NC to The Springs? (Colorado Springs, Mead: apartments, rentals, crime)

[NCtoCO]

Hello All,

Recently I was fortunate enough to land a gig in Colorado Springs. My family (Husband & 6 yr old son) will be moving there towards the end of September. My new job is located kinda / sorta near the Colorado Springs Country Club. Is anyone familiar with this area? We are looking for a nice apartment in a family friendly area with a good school system of course. Also, will my Toyota Corolla cut it during the winter?
A few random questions:
What areas should we absolutely AVOID? ( crime / drugs / gangs)
What price range are we talking for a nice 2 - 3 bedroom apt.
What are you folks paying for gas?
Do we really have to worry about wildlife attacking us?
What are some "need to know" things about the Springs?
Best / Worst parts of Co Springs?

You know, the typical moving questions people ask when relocating from small country town in NC to a big city like the Springs.

Thanks for the input!

~Judy

[beezle1]

Gas right now (unleaded lower octane) can be found for around $2.55 a gallon.

Wildlife attacking? Hah! We do have lots of wildlife here, but not sure where you got the idea that wildlife attacking people here is an issue - maybe on very very rare occasions. There are coyotes in areas which do sometimes have run-ins with dogs and cats, but if you keep your cats inside and keep a close eye on your dog or keep it on a leash when out side, this is usually not an issue.

[Mike from back east]

Millions live here, relax, it isn't Alaska.

Least desirable part of town is the S.E. area of the city and it's nothing like the hell holes of eastern ghettos.

Your car will be fine unless you want to drive up into the mountains during winter to go skiing. The Colorado state official ski area car is a Suburu. Around town anything is fine though front wheel drive is desirable for going in snow but our snow here in town usually melts out quickly.

You should budget at least $1200/month for a decent place. Look at ppar.com for rentals, there are homes here in your rent range as well as apartments. Also check padmapper.com but beware the scammers on craigslist.

Gas prices here are about $2.50/gallon right now.

"Best" part of town is highly subjective. I swear by zip code 80920, aka Briargate and school district D20 which is the newer stuff on the far north end of town. There are many other equally fine areas and school districts.

Wildlife is mostly in the mountains, Moose, Elk, Bear, Deer. Leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. We're not really IN the mountains, we're on the far western edge of the prairies that extend west from St Louis. We do get bears on the west side of town where the city butts up against the foothills; bears seek out garbage cans for the feast within. There are plenty of foxes and coyotes around but they rarely cause any issues. You'll be fine.

Real issue is when squirrels and rabbits crossbreed with flying squirrels, jack rabbits, and pronghorn antelope to produce the much feared Colorado Winged Jackalope. Their fangs can rip and tear like a junkyard dog and they can fly away with yappy yorkies. Their night vision is up there with owls and are wonderful predators to rid your property of endangered species like Preble's Meadow Jumping Mice without fear from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I left a 4 pound pot roast on the grill unattended and one of the danged things flew off with it. Beware.

[TCHP]

I'm quite familiar with the area around COS CC. Its a nice part of town. How close do you want to live to it and does your husband's employment hing on it? COS CC is right next to Country Club Estates, mostly ranch style homes from the 1960s that are all very nice. Its also close to the Patty Jewett area. Patty Jewett is the city owned golf course and its surrounding area was build at the turn of the last century. Very nice established neighborhood. You also aren't far from the Bonfort area, the Weber/Wahsatch Historic district and the Old North End, the two latter both turn of the century neighborhoods with beautiful old homes and the most established trees, parks, and trail system in the town.

If you want something a bit newer, west of the Interstate is Holland Park, Mountain Shadows, and Pleasant Valley neighborhoods. Most of these were established from the 1960-1980, but there are pockets of new developments in them here and there is you must have a newer house. A bit north of the CC are some newer neighborhoods build in the 1970s and 80s off the Academy Blvd corridor such as Garden Ranch and Erindale. There are a number of different Bluffs in this area that have a large assortment of custom and semi custom homes on them and like above, there are some smaller new developments with custom homes on them.

Schools, many people do not look favorably on D11, which the Country Club is in the middle of. However, in the areas I spoke of above, there are actually some very good D11 schools that do rate very high. Stratton Elementary, down the roud from the CC, is one of the districts Gifted/Talented anchors schools. Taylor Elementary by the Patty Jewett golf course is a hidden gem with very good performance and very low class sizes. North Junior is close by with its IB program and Holmes Junior is a Trailblazer award winner, all within minutes of the area.

IMO, these are all some of the best aspects of central CoS. Some of the downsides, nearly anywhere in CoS proper you will have a string of nice neighborhoods like those above that are then across the street from lower income areas. This was all platted out in earlier development efforts in order to bring diversity to the city without created any areas that were too affluent. Close the the neighborhoods above are Roswell, Papeton, Audobon, and some areas of Holland Park that have smallish, lesser maintained and lower budget housing and apartments.

It all kind of boils down to how close to work you want to be. Rents in this area will range from $900-1800 for houses depending on exact location and # of bedrooms/bathrooms. Some a basic, some are palatial. There aren't a lot of apartments close by in this area and those that are tend to be smaller 1 and 2 bedroom units. If you want to live elsewhere in the city, then things can be very similar or radically different depending on where you go. I'd second what Mike said about craigslist. It is't impossible to find good places, but it is a risk. I think at least a couple times a year there is a news story about a rental scam off craigslist.

Yes, your Toyota is fine. I drove a Honda Civic for years and y biggest problem was its low ride height when we got lots of snow . Good all season or snow tires and careful driving techniques will get you through all but the worst snow storms.

There is a pinned topic at the top of the forum that has a lot of nice to know info in it. Spend some time there for more info or ask for clarification here.