CC's can be a smart move. At my school, in my department, it's quite possible that you'll have the same instructor you'd have had at the University of Colorado at Boulder, except you have 30 students in your section instead of 400. Our school also offers a 3+1 program where a student attends CC for three years then transfers to the local Jesuit university from which they earn their Bachelors degree. That saves the student tens of thousands of dollars in college costs but the diploma still says the same thing.
But, you're correct, the social life of a CC is very different unless you attend a residential CC and in Colorado that would mean a rural school, which would have even less appeal than an urban CC.
Florida has a very good CC-University transfer program so you should be fine. The studies I am familiar show that CC transfer students achieve at a higher level than native university students.
The best line I've heard on this general topic came from a CC transfer student on a panel addressing the question of how to smooth the transition from being a CC student to a university student. In answer to the question, "What can CC's do to the aid the transition?" the student replied, "Teach their professors to be more rude to students."

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13