in the Fort. I didn’t like San Diego very much due to fast pace & overcrowding, but at least the people there I could connect with were real & had a depth of character. People in CO always seem to have a glazed-over look in their eye & have their head in the sky, which is appropriate due to the lack of oxygen at that elevation. Also very into their own lives with little concern for strangers who aren’t in their life bubble, and very suspicious of others.
A great place if you like the outdoors, but be prepared to share your nature scape with a glut of other people with the same idea. There isn’t really much isolated wilderness left, & you often have to pay to enjoy it. There is a large Hispanic population here & while I loved my Hispanic friends in San Diego, those here tend to let their children run wild & regularly steal merch from Goodwill (my Dad worked there). The Mexican food is nowhere near as good or fresh-tasting as San Diego, for obvious reasons.
Fort Collins has changed a lot in the last 2-3 years, and is beginning to become the next Boulder. It used to be the roads were clear & easy in the summer when the students were gone, but now traffic congestion is a year-round problem. Bus system is ok, but could be better. There are also very few jobs unless you work for the university, HP/Avago/Intel, or settle for a sales job (It took my dad 4 years to finally land a part-time graphic design job, & it was even hard for me to find a part-time job while a student). The rent is creeping up due to high demand, & you can’t find anything for under $1100-1200. My parents rent a 3-bedroom house for $1400/mo. They couldn’t move because they couldn’t find another pet-friendly place.
All of that being said, the Fort does still have a lot of things going for it (I just happen to value social interaction slightly more highly than amenities - in my mind, who cares if there’s lots to do if you feel isolated?). Old Town is always a great place to hang out, with hidden gems if you know the right alleys to check out. There are 30+ bars with different vibes, so it is hard to get bored if you like to bar-hop (though only really one legit dance club, wish there were more of those). There is an incredible dance scene, particularly swing, blues & salsa (extending down to Denver). Probably the best part is how easy it is to buy fresh, organic food & live green. CSAs & natural groceries abound & I got raw milk from a dairy in Windsor. The local breweries are awesome. There are a lot of hip restaurants & fairly good sushi for being landlocked. It is the most bike-friendly place I have ever lived, with bike lanes & 25 miles of trails. It is the most laid-back of the four main cities (Denver, Boulder, CO Springs & FoCo). Close proximity to snow sports (1.5 - 2.5 hrs). The weather is pretty good, with a lot of sunshine & warm days interspersed between snow storms.
Overall I’d rank it 3 out of 10 for interpersonal connection, 9 out of 10 for things to do, & 6.5 out of 10 for affordability/liveability.
Aria | Normal, IL