Boulder(ish) vs Colorado Springs be Fort Collins

Looking to relocate to Colorado in 2020. Considering Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, or the Boulder/surrounding areas. Pros & Cons for each as far as cost of living, quality of life, community/people, & climbing accessibility (familiar with climbing in/around Boulder, more so asking about Springs/Fort Collins)?

From my own experience

Boulder:
Cost of living - dramatically high
Quality of life - alright, banned from drinking sugared beverages
community/people - mixed bag, lotta locals only types and a lotta hyper welcoming
climbing accessibility - your backyard, all styles, all grades

Front Range:
cost of living - fair
quality of life- good
community- less existent, but there are some well connected climbers
climbing accessibility- still very close, consider clear creek. additionally its easier access to places like devils head because of the proximity to C470 and I25.

I don't know if I could live in CO Springs, given the religious right, the military presence and the awful bike infrastructure.

Aren’t CO Springs, Boulder, Fort Collins and Denver all considered part of the front range? 

Whoops! They probably all are technically considered the Front Range. I guess I meant more the towns surrounding Boulder like Louisville, Lafayette, Longmont, Superior, etc.
My bad! 

"no city in america has its head so far up its own ass as boulder. then again, the flatirons sure are fun." -- a friend of mine shortly after moving there

Boulder has the most classic/well known climbing, but up here we have tons of less-classic (and less crowded) rock - and Vedauwoo is an hour away.  FoCo is a teeny bit less crowded than Boulder, but still feels "full".  The community seems fine everywhere in the front range to me, though boulder stuff gets busy and that makes some people angry.

Personally, I think Boulder is a nicer town in terms of looks, parks and so on - but FoCo can give it a run for its money in many ways.  Visit both if you can, see what you like!

Springs has good climbing, but yeah it's... politically different from other front range towns.  Cool if that's your thing I suppose.

Edit:  Oh, how could I forget?  If you like beer at all, Fort Collins is the only correct choice.  We have a few breweries.  Like 20-something.

Long Ranger wrote: I don't know if I could live in CO Springs, given the religious right, the military presence and the awful bike infrastructure.

I know, right!  Eff those people that have a religion and follow it.  And don't get me started on those damn military.  Training hard everyday to protect my ass.  Sheesh.

I wonder if you could say the same thing about a muslim community and NOT get deleted in a nano second.

As someone who moved to the Springs recently, I have been pleasantly surprised.  

Climbing - Tons of it. All year long
I've been really impressed with the quantity, quality and variety
1.5 hours to Shelf road for all the sport climbing you could ever want
1.5 hours to Turkey rock/South Platte for a lifetime worth of incredible trad
1.5 hours to Devils head for a bit of everything
Some great spots that are a little away from the crowds and ripe for development that you'll have to find on your own.
minutes to Garden of the gods and Cheyenne Mountain if you need a quick climb after work

The town
Cost of living is considerably less than Boulder or Denver, but moderately pricey and rising.
You wont find an all-in-one vegan smoothie, yoga and dog acupuncture studio on every corner like you will in Boulder, but each of those things are around (maybe not the dog acupuncture. You'll still have to drive to Boulder for that).
Several good breweries and coffee roasters
More diversity of people than anywhere else I've lived in CO. By far.
While I know that Focus on the Family and such are around, it's not something that has an impact in any meaningful way.
Same for the military presence.  Yes, you'll occasionally see folks walking in fatigues, but thats about it.  
I'm sure there are bars around where I wouldn't like the scene, but the same can be said of any place. You'll find the same douchey bros at the Walrus in Boulder as you will at the equivalent spot in the Springs.
Shitty bike infrastructure for sure.

And in the interest of my friends in the Springs still talking to me after I make this public post suggesting that this is a cool place to live: Garden of the gods is crowded and really not that great, the traffic is pretty bad. Crime rates that about average or a little high for a city its size (read: there is some crime here). Hail will fuck you up.  You, your house, your car, everything. There are plenty of homeless folks walking around. Most of them are just minding there own business, but if seeing folks who are dirty, poor, and possibly on drugs offends you, maybe stick with Boulder (probably avoid most climbing areas too).

Cheers,

I've lived in all three. Boulder and Fort Collins are great and have actual character to them. They both have great trail access, bike lanes, road biking opportunities, good climbing access (though Boulder is better), and places around town feel generally close and accessible. They feel like real towns. Colorado Springs is mostly endless strip malls and mega churches with a small decent downtown area.  It also has a very conservative feel to it. Basically what I'm saying is Colorado Springs is a very distant third for a lot of reasons. The other two are great.

Boulder is the obvious winner in terms of climbing, culture, and accessibility....if you can afford it. Average price for a home in Boulder is $650,000.

