One little known fact about the local Realtor community is that we are on the front line as good will ambassadors, hosts, tour guides and official greeters, representing this community and surrounding area to many of the people considering relocation to northern Colorado. On larger corporate relocations we will often even venture to the employers existing location to meet with prospective transferring employees to discuss with them the benefits of the area, the local housing market and other information they need to make an informed decision. Once people arrive in the area, we will get together with them and make a point of showing the multitude of attractions and features, the communities and neighborhoods and of course a tour of homes to better acquaint them with the market.

All of this is made a lot easier by the simple fact that we live in one of the best places in America and we are proud to reveal all of the reasons that make it so. Naturally we follow closely the awards, accolades and publicity this area receives and make sure our prospective clients are aware of each and every clipping an announcement. The most recent of these was the July 12, 2010 announcement by CNN / Money magazine that Fort Collins was #6 on the list of ‘Best Places to Live in America. We have had recognition from them before and were tops on the list in 2006 and in second place in 2008. The drop was apparently due to a reduction in state education funding but #6 is certainly an enviable position given that they began with 746 U. S. cities with a population of 50,000 to 300,000. And obviously weather is not one of the factors or Eden Prairie, MN. might not have been selected #1. In reviewing the ratings categories, we missed an ‘A’ grade in housing affordability and only got a ‘C’ grade in the arts / leisure category which seems very surprising given the fact that Fort Collins has their own symphony and opera plus many theater organizations and sports, leisure and recreational opportunities that are unsurpassed. We did pick up an ‘A’ grade in the other three categories; jobs/economy, education and health.

The Money magazine article is only the latest in a long string of national awards recognizing Fort Collins as a wonderful place to live and work. Away back in 1997 Readers Digest selected Fort Collins as one of the best places in the country to raise a family and in 1998 Money magazine in an article entitled ‘Best Places to Live’ ranked Fort Collins ‘Best in the West’. In 1999 the A&E network featured Fort Collins as one of “America’s Ten Most Livable Cities / Cities That Have It All”. The same year USA Today had an article entitled “Fort Collins Reaches the Summit of Retirement Spots and in 2000 Fort Collins was ranked #5 on Money magazine’s list of ‘Best Places to Retire’. In 2002 Forbes magazine ranked Fort Collins as one of the “Top 50 Places to Live in the United States” and more notice came in May 2003 when Fort Collins was selected by AARP as the “#1 Best Place to Reinvent Your Life”. In 2005 Where to Retire magazine said we are the “Top Retirement Spot” and in 2005 the New Retirement publication gave us an “A” rating as an ideal place to retire. Kiplinger’s magazine 2006 one of the Fifty Best Places to Live, Money magazine 2007 said we are the #1 Small City in America and in 2008 Where to Retire said we are one of the top eight “Enriching Towns for Art & Music Lovers”. Forbes in 2008 said Fort Collins was one of the ten ‘Best Educated Cities in America’ and Business Week said we were ‘One of the Best Places to Raise Your Kids’. In 2010 Portfolio.com analyzed business and lifestyle trends in America and selected Fort Collins the #3 midsized metro area for quality of life and one of the 2010 ‘Dozen Distinctive Destinations’ by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Other publications have selected the area for its economy:

* Wall Street Journal 2001 – “A Pocket of Prosperity”
* Employment Reviews 2002 – 17th Best Place to Live & Work in America’
* INC magazine – “The Best Place to Start and Grow a Small Business”
* In 2005 an SBA study said Fort Collins led the entire nation in ‘entrepreneurship and innovation’ – the two key drivers of economic health
* Forbes magazine in 2006 ‘ 6th Best Place for Business & Careers’
* Entrepreneur magazine, 2006 ‘A Hot Mid-Sized City for Entrepreneurs’
* Fast Company said in 2007 “Top 30 Fast Cities” due to innovation and creativity of work force
* Forbes magazine, 2008 “3rd Best Place for Business & Career”
* Best Boomer Towns “One of the Top 20 Places to Thrive”
* Next Generation Consulting, 2009 #1 Best Place to Live and Work for Young Professionals”
* #2 Metro Area for Business & Careers” in 2009 and #4 in 2010 as selected by Forbes– Forbes magazine.
* Moody’s Economy / U.S. News & World Report 2009 – one of the ‘best places in the country to purchase residential real estate’.

And, as to be expected, the area has received much recognition for the many recreational opportunities. Some examples:

* Bicycle Friendly Community National Award – League of American Bicyclists 2005
* Men’s Journal 2005 “#4 Best Place to Live in the U.S”
* Outside magazine 2005 “American Dream Town – One of the Best Towns in the U.S”
* Runners World 2005 “One of the Best Running Cities in America”
* #4 College Town ‘With Great Golf” – Business Week 206
* One of America’s Most Walkable Cities – MSN
* Dog Friendly Town – Dog Fancy 2007
* Gold Level Bicycle Friendly – American Bicyclists 2008
* One of the places to “Live and Play Now” National Geographic Adventure 2009
* One of the ‘Greatest Places to Live in the West’ American Cowboy magazine 2010

In addition, we have a ‘Nationally Accredited Senior Center’ the Poudre School System has been named a ‘Blue Ribbon District’ the City of Fort Collins web site was ranked ‘Best of the Web, the Fort Collins Housing Authority has been recognized by HUD as a ‘High Performer, the Poudre Valley Health System won the 2008 Baldridge Award, the only health care organization to win the nations top quality award and most importantly, Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University, a public, four year, nationally accredited comprehensive research university and featuring the top ranked College of Veterinary Medicine.

We should all be proud of this achievement and recognition and it certainly makes our job easier. As Mayor Doug Hutchison has stated; it “recognizes what I’ve known for a long time and what many other people who live here know: Fort Collins is a special place”.

Loveland/Fort Collins, Colorado

Identified as the #1 “place to reinvent your life” by AARP The Magazine , Loveland Colorado, nicknamed “The Sweetheart City,” is a retiree’s paradise. Located 45 minutes from Denver, the small city of just under 60,000 has a small town feel, with large areas of single-family homes enjoying the natural shade of abundant trees. The outlying neighborhoods offer spectacular views of the prairie and the front range of the Rocky Mountains, under vast Colorado skies.

The area has close proximity to the Rocky Mountain National Park, with access to skiing, hiking and fishing that led AARP Magazine to describe it as an “outdoor Eden.” Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins, gives the town a lively, youthful feel, while Lake Loveland, located only a few blocks from the center of the city, offers sandy shores, a tranquil sculpture garden, museums, miles of bike paths, golf courses and a vibrant art scene. Although housing prices are above the national median, they are lower than you would find in the nearby cities of Denver or Boulder, although the cost of living in the area as a whole is expected to increase in the next decade.

Pictured: Downtown Fort Collins, Colorado

Original news clip from CNBC

Fort Collins and Loveland, CO have once again made the top of the list of best places to live – and retire! 

AARP has posted their article at:
http://www.aarp.org/content/aarp/en/home/family/housing/articles/co-bestplaces.html