Fort Collins Gets No. 1 Ranking In New List Of Best Places To Live In America
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - It's a college town, a beer-lover's town, a city bustling with industry, and now Fort Collins has the honor of being the "Best Place to Live in America." That's according to the website Livability.com, which came out with its rankings earlier this month. No other Colorado municipality landed in the Top 20.
Fort Collins was described as a "vibrant and growing city that's overflowing with opportunity" by the survey's authors, who took the coronavirus pandemic into account. They put 1,000 small to mid-sized cities under the microscope for their list and considered broadband access, economic resilience and job numbers as important metrics now that more people are working from home and many others are searching for work.
"Innovation and enthusiasm course throughout (Fort Collins)," they wrote.
Being home to Colorado State University most likely helped a lot in the survey. Two other college towns -- Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin -- were No. 2 and No. 3 on the list.
If it's been a while since you've visited "the Fort," Livability.com recommends the following activities in northern Colorado's largest town:
- Coffee shop: Bindle Coffee
- Restaurant: Rio Grande
- Best co-working space: The Articulate
- Best breweries: New Belgium, Odell's, Horse & Dragon
- Creative hub: Wolverine Farm
- Shopping: CSU Surplus Property ("like a thrift shop on steroids")
Horsetooth Reservoir was also recommended as a place to go boating or hiking.