Considering relo from Philadelphia to Fort Collins

Hahaha "Joan pushed me out" try to at least sound like a bad ass, Cory.

Rodney P wrote:Bad idea to take ANY advice from Joan Lee or any of her monikers!

Scary stuff...but intriguing!

Joan Lee wrote:Yes Amanda said she was hoping to meet a female mentor in the women's climbing group. What I was saying was : don't close the door on some old crusty gizzard with rusty cams coz they know their shit and not as catty as women. Yo, I look up to Sharma. Is he my mentor ? No. I look up to some climbers for their skills but it may not mean I respect them for their personal qualities. Don't twist my words. I do enjoy teaching noobs. Started out of desperation for partner may turn into a productive thing. It depends if you like to teach and click with the person.

Glad we got that cleared up.

No badass here... Turning 40 in da Winds!
I will now be one of those grumpy, crusty, retired, slow, painful, and crusty ol mentors!

Cor wrote:No badass here... Turning 40 in da Winds! I will now be one of those grumpy, crusty, retired, slow, painful, and crusty ol mentors!

Perfect! Here is at least one mentor for you! Have them interview and schedule one for each day of the week. It works!

Living in Ft Collins you will be thankful that you are closer to Vedauwoo and Cameron Pass (avalanche awareness/paranoia). There is a lot of climbing nearby that is climbable in the winter on warmer days.

It is interesting that Allstate (or State Farm) this week reported that Ft Collins is the safest driving city in the country. By next year Ft Collins will have a new Costco, Trader Joes, and Sierra Trading Post.

Welcome to Colorado!

It's the safest driving "city" because there is only like one street! Jaks outdoor store there is really good. If you can also get into fly fishing and hunting you will immediately have even more drinking buddies.....and get to enjoy the whole Wyoming vibe. One advice though : don't get into meth in that part of the country.

Amanda Crawford wrote:Okay! Thanks everyone! I'm on board. Probably will see you in October if the rest of this process goes smoothly :)

Great to hear, Amanda. Having lived in Philly for three months back in 1985, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I grew up in a big city myself, Houston. There's nothing you can get in Philly you can't get in Denver culture-wise. You will be really close to Lumpy Ridge, which is where I'm heading tomorrow. Definitely drop me a line when you get here and make fall plans to climb down at Shelf Road.

^^^crusty mentor #2!!!

I moved here from Philly in 2004. I've had less than 1 second of cumulative regret. Make the move.

Stich wrote: There's nothing you can get in Philly you can't get in Denver culture-wise.

This is incorrect, by a long shot.

Not saying CO isn't a couple orders of magnitude better but if you like the orchestra, food, museums, night clubs, music, ethnically centered regions (south philly, china town), etc, Denver is a cow town, it's a cultural wasteland compared to NE cities. Unless you move to Texas or Chicago don't expect the culture of one of the coasts, it isn't here.

One place CO does win hands down is in micro-brews. You don't move here for the culture, you move here for the lifestyle.

Merlin wrote: This is incorrect, by a long shot. Not saying CO isn't a couple orders of magnitude better but if you like the orchestra, food, museums, night clubs, music, ethnically centered regions (south philly, china town), etc, Denver is a cow town, it's a cultural wasteland compared to NE cities. Unless you move to Texas or Chicago don't expect the culture of one of the coasts, it isn't here. One place CO does win hands down is in micro-brews. You don't move here for the culture, you move here for the lifestyle.

^^^true. Come to California for all that other stuff! Haha Colorado is for outdoorsy people but surely can get boring if you like city life etc. If you are somewhat of a hermit and enjoy getting lost in the nature you are in paradise in CO. Colorado is somewhat like West Virginia minus the rain. It's quaint. Worth checking out South Platte though!

Amanda,

I moved to Colorado from Manchester England 10 years ago. After living in the sticks in southern Colorado for eighteen months I moved to Fort Collins. It's a really nice place. I've found a lot of friendly people and a very relaxed atmosphere in general. In the past decade Fort Collins has expanded rather a lot due to CSU and graduates staying in town after finishing their education. It's a lot busier than it was. So a few years ago, I relocated to Loveland, the next town south. It's closer to Estes Park and Big Thompson Canyon, and also to Boulder and the playgrounds down there. Plus if you like bouldering there's Carter Lake close by and it's not a long drive up to Fort Collins to Horsetooth Reservoir. I go to a gym (Inner Strength Rock Gym) at least a couple times a week in Fort Collins. Everyone I have met there is super friendly. I'm actually going bouldering tomorrow with some people I met there. And I've also been able to climb with someone I met on this forum, who's been mentoring me a little and taking me out to some interesting places for climbing. I'd say the climbing community out this way is very open from what I've seen, though I have nothing to compare it to. It's not the "Big City" by any means, but after having grown up in one of those, I was glad of the change. It seems to me that the fewer people per square mile, and the fewer consecutive square miles of people, the nicer everyone is. :)

Joan Lee wrote: ^^^true. Come to California for all that other stuff! Haha Colorado is for outdoorsy people but surely can get boring if you like city life etc. If you are somewhat of a hermit and enjoy getting lost in the nature you are in paradise in CO. Colorado is somewhat like West Virginia minus the rain. It's quaint. Worth checking out South Platte though!

