Why Choose Colorado Springs? (mortgage, loans, real estate)

[Coloradoan]

Falcon D-49 just finished building a new high school that students will start attending in October. It is located in the Meridian Ranch area. The current high school building will become another middle school. As with D-20 there are schools that are better than others in the district, but from past experience I can say that the schools located "out east" are pretty good.

There are many Schriever and Pete field families that live out that way. Google realtor dot com for zip 80831 for listings with 1+ acre under $325k and you will see several homes that are not modular/trailers listed. If you are looking for horse property though, you will most likely be over the $325k limit. Be prepared for a lot of windy days if you decide to move that way.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by martinezd

My real concern - and I'm sure Charles can speak to this - is we need to be within reasonable commuting distance to Schriever (within an hour) and I'd like to be in position for a reasonable commute to Denver if necessary.

I live about one mile NW of the 83/105 intersection (D38). Takes me exactly 50 minutes to get from my driveway to Schriever's west parking lot. There is absolutely no traffic. Then it takes about ten more minutes to get to my desk. (I usually go 105 to 83 to Powers to Woodmen to Marksheffel to 94 to Curtis in the morning and either the reverse or Curtis through Falcon to Meridian to Hodgen to 83 to 105 in the afternoon.)
I didn't read all the posts but based on your post it would be a good idea to look on the extreme north end of the springs, maybe Jackson Creek, Woodmoor, Briargate, Stone Crossing, or anything northwest of Woodmen/Powers. Even Palmer Lake is within an hour. I think there are houses in that price range, not sure if there are acre lots. Falcon District is much closer to Schriever but much farther to south Denver. I am about 40 minutes from the Denver Tech Center (where United Launch Alliance is ramping up big time) and about 55 minutes from Buckley AFB and Aurora - all within one bladder distance. A lot of people don't know this but there is a commuter bus service called FREX which goes between the Springs and Denver with FREE wireless high speed internet on the bus.

Also in the springs are Peterson AFB and Cheyenne Mountain AFB. Northrop Grumman and Aerospace Corporation are building new facilities near the COS airport. Lockheed is everywhere. Boeing has two buildings and Raytheon is here too.

They're going nuts around the region with road construction. Woodmen and Marksheffel are going to be widened considerably. Powers may turn into an expressway with few if any signal lights.

Schriever has two nice gyms and is a great area to go cycling at lunch. I play basketball and tennis at lunchtime too. There a midday soccer and basketball leagues. They are going to be doing a lot of building soon, new research buildings and also base housing including a pool (which I understand will NOT be available to employees on the base - bummer). If you arrive at 8 AM you will walk one half mile from your car to your desk. I get there at six and walk about 1/3 mile. The base is well maintained, well landscaped, and things like restrooms are cleaned twice a day - very impressive.

[seangi4]

[quote=Mike from back east;5637]
Lastly, there a chain of furniture stores here that sell so cheaply it won't pay you to bring much of your furniture, unless it really valuable stuff. I'd say to sell it up there and buy all new when you get here. The guy is amazing and I can't recommend him highly enough, he does $350M a year in eight mega stores, is 8th largest in the nation, and he's only here in ONE state! Go to his website, Removed and check his prices. When we saw his prices and his great furniture, we sold our old stuff, which was solid cherry by Thomasville, and got all new, did the whole house for $10k!

Hey Mike, thanks so much for you site the info has been priceless during our relocation to the springs.
Unfortunately after paying $2000 dollars to bring our stuff here most of it has been damaged in a flooded garage we stored it in while waiting to find the perfect house. We recently remembered an earlier post about an awesome furniture store in town and sadly for us the site has been removed. Is the store you spoke of the American Furniture store?thanks again sean

[gpraceman]

My guess would be American Furniture Warehouse. They have good prices, but since most of the stuff comes from China (same is true at many other furniture stores), you do need to be selective. Generally, they have stuff in stock, whereas at many other places you have to wait weeks to get your furniture. If you need to return stuff, AFW doesn't hassle you, whereas other places (like Kacey Fine Furniture) will try to charge you a restocking fee.

[cawildes]

