Possible move to: Colorado Springs / Monument / Black Forest / Woodland Park (living in, moving to)
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Is the weather in Monument area that much different than Colorado Springs area??
There were three times I recall this past winter (including the day before Easter!) in which downtown Colorado Springs had almost no snow and Monument and Black Forest had 5 to 10 inches.
You really need to plan a trip out here to look at different areas from the eyes of a potential future resident.
Most of Black Forest is on well and septic. What you can use your water for is dictated by your well permit. Generally, a Household well permit will allow you to use water within your home but not allow outside irrigation or watering of livestock. A Domestic well permit will usually allow some outside irrigation as well as watering of a limited number of livestock, but there are variations with both types of permits. If you start looking at homes on wells be sure to clarify what the well permit allows you to do.
Colorado Springs has many different possibilities for housing. Because of that fact I recommend that people rent for at least 6 months before buying anywhere.
It takes some time to get used to all the possible choices here.
You really need to plan a trip out here to look at different areas from the eyes of a potential future resident.
Most of Black Forest is on well and septic. What you can use your water for is dictated by your well permit. Generally, a Household well permit will allow you to use water within your home but not allow outside irrigation or watering of livestock. A Domestic well permit will usually allow some outside irrigation as well as watering of a limited number of livestock, but there are variations with both types of permits. If you start looking at homes on wells be sure to clarify what the well permit allows you to do.
We are going to be in the area October 8th to the 16th to check it all out.
My wife and I are moving to the CS area as well. We were interested in the areas you listed but have ruled them out for the time being just due to the commute. We spent a whole week in CS early August looking at rentals and houses. Fortunately my wife will be working from home for her company but I will still be needing to find work. I also have a background in construction, mainly electrical supply. As for housing, after looking at several disgusting overpriced rentals we moved our search to looking to purchase instead. It also seems rare to find something that will allow a 6 month lease and we dont want to do a 12 month. If we purchase we are specifically looking for something that has a large garage to store our vehicles and a couple atv's and possibly a trailer/small camper and that is very hard to find in CS proper. We do find houses out in the areas you mentioned that offer that or the space to build a detached garage but you're still dealing with quite the commute. I see a lot of the distributors I would most likely be looking for work at are on the east end of CS and its hard to grasp how large CS really is until you get out here. We are coming from a town of 130k though. We found a nice place in WP that we both liked but I would be looking at a 40 minute commute or so if I ended up on the east side and thats just to far for me personally.
What are the general thoughts on the woodmore development. I've found lots of houses for sale, some lots also to build on. Looks like a really nice location and a more mature development.
Lots of kids there?
We have a 3.5 year old son so play mates are important for us and also a social life for us too.
thanks!
our trip is Oct 8 to the 16th. were really excited to check it out and get a feel for the area more.
I really like Woodmoor, we may even move there in the next few years.
Like you said, mature development, lots of trees and huge lots. As far as kids, I'm not so sure. It's not your normal neighborhood of houses on top of one another that you usually find younger families with kids, so I think you will have to just feel it out with each home on an individual basis.
Good luck on your search, it's a great area!
Mike
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gui272
What are the general thoughts on the woodmore development. I've found lots of houses for sale, some lots also to build on. Looks like a really nice location and a more mature development.
Lots of kids there?
We have a 3.5 year old son so play mates are important for us and also a social life for us too.
thanks!
our trip is Oct 8 to the 16th. were really excited to check it out and get a feel for the area more.
Location: West of the Catalinas East of the Tortolitas
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I lived in Teller County, Divide specifically, for 35 years. My husband commuted from our subdivision, Highland Lakes, to Woodland Park every day for work. It's normally about a 20 minute drive, but when it snows, the roads (Hwy 24) can be treacherous. We were another 7 miles northwest of the intersection of Hwy 24 and Hwy 67.
You'll be getting to the Springs at the peak of fall leaf color. It may be almost over in the high country, but hopefully some will still be at their peak. The changing of the aspen is a huge deal, and the roads to the high country are clogged every weekend from mid-September to mid-October. Because of the elevation of Teller County, the leaves change sooner than the rest of the state, including the ski areas. They're also the latest to come out in the Spring -- around Memorial Day. Last hard freeze for Teller county is about Father's Day, where as for El Paso County, it's Mother's Day. This year we had a pretty heavy snow on Memorial Day, and last week, the temperatures were in the mid-30's overnight.
Woodland Park is about a 20 - 45 minute drive to COS depending on what part of the Springs you're going to. If you're coming from Divide, add another 20 minutes to each time. In winter, it can be a difficult drive as there's a long stretch of winding road called The Pass, and if it's snowing or has just snowed, it can be very slippery and slow going. We also had a nasty wildfire a few years ago called The Waldo Canyon fire that burned about 360 homes and denuded the land of bushes and trees, so there's been some really heavy flooding and mudslides during summer rains that have closed Hwy 24 between Cascade and Manitou Springs. Black Forest also had a devastating fire a year later that took out over 500 homes and many trees. In both these areas, the majority of homes have been rebuilt, so they're very new and modern.
