My wife and I live in NJ. This state has treated us just fine. We have family in Colorado and would like to retire there (this would be in about 5 years). Family is in Aurora and that does NOT appeal to me. We really love Colorado every time we visit.
We want a college town “vibe” and Boulder looks great, but is just too expensive. My (admittedly quick) googling/use of AI seems to say that Fort Collins could be a good destination.
Does anyone live there or have any insight regarding the city? Or perhaps have any other suggestions?
Looking for: College town vibe, good hospitals (just in case), lots of outdoors activities available, live music, “culture”, etc…
I’ve lived in FtC for over 20 years. My wife is a native. Feel free to PM me and we can chat.
I wouldn’t say there is much of a college town vibe, despite CSU being located in mid town. Population is pushing 200k counting students. Although not as pricey as Boulder, fairly nice houses are in the high 6 figure range and the most desirable neighborhoods are easily over a million.
FC has a big college, but there’s not much of a college town vibe IMO. It’s sort of hidden and really doesn’t seem to a big part of the culture from what I can tell.
Hospitals, very little input there but from what little I know, they’re good.
It’s fairly expensive in FC, but very crowded IMO. Takes forever to get across town as it’s all spread out.
I’m not much into the bar scene or “live music” types of places so I’m no help there.
Outdoors, kind of but not really. Everything is crowded, hard to find space to yourself in this part of the world, BUT, that’s from a guy coming from Wyoming. Since you’re coming from NJ, I’m sure you’d have a very different perspective. Skiing isn’t very close for day trips IMO, hiking is OK but may require a bit of drive (30-60 min) for good stuff. Depends on what you like to do. Golf is crowded AF. Don’t know much about tri community, but there’s quite a bit around trail running.
About an hour to drive to Denver if I25 isn’t a parking lot, which happens not infrequently.
I’ve lived in Aurora for 20 years, and really like FC. While it does have the college town vibe, I’d say it’s a more conservative feel, not politically necessarily, just meaning not a rambunctious type of college town.
It’s a great location and spitting distance from the foothills and high country.
Consider Golden. It has a college. Small town. Some hiking and cycling very nearby. You’re 30 minutes closer to the big ski areas than Boulder (if that matters). It has some cowboy/tourist vibe and, unfortunately, the Coors brewery gives it a somewhat industrial feel. For culture, though, you’re probably driving to Denver (which is not very far). And, you’re really close to Red Rocks, which is an incredible outdoor music venue (mostly, May-October).
I would imagine that there is. It’s a very active community. The biggest swim club has a masters/tri group and there’s seemingly good road riding around.
My better half and I split time between the east coast/Florida and Longmont for the last few years. Haven’t spent a ton of time in Ft. Collins other than riding and some fishing in the nearby areas. But Horsetooth Reservoir is great - it gets hectic in the summer but the cycling is great, especially in the Masonville and Rist Canyon area. We looked at Fort Collins as well, but liked Longmont just a tad more. Food scene is getting better, but Boulder and Fort Collins have that much more so.
A few updates: I pretty much run and ride for “fun” nowadays so I do not need a good tri scene.
I DID like Golden a lot when I visited. Solid vibe and I liked the “downtown” area.
I guess I just thought a college town may have more “going on” and I liked the idea of following and supporting a local college team and going to sporting events (so either the Buffs or the Rams work for me)….
If NOT Fort Collins, what other areas might “work”? Mountain kinda town, with lively vibe and stuff to do? Sorry if this is vague….
And while we will have SOME money, I would not want to spend more than $500,000 on a home.
If you aren’t locked into moving to Colorado, Consider Cheyenne Wyoming. It is about 2 hours from Denver and about 50 miles from Fort Collins. The cost of living in Wyoming is considerably cheaper (according to AI), mainly because they don’t have a state income tax. From Cheyenne, you are 45 minutes to the mountains.
Key Differences:
Overall Cost: Living in Fort Collins, CO, can be over 13% more expensive than in Cheyenne, WY.
Housing: Housing costs, including rent and home prices, are much lower in Cheyenne compared to Fort Collins.
Taxes: Wyoming has no state personal income tax, which provides a significant financial benefit over Colorado.
Wyoming is actually a VERY good option from a money standpoint. They would NOT tax my NJ teachers pension and that could be real cash saved. They also do not tax SS like some states. And if cost of living is lower, that also means more money in my pocket.
I am wondering if any Wyoming cities would perhaps seem “TOO DIFFERENT” for a transplanted NJ person. Denver, Golden, Boulder all seemed great..but I have no clue if Cheyenne or Laramie would seem too small/different…???
Cheyenne is the largest city, population wise, in Wyoming with a population around 64k. Laramie is about half the size but closer to mountains (I think). Cheyenne has a neat culture, especially around Frontier Days. It is a straight shot to Denver via the interstate, so easy to make day or overnight trips for concerts. With the money you save on cost-of-living, you can pay for hotels or Airbnb for the times you want to spend a few days in Colorado.
It isn’t quite as pretty as the Colorado cities that are right next to the mountains.
I lived there for a couple of years in the 80’s and have been back a few times in the last few years for work.
I say this with respect, but there are several vary obvious reasons why WY is significantly cheaper than CO. You really have to see it if for yourself. Cheyenne is 40 minutes from Fort Collins but might as well be on another planet IMO. There are parts of WY that are stunning, but they are either insanely expensive (looking at you, Jackson) or remote.
I’m making a huge assumption here, but coming from NJ, I don’t think you would find the politics or culture of WY to your liking. CO would mostly be fine.
Golden is really cool but significantly more expensive than Fort Collins and only a little less than Boulder.
In FoCo, you should be able to find a decent condo for $500k.
I appreciate the politics etc comment. Rightly or wrongly, I am a registered and pretty liberal Democrat from NJ. I feel like (and feel free to correct me) the culture shock in a tiny Wyoming town might be not so much to my liking…
I know moving out west will already be a culture shock, but we have spent a fair amount of time in Denver, Aurora, Boulder, and less so Golden. Visited Colorado Springs.
I feel like I COULD move to those with little culture shock (or not so much I couldnt adjust)
You should definitely choose Colorado if it’s imporant to you to be around like minded city and left leaning people.
Wyoming isn’t all that friendly and most of the time people who live here leave others alone and would prefer the same in return.
Only 2 “liberal” areas, Laramie (university) and Jackson. Most of the rest of the state runs fairly conservative to libertarian. The Trump narrative isn’t as strong as many would think given it’s political reputation, but it’s still going to be hard on a city liberal from back East.