One of my good neighbor friends and his dog moved from Atlanta to Fort Collins a couple years ago. He had a career beginning in the military and had pretty much FIRE'd, I think, into doing consulting on projects he cared about. He looked around at several different areas before deciding that Fort Collins was right for him. I know he really loves it -- the beautiful nature, riding his bike, hiking, bringing the dog around with him, etc. Personally, I've never been, so just relaying what I've heard from him.