on $100k a year, leaving Fort Collins

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Denver, CO cityscape

from fort collins

Denver

co · metro 3.0M

photo: Noel Aph / pexels

a dispatch from

denver

CO

39.74°N

104.98°W

Denver is a mile above sea level, an hour from a dozen ski resorts, and surrounded by mountains that make every west-facing window feel like a vacation. The air is dry, the sun shows up roughly 300 days a year, and craft beer is taken seriously enough to have its own annual pilgrimage (the Great American Beer Festival). Green chile is a hill people will die on. The patio season is essentially eternal.

metro3.0M

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$108

lighter monthly cost than Fort Collins

Money-wise it's a wash. The case for Denver is everything that isn't rent.
landable, recorded on the denver entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,863/mo

5% cheaper than Fort Collins(vs $1,971/mo)

02state income tax

4.4%

vs 4.4% in Fort Collins

03after rent

$6,104/mo

$108 more than Fort Collins

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$599k

5% more expensive than Fort Collins

vs $572k in Fort Collins

05metro size

3.0M

vs 371k in Fort Collins

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

174

pleasant days a year, in denver.

Fort Collins actually gets more: 177 pleasant days a year. Cold snaps are part of the year: 66 days below 20° here, 44 in Fort Collins.

454.0× the events of Fort Collins, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

85/100

23% higher than Fort Collins

vs 69/100 in Fort Collins

Closest outdoor draw: Rocky Mountain National Park, 47.3 mi.

·walk score®

97/100

13% higher than Fort Collins

vs 86/100 in Fort Collins

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

169

0% fewer than Fort Collins

vs 169 nonstops in Fort Collins

04 · see also

neighbors of denver on the map of tradeoffs:

compare denver with: