Greeley

Greeley has a population of over 90,000 although in many ways it still feels like a much smaller town. People here are pretty friendly and overall it has a very laid back feeling. The University of Northern Colorado campus is here and it is a very pretty campus with a lot of older, mature trees spread out on wide green laws throughout the campus. There are numerous shops, restaurants, and bars in the city just about any direction you go. There are numerous parks and rec centers and on the west side of town is the Greeley Family Fun Plex. This fun plex has large areas for volleyball tournaments, basketball courts, hockey, and any number of other sports. They also have a running track and weight room, but the real gem here is the pool. In addition to lap lanes they have a large indoor play area for younger kids with slides and an island looking structure which has water fountains and dumping buckets all over it. For the older kids there are two really good slides and a lazy river. The price is very reasonable.

While overall traffic isn't too bad in Greeley there can be some slow moving traffic on the busier streets including Highway 34 which goes west until it hits I-25. There are also numerous stores, restaurants, a mall, and car dealerships located just off of 34 which can add to the traffic.

The schools in Greeley unfortunately go from great to pretty bad. Most of the elementary schools located here get really good marks on state tests and those scores drop in middle school. When it comes to high schools, Greeley is probably one of the worst cities in the state for testing scores. Many of the high schools rate around a '2' on the testing scale which is from a 1-10 with 10 being the highest.

Both home prices and median income level are lower here than in bigger cities such as Denver. The average home price is about $200,000 although this number can be misleading if you're in the west part of Greeley where the homes tend to be newer, larger, and nicer than those located in the older areas of Greeley. Having said that, the older areas of Greeley have some very nice blocks with great trees, nicely tended yards, and an old charm to the area. There are some less than appealing parts to Greeley, but these can usually be spotted by the bars on the windows, the unkept and dirty looking buildings, and the general feel of the place.

I have never had a problem with parking while in Greeley, unless I was at a tournament in a smaller venue where there happened to be a lot of people on a given day. Parking can also be tricky on campus and it pays to read the signs really well to make sure you're parking in an approved area. If not, you can get a pretty stiff bill in the mail from the university. Unfortunately I speak from experience on this one.

Other than some of the less appealing areas in Greeley, the only other down side is the occasional smell of the town. On the outskirts of town there are numerous feed lots, cattle ranches, and slaughter houses which can smell. When the wind kicks up it blankets the town with the smell and can be rather offensive to those who don't live there and aren't used to it.

Greeley is known as a boring farm town out in the plains off of I-25, a good hour plus drive northeast of Denver. The rural area has a reputation for cattle and animal slaughter houses (which is has in abundance) but its poor reputation isn't deserved. It seems that Greeley is growing and keeps getting better and better. There are some pretty trendy spots downtown, good restaurants and placing to stroll around. The South Platte River and the Poudre River flow through the Greeley area and the wide valley really is pretty.

There is Greeley's Oktoberfest and some outdoor music, concerts, trade shows and a lot of things going on around town every weekend. Downtown there are new and old places to rent apartments and compared to the Denver/Boulder area the prices to rent or buy are significantly more affordable. If you go out of town on the outskirts the prices for homes get very, very afforable.

The meatpacking company Swift & Company is the largest employer in town, then government jobs with the city, school district and some federal government work is available too. Wal-Mart and the colleges are also big local employers.

One good thing about Greeley is there are so many educational opportunities, I looked it up...Greeley is home to the University of Northern Colorado (a respectable school that has a lot of great online courses), Aims Community College, the Academy of Natural Therapy, and the Institute of Business & Medical Careers.

There is a mall and pretty much anything you need plus the place has a small town almost midwestern feel to it even though it has a population of almost 100,000 people. The area around Arrowhead Lake seems like a nice neighborhood as well as Cambridge Glen near the Greeley Country Club. The neighborhood over near Glenmere Lake seems pretty nice too just south of town back in the neighborhoods.