Colorado Springs gets a bad rap for being conservative and military but honestly its not that bad. The military is only the 3rd largest economy in the Springs (behind healthcare and Finance/Insurance industries). Average price for a house is $326,000 (denver is $450,000).

There are probably 100 threads on this topic. Compared to old threads, the only difference now is more people and higher housing costs. You don't mention how much money you have or where you might be working, and those are both important considerations. Don't worry too much about the stereotypical political leanings of one place or another. You can find cool people just about anywhere.

I will add that Fort Collins is not very convenient to climbing areas. Horsetooth gets old, Poudre Canyon is a 30+ minute drive, and Vedauwoo is not for everyone and has a short season. FoCo is also far from the southern Front Range climbing areas, many which are awesome. If you want easy access to climbing, Boulder is hard to beat if you can afford it. You may want to consider Golden as well. I won't comment on COS because I am not very familiar with it. 

Greg D wrote:

I know, right!  Eff those people that have a religion and follow it. 

I mean the evangelical, far-right Christians in CO Springs follow something, but I'm not sure it's religion. I think what seems a little off-putting to live there are the far right politics, racism,  the anti-gay sentement, the anti-abortion violence - stuff like that. I'm not sure though, that that's a part of any religion. I don't think I have to point out the obvious hypocrisy of mega churches. Do I want to be living around all that. Not really.

 And don't get me started on those damn military.  Training hard everyday to protect my ass.  Sheesh.

I guess again perhaps it's the overwhelming feeling of Nationalism, rather than Patriotism you feel in the city. I am also saddened by how many deaths in the mountains I read about that are tied to military personnel, both grunts and officers. I wonder if there is something systemic about it? Maybe there is a correlation between military service and mental health that isn't being properly addressed?

I wonder if you could say the same thing about a muslim community and NOT get deleted in a nano second.

As-salamu alaykum, Brother. The last person called a terrorist in a Colorado Springs murder was self-labeled a Christian.

No comment on the crappy road conditions and lack of maintenance? I guess we can agree on something.

Shoutout to Louisville. Definitely a lot slower than Boulder, crowd is a lot older. But it's quiet, I can ride my bike on the roads and feel ok because they aren't crowded.

Boulder is expensive. People are generally nice but there is a subset of obnoxious people that think their shit doesn't stink living there. 

Greg D wrote:

I know, right!  Eff those people that have a religion and follow it.  And don't get me started on those damn military.  Training hard everyday to protect my ass.  Sheesh.

I wonder if you could say the same thing about a muslim community and NOT get deleted in a nano second.

Hey, whatever stops them from moving here. 

So far, this forum has been mildly helpful, but highly entertaining.

If you're eyeing Eldorado Canyon (a few steps south of Boulder) as a major climbing destination, make sure you can take weekdays off from work. A $25 day fee on weekends has been mentioned: Disastrous Eldo Parking Plan . "Losing" one of the Front Range highlights might make Boulder/Louisville/Lafayette less appealing as you need to drive an hour to get away from the supercrowded and noisy chosspile of Boulder Canyon. If sport is high on your list, Golden or SW Denver could be geographically optimal as Clear Creek (also supercrowded) and Devils Head is near. Golden area also has easy access to I-70 and 285 heading up into the bigger hills and South Platte crags such as Thunder Ridge and Turkey Rocks.

If only there was SOMETHING to do between Eldo and BoCan. Oh well, Boulder is lost for good.

Long Ranger wrote: I mean the evangelical, far-right Christians in CO Springs follow something, but I'm not sure it's religion. I think what seems a little off-putting to live there are the far right politics, racism,  the anti-gay sentement, the anti-abortion violence - stuff like that. I'm not sure though, that that's a part of any religion. I don't think I have to point out the obvious hypocrisy of mega churches. Do I want to be living around all that. Not really.

I guess again perhaps it's the overwhelming feeling of Nationalism, rather than Patriotism you feel in the city. I am also saddened by how many deaths in the mountains I read about that are tied to military personnel, both grunts and officers. I wonder if there is something systemic about it? Maybe there is a correlation between military service and mental health that isn't being properly addressed?

As-salamu alaykum, Brother. The last person called a terrorist in a Colorado Springs murder was self-labeled a Christian.

No comment on the crappy road conditions and lack of maintenance? I guess we can agree on something.

I lived in the springs for a few years.  Never ran into any evangelical Christians or racists, met plenty of gay people, and found the entire city to be inclusive AF.  

However, I was once told I couldn’t drink a beer In the woods of Chataqua Park after climbing, by some smug hipster who then proceeded to smoke a bowl.  
Different strokes for different folks I guess, but I’d live down in the springs before up north if I ever returned.
Best of luck with your move.  Have fun and be safe.

"Chautauqua" - three "u"s. I do apologize, I have a thing for spelling places correctly.