Liberal family moving to CO Springs (Denver, Colorado Springs: fit in, transporting, credit)

[alybri]

Lurtsman - traffic is one reason we are seriously considering leaving Seattle! It's AWFUL here... I work 8 miles from home and it takes me 30-45 minutes to commute!!

[Sonic_Spork]

Yeah, lurtsman and I have a lot in common and I agree with what he's had to say here.

You won't have a problem with politics or religion, I don't think, anywhere in the city. I simply would not worry about it. While I've met a few folks here who had strong views especially politically, they have still been very open minded and pleasant to talk to. It's not the deep south or anything. Very live and let live.

I think the one area where you'll notice a difference is the matter of taxes. We have TABOR (Taxpayer's bill of rights) and so new taxes have to be voted on and approved, and they rarely are. When I lived next to Olympia, WA, it seemed like the school levys always passed, and despite how we didn't have a state income tax (I think sales and property taxes make up for it) the roads always seemed well maintained. Here, I think you'll notice more windblown litter in certain areas, more potholes, the school taxes often fail, especially if there is anything else tacked on...oh, and the public transit is a bad joke. We barely have a bus system. But compared to the lunacy I witnessed while working as a temp for Pierce county transit up in WA, I'll take this over that...

Oh, don't underestimate the reality of state taxes. If you make decent money you could wind up paying quite a bit to the state here.

Traffic here is no big deal, I laugh at people I know who refuse to drive on Academy because of "traffic." Psh. But it is inconvenient to commute from east to west or vice versa...no really good arterial roads, it just seems to take longer. So really I'd advise you to try and live convenient to work if you can. You will need a vehicle and so it's not hard to just drive into any of the downtown areas to enjoy yourself. Everything you need is present no matter what side of town you live in.

Bear in mind that if you are looking at Manitou (don't get me wrong, I adore the place) they may wind up with some recreational pot shops up there within a few months. That might increase tourist traffic, which already congests the area, and whether you want to deal with that is up to you. Since you have kids, I'd suggest you look up school district 2 (Harrison) and stay OUT of their boundaries. We do have school choice, but you have to transport and there is sometimes a wait list. Better to live where the good schools are, IMO. I have the impression that some parts of D11 are doing some interestingly innovative things in the public schools, and if I were looking at a move into the area now, I'd be interested in the schools that feed into Coronado high school. Also, D11 has not cut the arts and music programs.

Let us know if you have any other questions!

[Carrera32]

Agree with the posts; you won't find an "in your face" religious or political environment (unless you mention taxes, then you'd better duck). And the more moderate to liberal areas in town are Shooks Run, Patty Jewett and Old North End (we live in North End and love it). All that said, understand that the political climate here is staunchly conservative (with a libertarian streak on some issues), and that will evidence itself in its elected politicians and the stands they take on local issues. Google Doug Lamborn, our Congressman (Republican of course). He's one of the most conservative members of Congress, and his votes clearly reflect that. If you're liberal leaning, understand that your interests have virtually no representation in the House. Our mayor is reliably conservative, as is the City Council to varying degrees. They're always at each others throats, but it's more a question of who's in charge than ideological differences (our city council member in the North End, stated at political town hall event with her opponents during the campaign in an erstwhile 'non-partisan' election: "We're all Republicans here." Not hearsay; I was there, and I heard her say it. There were no liberals running; they knew they didn't stand a chance, even in the most liberal district in town). As Otowi noted, the voting patterns here are right about 60/40 Republican (I'm pretty sure the vast majority, though not all, of the libertarian vote breaks to the Conservative/Republican candidate). Same in the city elections, which are ostensibly non-partisan; the self-described conservative mayoral candidate got 58% of the vote vs. 42% for the more liberal candidate (in the primary he had the highest percentage of all the candidates. In the general election, virtually all the votes from the other candidates (all but one was a self-described conservative) broke for the conservative, who easily won). All this translates into a steep uphill battle for anything that could be considered a liberal cause here. Again, it's not an 'in your face' attitude, but its practical evidence permeates virtually every local political decision. If you're used to a moderate to liberal political environment where you currently live, you may find it in Manitou, but you will not find it in Colorado Springs.

[phetaroi]

I'm a Buddhist/Christian and a middle of the road Democrat.

The religious issue is a NON-issue. Just depends on who you hang with. In 4 years only one knock on the door with evangelicals.

Politically, that's more noticeable, although still not a problem. The worst thing that happened to me, and I know it was an isolated incident, but one day I was driving on the interstate and pulling up an off ramp, and a guy in a pickup trick motioned for me to roll down my window. I assumed something was wrong with my car. No. He had noticed my Obama bumper sticker. His message to me -- screaming in rage -- "F--- Obama and f--- you, you ******" (along with a prolonged middle finer).

[portlanderinOC]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

I'm a Buddhist/Christian and a middle of the road Democrat.

The religious issue is a NON-issue. Just depends on who you hang with. In 4 years only one knock on the door with evangelicals.

