If you're in college or have a family of your own, Fort Collins is a great place to be. But what about those of us in-between 2 extremely opposite life stages?

I'm at that point in my life where, as a Fort Collins native born and raised, I'm getting sick of being here. I absolutely love my hometown, but it's time to switch things up and move on. I'm way past college but don't have a family of my own, and it's partially because of this that I feel so out of place in Fort Collins.

Looking ahead to the next year of my life, I'm considering moving to one of these places that I think are great alternatives to Fort Collins - even if they're way more expensive. (There's always a way around price, trust me.)

Northern Colorado has some other really great communities, but I feel they're better off for families and married people who have just bought their first house. For example, Greeley, Johnstown, Wellington, and Frederick to name a few are awesome places for families. But I'm looking for excitement, lots of things to do or easy access to things to do, and people that share a similar lifestyle to me - so that's why those places are not on this list I created.

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    Loveland

    Loveland is actually a really great place for families, too. I'll start with this city as a good Fort Collins alternative first, though, just because it's close to Fort Collins but isn't Fort Collins.

    I like Loveland because it has sort of a Denver-y vibe, but it's not Denver and you don't have much of a commute to Fort Collins. Quick access to both I-25 and Estes Park/the mountains adds to its appeal, too.

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    Longmont

    If you're looking for cheap(er) rent, easy access to I-25, and close(er) proximity to Denver/Boulder, Longmont is the place to be.

    Rental rates are said to be going down in Boulder County due to rising vacancies, so there's not much of a shortage in places to stay right now.

    Longmont may not be the most glamorous place to live, but it would be a great place to stay if you spend more time working/playing in Fort Collins or even Denver/Boulder.

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    Boulder

    The nice thing about being single, unmarried, and/or childless is that you can go in on rent with several roommates. That's probably what you'll need to do if you live in Boulder, but the nice thing about living here is that you're close to the mountains and have almost endless activities at your fingertips.

    Sure, Fort Collins has a lot to do - if you have a family or go to college. But Boulder is practically built for us single, unmarried, and/or childless folk, which makes it feel more like home.

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    Denver

    Sure it's pretty far from Fort Collins, but if you REALLY like to play in your free time, why not go straight to the source of literally everything fun and move to Denver?

    The commute to Fort Collins will allow single, unmarried, and/or childless people the opportunity to listen to music, meditate, or take in a good audio book. And like I said, literally everything fun is in Denver so when you're not at work in Northern Colorado, you'll have everything else at your disposal at home in Denver. Bam.

    As far as being able to afford Denver's ridiculous rent, same goes for this city as with Boulder - you'll be able to find plenty of roommates. This shouldn't be a problem for single, unmarried, and/or childless people like us.

    This is what I'm considering doing because I spend a lot of time in Denver for improv, to spend time with my boyfriend, and I just love being in a big city. I drive back and forth between Denver and Fort Collins all the time and have become pretty numb to the crazy traffic and long commute in general.

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