Lived in Vegas, Rhode Island, NY not sure what to expect or where to live in COS (Broomfield: rentals, mortgage)

[skorpio1177]

We're a military family (big surprise lol) moving to COS in 2 weeks. Im from Rhode Island, lived in Vegas for 5yrs, my husband enlisted in the Army 3yrs ago & we got stationed at Fort Drum, NY. I dont wanna sound like a broken record and ask the same questions posted on the forum already, so I'm gonna try not to do that lol.

Ive been reading posts and searching threads in the forums since October, I have notebooks full of info on schools, neighborhoods, etc thanks to the great posts on here, Google, etc. But now my head is spinning

My husband will be working at Carson, we have 2 kids 10 & 4, so schools are important, but I cant really even address that til I have a clue what area we're going to live in!
We thought we had narrowed it down to living in the Fountain area, in the newer neighborhoods like Heritage or even Cross Creek. But recently Im finding alot of posts saying "I wouldnt live any further south than Austin Bluffs" or something along those lines giving me the sense that maybe South (Fountain?) should be out of the question for us? We know to stay away from Pikes Peak area.

Are there specific reasons people dont like Fountain? Is it older or run down there? No shopping? Why do more people seem to prefer the North and would the 30min drive to work for my husband be worth it to live more in the Briargate area?

Ive seen some posts saying Fountain is very "small town. Where we live now at Fort Drum, NY theres nothing here. My kids pediatrician, Walmart, Target, mall etc is a half hour away. I have a drugstore and small supermarket & post office 10mins away, thats it. To us, THIS is small town & we hate it!
Ive looked at the photo tours 100 times We want a newer house like 2004 or newer & we like how the houses look in Briargate & Rockrimmon (reminds us of Henderson/Vegas) but alot there are above our budget (looking to rent a 3br for max $1300/mo). And we like how the newer houses in Fountain look. The Cheyenne area seems like our price range puts us into older looking houses :/
We want to be close to a supermarket & Walmart or Target type stores, some sorta shopping center within like 10 mins, a mall, restaurants within 20mins. Im having a hard time grasping what sort of place COS is in relation to anywhere Ive ever been.
What are the neighborhoods in the Rockrimmon area called? And are there any areas not as far North as Briargate/Rockrimmon (or as far from Carson) that are similar to those areas?
We're going to drive around & check the areas out but I wanna make sure we're planning on looking in the right places.
Any advice or opinions would be awesome Thanks!

[Carrera32]

skorpio - Others may have more specific (and accurate) info, but you may be confusing the town of Fountain (a few miles south of COS) with the area of COS around Fountain Boulevard. They're not the same at all. Those with first hand knowledge of Fountain recommend it, not only for its small town atmosphere, but also for its close proximity to Carson. I'm pretty sure you'd be able to meet your price point in the town of Fountain, and should feel secure in your decision.

I've read the posts of those who say they'd never live south of Austin Bluffs Pkway. I think those comments are a bit of an over generalization, but with your parameters, probably as accurate a gauge as anything. The area that is particularly more rough around the edges is the southeast section of COS proper. The suburban houses south of Austin Bluffs are generally older (built in the 50's and 60's), so they're not what you indicated you're looking for.

From your post, it looks like you want a newer suburban type environment. In that regard, I would consider the Austin Bluffs Pkway area and north to be your best bets in the northern part of town. Briargate would be a good place to start and is the benchmark community the posters on this forum tend to use when recommending suburban neighborhoods. There's a lot of new/newer construction to the east (Stetson Hills area and beyond) as well.

When we were looking at neighborhoods in anticipation of our move here a little more than a year ago, we also looked at the Rockrimmon area and liked it a lot (we ultimately decided we wanted a downtown location, so we chose a very nice older neighborhood called Old North End, located just north of Colorado College, but it doesn't sound like "older" is what you want). Rockrimmon is west of I-25 in what I would consider to be the beginning of the foothills, so you'll have some elevation and more interesting windy roads in and out of the neighborhoods as opposed to the flat grids to the east of town. Some of the neighborhoods in the general Rockrimmon area are Pinecliff, Point of the Pines, Mountain Shadows, Oak Hills, Woodmen Valley, and Peregrine. Some of these will definitely be out of your price range. I'd check out the Mountain Shadows area. You probably won't find a house built since 2004, but there are nice suburban homes that are probably closer to your budget than the other areas I noted.

As for the commute, it's all relative. When I was commuting in the Washington DC area, a 30-minute commute meant you lived "close in." It wasn't unusual for commuters to spend 1.5 hours each way every day. If 30 minutes sounds like too much, then I'd definitely suggest the town of Fountain.

[PokerMunkee]

I would suggest you get on maps.google.com and do street view. This will get you an idea what Fountain is about. Fountain is a good community, I think you will like it there.

[Mike from back east]

Fountain, CO and Fort Carson go together like butter on toast. Great location and good D8 schools.

