OT: Fort Collins, CO #2 best to live.

[24champ]

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105386/America's-Best-Places-to-Live-2008

One of the first things you notice about this Rocky Mountain city is that practically every new road has a bike lane. Even the wheelless can get in on the action now that Fort Collins (which ranked No. 1 on our list in 2006) has a bike library in the middle of its historic downtown: Residents and visitors can check out a bicycle for up to seven days, free. “I’m generally out on my bike two to three times a week,” says Greg Churchman, 46, who owns a human-resources consulting firm. He and his wife Beth, 50, a probation officer, sometimes ride to nearby Horsetooth Reservoir with their sons James, 16, and Lucas, 14. “The park and trails system in this town are incredible,” says Beth.

Even if you’re not the outdoorsy type, Fort Collins has a ton to recommend it. Old Town, the city’s historic district, contains four microbreweries and more than two dozen restaurants, most of them with alfresco seating. A healthy concentration of bioscience and tech companies, including Agilent Technologies, Hewlett-Packard and Kodak, keeps employment opportunities high. Colorado State University occupies a scenic spot in the middle of town, providing a college-town feel and youthful energy. And the city is on the forefront of environmental planning; it just received a grant from the Department of Energy to start a solar-energy project downtown. As for health care, the award-winning Poudre Valley Health System will soon be home to a brand-new cancer center.

While the excellent schools have been overcrowded in recent years, officials have taken steps to correct the problem by moving some grades to different buildings. “I moved here for the quality of the schools and basically the quality of life,” says Tracy Riley, 39, a marketing communications specialist who arrived last year from Windsor, Calif. “Fort Collins has everything.”

Don't see Boulder listed anywhere CU fans.

[Dagmar]

Lived there when I moved to the states for a year and a half. Not a fan. Conservative mindset, oldtown is ok but the town is too spread out for my liking. Maybe to raise a family it's a nice place but to be in your mid twenties?

[SureShot]

I have spent a good deal of time there due to having many friends go to CSewe, but you can have it. Too far from fishing and and skiing. I like this place, however you would be only 28 miles from Hotrod.

http://www.mylasso.com/FileWarehouse...towns-2008.pdf

[Natedogg]

born and raised. fort fun for sure. but i didn't even know about the "bike library!"

[24champ]

[Fedaykin]

Originally Posted by Rusty Shackleford

Lived there when I moved to the states for a year and a half. Not a fan. Conservative mindset, oldtown is ok but the town is too spread out for my liking. Maybe to raise a family it's a nice place but to be in your mid twenties?

Umm, if you didn't like Fort Collins as a person in your mid twenties I think you are insane! It's a college town; it's got a huge 20-30 yo population along with the attractions for that age group. The hot coeds alone.....

Also, it's actually a hugely non-conservative area given that it's a mid western U.S. city.

[rugbythug]

Since when is conervative a bad thing?

[Kaylore]

Smelly cow town? Pass....

[BigPlayShay]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

Smelly cow town? Pass....

Greeley smells. Fort C, not so much.

[Flex Gunmetal]

Originally Posted by Fedaykin

Umm, if you didn't like Fort Collins as a person in your mid twenties I think you are insane! It's a college town; it's got a huge 20-30 yo population along with the attractions for that age group. The hot coeds alone.....

Also, it's actually a hugely non-conservative area given that it's a mid western U.S. city.

Exactly, I'm 24 and have lived pretty much my entire life. There is always stuff to do, the bars are always jumping and there are is no shortage of young girls

Originally Posted by Kaylore

Smelly cow town? Pass....

Have you ever been here?

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by Flex Gunmetal

Exactly, I'm 24 and have lived pretty much my entire life. There is always stuff to do, the bars are always jumping and there are is no shortage of young girls


Have you ever been here?

Um, I've lived in Colorado most of my life. I was just up there two weeks ago. I have two friends that live and work there. About a third of the time I drive in it stinks of manure.

[Flex Gunmetal]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

Um, I've lived in Colorado most of my life. I was just up there two weeks ago. I have two friends that live and work there. About a third of the time I drive in it stinks of manure.

