What to check out in Longmont, if considering moving there?

[Stache In Training]

Hello,

My family and I are going to eventually move to Colorado.  The hard part is trying to find the best area.  We live near and have family in the denver area, so are pretty familiar with the state.  But this being MMM, I figured we should check out Longmont.  We'll be taking a vacation there soon.  I am curious if anyone from there knows of things to check out, or best places to stay, so that we can get a feel of the mustachian lifestyle that we'd be continuing there?

[JZinCO]

I've lived in Longmont working for the county. It has a bit of an industrial/ag processing base, historically on the basis of it's rail line. It has become a bedroom community of Boulder, and Denver somewhat. As a result traffic on Ken Pratt/the Diagonal Hwy can be an issue. However, since real estate is outrageous in Boulder and since all of the tech workers are now living in Longmont, pharama and tech has been growing reducing the need to drive everywhere.

Overall, I think it is a great place to live. Homes are affordable, biking is possible and there is alot of open space. It has a bad reputation because it isn't as culturally distinct as Fort Collins, Golden or Boulder. I mean, it has *only* three microbreweries.
Let me know if you have more specific questions.

[JZinCO]

I'll clarify on what I mean by Longmont's reputation. Generally, people will assume that if you live in Longmont (or Loveland), it's because you can't afford to live in some of the other areas of the northern Front Range. Longmont's older neighborhoods have a much smaller footprint and there isn't as much distinct local culture or what makes Longmont, Longmont. Much of the city has grown up in the past couple decades and therefore you will find alot of suburbia and strip malls. However old town (the term is used here to refer to the retail-centric downtowns) is vibrant, so there is much more in terms of activities, festivals, etc than many middle-America cities of comparable size. Living in Longmont is much better choice than buying a large exurban home in Greeley/Evans or Firestone/Frederick/Dacono (which do have your typical, half boarded up, 'no reason to stop here' main streets) and driving far distances daily.

Also, being on the cheaper side for cost of living, Longmont also has a couple seedy neighborhoods. I lived in the type of neighborhood that looks ugly and maybe scary that was great though, so you might need local knowledge to choose where to plant roots.

[Stache In Training]

Yeah, I understand there are seedy areas anywhere you go.

I was hoping to get any feel of local areas to check out, or where the free stuff is best at.  Any trails to check out? Parks that are the best? What area is the most bike friendly? etc?

[JZinCO]

Yeah, I understand there are seedy areas anywhere you go.

I was hoping to get any feel of local areas to check out, or where the free stuff is best at.  Any trails to check out? Parks that are the best? What area is the most bike friendly? etc?

Not sure about free stuff. The northern colorado craigslist is very active so I often find myself giving away or picking up free items using that.  You're probably talking about free activities, not things though. The fairgrounds off Nelson & Hover has alot of activities year round including the county fair. There's also a monthly car show/ride through town (not sure how MMM cares for this) but if you are a fan of classics or performance vehicles it is fun to go to. I'm probably missing out on alot but there are a few things each month that you can find yourself doing.
 There are so many open spaces to check out. If you are a birder, I suggest a few reservoirs: golden ponds or pella crossing. Road biking is really big on the roads between longmont and the foothills. A popular spot is to stop by Mary's market in the center of Hygiene (next to the town's stop sign) and pick up some food. If you like mountain biking, the best spots are Hall Ranch near Lyons and Heil Valley Ranch a little ways up Left Hand Canyon. These places are great for hiking in the foothills If you don't mind driving, there is plenty of hiking up in the mountains accessible up Boulder Canyon towards Nederland, the Little Thompson Canyon up towards Allenspark, and up Left Hand Canyon. Hiking and camping are the largest recreational uses of public land around here, not much offroading or hunting. As a result, the land management agencies really cater towards day hikers so there are many, many 3-20mi trails on county land and on the Arapaho-Roosevelt NF.
Speaking of driving, I know MMM doesn't do so much. However, living in the front range and not going up to the mountains regularly means missing out on alot. I work and play in the mountains so I may be biased but without taking advantage of the outdoors, you might as well as be living in Des Moines or Amarillo; I don't buy lift tickets but in the winter I'll go out and do winter camping and snowshoeing, and in the summer go hike some 14ers.
As far as climate goes, I'm not sure how much you know but Colorado is known for it's sunshine abundance. Snow is occasional down low in Longmont. We've only had 3 snow events so far, and get the most typically in the early and late parts of winter. Snow also tends to disappear a few days after storms and doesn't stick around unlike other parts of the country. In the high country, snow will stick around 8000-10000' through late may and at >10000' through June.

A few resources for the outdoors person:
http://www.bouldercounty.org/find/maps/pages/parks.aspx #Boulder County Open Space map
https://longmontco.maps.arcgis.com/apps/StorytellingTextLegend/index.html?appid=befda9b57f6c4b4fba8ef77f224c1175 #Longmont Open Space map
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/arp/recarea/?recid=28178 #AR NF Boudler Ranger district recreation page

[FireDAD]

I moved up the mountain in April. I live in Estes Park but spent plenty of time in Longmont.
The town is pretty bike friendly in general compared to most places. My wife and I have snowshoes and XC skis and that can pretty much entertain you for 5 months out of the year here.

[Stache In Training]

JZinCo, funny you should mention the snow aspect.  I currently live a bit north, in the 7th coldest town in america, Laramie WY.  200+ sub-zero days of cold a year, and common 50-60 mph winds (not gusts) in the winter. So the snow and cold doesn't bother, love the sun though!  That's the reason for the eventual move, better climate.

Thanks for mentioning some of the free activities (yes, not things).  I don't mind driving in the weekends to the fun stuff,, but just wish I could bike for normal in town stuff without sheets of ice, so that's what I'm mainly wanting to check out/ what to check out was my main question.

thanks!

[JZinCO]

Well if you're in Laramie, you'll have no problem fitting in Longmont. You understand the culture. Some small quirks will be explainable; for example I'm from Texas but have lived in AK, ID, MT, SD, and CO. Subarus are very popular in all of those latter states but I never saw many in TX for a reason, haha. If you don't mind the people, the available activities, lifestyle, etc in Laramie, you'll do just fine in northern Colorado.
Back to snow, our DOT is very aggressive. There are the occasional low-priority neighborhood streets that never get plowed and turn into sheets of ice, but all the major neighborhood and city routes are plowed by 8/9am after an overnight snow storm. There are days in the Fall where it can get really windy, due to Chinooks descending over the divide (coming from Winter Park area) but everytime I feel like complaining about winter winds I just remind myself that I'm thankful I don't live in Wyoming.

[Stache In Training]

haha. Yes, I don't even notice the wind when I go someplace else, until someone mentions it.