1. Fort Collins Is Home To The Ultimate Beer Snobs
You know you’re a beer snob when you stop drinking beer in a bar and only drink beer in a taproom.
Fort Collins is home to more taprooms that you can count, with an amazing selection of local microbrews and nationwide bestsellers including:
- New Belgium
- Budweiser
- Odell’s
- Fort Collins Brewery
- Equinox
Let me put it this way. People in Fort Collins love beer so much they combined it with another favorite pastime—biking. That's right. Bike tours of breweries, my friends.
But there might actually be a practical reason behind that, since...
2. People In Fort Collins Are Crazy About Biking And Staying Fit
You need to take up biking after all that amazing beer, after all. What better way to burn off those extra calories?
The beer companies are so into biking that New Belgium founded a bike parade in the city.
But besides all of that, there are more than 280 miles of devoted bike lanes in Fort Collins and another 30-something miles of bike trails. Fort Collins walks the walk on being bike-friendly, so to speak.
But it isn’t just biking that’ll keep you fit in this city. You can’t throw a PowerBar without hitting someone who’s training for a triathlon or a CrossFit subscriber. And you'll know it, since everyone spends as much time talking about their training as actually sweating.
The overall culture of fitness probably stems from the abundant amount of outdoor activities in and around the city...
3. There Are People Who Say They’re Outdoorsy, Then There Are People From Fort Collins
Everyone knows Coloradoans are mountain people who go outside at all times and in all temperatures, but Fort Collins takes it to the next level.
The Poudre river and the Horsetooth Reservoir are excellent places to spend the summer days. The water provides an outlet for any pent-up outdoorsy-ness you can’t get out during the winter. And the mountains provide the perfect backdrop for hiking whenever you get the urge.
Let’s put it this way, Fort Collins is so outdoorsy that even the occasional bear downtown doesn't even cause anyone to bat an eye.
4. Everyone In Fort Collins Takes Massive Pride In Downtown
Downtown Fort Collins is the place to be. More than 14,000 people live within a one-mile radius of it. It’s so awesome Disneyland used it as a model for their Main St USA.
There are activities for families and adults alike, including (but definitely not limited to):
- 10 Parks and plazas
- 25+ Art Galleries
- 100 Days of free events each year
- Historic Old Town
- And over 150 restaurants and shops
If you’re not jealous yet, you should be.
5. You Can Only Tell Directions With The Help Of Mountains
Now remember kids, the mountains are to the west. Got it? Good.
6. Everyone In Fort Collins Has A Boulder Inferiority Complex
In essence, Fort Collins is a "Boulder-lite." Not quite as hippie and not quite as college town-esque. And that’s a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you talk to.
Boulder is more expensive, but there’s more of an outdoors feel to Fort Collins. Fort Collins is more down to earth, but Boulder has a big city feel to it.
There’s also a *bit* of a rivalry between CSU and the University of Colorado that adds fuel to the fire.
7. It’s Casual Friday All Week In Fort Collins
It’s not likely that people in the Fort invented the term “Colorado casual,” nor did they perfect the style. They just took it to a whole new level. Make that a whole new lifestyle.
A fitted shirt and khakis—which becomes a nice pair of jeans in the most casual workplaces—or a top and pencil skirt is the way many people in Fort Collins dress to impress.
But who really needs all those fancy pants? You’re fine just as you are, because...
8. "Live And Let Live" Rings True In Fort Collins
You appreciate your alone time and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, the rest of the country should wise up and realize you don’t need to be in constant motion 24 hours a day.
You need to adopt this kind of internal fortitude in Fort Collins, because the winters get long and cold and you need to be self-sufficient.
This can be a bit of a cultural adjustment for people around the country that aren't used to the self-confidence of everyone in the city. Especially those people that decide to move from California or Texas, because...
9. You Despise California and Texas Transplants With A Passion
A quick tip for anyone that is thinking of moving from California or Texas, change your license plates as soon as you get into town.
There are two perfectly legitimate reasons to hate everyone that moves here from CA and TX:
- It drives real estate prices up. We all already know that Fort Collins is a great place to live. We don’t need more people coming in and jacking up prices.
- People from California are especially pretentious. They come in here with their “better than thou” attitude and just mosey around like they own the place. They can take their kale salads and inflated ego backs to California with them.
10. Trolley Rides Bring Back Memories Of Everything You Love About Fort Collins
For the kids of Fort Collins, summer will forever be associated with hiking to Poudre River and the trolley.
There's nothing better than taking a trolley ride and then getting ice cream downtown at Walrus. It brings you back to all the little things that make Fort Collins great.
So while you might be a beer snob now and spend a bit too much time cross-training, the sight of the trolley will always keep you grounded in what really matters—the great people and experiences you have in Fort Collins.
