• About
  • Speaking
  • Consulting
  • Amber Hinds

  • Journal
  • Press
  • Contact

Amber Hinds

Fort Collins, CO
Life
/
February 11, 2014

Why Colorado

colorfulcolorado1

Four hours later, I am still riding high on the excitement from tonight’s interview with a local farm for a working membership to their CSA.  I have always enjoyed getting my hands dirty and participating (however possible) in the growth of our food, so when I started looking for a farm to join, I specifically looked for one that offered a discount in exchange for volunteer work.  Not only does this help our family save money on our food budget, but it also allows me meditative time to spend outdoors digging in the dirt.  There are many, many farms to choose from in this area; I contacted one of the oldest ones, which also said they held potlucks and other community events, and this evening, they invited me in for an interview (working discounts have to be pre-approved).  I sat down with the farmer at 7:30 and when I finally pried myself away from the conversation more than an hour had passed — but it only felt like 20 minutes!  We talked farming and local food, Waldorf education and homeschooling, community, biking, and even touched on home birth.  As I reluctantly walked out the door, I felt something I have not felt in a long time: belonging.  When I arrived home, the first thing I said to Chris was “I think I have found our people.”

I first suggested moving to Fort Collins when we came down to get Chris’ company car.  As we drove north on 25 I called Chris in his new car and planted the seed, “right here is only 30 minutes from Cheyenne.”  He said, no way; we were not moving to Colorado.  But the more we thought about our options and our long term goals, the more we realized that Fort Collins was where we needed to be, and so Chris selflessly agreed to make an hour long commute every day so that we could live here instead of Cheyenne.

I can imagine some of you are wondering why we decided to move to Colorado.  The first reason I suggested this city and this state is because of the schools.  Colorado is a state which emphasises school choice and which is leading the way in the charter school movement.  In addition to traditional public schools, this town also has tuition-free Waldorf, Montessori, language immersion, classical schools, and more.  Wyoming may fund its schools well, but there aren’t really any options for parents who don’t like traditional or average teaching methods, and money doesn’t mean much if the teaching philosophy isn’t what you want.  While researching schooling options, both at the preschool and elementary school level, I have been repeatedly amazed at how many different possibilities there are here.

The second major reason why we moved to Colorado instead of Cheyenne  is because of the size of the town/area.  One of the things I have long wanted is to find a place where we can make a home and stay put.  I moved and switched schools a lot as a child and never liked it; that is not something I want for Nora and Zara.  Leaving Gillette and leaving Nantucket before that was hard on Nora.  Now that she is about to start school, I want to put down roots and settle.  Because this is a bigger area, the long-term job prospects are greater for Chris than they would be if we lived in Cheyenne, a town of less than 70,000.  The problem with the last two places where we lived is that there are no opportunities beyond his current position, which pretty much dooms us to having to move when/if his position ends.  We hope that by moving to a town of 150,000 we can reduce the chance of having to move again in a couple of years.

Those were the top two reasons that we decided to move to Colorado and Fort Collins specifically, but now that we have started to explore the community, I am finding more and more to love.  The local food scene here rivals the one in the Hudson Valley: we can get everything from produce to milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, and meat from within a 100 mile radius (maybe even 20 miles!).  There are La Leche League meetings galore, home birth midwives, babywearing groups, and it seems an infinite number of activities and events every day of the week. There are more yoga studios than I can count on one hand, with classes available all day every day.  And for the first time in a year, I am meeting people who share my values and understand my opinions.  While I respect people of all persuasions, it is nice to not feel as if I am alone in my thinking.

Perhaps many of these things would have occurred in Cheyenne as well simply because of its increased size and proximity to Northern Colorado, but after doing a little research I don’t think we would have had these benefits to the same degree as we do in Fort Collins.  Everyday more and more reasons to feel at home here reveal themselves, and I am so grateful that (1) Chris was willing to do the commute and (2) that his job makes a commute of that distance possible (thanks to a company vehicle, short work days, and the ability for him to work from home in the case of bad weather).  Amazingly, Colorado already feels like our home and it just might be the place where we were meant to be.

TAGS:fort collinsMoving
4 Comments
Share
  • Jessica
    February 11, 2014

    I’m glad you found your happy place!!!

    Reply
  • heidi haigh
    February 11, 2014

    sounds sweet

    Reply
  • Laura
    February 11, 2014

    Yay – I am so happy to hear that you are already starting to feel at home! 🙂

    Reply
  • dlew7429
    March 13, 2014

    Thanks for the insight! My family and I are also moving to Colorado in a few weeks. Colorado is definitely leading the way in its innovative educational programs. This is a huge plus for my children who will be attending their middle and public schools. Thankfully, my wife has a type A personality and is very organized so she was able to get all of the moving stuff situated. She got us a great moving company in Colorado to ease the transition of our long distance travel. They have been great to work with so far!

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Comment

Recipe Rating




Previous Post
We Are Officially One of Those Families…
Next Post
Wordless Wednesday: Making Homemade Valentines

Life Right Now

aucoeur

View

Jan 22

12 2
Open
It's that time again... Girl Scout cookies! And this year we have two selling. Help them meet their cookies sales goals by ordering online. 

If you live nearby, choose girl delivery and help get cookie boxes out of our garage... Otherwise we're going to be giving them Girl Scout  Cookies for birthday and Christmas presents all year.

Addie's link: https://tinyurl.com/2os3rmdy

Zara's link: https://tinyurl.com/2nev4fs3

aucoeur

View

Nov 30

17 2
Open
Bus stop selfie with Nora. This week she moved from her tiny charter school with only 18 eighth graders to the public middle school with over 200. And now she rides the bus.

The charter school wasn't challenging her enough, has a huge percentage of students who are disruptive in the classroom, and has been having trouble keeping teachers. Last year she loved it. But this year it was one thing after another, so right before Thanksgiving she and I went to go tour our neighborhood  middle school, and she immediately wanted to make the switch.

We've never had a kid in public school and I was nervous about how the transition would go from such a small school to a big one, but so far she's loving it and is glad she decided to move schools. It helps that she knows kids there already from her dance team. Hopefully she'll still be happy when she starts getting homework. Coming from a no homework school that may be a shock to us all.

aucoeur

View

Nov 16

7 0
Open
My three year old girl. 💕

aucoeur

View

Nov 1

11 0
Open
Halloween 2022. Two witches, a murderous cat, and a creepy Victorian doll. 

Zara's costume was my favorite this year - Nora did her makeup and she wore my flower girl dress from my mom and step-dad's wedding. She might have worn it better. 😂

aucoeur

View

Oct 16

18 0
Open
Visiting my sweet tiny niece. I had the honor of being the doula at her birth and helping her come into the world. Her parents did amazingly (especially her mama) and everyone is excited to have another little girl in the family.
  • Start Reading
  • Explore Topics
  • Get in Touch
  • Subscribe

COPYRIGHT © 2020 AMBER HINDS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Site Powered by Pix & Hue.