Four Colorado cities – Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado Springs and Durango – are basking in a summer spotlight, featured among America’s “best places” in three magazine articles.
City rankings don’t always say much about a place and its quality of life – the criteria have to vary annually in order to celebrate a new group of cities. Nonetheless, the articles on today’s newsstands are welcome, heralding the qualities in Colorado communities that we may take for granted.
Fort Collins achieved superstar status when Money – the nation’s largest personal finance magazine – said it was the single best place to live in the country. “Great schools, low crime, good jobs in a high-tech economy and a fantastic outdoor life makes Fort Collins No. 1,” Money reported.
The recognition is sure to bolster civic pride, especially while the city is working through a brutal budget crisis. Fort Collins is anticipating a $6.8 million budget shortfall in the 2007 fiscal year.
Fort Collins overcomes its fiscal plight with plenty to offer – a serene environment, an abundance of outdoor activity, a world-class university and a hospital that has been among the nation’s top 100 for three years in a row. Oh, and three major micro-brewing companies.
A feature in a major magazine may lure businesses to locate or expand in Fort Collins, which would boost its economy.
Money named Colorado Springs the nation’s best big city (those with a population of more than 300,000), citing its thriving economy, with its three military bases and the Air Force Academy contributing $2.6 billion a year.
It’s great to be single if you prowl the Front Range, according to Forbes. The Denver-Boulder metro area topped the business magazine’s list as the No. 1 city for singles for the third year in a row.
Boulder and Durango both appeared in Outside magazine’s “20 Dream Towns.” Boulder, ranked best all-around, was even lampooned as “Perfectville” in a column by Skiing magazine editor in chief Marc Peruzzi that pokes fun at its hippie/jock/yuppie image. He derides Boulder’s many fitness pursuits as being “in your face,” but then makes it clear in an affectionate way that he’s been drinking the Kool Aid – er, cafe latte – himself.
Durango was named Outside’s “best mountain biking town.” With a population around 14,000 and located far from the madding crowds (300 miles from Denver,) Durango provides beauty and recreation without the Front Range hustle.
Best-city contests can be stupefying and superficial, except when it’s Colorado in the winner’s circle. We’re proud to be just a bike ride away.
