I like and dislike the unpredictable weather as you mentioned. Could do without the hot/dry spells in summer that stunt the garden, but like that 3 days after a blizzard, you can be out in shorts. Love the mountains! Need to get up there more next spring. I'm starting to re-love downtown Denver. Enough "big city" to be fun, but lacking the ghettos and crime of the really big cities.

With the recent unpleasentness in my life, I toyed with the idea of leaving Colorado. Decided to stay at least 1 more year. Found a groovy apartment in Westminster, gonna spend the winter learning about container gardening.

Down to the last 2 bites of the tom in my other thread...So sad...

WOW! A new thread! There weren't any posts over the weekend, and I thought maybe this forum had shut down for the winter, and nobody told me : )

Ironically, the things I like best about where I'm at now, are the same things that I didn't like when I first moved here. We moved from Castle Rock, which had lost it's small town feel, and was just another suburb, to the western side of the Rockies, and you might as well of dropped me on the moon! I have to drive to the next town to grocery shop, get a haircut, or take my son to preschool. The mayor is trying to entice chain stores, and several new subdivisions are going in, but I wish it would stay a small town. The only thing I wish we had was a source for local news. The satelite company considers Denver stations "local" even though they are more than 200 miles away!

If I could change anything, it would just be a bigger piece of property, so that I could grow whatever I wanted without worrying about whether or not there is enough space. DH and the boys are into motorsports, so acreage would make them happy as well.

Okay, I could also do without the grasshoppers and bindweed, if that's not asking too much.

Bonnie

I love where we live!!

Everything about it. Okay, we do have a pricey and flim-flam grocery store but at least we have one, Bonnie! The air is clean...well, a little dusty; the streets are quiet...well, lots of annoying, roaming dogs; the weather is perfect...no, really; and we can afford to rent a whole house with yards and have our dogs without annoying the neighbors with barking.

Although I was intimidated by the short growing season and freezing/below freezing/WELL TOO FAR below freezing weather, I have somehow acclimatized to it and look forward to it. I would say I'd make the growing season a little longer but I could also get off my bum and build a cold frame already!!

No, scratch that, I'd like the growing season to be longer.

I'd complain about the dryness but I am not a fan of humidity and I actually like the air dry. I just drink lots of water and use lotion and chapstick...lots of chapstick!

meteor, if you need any containers, I have lots of those faux-terracotta plastic pots. Lotsssssss...

Wheeeeee....

What happened here?? Oh, it's Skybird!

Let's see . . . I like the diversity of the forests. It's something I liked about SW Colorado, except everything is more vertical down there. I don't do vertical very well anymore so better stay where I'm at with cedar, tamarack, white fir, red fir, hemlock, yellow pine, lodgepole pine, aspen . . . all growing within 100 square feet - I swear, I've seen it more than once!

Howsomeever . . . the days get sooo short in the Winter and there's sooo much overcast over about 4 or 5 months, okay 6. Then the days get really loooong. I can hardly keep up with the change but I'm happy. . . . sixteen hours of sunshine at the end of June and just a little over 8 hours at Christmas . . . maybe.

The dryness and the cold . . . oh, gosh. After living up here for over 40 years, I have trouble adjusting to the lack of daylight, the cold and the year around dryness.

Where else would I live?? How 'bout 3 months every year in Florida??

Where else would I garden? I doubt if I'd have a clue how to garden anywhere else.

digitS'

I like it here. We're in a small town, so we have the necessities just 3 miles from the house, and we're only 15-20 minutes from Colorado Springs, for anything else. We found a place that's a short drive for DH to go to work, with a 1/2 acre lot and NO homeowners assn. It's a very quiet neighborhood, and we have a yard big enough for the dogs to romp.

I really enjoyed the sunshine last winter. I walked my dogs more last winter than they've probably ever enjoyed before. Of course, we had to get our walk in before about 2 pm when the winds kicked in. Once the winds come, it's time to go inside and stay there!

More mature trees would be nice. I do miss trees. There are some out here, they're just not very old yet. A little more rain would be nice too. I wouldn't mind a little more humidity, I'm not looking forward to nosebleed season... I really need to get better about keeping the humidifier filled.

All in all, I really like it here in Colorado. I don't want to move anywhere else anytime soon. I'm tired of it. If I move again, it would probably be back to Vermont, but the longer I'm gone, the less I think I'll ever go back. Never know though. According to our plan, we should still be living in Alaska...we WERE on the 5 year plan...

