woodland park sounds great (Colorado Springs, Black Forest: rentals, homes, public schools)

[jdub1120]

Don't want to mention any names, but where I live is no longer "friendly"...people have become impatient, rude, and in a huge hurry. And I don't enjoy consistent winds of 25-50 mph with gusts of 60-70 mph. 115 degree summers and -10 degree winters are hard to take. And 6 years of drought has taken its toll. Did I mention the wind? (more windy days than not) I love Colorado ( the mountains, the rivers, the trees, the cooler summers, the rain, the snow, etc...Woodland Park seems to be a great place to raise a family. Can anyone give me a reason not to relocate?

[otowi]

Well, some people think we get a lot of wind here, too. Personally, I don't mind it. And we have drought problems at times. I'd suggest coming out for a visit if you can to see if it really floats your boat.

[Marcy1210]

Wwhat kind of experience are you thinking you'll have in Woodland Park? It's windy. A lot. It's at 8500 ft., about 40 minutes west of Colorado Springs. It's a small town; nothing big as far as entertainment, unless you're fond of Denny's, Walgreen's and Wal-Mart. It's pretty rural; does have a seasonal golf course, lots of outdoor activities, but is known as being fairly rustic. It's snowy and cold in winter; rainy and cool in summer. It's unique, and it takes people who can put up with its uniqueness, ruralness, distance to Colorado Springs, distance to schools, town, and other typically, rural, open spaced areas. There are many articles in the archives about WP, many by me, as a 40 year resident....it takes a special type of person to love living there....

[jdub1120]

Looking for a place to raise a new baby girl and expose her to as many outdoor activities as possible. (hoping to avoid Wii"s and X-box) We like rural and rustic; don't care for more than twice/month commute to the city. My business and hobbies are outdoor. My wife is an author and school teacher. Don't mind some wind, just don't want to fight it daily. Our hometown has had 4" rain and 5" snow in last year and half; and consistent wind damage since 2006; plus record setting heat annually(110-116) We vacation in Colorado and love it there. I will check out the archives. Thanks so much.

[Matt314159]

WP can be a little windy at times, but never really feels 'windy', certainly not to the point where it's annoying (though that's different for places just west of here, from my experience at least). Weather is perfect. 'cool' in the summer means you never need A/C but you're still wearing shorts. Afternoon thunderstorms in the summer are common, but they're predictable and easy to live with.

From a family perspective, Colorado is facing continued massive budget cuts to the schools and the voters recently rejected a short-term tax increase to help fix that. On the other hand, school funding has gotten so bad that a lawsuit recently found it to have reached unconstitutional levels of funding, so there's hope that'll improve. WP schools are great right now so no immediate cause for concern, and chances are schools in your area are facing budget cuts as well. It does seem that demographics are starting to skew a little towards the gray-haired side around here, so getting more young families would be great to help balance that out.

[Mike from back east]

From your description then I'd say you're in Texas, and we're getting a lot of weather refugees from there this year.

There is no reason to avoid moving here.

There are tons of places up around Woodland Park, that will give you the space and quiet you seek, but you will see some -10 stuff each winter, some wind and the higher the elevation the more snow you'll get.

A wooded area that's milder than the high country is the Black Forest area at the far north end of El Paso County. Search realtor.com on zip code 80908 and you'll find lots of homes on wooded 5-acre lots.

Some areas of Palmer Lake and Larkspur may also fit well.

[Arrby]

The Woodland Park area has many vacation rentals available by the night (usually three night minimum) or by the week. For $500 in lodging expenses an entire family can come and get at least an idea of the area, talk to locals, eat in the cafes, and shop in the local stores. There are quite a few rentals on VRBO.COM in the Woodland Park and Divide (just six miles west of Woodland Park) areas.

If you really like rural and rustic think a bit farther up US 24 and look at Divide or even Florissant.

[jdub1120]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

From your description then I'd say you're in Texas, and we're getting a lot of weather refugees from there this year.

There is no reason to avoid moving here.

There are tons of places up around Woodland Park, that will give you the space and quiet you seek, but you will see some -10 stuff each winter, some wind and the higher the elevation the more snow you'll get.

A wooded area that's milder than the high country is the Black Forest area at the far north end of El Paso County. Search realtor.com on zip code 80908 and you'll find lots of homes on wooded 5-acre lots.

Some areas of Palmer Lake and Larkspur may also fit well.

To Mike from back east, you nailed it. Texas is screaming for me to leave. Transplanted Texans sometimes have a bad reputation in New Mexico. Is that true in Colorado as well? If so, how does a guy avoid that. Thats important to me for business.

[lurtsman]

Originally Posted by Matt314159

From a family perspective, Colorado is facing continued massive budget cuts to the schools and the voters recently rejected a short-term tax increase to help fix that. On the other hand, school funding has gotten so bad that a lawsuit recently found it to have reached unconstitutional levels of funding, so there's hope that'll improve.

I'm curious about the merit of that lawsuit. I do not recall any provisions in the constitution that authorize the federal government to create a department of education, much less to declare education within a state to be unconstitutional.

It's a challenge, money has to come from somewhere, but taking it at gun point from anyone who owns property is a pretty dangerous way to force people to not opt out. The city has some of the best public schools available, and yet retains some of the very lowest property taxes. That's value.

I'll have to tour the schools at some point, but where I grew up there were only 3 stalls with doors on them for men. There were 2400 students. There was competition for the stall where people wouldn't be watching you take a ****. Even then, it wasn't a lack of funding but a misuse of funds.

[Matt314159]

Originally Posted by lurtsman

I'm curious about the merit of that lawsuit. I do not recall any provisions in the constitution that authorize the federal government to create a department of education, much less to declare education within a state to be unconstitutional.

The conflict is with Colorado's state constitution, this isn't a Federal issue:
About | The Lobato Case
It's worth reading up on.