Hmm, I notice it maybe once or twice a year when there's heavy wind from the East. It's very rare, but I do notice it.

[Prodigal19]

Ive been to Fort Collins and yes it does smell

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by Flex Gunmetal

Hmm, I notice it maybe once or twice a year when there's heavy wind from the East. It's very rare, but I do notice it.

Then FYI, whenever you smell it, just know that I'm probably in town that day. It's a bit more frequent than once or twice a year. You probably are more used to it because you live there.

[Flex Gunmetal]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

Then FYI, whenever you smell it, just know that I'm probably in town that day. It's a bit more frequent than once or twice a year. You probably are more used to it because you live there.

That's why I mentioned I notice it, I definitely haven't gotten used to it. Maybe it just doesn't get as far west as where I live/work.
There are some cows far east, but it's hardly a cow town.

[Tombstone RJ]

When I was going to CSU, I rode my mountain bike freaking everywhere. I had a little VW Golf that I just parked in the driveway and never drove. My two modes of transportation around town were riding or walking....

[Beantown Bronco]

For the #2 place to live, I find it surprising that there are currently 805 single family homes in Fort Collins listed for sale on realtor.com.

[Flex Gunmetal]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

For the #2 place to live, I find it surprising that there are currently 805 single family homes in Fort Collins listed for sale on realtor.com.

Kinda falls in line with the national trend, huh?

[Beantown Bronco]

Originally Posted by Flex Gunmetal

Kinda falls in line with the national trend, huh?

But I wouldn't expect that from the "#2 place to live", especially one in which the article describes as always having a good business base and high employment. There are plenty of nice cities right now that are not suffering in that way.

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by SureShot

I have spent a good deal of time there due to having many friends go to CSewe, but you can have it. Too far from fishing and and skiing. I like this place, however you would be only 28 miles from Hotrod.

http://www.mylasso.com/FileWarehouse...towns-2008.pdf

Ft. Collins has fly fishing and cast fishing very close by (Poudre River comes down from the mountains and then the big lake right to the west of town) so I'm a little confused by your fishing statement.

As for Alpine Skiing, yes, you have to drive a little ways to get to a decent mountain. However, you can also go North into Wyoming to sky some places up there as well.

As for cross country skiing, you can do that in the foothills if you so desire.

Also Red Feather is very close by, and it's a pristine outdoors environment, one of my very favorites.

Also, there is some great mtn. biking trails very close by too...

[SureShot]

Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ

Ft. Collins has fly fishing and cast fishing very close by (Poudre River comes down from the mountains and then the big lake right to the west of town) so I'm a little confused by your fishing statement.

As for Alpine Skiing, yes, you have to drive a little ways to get to a decent mountain. However, you can also go North into Wyoming to sky some places up there as well.

As for cross country skiing, you can do that in the foothills if you so desire.

Also Red Feather is very close by, and it's a pristine outdoors environment, one of my very favorites.

Also, there is some great mtn. biking trails very close by too...

Have you actually fished the Poudre? I have fished Red Feathers as well. Yes there is fishing, but I wouldn't call it good by any stretch.

[DBroncos4life]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

Smelly cow town? Pass....

My friends would always drive by a hog farm and say thats the smell of money. I always replied thank god I don't have any. Ah good times.

[BroncoBuff]

My Mom lives right near the college ... our band used to play the little banquet room at the Ft. Collins Country Club al the time, and several time I went to the chaotic beer keg-blowout that was "College Days" in the 1980s (there's no way they're still doing that, are they?).

Anyway .. gotta admit it's a very nice town.

[theAPAOps5]

Fitting they are second best. Seeing as how their University is second best as well.......

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by SureShot

Have you actually fished the Poudre? I have fished Red Feathers as well. Yes there is fishing, but I wouldn't call it good by any stretch.

I might be getting two rivers screwed up, but it's the one that comes down through the canyon, just west of Ft. C. and goes up into the foothills. It's not a long drive, and I saw guys fly fishing and catching beautiful brown and rainbow trout all the time, alot of catch and release stuff.