Woodland Park has wonderful schools. There are two in-town elementary schools, and one outside of Divide. There's a middle school and a high school. There is also Charis Bible College which built and apartment complex/village for its students, and brought some more businesses to town to cater to them.
There is every fast food, a Denny's, a couple of other restaurants, Wal-Mart, Safeway, City Market (Kroger), Foxworth-Galbraith (independent Home Depot type place), Ace Hardware, movie theater, and lots of other small stores in Gold Hill North and Gold Hill South shopping areas, as well as along Highway 24 and in the Safeway shopping center. There is Pizza Hut and Dominoes, but they only deliver to Woodland Park proper, not outside the city limits.
Woodland Park is on city water, but out in the county, most of the areas are on community well-water, or private well water. Where I lived we were on community well water with four pump stations around the community. The problem with that is all the pump stations are electric, and when the electricity goes out, (fairly often), so do the pumps, and it can be hours without water. We adjusted by keeping lots of gallon milk jugs filled with water to prime toilets or boil for cooking, cleaning, etc. In Woodland Park there is cable and satellite service, but outside WP there is no cable, so all TV is either Satellite or Roku, Hulu, Apple, Amazon, etc. Cell phone service is fine in WP, but as you get out into the county it can be spotty. Where we lived, they built a cell tower just outside our subdivision, so we have pretty good service except down in the valleys.
Teller County gets most of its snow in October-November and again in March-April. There's not too much between November and February. Occasionally, we'll get a white Christmas, but it's more because it's on the ground, not falling from the sky. In the Springs, it can be in the upper 50's on Christmas Day. The snowy season is the same for the Springs, but often lighter, and the snow melts very quickly, usually within a day or so, except on the north or shady sides of the homes, streets or businesses. Woodland Park is 8500 ft. and Divide is 9200 ft., so it's close to the sun. You can get sunburned in the middle of winter, and many times in winter, you won't need a coat. It's warmer down in the Springs, Monument, and Black Forest, so snow melts very quickly. In the whole Pikes Peak region, March and April tend to be the snowiest months, but November is a very close second. Teller County usually runs about 15º cooler than the Springs. We also get fairly frequent afternoon thunderstorms in the summer which puts a damper on outdoor eating in the evening. The buzzwords are, get any outdoor work done before 2:00 p.m. because the storms roll in and the temps drop 20+ degrees. The summer lasts about 85 days, fall about 3 weeks, winter about 7-8 months and spring about 3 weeks. Seriously. We have basically two seasons, winter and July.
We're close to Cripple Creek where there are limited stakes gambling and casinos; and we're about 2 hours from Breckenridge ski area and town, and close to Monarch ski areal. Vail, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Beaver Creek are on I-70 west of Denver, but you can get to them going through Breckenridge to Dillon. There are lots of camping opportunities ~~ Mueller State Park and the Crags come to mind, as well as 11 Mile Reservoir and Spinney Mountain reservoir for fishing, boating and camping.
It's a great little town, but very conservative, and not well managed, especially with the DDA (Downtown Development Authority). There has been an ongoing (years) debate about an Aquatic Center that would be for the county citizens, but last I knew, the deal became contingent on sharing it with the High School, and the High School would command most of the Center's time. Several options for location were bantered about, but, again, last I knew, they chose an area next to the high school as they'd get some financial incentive from the school district. I'm not up on the latest information about it, but it was a huge bone of contention among the residents. Still, the people are very accepting, very "do your own thing" type people and the town comes together for its annual 4th of July fireworks, and the summer Farmer's Market. High School sports are HUGE, and with the Bible College and another Christian K-8 school (I think it's K-8), there are a lot of churches in town.
If you don't mind the driving, and the short summer, or long winters, Woodland Park and Teller County are beautiful areas to live in. I'm in Tucson now, but I go back as often as I can because it's home and I miss it terribly!
I am nervous about the comments I hear about the amount of snow in the forested part of Black Forest area versus the sunny side of Monument (west of the I-25). I am planning on putting a bid on a house in the forest, but now I am wondering if I should hold out for a home west of the I-25. What about wind in the areas with no trees? Doesn't the trees cut down the wind? My husband and I want to live in north El Paso county due to perspective job for me in Castle Rock...
this source ...
Snow
Average Annual Snowfall,
Black Forest, CO
88.16 inches
Colorado
67.30 inches
U.S.
23.27 inches
Wind Speed
Annual Average Wind Speed
Black Forest, CO
21.24 mph
Colorado
20.16 mph
U.S.
16.93 mph
or another source ..
CLIMATE Black Forest, Colorado
Rainfall (in.) 20.6372 39.2
Snowfall (in.) 97.5067 25.8
Precipitation Days 53.8 102
Sunny Days 251 205
Avg. July High 81.3067 86.1
Avg. Jan. Low 14.1433 22.6
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