Why Choose Colorado Springs? (Denver, Pueblo: rentals, crime rates, mortgage)

[Too Hot in Phoenix]

You got it - 114.2 right now and it is 4pm! And this is cooler than the last couple of days! Some of the nights are not even going below 100.....

I saw in one of your other posts about the $20k exemption on retirement income and told my parents - they like the sounds of that

Thanks again for your input!

Kristi

[CSColorado]

I noticed a few posts about the snow here. Some say it sticks around; some say it melts off quickly. Well, the truth is, it melts off quickly in the sun. There are some spots in the shade where snow will stick around most of the winter. My 2 cents: make sure your driveway faces south...

[thistle]

I think the snow melts off pretty quickly, too (even if you do get it kind of late in the year, we had snow here right after my daughter was born, April 26, 1999).
Mike from Back East has made lots of great points about this area-I'm looking in review, we lived in CS from 96-99, (my husband is in the military) & I grew to love it. I grew up on the east coast, most of the time in NC, love the ocean, didn't think I could live someplace w/no beach. But I grew to love this area & then we moved to No. Virginia... I like it here, too, but I still miss CO.

The high points-the weather-sunshine, no bugs or humidity, a manageable size city-easy to get around in, w/ few traffic problems, good schools & higher education, a great public library, & lots of really nice people. I would say I'm a bit more liberal than the majority of the population of CS (statistically), but I never felt uncomfortable there. I think it's a great city & I'd move back in a heartbeat...

[kimloveseric]

Thanks Thistle - You've confirmed what we have heard all along... good weather, smaller town, etc.
I think we will miss the beach too but look forward to falling in love with the mountains. Wish we were there already so we could see the Aspen turn in Fall but our housing market is so slow right now. Take care and enjoy Virginia. Kim

[seekingchange]

I, too, am looking to get out of DC. I was looking at Iowa City, IA, and some places in upstate NY. I am leaving for the same reasons - cost of living, quality of life, traffic, weather. However, I am single, in my 20s and work in HR/IT, looking for somewhere where I can also attend graduate school in sociology. Is Colorado Springs a good place to look? I was always afraid of the snow, but your post has sparked my interest.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by seekingchange

I, too, am looking to get out of DC. I was looking at Iowa City, IA, and some places in upstate NY. I am leaving for the same reasons - cost of living, quality of life, traffic, weather. However, I am single, in my 20s and work in HR/IT, looking for somewhere where I can also attend graduate school in sociology. Is Colorado Springs a good place to look? I was always afraid of the snow, but your post has sparked my interest.

Amen to leaving the DC area for the better places that exist. Colleges aren't necessarily my strong point. The 3 I list offer Sociology, not sure about graduate level. There are quite a few colleges around the state.

In Colorado Springs we have a private college that is a bit pricey, Colorado College: http://www.coloradocollege.edu/index.asp

In Fort Collins is Colorado State University: http://welcome.colostate.edu/index.asp

In Boulder is the University of Colorado: http://welcome.colostate.edu/index.asp

For you I recommend Fort Collins or Boulder. Both are great places to live and will be more to the liking of a 20-something. I've been to both, really neat towns. Boulder is unique in that it has a 100+ year-old place similar to the Barns at Wolf Trap, known as Chatauqua, see http://www.chautauqua.com/ where they bring in all sorts of music, have cabins to rent, etc.

There is a good deal of HR/IT work along the Front Range of Colorado, and we have plenty here in the Springs owing to all the Defense work.

s/Mike

[CSColorado]

I believe that UCCS is the only place in town that offers a graduates degree in Sociology. Here is a link to the Sociology graduate program site:
http://web.uccs.edu/sociology/graduate_program.htm (broken link)

[GettingOut]

I have to agree with Been There and Black Dog in that this is a very very very ultra-conservative community. My wife and I moved out here from the East Coast six months ago and are moving back in 10 days. It has been that bad of an experience. We both find the people here to be very unfriendly and very unopen to outsiders. To say that this was a "culture shock" would be an understatement. Basically, if you're not a hardcore Republican, Evangelical Christian, or retired military, there's a very good chance you're not going to fit in here. I'm not a bleeding heart liberal but just your average middle-of-the-road guy when it comes to politics and I have felt very uncomfortable here. My wife is originally from Europe and very much non-political and she has felt very uncomfortable here as well. The people here have a particular disdain for people from California and they don't seem to like people from the East Coast much better. This is the most narrow-minded place I have ever lived. I have had pro-war and evangelical christian propaganda emailed or passed out to me at work. There seems to be a war going on in this city over gays (the evangelicals seem to be obsessed with gays). I could go on and on. Can't wait till I get the hell out of here.

[CSColorado]

GettingOut: Is this something that you have experienced mostly at work? I admit that we have more than our fair share of evangelical Christians, Republicans and retired military... but I'm surprised that any of this comes up outside of their own circle enough to make someone feel uncomfortable. That's discouraging to hear. Being "one of them" I might just not notice as much, but I really didn't think more than a few...wierd-os impose their views on others. I'm sorry you had a bad experience here. I wonder if you might have been just working with some fanatics- they tend to group together.

[Mike from back east]

If I didn't know better, I'd say that "been there" is back on the list with a new name but the same old message.

As a retiree, I don't work, hope to never do so again, but still, the only thing I've seen here is a general consensus to support our troops, a brave bunch if ever there was, but I don't see any go-to-war fervor.

There is a great deal of evangelical effort here, but no one has said a word to me in over a year, not at the gym, not in any store, not at the ballpark, nor the rodeo, nor my walks around town, nor at the zoo, nor at the bar, nor at the massage therapist, nor at any show, not at our hobby events, not at any college or auditorium or show we've been too. Like back in the DC area, we've had two Mormon boys knock on our door, that's it.

As I said before in reply to a similar sentiment, crazed evangelical zombies are not pulling people out of their cars and baptizing them at roadside waterways or holding tent revivals in the median of I-25. I've yet to see anywhere in Colorado the outdoor displays of 3 large crosses that are seen on thousands of rural hillside farm plots back east.

Colorado Springs is indeed about the best place I can think of to live, that's why we ARE here and intend to stay here.

s/Mike