Politically, that's more noticeable, although still not a problem. The worst thing that happened to me, and I know it was an isolated incident, but one day I was driving on the interstate and pulling up an off ramp, and a guy in a pickup trick motioned for me to roll down my window. I assumed something was wrong with my car. No. He had noticed my Obama bumper sticker. His message to me -- screaming in rage -- "F--- Obama and f--- you, you ******" (along with a prolonged middle finer).

My mum had an Obama sticker and got her tyre slashed at a shopping centre on the South side of the Springs.

[lurtsman]

Was there some evidence the slashed tire had something to do with the Obama sticker? Her car might have looked similar to a car driven by some psycho's ex. Maybe it was mistaken identity?

Note: This is why I have no bumper stickers.

[Sonic_Spork]

I've got tons of bumper stickers, but no political ones. Most are references to my musical and pop culture tastes. If you see a green minivan with GWAR stickers and Dr. Who stickers on the back in traffic around town, that'd be me. Feel free to wave, I'm a friendly soul!

EDIT: And if it's icy and I'm going slow, please have a heart and don't get mad at me...just go on around. Slick roads scare me. If I'm out on 'em, it's because I had no choice.

As far as political representation is concerned, I personally feel like most of our elected "representatives" in government really don't represent any normal people anyways. I see too often, Democrats not actually supporting causes their constituents care about once they're in office, Republicans actually growing government instead of shrinking it...so while a person can be ideologically one thing, that doesn't mean they're really going to get what they need out of their "guy" in DC or city council or whatever. I think most folks here regardless of their leanings have that same skepticism and trust issues with government in general. Hence the libertarian leanings I suppose. And definitely not all libertarians are conservative-ish. Some of us lean left on a lot of issues but don't trust the Dems to get the job done, and would rather see things in the hands of states or just citizens.

[Carrera32]

Sonic - I think you're probably right on whether or not we "get what we pay for" (pun intended) with our elected representatives. But, I consider myself a moderate (who leans to the left) so compromise is something I expect and welcome if it serves to move the goal posts so to speak (I know; bad pun after yesterday). I don't believe that's the case in COS, at least not at our Federal level. Last year Lamborn was rated as the 13th most conservative member of the entire House of Representatives (the American Conservative Union gave him a 96 rating; Club for Growth: 97 and National Journal 87.3 for an aggregate score of 93.4 out of 100. Source: Business Insider 2/13/2013). So, I think my basic premise is still accurate. In his time in Congress, Lamborn has never sponsored anything (other than the Incline legislation) that could ever get actually enacted. In other words, he is as ideologically pure a conservative as anyone could ask. So, bottom line: If you lean in any direction other than hard right, your interests are simply not being represented in any way in the House. If you're anything other than hard right, you simply don't exist in Lamborn's world. I understand and appreciate your comments on how Libertarians veer left on certain social issues, but when it comes down to which candidate gets your vote, you kind of gave it away in your last sentence (haven't we had this discussion before?).

P.S. If I see your Dr. Who/GWAR stickers, I'll beep and wave.

[Sonic_Spork]

Originally Posted by Carrera32

Sonic - I think you're probably right on whether or not we "get what we pay for" (pun intended) with our elected representatives. But, I consider myself a moderate (who leans to the left) so compromise is something I expect and welcome if it serves to move the goal posts so to speak (I know; bad pun after yesterday). I don't believe that's the case in COS, at least not at our Federal level. Last year Lamborn was rated as the 13th most conservative member of the entire House of Representatives (the American Conservative Union gave him a 96 rating; Club for Growth: 97 and National Journal 87.3 for an aggregate score of 93.4 out of 100. Source: Business Insider 2/13/2013). So, I think my basic premise is still accurate. In his time in Congress, Lamborn has never sponsored anything (other than the Incline legislation) that could ever get actually enacted. In other words, he is as ideologically pure a conservative as anyone could ask. So, bottom line: If you lean in any direction other than hard right, your interests are simply not being represented in any way in the House. If you're anything other than hard right, you simply don't exist in Lamborn's world. I understand and appreciate your comments on how Libertarians veer left on certain social issues, but when it comes down to which candidate gets your vote, you kind of gave it away in your last sentence (haven't we had this discussion before?).

P.S. If I see your Dr. Who/GWAR stickers, I'll beep and wave.

LOL probably.

Actually if I don't have a good third party to vote for, I simply don't vote. I flatly refuse to vote R or D and it's been that way for a long while. I'm sort of anti-politician anyways. They make me all growly.

One big thing where I align further left, is I actually don't mind the concept of reasonable levels of taxation, IF there is enough accountability and transparency that we can have some assurance that the public good is being served.

But...I have trust issues.



Yeah...goalposts...ouch... But hey, there was a heck of a cute puppy/horse commercial, so it wasn't a total waste of an evening in my book.

[lalahartma]

Your mileage may vary, but I've been here for ten years and the politics has finally wore me out. That and the lack of good food and "culture." I hope to move within the next year or two.