Sell me on the Fort Collins area

[DavidG_WI]

Or nearby that would be a decent place to live for for an "unskilled laborer". I need a change in my life and I don't think I can find it where I am.

I figure FC after looking up good places to live for low income people. Hows the job market, social services and the basics of life? I don't really know anything about Colorado and have never been there.

[CrispyQ]

1. Spend a few minutes checking out this site:

http://www.protrails.com/area/4/boulder-denver-golden-fort-collins-lyons

Not sure of the economy or job market up there, but on your days off you just need to drive a few miles for some of the most gorgeous hiking you could imagine!

[meathead]

2. It's a nice college town

I'm from Longmont 30 minutes away. I don't have specific answers to your questions.

I can tell you the front range in CO has fairly expensive living costs. Natural beauty, mountain sports, healthy living, public lands and quality of life are the big attractions along the front range.

Check the forums on city-data.com you'll find lots of demographic info and input from locals.

Good luck with your decision making!

[fizzgig]

3. fort collins is a pretty good place to live

if you can afford it. average two-bedroom apartment goes for about $1050 or so plus utilities, renting a room in a house will run you $500-$700ish. there are some more affordable places to live, they're just a bit harder to find. vacancy rates are so low right now that landlords and property management companies can jack up the prices.

loveland is more affordable and there are a number of little towns all around.

it's pretty liberal, the weather is mostly reasonable (although it's 38 degrees right now) and the mountains are right there. the university brings a bit of diversity we might not see elsewhere and we refer to the area as vanilla valley for a reason. plenty of social services, unless you're looking for housing assistance, that waiting list was closed last time i looked.

there are plenty of service jobs to be had and the workforce center has job placement assistance available. public transportation here leaves a lot to be desired, but the city is pretty bike friendly.

that's about what i can think of seeing as i'm only on my first cup of coffee, but i'd be happy to answer any more questions that you may have.

[mountain grammy]

4. Colorado is beautiful and there are jobs even for the "unskilled."

people are generally laid back and friendly. Have a good car, you'll need it. Good luck!

[locks]

5. Ft Collins is a great town just the right size

but all rents around Denver/Boulder/Colorado Springs/Ft Collins (Front Range) have gone up and there aren't a lot of places to rent. CSU Ft Collins and CUBoulder are large universities and the students are having trouble finding houses or rooms they can afford. In Boulder a one-bedroom will rent for $1100 up but Ft Collins and towns between are sometimes less. Colorado is doing a little better on jobs compared to many states and we have a lot of construction going on but unskilled jobs and service jobs do not pay very well. We have good community colleges if you're interested in going back to school.

There are so many advantages to living in Colorado but it is not cheap. You will enjoy the mountains and the great trails everywhere from April through Sept. but skiing, snowboarding in the winter are expensive. You will probably need a car though there is a pretty good bus system.
Lots of music, breweries, sports and activities all year. If you know someone you could stay with it would be good to visit for a while to check out what's available and get used to the changes in weather and altitude.
The reason CO has become expensive and crowded is because so many want to live here (and legalization of pot of course) LOL

[DavidG_WI]

6. Yeah I figured as much

Like I said, I settled on it because it came up often in good cheap places to live, but those articles where all pre-legalization.

Like I said, things are pretty shitty here and I'm just looking for a change and figured northern Colorado would be a good change over Wisconsin, seeing as I've been to Texas and Florida and both are nope.