Naaah, you don't need to go back to Vermont, Bean.

Did you know that if Idaho County (county seat, Grangeville) was a state it would rank 48th in size - just behind Vermont and New Hampshire? And, after living in Alaska . . . .

"NO homeowners assn" - - you could have chickens!

d'S'

I like it here because I can drive an hour to the west and be in canyon country, and an hour to the east and be in 14,000 ft peaks. And all that flora diversity that Steve mentions. I like having so much irrigation water that I now have webbed toes. I like it that it's so dry and arid that it takes 15 minutes to dry a pair of heavy wool socks out on the porch. I really like September, October, and November when it freezes at night and hits 70º in the day.

I don't like the windy spring. I don't like 20ºF temps on June 15th, or the 20ºF temps on Sept 10th, but, hey, it always warms up afterwards.

And now, with the new digital TV, I can watch channels from Albuquerque, Denver, and Salt Lake City, so I'm feeling very cosmopolitan.

Hey, I haven't been very active in the forum lately. I'm busy with the master gardener class two nights a week and finishing my basement some of the other nights. And I was so busy at work this year that I couldn't sneak enough garden forum time in! But it's slowing down now.

Anyway, I go through quite a bit of flip-flopping on living in Utah Valley. I grew up in California, so sometimes I wish I lived back in a warmer climate with 70° days here and there in the winter. But I also really enjoyed a few years of living near the Great Lakes, and I miss the Eastern/Midwestern forests, lakes, and rivers.

What I like about where I live in Utah: LOTS of sunshine, even in winter; impressive mountains; snow usually stays in the mountains and melts in the valley within a few days; great skiing and snowboarding; I can afford a half-acre lot here (well I'm glad I bought in 2001 before it got expensive), which has been very nice for my gardening addiction; decent growing season (Mothers' Day to mid October usually); nice people; a safe neighborhood.

What I wish I had here: more and bigger trees on the mountains, instead of sagebrush, junipers, and scrub oak; richer, less alkaline soil; more lakes and rivers; better schools (with adequate funding), and more diverse people. OK, most of those would require a lot more rain! But I'd be OK with that.

The truth is that I'd be happy to move anywhere east of the Mississippi. I always wanted to live in all the regions of the country, maybe for five years at a time. But getting married and having kids changes one's perspective on frequent moving!

My dream: a house on a small to medium-sized lake, with a dock in the backyard, in a forest of mixed hardwoods and conifers, with rolling hills. It would be on the edge of a medium-sized town, but within 20 miles of a bigger city with interesting things to do.

From what I've seen, the Minneapolis region fits the bill, but it's too darn cold there in the winter! I even went there for a job interview last year, but my wife said I'd have to move without her! Anyone seen any other areas of the country that fit my dream? Hey, a guy can dream a little, can't he? Maybe DW will come around someday. :-)

Stevation, you mentioned that you like the fact that you are in a safe neighborhood. That is the main reason we moved to Colorado. I grew up in a relatively large metropolitan area just east of the Mississippi, and after I got married, we were the victims of several crimes, cars vandalized, a car stolen out of our driveway, and then the straw that broke the camels back, our home was burglarized and they wiped us out. I remember pulling up to a stoplight once, and glancing in my rearview mirror. There was a guy crouched down, sneaking up to the driver's side door. I reached over and locked the door, and he turned around and got back in the vehicle behind me. The same thing happened to my sister, accept she didn't see them coming. They tried to pull her out of the car, and she hit the gas. Fortunately, all they got was her shoe. You had to lock the door to your house, even if you were just going in your own backyard! Once our first child was born, I told DH we had to get out of there. He interviewed for jobs in several states, and the low crime rate in Colorado was one of the main reasons we chose this state.

And like David, the low humidity is one of my favorite things about living here. Now when I go to Florida, or anywhere else that's humid, I feel like I can't breathe.

Oh, and if we are making wishlists, let me add that I'd like to be free of the dreaded HOA's!

Bonnie

Well number one has to be the sunshine... coming from Seattle, we are just in love with the Colorado climate. We don't even mind the cold, snowy winters - with sunshine it's a 100% improvement over 40 degrees and rainy for weeks on end.

We love being near the mountains. Steve has fallen in love with Rocky Mountain National park and just marvels that he can be there in an hour.

We love Fort Collins and our neighborhood. The city could be more diverse, but it's ok.

I do wish I had more property - for gardening and the dogs. So I think one day we will have to do something about that - but it is hard to think about moving away from our wonderful neighbors.

I know I should wish for a little more rain, but here in town, it's very green - so I don't perceive the dryness so much. And then there's the dogs to consider... more rain would mean more muddy feet.

And like the rest of the Colorado RMG'ers - less clay and death to bindweed!

Alice

Hey Bonnie, where was that place you lived? I know you've said you were from the South. Was it Memphis? Baton Rouge? New Orleans? Those attempted carjackings really are creepy!

OK, before I begin I should say that I am having a very bad day. Have been going through a root canal for the past month or so - finally today, all done, time to get a temporary crown fitted. Turned out between last visit and this the tooth split and they had to pull it. Lots of time, effort and MONEY to end up with a pulled tooth. And, of course, now there will be more money for a bridge. This is completely off topic, you understand, but I'm just letting you know my general mood and why I may end up leaning heavily on the negative side.

Weather: what do I dislike most. WIND, WIND, WIND. Sometimes when it blows for 2-3 weeks steady, it's enough to drive you crazy. And, of course, it ruins a lot of otherwise good gardening days. And it blows in the weed seeds, and dirt from nearby construction. OK, to be positive, it does clear out the air. Douglas, about 50 miles from here recently was named best air in the US, I believe. Having lived in CA, it's nice to see the sky is still blue, not brown.

And even though any city has light pollution, we are still
small enough to be able to see the stars at night.

I like the four seasons, but I wish winter was shorter and spring and fall were longer. I like opening the front door on winter mornings and seeing a dusting of snow on the neighbor's roofs glittering in the sun. I like the snow when it is new and clean and there isn't enough to have to shovel. I like it a little less when it's deep enough to get out the blower. I really hate it when it is so deep you can't get out of the driveway and the city can't be bothered to plow anything but the main streets!

Like many of you, I like not having a lot of humidity, although we could use a little more especially in winter. I like rain, so I could use more of that; although having to learn all about xeriscaping was fun.

As for Casper itself, I like being in a smaller town - no traffic, easy to get around. But, at the same time, I like the way the town is growing. There are so many things here now that weren't here when I came 10 years ago. Bad news, most of the restaurants we have here are chains or just generic American (beef). Good news, three new Asian restaurants have opened in the past couple of years, and one is ok and one is really good (the other one just opened and has Vietnamese food that has absolutely no taste - amazing). Bad news, nearest big city is Denver at 4 hours drive. Good news, we do have a local symphony, and an events center that attracts some pretty good concerts and the "best of broadway" series. Also a good little community theatre. For those who ski, we have facilities on Casper Mt. right on the edge of town; and in the summer, a lake about 20 miles away.

Good news, Safeway did a big remodel and now we can get fancy, schmancy food or still go to Walmart for the basics. Bad news, food here costs as much as in LA and, as discussed in previous threads, not much is grown here locally.

Good news, I was able to build a nice house in a nice neighborhood and have good neighbors. Bad news, I wouldn't be able to afford to do that now, just 6 years later, and we do have a snotty HOA.

Good news, because we are an energy state which brings in big bucks, we have no state tax, and lower property and sales taxes. Bad news, people are so tax-phobic that they wouldn't pass a temporary one-cent sales tax to build a new library. Rats.

Real bad news: I'm a Democrat in Wyoming. 'Nuff said.
Stevation, if you find that dream place, save a lot next door for me!

Ah-ha! Gotcha! I knew there were a bunch of you hovering around here somewhere! Just had to do something to knock you out of the shadows! Glad to see everybody joining in! :-)

Windwhipped, I feel your pain! The exact same thing happened to me about 10 years ago. Had the root canal and had a temporary filling in until the permanent one could be put in. Part of the temporary filling fell out, and I was leaving town for a week so I called the dentist (I think he was!) to get it fixed before I left. He told me not to worryit would be fine! While I was gone, it split all the way down. Paid for the root canal. Paid to see an emergency dentist in Illinoiswho couldnt do anything about it. And paid to have it pulled out after I got back to Denver! Did I say, I never went back to that "dentist" again! HE didnt have to pay for itor go thru it! Sorry to hear it happened to you too.

But overall I thought your Wyoming assessment was pretty darn fair! I dont think I could deal with the wind long-term! Dont even like it when it blows for a couple days down here! And, I didnt know Casper had a symphony orchestra! Im impressed! Seriously! Classical is pretty much the only kind of music I listen to! Glad you can get fancy schmancy food, but sorry to hear you have to deal with a HOA! That was one of the absolutes when I was looking for this house! NO HOA!

