Tell me more about The Springs (Denver, Colorado Springs: apartment complexes, rentals, low crime)

[WallytheCanadian]

Hi, I have for some reason I don't know why to call Colorado Springs my new home. I have been once for a day and I fell in love with it. I am thinking of asking my job for a transfer out there but I want to know the pros and cons of living there. When I did visit it felt like home and find myself looking at pictures and dreaming of coming back. I love the scenery. Help me out people convince me and make the move out The Springs so my dreams can become a reality. I cannot explain how a city after a one day visit made me fall in love with it.

[LeisureMan]

I am moving out there next week. I was out there for a week last summer to check things out, and here is a partial list of things I made mental notes of:

-The police seem to like to hide and catch speeders. If you read around some forums enough, it appears that's all they like to do. I have no problems calling the cops on loud noise, suspicious activity, etc, so I will see for myself if that is true.

-Summer=brown grass. Winter=brown grass, too, apparently.

-Apartments like to charge you for "common utilities" on top of the utilities you use in your own apartment, which they also break down into a building average based upon sq ft and occupants. "Common utilities" they like charge you for include the cost of watering the grass, the cost of keeping the lights on in the parking lots, trash pickup. This was a big shocker to me, as that is included in rent in my neck of CA, and seems like it's a con job, since rent should already have that stuff included.

-There's alot of free or very low cost things to do, provided you like going outside and taking in the wonders of nature.

-They have a AAA baseball team!!

[Jcelmer]

The only thing it's missing is ketchup chips.

[Maynerd]

There are a ton of things to do here, yet (like anywhere else) you'll run in to people who've never tried any of them, but still insist on complaining that there's nothing to do.

You fell in love with the view, based on just one day? Wait until you explore that view. The mountains are pretty to look at, but even better to hike and explore.

Do you ski? It's an expensive hobby, but well worth it. Of course, that opportunity isn't in the Springs, but it's within reach.

Sports? Leisureman pointed out the AAA baseball team, but there's also Air Force Football, two outstanding college hockey teams, and all the pro sports up in Denver. Participatory sports? There's a great downtown running club, several golf courses, lots of recreational opportunities.

Clubs/nightlife? Probably not a strength. They exist, but not a ton of them. Still, a lot of young military and a couple colleges mean a lot of young people.

Weather? Lots of sunshine, no humidity, and winters much milder than people picture when they think of Colorado.

Taxes and cost of living are low.

So, what's the downside? Again, nightlife isn't the greatest, but that's not real high on my list. Some people say there are no good restaurants in town, but they haven't tried anything but Outback and Chili's, so they don't know what they're talking about. Some ethnic foods are tough to find. For big headliner concerts and such, you'll need to make a run to Denver, but that's not at all difficult. If you're into swimming and water skiing and such, we're probably not your destination.

So, if you share your interests, we can tailor the plusses and minuses specifically to suit your needs. Tell us what you want in a place to live, and we'll let you know if the Springs fits the bill. In any case, good luck.

[WallytheCanadian]

Thanks everybody your making my decision easy. The thing about the apartments is not bad, I guess. The rent seems reasonable from what I see online

[Mike from back east]

Wally, there may be homes for rent that are only a tad more expensive than apartments.

Use ppar.com to search for homes for rent, or padmapper.com to find all sorts of rentals, just beware of the scammers on Craigslist (read-heed the warnings on CL).

[Sonic_Spork]

Things I like about Colorado Springs: Of the touristy stuff we've gotten around to, I did really enjoy the Cog Train. The girl telling us interesting stories on the way up was neat. My in laws passed out because they didn't believe the many people who said "drink water" and I LOL'ed.

There are TONS of cool local restaurants, and the best ones are not chains. But oddly enough, of the chains, my family loves Golden Corral. We don't care if it's kinda "ghetto" we love it. The pot roast and rolls are yummy and it's cheap.

Everything on the West part of town interests me and I haven't had enough time to really explore...I love little shops and local businesses, and Manitou and OCC are full of em. Also, downtown has a very cute vibe that I like quite a lot. I need to drive down there more often on my lunch breaks. I adore Poor Richard's bookstore.

If you're an outdoors person, there is no better place for you, and even if water is your thing you can find some stuff within a short drive as long as you're not looking for the ocean. I'm not a huge fan of hardcore outdoor activities, but we went to Helen Hunt Falls and wandered upstream a bit. It's pretty! You don't have to be a lumberjack or an athlete to find outdoors to enjoy here. A lot of it is really close and easy to access, or view from your house!

The cost of renting a house is great. I'd only consider an apartment if it were one of the many upscale communities with amenities like a pool...but that is just my opinion. I think housing is reasonable.

To the poster who complained about the utility billing in apartment units, I work for a company that issues those bills on behalf of the management of various apartment complexes, among other things. That does vary by state law, what CAN be charged to tenants. Also, different management has us break down the line items differently. You might have been paying for common area utils before without even knowing it.

[Carrera32]

The things that we looked for in a community before moving, we mostly found here and that's why we settled here two years ago. We wanted to be in the West, where we were both raised. We wanted to escape the heat, humidity, bugs and traffic we suffered with on the East Coast for far too many years. We wanted reasonable housing prices and cost of living. We also wanted to be in a college town for the cultural activities and be within striking distance of a large city (but not in it or even within its exurbs). We also wanted to be near the mountains or the ocean (you can't get much closer to the mountains than COS). We're semi-retired and our continuing work doesn't require us to be tied to a specific location, so jobs and schools weren't issues. We were able to find a nice house in a great neighborhood (Old North End, the historic district in downtown COS). We're also very close to a great hospital (Penrose) that's listed as one of the 50 best hospitals in the country.

Our only major concern was whether we would be able to assimilate in what is a very politically and socially conservative city, as we don't fall into that category. We've found that, at least in our neighborhood, it's pretty much a live and let live environment and that seems to be the consensus, and that's fine with us.

There's a pretty good cultural life here, but you need to look for it. There's live music at a good locally owned venue (Stargazers), and it doesn't cost much, and other clubs that cater to folks a lot younger than we are. Pikes Peak Center gets second tier national acts (for top tier, Denver's just up the road 60 miles or so). The symphony here is outstanding, especially for a city this size. As Sonic noted, there are plenty of good non-chain restaurants (particularly in downtown, Old Colorado City, and Manitou) as well as all the national chains.

Outdoor activities are everywhere. Hiking, biking, rafting (try Canon City, about 35 miles to our southwest), etc. The AAA baseball team is the Rockies' highest farm team, so a lot of the Rockies' players come to COS to rehab.

Anyway, that's what attracted us to town. Hope this helps. If you have more specific questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[WallytheCanadian]

I am a avid outdoors man, I love to hike, fish, hunt and camp. I want some place that has low crime, I am single with no girlfriend and I want some place that reasonable priced. I am not big hot temps, I live in GA now. I also want someplace where the commutte is not bad like Atlanta. I don't know why like I said but for some reason COS keeps calling me.

[Carrera32]

Wally - You'll find all the outdoors activities you mentioned here in COS and in the state of CO. I don't believe COS is considered a high crime area by any stretch of the imagination, certainly not when compared with Atlanta. Again, when compared with a big urban area like Atlanta, the commute here is very easy. We've had an unusually hot summer this year, but that's been pretty much the case all over the country. What we don't have is the humidity you find in the East.

There seem to be plenty of good reasons why COS is calling you.