Moving to Colorado this summer (Denver, Colorado Springs: rental, crime rate, to buy)

[liltykesmom]

I am planning on moving to Colorado & am interested in Colorado Springs. I am a single parent of a set of twins (a teen young lady & a young man of 15 yrs old).I am a retired educator and want to move to Colorado Springs. At this time I do not have a car and would need access to public transportation. Can anyone share some insight to the town & schools and if this is a good move with teen children. They are really sweet and we have a few moves from NY to Florida to NY again. Upstate NY is expensive with limited public transportation accessibility. I am looking to move to another state with lower expenses but safe ( all relative of course) where we can stay for a long while. If someone can share information I will highly appreciate it. Oh and by the way Happy New Year!!

[jazzlover]

Other than taxes, I don't think that you will find Colorado Springs a cheap alternative to upstate New York. The public transportation system in Colorado Springs will likely be worse than upstate New York. Denver is only Colorado metro area with an extensive public transportation system, and even it is pretty lacking in many areas. Colorado is a very automobile-dependent place. Most Colorado metro areas are only middling in crime statistics--they may be worse than where you are in New York, depending on where that is.

The best public transportation system in the Rocky Mountain West is on the Wasatch Front in Utah (Salt Lake City, Provo and Ogden). There is both a decent heavy and light rail transit system already in place, with more being built, along with a pretty good bus system. The cost of living is not cheap there, but likely a little less than many metro Colorado areas. A lot of people fret about the Mormons in Utah, but Salt Lake and Ogden both have a large "gentile" population--Provo is still mostly Mormon. The biggest downer on the Wasatch Front is the very bad winter air pollution. If you have respiratory problems, it's not the best choice.

The biggest weakness of the Rocky Mountain region is a severe lack of public transportation--just three Amtrak routes through the whole huge region--with one of those (the current Southwest Chief's route) in jeopardy. Meaningful mass transit is mostly confined to the larger metro areas. Many rural areas don't even have private intercity bus service. If you don't drive or have a car here, you don't have a lot of mobility. It's just the way it is here.

[StarrySkiesAbove]

The are some good schools in Colorado Springs but as Jazz commented the public transportation system is minimal, and does not cover the whole city it would be difficult and take hours to get around without a car.

Also I would imagine the crime in the Colorado Springs metro area is higher than in upstate NY.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

The best public transportation system in the Rocky Mountain West is on the Wasatch Front in Utah (Salt Lake City, Provo and Ogden). There is both a decent heavy and light rail transit system already in place, with more being built, along with a pretty good bus system. The cost of living is not cheap there, but likely a little less than many metro Colorado areas. A lot of people fret about the Mormons in Utah, but Salt Lake and Ogden both have a large "gentile" population--Provo is still mostly Mormon. The biggest downer on the Wasatch Front is the very bad winter air pollution. If you have respiratory problems, it's not the best choice.

The bus system in Salt Lake has been gutted in order to built the light rail and heavy commuter rail system, not that it was a stellar system to begin with. UTA is taking steps to reinvest in the bus system now that the buildout of the rail system is nearing completion, but there's a lot of ground to make up just to bring the bus system back to the level of service that existed in the early 2000's. Despite it's recent image, the best public transit system in the Rocky Mountain region is RTD, specifically they bus system. Its the only true inter-city system that actually functions as such and could possibly allow a person to live without a car in several areas. Probably the best place to do that in the Denver metro area is in Boulder due to Boulder paying RTD for enhanced service which results in higher frequency lines that run nearly 24 hours.


Colorado Springs has a pathetic public transit system and that is not something that will change in the near future.

[liltykesmom]

Thank you Jazz lover you have been very helpful with your information. It is very important to have the public transportation until I find a car to buy but it sounds as though that may be difficult with the transportation situation in Colorado Springs.

[liltykesmom]

Wow starry skies that sounds quite alarming to hear especially being a single mom in a place I am so unfamiliar with. It is looking better & better to stay in NY or NJ at this point.

[liltykesmom]

Wrong21fr the poor public transportation concerns me at this time and I may consider staying in NY or looking into moving into NJ.

[lrmsd]

Boulder [expensive] and Fort Collins [less expensive], as college towns with big biking communities, are probably the only real options to live w/o a car, though starting out in spring or summer is is more doable weatherwise, potentially in smaller cities like Longmont (more affordable than the others)[between Boulder and FC]. great schools dot org will give school reviews and ratings for the region. In Boulder, Gunbarrel area in north Boulder may have some more affordable rental options. Don't know where in upstate NY you are [to other posters, upstate NY is certainly not all low cost areas, for sure...], but you can search craigs list and other sites to get an idea of the COL comparitively. Or use the bank rate dot com online city comparison that breaks down many daily costs of expenses between cities. Very useful tool-google it!
Good luck!

[liltykesmom]

I want to thank all who posted on my thread I super appreciate your time in sharing your information with me. I think I may reconsider my move to Colorado springs and stay in Upstate NY where I am Somewhat familiar with. You have all been very helpful.

[liltykesmom]

Irmsd I will look into the College area and Longmont that sort of sounds good how is the crime rate in those areas? I know crime is all over but the gangs and stuff like that I know I can't handle by myself and try to steer clear from it. You are correct about upstate being expensive that is why I am looking elsewhere where my retirement monies may work better for me and my family.