Do you know there are online book exchanges where you can get and give books. Heres a link to one of them: BookMooch
And if you know when youll be down to Denver next time, and want to pick up a LOT of (very eclectic) hardcover bookscome and get em! I had them donated when I was sending books to Books For Soldiers, and these are all the hardcover ones that are just way to heavy to sendnot to mention that I cant even afford to send paperbacks anymore! If youre interested, let me know, cause Im getting close to posting them on FreeCycle, just to get them out of the garage!

Re: the Democrat thinghang in there! Colorado went Democratic this time, so maybe itll spread further north by the next election!.

Alice, Id have a REAL problem with the lack of sun up in the Seattle area too. Illinois had enough GRAY days when I was growing up to last at least the rest of this lifetime!

Bonnie, I had no idea you had been thru all that! I second Steves question! Where on earth did you live when all that was going on? I suspect theres not TOO much crime in Silt! And you sure cant dis the view you have! Dont you get the Grand Junction stations? Im surprised!

And I completely agree with you about the humidity! When I get off a plane in Floridaor somewhere like DC, just a week ago, when the humidity hits I feel like I just walked into a brick wall! Cant breath and get all stuffy! Dont like it when my clothes stick to me either!

Glad to see you found your way back here, Steve! Its been sloooooow lately! I love the woods back east too, especially in fall when they turn all different colors, but definitely wouldnt want to trade the mountains and the climate for them. And, Minneapolis! After growing up near ChicagowellBrrrrrrrrr! Makes me shiver to even think about it! Tell your wife if you move to MN, she can come live with me!!! How about Grand Lake on the western side of Rocky Mountain Natl. Park?

GB, consider rubbing the tiniest little bit of Vaseline inside of your nose before you go to bed. It really helps! And remember, the trees WILL grow up!

Digit, I had never thought about how short your days would be up there in winter, but you really are quite a ways further north than many of us. I have trouble when the days get short, so Im not real sure how well Id deal with that. Dont know about the 3 months in Florida! Id have trouble with the "brick wall humidity!" How about Arizona or New Mexico for a few months!

Meteor, glad to hear youre gonna be around here for at least another yeareven if your garden does need to be in pots! Get some BIG ones and you can still grow some of the things you really want. Are you gonna have a place outside for the pots?

Jennifer, my other friend from Nederland would like to have a longer season too, but you sure do have a beautiful place to live as a trade off! Lots of water, and lots and lots and lots of chapstick! You got it!

I hope more of you will find this thread and post. It sure is fun to read what everybody has to say!

Tell me a story,
Skybird

Skybird,

Thanks for the kind words. Sorry it happened to you, too. The thing that really got me was that he told me today that when he was doing the root canal, he didn't find any decay and that maybe the original problem was that the tooth was splitting. Well, gees, if you are doing a root canal and don't find any decay, doesn't it occur to you then that there is another problem and you should find out what it is????

Thanks for the offer on the books; but I didn't mean to imply that we don't have any library here. We do, it's just short of space inside and short of parking outside. Nonetheless, I am a devoted customer and I have been donating my books to their "friends of the library" booksales. And maybe we'll find another way to finance a new library. (Perhaps your local library would like the books you have.)

digit - Did you know that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough where we lived in Alaska (we were just outside Wasilla city limits) is about the size of West Virginia?

We have no HOA, but we do have covenants. I'm pretty sure chicks aren't allowed, but the bigger problem would be my "children" {{gwi:1229299}}From 08 Aug 08

Chickens probably break when played with...

Working as a Realtor in Alaska, I learned enough about HOA's to know I don't want to live with one, and pay them for the privilege. Actually, the "clipboard" people are the main reason we never lived in base housing.

stevation- Utah was the first place I lived when I left VT. The winter seemed so mild. Then I moved to TX. When visiting UT during those years, suddenly the winter felt so cold! I met my husband while working at a ski area, and got married there.

I do wish I lived closer to skiing. It's about 3 hours from here. Way too far. We visited Colorado Springs once about 10 years ago when we lived in TX. We came skiing for a few days, and stayed with someone who lived here (we couldn't afford a hotel then). We drove to Copper Mtn to ski, and it didn't seem horribly far. We went that way once last winter, and after sitting on I-70 for 20-30 min, we won't go that direction again! Traffic was awful. Had no idea it had changed that much. Next time we ski, we're staying off the interstate!