I'm not knocking CO for a second, I love this state. Some might be better for alpine or big walls or desert canyons or glaciated peaks but for the over all outdoor experience CO wins hands down. I wouldn't live anywhere else.

I lived in Philly for 20 years, the front range for 8, and the western slope for 3+ years I've never looked back. If I had to move back to the front range Fort Collins would be my number one choice, good people, good beer, good climbing, good kayaking, good hiking, decent number of jobs.

Three questions:

1) Been off MP for a while. Is Joan Lee the new Eleanor?

2) @Merlin: "Unless you move to Texas or Chicago don't expect the culture of one of the coasts, it isn't here." To what part of Texas are you referring?

Also, you say Denver is a "cow town" compared to the East Coast cities in terms of culture. What is your definition of culture? Genuinely curious.

Pm'd on the topic, not looking to thread derail.

Merlin wrote: This is incorrect, by a long shot. Not saying CO isn't a couple orders of magnitude better but if you like the orchestra, food, museums, night clubs, music, ethnically centered regions (south philly, china town), etc, Denver is a cow town, it's a cultural wasteland compared to NE cities. Unless you move to Texas or Chicago don't expect the culture of one of the coasts, it isn't here. One place CO does win hands down is in micro-brews. You don't move here for the culture, you move here for the lifestyle.

Philly sucks balls. FACT. I've lived there. It's one of the most racially divided, violent shitholes I have ever had the displeasure of living in. And my friends who are from there AGREE and left. And South Street is a joke.

Denver is a cow town? Right. So is Houston to you I'm sure, despite having an excellent opera and symphony. Denver in fact has all of the culture you can force feed a bohemian beard factory. The Friday art walk down on Sante Fe is great, too. Fuck, leave Philly and regret nothing. It aint New York City or anything.

Hey hey, this is not a trash Philly thread. This is a praise Fort Collins thread, which I've enjoyed reading. We obviously have had very different Philly experiences. Considering yours was 30 years ago, I assure you things have changed. It's still racially and socioeconomically divided, but that happens in any diverse American city unfortunately.

Anyway, I'm in Fort Collins for the day today and indefinitely starting September 27! Thanks for the positive commentary and suggestions, all! Looking forward to getting to know the local climbing community!

Stich wrote: Philly sucks balls. FACT. I've lived there. It's one of the most racially divided, violent shitholes I have ever had the displeasure of living in. And my friends who are from there AGREE and left. And South Street is a joke. Denver is a cow town? Right. So is Houston to you I'm sure, despite having an excellent opera and symphony. Denver in fact has all of the culture you can force feed a bohemian beard factory. The Friday art walk down on Sante Fe is great, too. Fuck, leave Philly and regret nothing. It aint New York City or anything.

You won't find me disagreeing with a lot of what you said. I also don't lump Houston in with Denver, Houston has culture. That being said, credit where credit is due. Philly has a lot of culture and Denver can't compare both quality or quantity wise. I used to go to the Philadelphia Orchestra about 6 times a year in box seats (I have a friend who works for it). I never could get with opera but that would be anywhere. The food, museums, music, ethnic town regions, etc. slay Denver. So does any NE city or CA major city. It's a matter of perspective, saying Denver has equivalent culture is like saying Philly has equivalent climbing opportunities.

Given that I live in Junction it's clearly not a major factor for me and I'll admit that the presence of Balinese Gamelans gives Denver some street cred but the culture could be a factor if one is expecting it. You clearly have about the same view of Philly as I do but it had culture, just culture mixed in with angry. I'm guessing you didn't live there long enough to have a gun stuck in your face so it's not like I'm a huge proponent of the town.

Oh yeah, I don't regret leaving for a second.

Merlin wrote: I'm guessing you didn't live there long enough to have a gun stuck in your face so it's not like I'm a huge proponent of the town. Oh yeah, I don't regret leaving for a second.

I was there one semester in college and was involved in a mugging (which I ran from) and a race riot on the subway (black kids randomly beating whites). Nothing like having a mob come up to you in the subway car and announce "You're next." So yeah, I don't much care for that town. Even Joey Cusack left Philly, but that old fart Fogarty went looking for him.



I should have killed you back in Philly.