I just joined and read through this thread which started some time last year. My husband and I are considering a move to Co. Springs from ... you guessed it ... CALIFORNIA. I am a native of the Bay Area; he's a native of Saskatchewan, Canada. We're fairly new parents and one of our closest friends made the move nearly two years ago and LOVE IT. We came out last summer for vacation and to explore a possible transfer with my husband's company (a homebuilder and surprise - he's since been laid off). Since our visit, we've done considerable research, incl. posts like these; prior to our last visit, we did some research to try to figure out WHERE, if not the more desirable areas in CA (we lived in one but couldn't afford to buy a home there), WHERE would we live? Denver area (burbs), and Colorado Springs seemed to be the best choices. But here's what happened ... I had a "moment", when we hit the top of Monument Hill. I was just struck by how beautiful it was. Denver didn't strike me that way. To me, it was much like the Bay Area. In our research, we've concluded we'd make our home in D20 or D38; you can get a resale home - and a nice one, on a large lot albeit a little older - in that $200-300K range (there are a lot of homes on the market right now); you can get an beautiful newer or new home in these areas in the $300-400K range with at least twice the space of what you'd get here and much larger lots = more space between you and your neighbors. Prop. taxes are def. lower - ours are going up to nearly $8K! Since my husband's been laid off, we're seriously considering Co. Springs again and will be there 9/8-9/15. We're looking forward to spending time just hanging out and getting a feel for what it's like to live there. I want to add that I really appreciate some of these really well thought out posts, genuinely interested and concerned about the topic and so helpful to those of us trying to sort all of this out. For anyone concerned about us folks from CA trying to turn the Springs into another CA, please don't worry - there's a reason we're leaving CA and it's for a better life - not to recreate the one we have. For our friend in San Diego, I would def. commute up to Denver than back and forth on the plane. From what I hear (like other posters have said), the commute is nothing like what we have in the major metro areas out here where it takes more than an hour to drive 25 miles. The snow could be an issue but it's do-able. Lastly, I am one of the conservative evangelical Christians that some on this post seem to be wary of. I hope that if our paths cross, you won't find me anything but respectful and hospitable.
Cheers! Thanks again!

[vfrpilot]

But here's what happened ... I had a "moment", when we hit the top of Monument Hill. I was just struck by how beautiful it was. Denver didn't strike me that way.

This happened to us when we were looking in COS. Once I came up to Monument, specifically Woodmor, I quit looking in COS. I had to change real estate agents because she didn't know the area and kept trying to show us homes along the Powers corridor.
This also happened to friends from SoCal who were visiting Denver, mainly the area around Boulder, looking for a place to relocate. They drove down here to see us and fell in love with the area. Now their priorities are to find jobs close enough to Monument to be able to live here.
I know there are other beautiful areas along the Front Range, but we have not yet visited any that are more appealing than where we live now
-I have some pics posted in the 'pictures of Colorado Springs' thread.

[michiganderEm]

Needing some recent information.

We're (my husband, two children- 16 & 2 yrs & I) are looking to relocate and COS is a possibility. I've read through the postings on here but when I look at city research I can't understand why the rape and assault rate is so high for an average town it's much higher than the national average. Does anyone know anything about this?
Right now we live about 15 minutes from the Detroit border so we're not unaware of crime or have unusual expectations but we're looking to get out of big city considering we just moved back here last October from Montana and want to get out of the poor economy here and the city. Big mistake moving back but not real interested in moving back to Montana either.
Colorado looks all in all pretty good. Our oldest son is also very involved in sports (baseball and football) and just like most young dedicated kids his age he plans on trying to make a career out of it. How is COS as far as sports? Academically I know they are good.
We are also considering Virginia and Florida. Visited South Carolina and was so depressed with the economic state there (either very well or not well at all) and the weather. Not for us.
My husband is also in the construction field and we know states like Virginia are booming, anyone know how COS is?
Thanks for all your help.

[Archie Toothus]

We're considering a job-related move from northern Atlanta to Colorado Springs. This forum has been very helpful in giving us an overall sense of the place as well as clues about where we might want to live. We need to live in the north part of the city to have better access to the Denver airport for job reasons.

We are concerned about the evangelical presence in that part of town -- not because I think anyone's going to hassle me or look down on me for being liberal and non-christian. I could honestly care less what those folks think. I am more concerned with my child's experience. Where I come from, when a conservative religious group starts to dominate an area, you get problems in the schools (ban Harry Potter, stop teaching science). You also get numerous attempts to convert your child. Folks who would never dream of approaching an adult feel perfectly fine trying to inculcate your child, and that sort of thing makes me incredibly angry. Finally, the demographics of the area worry me. Although we live in an area of Atlanta that is not known for its diversity, my daughter's elementary school is quite diverse. I worry that my child will grow up knowing only white faces, and frankly the posts on this board talking about how great it is not to be in a multicultural area don't calm my fears.

I would love to hear from someone who lives in the Springs and has been in my position.

[Minz]

[quote=michiganderEm;1469767]Needing some recent information.

We're (my husband, two children- 16 & 2 yrs & I) are looking to relocate and COS is a possibility. I've read through the postings on here but when I look at city research I can't understand why the rape and assault rate is so high for an average town it's much higher than the national average. Does anyone know anything about this?


Hi,
I've heard a theory about why the rape and assault rate is higher than average...the theory I've heard is because there are many resources here to encourage victims to come forward, report the crime and seek help.

I moved here last February from TX by myself and did not know a soul....but I love it so much here...I feel my quality of life has greatly increased...I've met great people...I feel blessed to live here!

[SoCalDude]

All of your insight has been tremendous. I am battling every day trying to get to your great area with no luck. I have had a few interviews with larger companies with no luck. However I am not giving up. I one day will join you in heaven (CS)...