Yep, Steve, it was Memphis. I still have a couple siblings in the suburbs surrounding the city, but now that my Dad has passed, I don't see going back there too many more times. My siblings, neices & nephews will just have to make the trip out here!

Skybird, I've wondered the same thing about the TV stations, but when you order the local channels, they give you the Denver stations. The Grand Junction news would certainly be more relevant.

Greenbean, I agree, the ski traffic is a mess. We are fortunate to be close to several places, Sunlight in Glenwood Springs is just a little over 30 minutes from here, Vail is about an hour, and Aspen about an 1 1/2 (not that we can affort to ski there!). Sunlight has a ski program for 4th graders, so my older son can go free this season. It's a small place, probably comparable to Eldora on the front range, but a good place for kids to learn anyway.

Bonnie

Canon City, Colorado. Pluses: Average January day is sunny, high of 50, low of 22. Fairly plentiful water supply, from old water rights on the Arkansas River. Good soil in the Lincoln Park area makes for good gardening. Relatively low home costs. Located right at the base of the foothills - five miles up Oak Creek Grade (county road) and you're "in the mountains". Very sunny climate year-round. Department of Corrections operates a whole 'campus' of prisons east of town, meaning plenty of stable State government jobs. Many friendly people.

Minuses: A bit of a mecca for cheapskate retirees who seem to have come here mostly for the low home costs and low tax rates; this keeps progress a bit stymied. Lack of funds to maintain streets as they should be, and sidewalks are poor to non-existent. Lack of riverfront development is baffling and tragic - junkyards, warehouses, and marginal properties front the river throughout town. Limited entertainment options. Erratic spring weather is the biggest gardening hindrance.

Stevation: I'm from Minnesota, and what you describe is unfortunately the quintessential Minnesotan dream. Lakefront property within commuting distance of the Twin Cities is primo priced, and the homes just keep getting bigger and bigger. Plus you have the jet skiers - buzzing constantly across the water like giant mosquitoes, all summer long...

I "love" where I live! Up against the mountains, on top of a hill. I have a great view! I'm on a flag lot so I'm behind the other houses, gives me some space. It's a safe neighbrohood. We're close to hiking/biking/jogging trails, all within walking distance. There's a sprinkler system for just about everything, so I don't mind it being a little on the dry side. Better quality soil would be nice. A little longer growing season too.

My only complaint is typical, the job market. I've been through 4 plant closures. I've given up on corporate America and am willing to just hang out. I still visualize myself working at Home Depot, say in the garden department. :0)

Plant closures!! Water prices!! Ski traffic!! Okay, those are things to think about.

I have pretty good job security but I have to drive about 45 minutes each way. We get a lot of calls from folks who lost their jobs from the turkey place that closed. What a tough economy!!

The water bill for the previous three months was $365!! Oh, my. I voted on behalf of our town getting into debt in order to fix the water system. Hopefully it will help in the long run.

I totally forgot about the ski and event traffic. I have to make a left turn onto my tiny hwy if I want to get out of town and ski season is a tough time for that. Then, with summer, the event traffic is just a long line of cars and there are no stops or lights. Hmm, I think they are planning to change this but I don't pay enough attention.

I still love it. I must love it to have forgotten about all of those things!!

!

Thats interesting! I thought the only time you guys had a lot of traffic up there was during Frozen Dead Guy Days in March!

;-)
Skybird

Here in the Bitterroot valley it is still beautiful with a 15 minute drive to the mountains with rivers, streams and lots of trees. I am hoping that there will always be open spaces and fields but it is growing too fast. I have lived in many states and this along with Essex Montana and Oahu,Hawaii were the prettiest. I would be in heaven to live here 6 months of the year and in Hawaii for 6 months a year. We do have overcast days in the winter and icy roads a lot where it melts and refreezes and makes black ice. We have 5 acres and no one lives directly across from us. Most of the homes in this area are 5 acres to 40 acres still. Since we are only 3 miles from town I am sure that won't last long. A mile away there are building a lot of new homes densely. I can look out the window and see deer, fox, pheasants, ducks and a lot of birds. We occasionally get really cold but usually it doesn't last too long. I don't like those times it get 20-30 below and stays there for several days. We are considered high dessert and if it wasn't for the extensive irrigation system in the valley we would be sagebrush. I have a small orchard and a number of trees though fairly flat and alkalai soil.

