Why Choose Colorado Springs? (Denver, Fort Collins: how much, home, buy)

[kimloveseric]

Thanks, XXMAN777 - Yes, I was a little surprised about the winter comments from Been There. I lived in Littleton during my High School yrs but that was a long time ago. But, we had pretty mild winters.

Mike from Back East - you have such great input. Thanks for all your help. Now don't take this wrong but I wonder if you have lived in CS long enough? Don't get me wrong, you have great advice. I especially appreciate all the detailed info you give. I just wonder if there is anyone out there who has lived in the area longer than a couple of years who could also jump in and help?

Anyone have an opinion on the length of drive from Monument to CS and how that impacts day to day life? Waht about charter schools K-12? We don't want to live in another California tract home that looks like everyone elses but we do want our kids to enjoy neighbors and activities. Black Forest lots are a little too big and dark for us. 1 acre would be great.

Take care all-----------------

[Been There]

Ok Kim and xxman777, Littleton and Denver are hotter places to live then CS. I lived 4 years in Boulder. Ok, lets go see who is right. Check the 10 day forecast for Colorado Springs and then check the 10 day forecast for weather in Denver, you will see a big difference so don't let people think they are moving to a mild climate or that Denver is colder then CS, it isn't true. But you obviously know everything xxman777 since you follow me on all my posts and criticize my posts. You have never been to Albuquerque and criticized me for that then you criticize me for me LIVING in CS and you haven't even lived in CS either. Denver is a world away from CS ok. I think you have a personal agenda to attack me for me being a liberal and you must be a right winger or you should be, so lay off on me or I will KNOW you are a right wing fanatic!

[xxman777]

Originally Posted by Been There

Ok Kim and xxman777, Littleton and Denver are hotter places to live then CS. I lived 4 years in Boulder. Ok, lets go see who is right. Check the 10 day forecast for Colorado Springs and then check the 10 day forecast for weather in Denver, you will see a big difference so don't let people think they are moving to a mild climate or that Denver is colder then CS, it isn't true. But you obviously know everything xxman777 since you follow me on all my posts and criticize my posts. You have never been to Albuquerque and criticized me for that then you criticize me for me LIVING in CS and you haven't even lived in CS either. Denver is a world away from CS ok. I think you have a personal agenda to attack me for me being a liberal and you must be a right winger or you should be, so lay off on me or I will KNOW you are a right wing fanatic!

I didn’t know that you have to be a radical right winger to disagree with somebody’s opinion or find a problem with their analysis.

The 10-day forecast doesn’t tell you anything about the average temperature. All it says is what the weather will be like in the next 10 days. (as I am writing this it is 3 degrees warmer in cs, does that prove that it is warmer in cs?) A better gage of the average temperature would be the averages listed on the bottom of the page at weather channel. If you had cared to check the averages you would have noticed that cs is about 1 to 4 degrees cooler the Denver. You are absolutely right it is colder in cs. However, winter average lows for dec-feb are 16,14 & 18, a far cry from negative 12. Yes once in a while it will get to negative 12, but this is not the norm. You seem to be trying give the impression that this is a daily impression, but where is proof to back this up?

Second, my comment wasn’t about temperature, but about snow fall. While it may be colder in cs, it snows more in Denver (check the AVERAGE precipitation). I was simply commenting that I rarely saw snowfalls like the volume you claimed to see. Given that it snows more in Denver you would expect that I would have been more likely to have seen these snowfalls then you. It does snow much more in Boulder so you may have seen a lot of snow in Boulder, but I find it unlikely that you would have seen many large snowfalls in cs.

Last thing, anybody who knows anything about Colorado weather will tell you that the way cold fronts generally move onto the front range is from the west, from the mountains. Because of the drop in elevation the storms quickly speed up as the pass over the front range and then slow down again over the plains. This is why you generally see much higher snow volumes in the mountains and in the plains. Storms moving over the front range (anywhere from ft Collins to Canyon City) move quickly so they don’t have much time to drop snow. Once in while you will get a storm coming up from the south or east which will just sit over the area. When this happens you have situations like the 2003 blizzard which dumped around 4 feet on the Denver area but none on the mountains. This is an extremely rare case (I have never seen anything else over 2 feet and the 2003 storm was the 2nd most snow on record, I also drove my Jetta on neighborhood streets where they did now plow the day after it stop snowing) but can happen. Also the fact the storms usually move out quickly is the reason why it warms up so fast. Almost always in my 20+ years in Denver I wore only a t-shirt and jeans to shovel because a sweatshirt was unnecessary.

The fact that I never lived in cs is irrelevant. I have many friends in the city and have spent a fair amount of time there myself and can vouch for the weather. Also I have facts to back up my statements, where are yours? Even though my political views are generally liberal I guess this proves I am a right wing conservative. Again there is no need to be hostile I am just trying to carry on a discussion. If you can show me anything to prove me wrong please do.