Go to ppar.com
Select: Search for Rental Properties
Under Quick Zooms: Select Fountain
Under Property Category: Select Single Family Homes
Under Rent Price: Select $1300
Under Bedrooms: Select 3+
Go to the map. In the upper left area, find the highway number 16, put the mouse cursor over it and click once. A pushpin will appear. Now use the mouse to grab that pushpin and drag it to the right to the yellow highway line, then keep dragging it down to where the search box covers the road name Broomfield Dr. Then click on search.

You should get 26 hits, but that could change daily as homes are added or deleted from the listings.

Click on Full Listing to see pix and details, including year-built. Here's a nice one with 4Brs ( MLS # 726633 ) and said to be 2300 sq ft. It has A/C which I think is more needed down there as it's a warmer part of town than way up here near the USAF Academy.

Also try padmapper.com to search on Fountain, CO or zip code 80817 but beware of the warnings on craigslist postings.

[skorpio1177]

Thank you for all the info Carrera32 Definitely helpful, especially the nieghborhood names!

Originally Posted by Carrera32

The area that is particularly more rough around the edges is the southeast section of COS proper.

So am I safe to say the area you're referring to is the Pikes Peak area like Fountain Blvd & Chelton, and the immediate areas around that? Or is that not accurate?
As far as the commute, Ive never been one that like having to drive far to get anywhere lol, I grew up in RI and we can drive from one end of the state to the other in 45mins! lol But if its a matter of living somewhere that we like alot better I can adapt

Originally Posted by PokerMunkee

I would suggest you get on maps.google.com and do street view. This will get you an idea what Fountain is about. Fountain is a good community, I think you will like it there.

Ive done this a buzzilion times & you're right its really helpful! I just got nervous when I started reading posts about not living South, and I thought maybe Im not getting a real idea of the area?

What does "small town" mean when people are referring to Fountain?

[skorpio1177]

MikeFromBackEast- awesome! Thank you for giving me the parameters to search! Ive read tons of your posts about Briargate, checked out your photo tours, all your info has been really helpful to me and my husband, so thank you!

I know you live in Briargate, whats your take on Fountain vs Briargate? From what Ive been reading, it seems people sway more towards Briargate, is that because of the newness of the area?

Is there something Fountain is lacking?

Thanks!!

[Mike from back east]

You're welcome.

Biggest differences are price and that Briargate seems more USAF oriented than Fountain which seems more Army oriented. I only found 7 rentals up here for $1300 or less, but this one ( MLS # 743631 ) shows promise.

Further north of Woodmen Road in Briargate one goes, the newer it gets. Big newish King Soopers, Super Target, Wal-Mart, Safeways, lots of big box shopping, slightly upscale shops at Briargate, and IMO easier traffic flows than around the Southgate shopping area.

[skorpio1177]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

You're welcome.

Biggest differences are price and that Briargate seems more USAF oriented than Fountain which seems more Army oriented. I only found 7 rentals up here for $1300 or less, but this one ( MLS # 743631 ) shows promise.

Further north of Woodmen Road in Briargate one goes, the newer it gets. Big newish King Soopers, Super Target, Wal-Mart, Safeways, lots of big box shopping, slightly upscale shops at Briargate, and IMO easier traffic flows than around the Southgate shopping area.

Wow, way less options for Briargate than Fountain :/ but there are a couple so at least its not totally out of the question. We could go higher rent wise, but paying more than $1300 in rent vs a mortgage doesnt appeal to me, and we want to live there for awhile before buying.

Im feeling better about our decision to look at Fountain. Of course, we're still gonna look at Briargate and some of the other areas. Im just ready to get there and enjoy it!

[otowi]

I personally would prefer Fountain over Briargate. Why? Briargate to me is a giant cookie-cutter suburb. Fountain has a small town feel and more character, but that is just my opinion and others of course have their own preferences. Fountain is close enough to anything in town that you don't feel isolated and its getting more of its own amenities all the time - Denny's coming in now, my parents said.

[skorpio1177]

Well, after doing some talking and more research we've decided the Briargate area/North areas are more of what we're looking for. The 30min'ish commute to Carson is fine with my husband if it means we'll live closer to the things we want to be near, ie shopping centers, Chuck e Cheese(very important lol), restaurants.

Are there nice neighborhoods on the outskirts of Briargate, or similar areas that would be more within the price range we're looking at?
Typically, if you see a really nice neighborhood the immediate areas around there are pretty nice also. Is this the case with Briargate?

Its not that we absolutely have to have a "new" house, but the older a house is the more problems you seem to start having.

Also, is mold something we should be really concerned with there? I know its desert mostly, but in Vegas mold was not an issue at all in the houses, which was great cuz my daughter and I have a severe allergy to it. But in RI, mold is a HUGE issue in alot of the houses. Just wondering if its something we should really worry about there?