Relocating to Colorado Springs? (Denver: real estate, apartment, rental) - (CO) - City-Data Forum

nlfrost · 03-23-2011, 01:43 PM

Hello all,

I know this have been repeatedly discussed in the past couple of years, but with recent trends in the economy, I'd like a little bit of updated information. I have a job interview tomorrow (on the phone) with a company in Colorado Springs and was wondering what the local economy looks like.

I currently live in Las Vegas and would like to know if it is possible for our family of 4 to live on 1 salary for at least a few years so my husband can stay at home with the babies.

Also, which area of town has the best schools for my soon to be kindergartener?

Thanks so much!

Laura
A soon to be transplant (hopefully)

otowi · 03-23-2011, 02:05 PM

The economy is slow like most other places.
A family can live on a single salary if they are committed to simple living and not already wallowing in debt.
All the schools are good. I'd say find a home/neighborhood (or a few) you like first and then worry about schools - you can send your kid to any school in town if you so desire, whether you live in its boundaries or not.

Carrera32 · 03-23-2011, 02:36 PM

NLFrost: If you could be a bit more specific about what you're looking for, and what your expectations are, we could probably be of more assistance. As Otowi says, the economy is slow here, but compared to Las Vegas, I think we're ok, but the job market is very tight. Housing prices are probably as stable here as anywhere. Most think they'll drop a bit more, but nothing like what's happened where you are. The military is a great economic stabilizer for the area. State income taxes and local property taxes are relatively low, again, as compared to a lot of other places (e.g., Virginia, where I just moved from a few months ago). Living on one income (you don't mention what that income is) is tough anywhere, but probably as doable here as just about any place that's half way desirable to live. You don't mention your housing preferences (rent? buy? monthly payment/rent?), but a standard marker on this forum is that a decent house in Briargate (a nice suburb a few minutes drive north of downtown) can be had in the mid-200's. Check with Realtor.com or PPAR.com (the local real estate multiple listing service) to check on real estate prices. There's a lot to do here that doesn't cost a lot of money (loads of bike and hiking trails, reasonable restaurant prices, at least in comparison to my experience, a really nice local symphony with reasonably priced tickets, a AAA baseball team, again, with cheap tickets, etc. You won't find the night life you had in LV, but something tells me that's not what you're looking for anyway. Good luck with the interview, and if you get the job, welcome to CS.

PokerMunkee · 03-23-2011, 07:52 PM

I moved from Las Vegas to the COS area back in March 2008 and don't reget it for a second.

The Springs area has a high unemployment number, 10% for January.

Report: Denver among fastest to recover from recession - The Denver Post

But this article is saying Denver/COS are among the fastest to recover. So perhaps the unemployment rate is lagging. Who really knows? I all I know is Colorado Springs is a great place to live with so much to do and the weather is fantastic.

mad-love · 03-24-2011, 01:31 AM

I'll be heading out in June and I'd like to hear about the things that people don't like. You know....the after the honeymoon phase. In a thread from 2 years ago people were talking about sand pitting windshields, rush hour to Denver and pot holes. How bad is all of this comparatively? Are the drivers worse than the New England state's drivers?
Another complaint was cold summer nights. How cold is cold? I could look up temps all day but we all know that humidity and acclimating are big considerations as to how cold it actually feels. I dream of driving to a nice look out or mountain top to do some stargazing. Will that be possible without a parka and a face mask?
And I don't want to keep it negative so what are some of the good things about Colorado Springs?

nlfrost · 03-24-2011, 10:35 AM

Quote:

NLFrost: If you could be a bit more specific about what you're looking for, and what your expectations are, we could probably be of more assistance

I'm looking for a slower pace of life than we can find in Las Vegas. I'm from a small town in upstate NY with 2 traffic lights. We'd be looking at a single income of around 37,000. Which, I know isn't super high, but hopefully will be enough. We are open to renting, but would love to buy something maybe on the outskirts of town or even better in a small outlying town within a 30-40 minute drive to work (which would be downtown).

Right now our rent is about 1100 a month and that is a little more than I was hoping to spend when we drop to one income. Is it possible to rent in the 800ish range for a nice 3-4 bedroom house?

flyingcat2k · 03-24-2011, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nlfrost

I'm looking for a slower pace of life than we can find in Las Vegas. I'm from a small town in upstate NY with 2 traffic lights. We'd be looking at a single income of around 37,000. Which, I know isn't super high, but hopefully will be enough. We are open to renting, but would love to buy something maybe on the outskirts of town or even better in a small outlying town within a 30-40 minute drive to work (which would be downtown).

Right now our rent is about 1100 a month and that is a little more than I was hoping to spend when we drop to one income. Is it possible to rent in the 800ish range for a nice 3-4 bedroom house?

$37k a year is not enough to live off of one income in COS. You can rent a 2 bed/2 bath apartment for $800 but houses tend to start at $1000 and those are 2 bed. Factor in a lot of driving, food costs are 10% more and higher utility bills, you'll be lucky not to be eating Alpo with the retirees 7 nights a week. For a family of 4 to live comfortably on a single income with no debt, you'll need about 70k.

nlfrost · 03-24-2011, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyingcat2k

$37k a year is not enough to live off of one income in COS. You can rent a 2 bed/2 bath apartment for $800 but houses tend to start at $1000 and those are 2 bed. Factor in a lot of driving, food costs are 10% more and higher utility bills, you'll be lucky not to be eating Alpo with the retirees 7 nights a week. For a family of 4 to live comfortably on a single income with no debt, you'll need about 70k.

I was under the impression that utilities were drastically lower than in Las Vegas. We currently pay (on average) 450 a month in electric, 120 in gas, 25 in water and 25 in sewer/trash. Both kids are under 4...so they don't really add many expenses.

otowi · 03-24-2011, 05:13 PM

450 for electric? 45 maybe. 120 for gas? In Dec/Jan, could be. In July, maybe 30. Water and trash in the same ball park.

nlfrost · 03-24-2011, 05:58 PM

Otowi--

That's a HUGE savings on utilities than I am used to. Thank you for confirming what I thought I had figured out from the utility's website.

I was looking on craiglist and forrent.com and it seemed like I could get a 3 bedroom townhouse/apartment or even single family rental for under a 1000. Are those in "bad" neighborhoods? (for example 112 North Corona--listed for 795 a month & [SIZE=2]Creekside At Nor'wood 7219 Little Timber Grove[/SIZE][SIZE=2]--listed for 995/month)
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