[frogwoman]

What is the job scene like for medical persons? I am a RN looking at a move to CO or TN and perfer NOT to work in a hospital if possible (hours & pay). But I might consider a hospital if it offered relocation assistance and had a good reputation for nurse/patient ratio. If any has any info or suggestions please post or e-mail me at frogwoman57@bellsouth.net!!
Thanks so much Mike for all the time you have put into adding to this forum and helping folks as we make the big decisions of making a new life in a new town! If we could all meet folks as helpful and friendly as you are moving would not be too bad!!!! Dottie

[Mike from back east]

Dottie: You should be able to find a job here without any problems.

In Colorado Springs there are 2 new hospitals going in, one very nearby us, a new branch of Memorial Hospital, at Briargate Pkwy and Union Blvd. West of here, in Woodland Park (Teller County) they have broken ground on the new Pikes Peak Regional Hospital. Big names here are Memorial, Penrose, Centura and CSHP.
- http://www.memorialhealthsystem.com/wps/wcm/connect/MH/
- http://www.penrosestfrancis.org/
- http://www.centura.org/index.php?s=facility
- http://www.cshp.net/

In Denver, over $2.6B has been spent in the last 3 years on hospitals and medical technologies.

There is a building boom going on here in the hospital biz, but I hear that is happening in some other cities too.

I tried using local.com to do a search on a topic (hospital, nursing, etc) and then enter a city name. It gives you a list of hundreds of hits in that area to look into, may work well for you.

s/Mike

[frogwoman]

Thanks Mike! After I posted I surfed some and found the websites for Penrose & Centura hospitals. I will check the others too. Do you know what the rents run for 1BR apartments around the hospitals? Is there an area for a single woman to avoid renting? Dottie

[Mike from back east]

Dottie: Using apartmentguide.com there's a lot of apartments on the northeast part of town for $650 and up for 1BR units. Of course, I liked one that cost more, http://www.championsatnorwood.com/ in the $750 and up category. It's near enough to Memorial and Penrose that you'd have a short drive. The apartment guide site has pix of the places and their features. In the old days you'd have to search all sorts of newspaper ads and run all over town looking at them. I recommend the northeast part of town, the farther north the nicer and newer the places.

s/Mike

[frogwoman]

Thanks Mike! I hope to make a trip in the next couple of months and check out the scene and meet lots of nice, friendly CO folks like you!!!!!!!!!!!! Dottie

[danco]

After following the selling and bantering of C.S. I (and seemingly lots
of other folks) am coming out for a vacation/scout.The questions of
weather (overstated), politics, religion, environment, and real estate
have been pretty much covered. I am very interested about the local economy!
How is the manufacturing sector ? I value first hand knowledge as well as web info. On an other matter close to my heart.... tips on the best pizza.

thanks dan

[Mike from back east]

Local economy seems quite vibrant, with a good deal of high tech in the Denver-Colorado Springs area. Here in the Springs we have an Intel plant, three H-P locations (maybe more), ORACLE, FEDEX, tons of Defense work (Northrup-Grumman, Lockheed-Martin), and many more.

Religion is a big employer here with all sorts of offices full of people working to spread the word.

From my house in the Springs (I-25 exit 153) I can be in the Denver Technical Center area (I-25 exit 199) in 45 minutes, door to door, 3 lights. Speed limit on I-25 is mostly 75MPH. I did it the other day on the way to the Museum of Nature and Science to see Body Worlds 2. Point is you can live in the I-25 corridor and work in either the Springs or Denver, the commute is not a killer like back in the DC area where we departed last year (as soon as we could!). A good midway point is the Castle Rock area, very affordable, can work in either city.

The restaurant scene is very good, lots of neat place, many world-class. Even more so in Denver, which is the powerhouse city in the intermountain west for many reasons, to include manufacturing.

Southwest Airlines starts service in Denver this fall, and it is possible to fly in/out of Colorado Springs airport, down on Powers Blvd. For me it's 25 minutes to the Springs airport, 75 minutes to the Denver airport.

Homebuilding, real estate, finance are all strong. Houses are still selling well. Lots of landscaping work and roadbuilding too.

Supermarket prices are good. Abertson's often sell pineapples for $1.00 each, far better than the $4.99 we saw back in Fairfax, VA.

Academy Blvd seems to have every big box store you can think of and many more, not to mention great food. Lots of retailing here.

Best pizza I've found is Extreme Pizza. Their lunch deals are great. I'd love to hear from others who've been here longer and know of better.

Plenty of schools and colleges here.

Something for everyone.

s/mike