I love the changing of the seasons...although the last few winters were not what they should be...even in Pueblo. Being able to take a short drive up in the mountains and then coming back down to take a bike ride along the river trail. And how about that night time sky up in the mountains...throw in one of the periodic meteor showers and it can't be beat.

Downside is definitely the wind, especially when you want to get out on a sunny day in the spring and get in a round of golf. And those summer hailstorms that can be so destructive.

As far as living anywhere else, I've never been to Florida but San Diego is one of my favorite places because of its temperate climate. Though to live there for any length of time would be impossible. So memories will suffice.

I'm cracking up about Frozen Dead Guy Days! What a town you live in, Jennifer!

Several of you mentioned humidity. I really don't mind humidity, except when it's around 100 degrees. My wife agrees with you, though. We went to Disneyworld four years ago in June, and I really enjoyed it and didn't mind the humid heat all that much. She said she hated the weather and that it ruined the trip for her. I wonder if women feel it worse than men?

I also think of winter as "nosebleed season" -- inside my house it gets so dry when the furnace is on that I end up with nosebleeds at night sometimes or even in the morning if I just crinkle my nose, sometime the skin can break inside and bleed. I know we could get a humidifier on the furnace, but I'm a little cheap, plus I had a friend whose house (which was a new home) always smelled musty, and I blame it on a humidifier system. I've tried using a saline nasal spray at night before bed, and it actually helps. I just haven't been real consistent with it.

I'm still dreaming of that home on a lake... A year or two ago, there was a an HGTV contest to win a fancy home on a lake in Texas. It was in a forest and looked beautiful (probably east Texas?). So, maybe there are some places I could find that are like Minneapolis but in a warmer climate? My wife told me this year that maybe when the kids are all grown up we can move somewhere else! (She likes the safety of the schools here, even though I worry about them being severely underfunded). The only problem is that our youngest is only 19 months old! I've got a long time to wait. And then we'll have grandkids we won't want to leave. We're probably staying here for life...

Stevation - guys get to wear a few less clothes than women, that is why men don't find the humidity so bad.

Ok why do I like where I live, Yoder, CO. The land was reasonable, with no HOA and no zoning when we moved here, but now they are taking this place over too. There is no crime rate, who wants to tick off a bunch of red neck republicans who have shotguns in the back window of their pickup? Then there is the schools. My kids are in a school of 125, K-12, almost a private school. I can see a summer storm coming over the mountains two hours before it arrives and still be in town, my choice of Pueblo or Springs, in 45 minutes.

The things I could do without here: the wind that takes every flake of snow to New Mexico, the hail storms that decimate the garden, and the grasshoppers that don't understand that the salad bar is closed.

I was from Arizona, so the dry air is not a big change for me, but I really miss the quick summer storms there, 2 hours in the afternoon, 4-6 pm, from the end of July to early September, and the most colorful sunsets that would last for an hour every summer night.

What I don't miss is the polution and my horse trying to rub against the cactus, ouch.

The big problem gardening in Arizona (Tucson) was that it got so hot in the summer, that the plants would go into a semi dormant state and stay there from late May to early September, if they did not die all together. If you planted anything on the south or west side of a building (veggie wise) you were sentencing it to death.

Billie

Q. What do you really, really like about where you live?

I grew up in Fort Collins, lived all over, and came back nearly ten years ago because I realized it was one the best places in the world.

I like:

*The fact that the friends I went to school with are nearby
*The educated, friendly, open people
*Old Town
*The Avery House
*The trolley
*The Gardens at Spring Creek (our new botanical garden area)
*The Poudre river
*Lory State Park and designated wilderness areas
*The many restaurants, coffeeshops and micro-breweries
*A variety of greenhouses and garden supply places
*Four specialized aquarium shops in addition to all the pet shops
*The lovely old trees in City Park and the CSU Oval
*The clean, wide streets
*The sunshine and fresh air
*Some of the best drinking water on the planet
*All the well-maintained bike trails
*Having three libraries with a fourth on the way
*The coyotes, foxes, prairie dogs, falcons, hawks and bald eagles that live just a few blocks away. (we're near two designated wilderness areas)
*The fact that Rocky Mountain National Park is less than an hour's drive from my house.

Q. And what would you change if you couldstill living where you live now?

*A bigger yard
*Better soil
*A wind-proof, hail-proof, temperature controlled greenhouse
*A chicken house
*A garden pond
*A bus line closer to our neighborhood
*A way to accurately predict the weather a year in advance.

Other than that, Fort Collins is almost perfect!
(But I *am* rather biased...)