COS v Monument/Palmer lake v Larkspur (Denver, Pueblo: real estate, coop)

[MrGuy]

Hello CDers,

I live in woodland park, co and have for the last 6 years or so. I am ready to move. One place I am considering is the monument or larkspur areas. I was wondering if you all could help me figure out if I would like it.

What I dislike about woodland park is A) just too damn cold for too damn long. Doesn't get nice until June and it's winter again be the end of September; B) the predominant conservative/evangelical culture in woodland park and COS generally. Not to start that old argument but IMO COS and woodland park are extremely conservative and there is no diversity of culture (or culture period).

I generally work at home, go to Denver once a week for work, make good money, and have three kids. So I don't have significant commute or job/income issues.

So can anyone tell me if there is a significant difference in A) weather and B) culture/ideology between monument/palmer v COS or Larkspur . I know Monument pretty much has its own weather system, but it appears to have overall better weather than woodland park, though maybe not as good as COS. What I really want to know about is how windy ot is. The wind never stops blowing up here in woodland park, and it drives me crazy.

FWIW I have ruled out Denver metro/boulder as it is too expensive for what you get and frankly too overpopulated.

Thanks in advance for all your input!

[TCHP]

Not too familiar with Larkspur.

A) weather - Woodland Park sits at 8465', Monument at 6975', so nearly 1500' lower. Cos at 6035' is lower still. Elevation can have a tremendous impact on local temps. That elevation difference will change the weather regularly. But, as you point out, the Monument area will tend to be on the receiving end of nearly all the bad weather that rolls up the Front Range through the area. That will not only mean more snow than Cos, but also more rain and hail along with slightly lower temps. It will, however, give you a big jump on those occasional trips to Denver. Wind, we get plenty of that throughout the area. I can't say my visits in the Monument area seemed particularly windy, but then again I've never thought of WP as windy either.

B) culture/ideaology - Generally speaking, I don't think you will see a significant difference between WP and Monument in that regard. While Monument does not have a large evangelical bible college in its borders, both are smaller towns near a larger city. Both tend to lean more conservative. Northern Cos and into Douglas County (Larkspur) tends to have a higher percentage conservative/evangelicals than in the Cos proper area. But Larkspur is also home to the annual Renaissance Festival so their town council has some sense of humor. You might find central to western and south-west Cos more to your liking if you prefer to casually interaction with less conservative mindsets. I guess you would need to define what the culture, or lack of, or diversity means to you to get more specific about where you can find it. To some posters on C-D.com, the Cos MSA has no culture anywhere at any price, so perspective is a big part of it.

[otowi]

I don't know if you'd find a big difference between Woodland Park and either of the places you mention. Monument is lower, but it is on the Palmer Divide and still often gets about the same amount of snow and has a similar growing season as Woodland Park. I am less familiar with Larkspur but from what I know it is not that different culturally, either. You might need to move up West of Denver somewhere, but that has its own problems - price, a lot more traffic, etc. You might find taxes to be higher in Douglas, too - it is in the top ten most wealthy counties per capita in the country in terms of reported income of residents - if you're not up there with the 'average' it might create some difficulties - maybe not, but just something to consider.

Have you considered Elbert? Go for a drive and have a look. I don't know about the culture, but it might be more what you're looking for in other aspects possibly.

[MrGuy]

Thanks TCHP. I sort of thought Monument would be pretty much like COS in terms of evangelicals. I always associated DougCo with more of a rich person conservatism than evangelical conservatism, the former being easier for me to deal with. I've considered old colo city and manitou, as these are my fav places near COS, but still to much in the COS orbit. I would say i am in the "COS has no culture." East of Powers is pretty much a fair depiction of hell on earth to my mind - nothing but cookie cutter high density housing and chain restaraunts all occupied by an extremely conservative populace.

[MrGuy]

Originally Posted by otowi

I don't know if you'd find a big difference between Woodland Park and either of the places you mention. Monument is lower, but it is on the Palmer Divide and still often gets about the same amount of snow and has a similar growing season as Woodland Park. I am less familiar with Larkspur but from what I know it is not that different culturally, either. You might need to move up West of Denver somewhere, but that has its own problems - price, a lot more traffic, etc. You might find taxes to be higher in Douglas, too - it is in the top ten most wealthy counties per capita in the country in terms of reported income of residents - if you're not up there with the 'average' it might create some difficulties - maybe not, but just something to consider.

Have you considered Elbert? Go for a drive and have a look. I don't know about the culture, but it might be more what you're looking for in other aspects possibly.

Thanks for the reply, I think you are probably right re weather/culture. Elbert you say? To the Realtor app!

[ponyupgrl]

Are you looking for plains, hills, mountain views, woods, or a combination of those?

Although we didn't end up there, we were pleasantly surprised w/ Franktown because it had forresty areas, with rolling hills and awesome view of mountains. Maybe something to check out also if you want a few acres.

[TCHP]

Maybe Pueblo's Historic Northend District can avoid cookie cutter blandness and present you with considerable diversity, although schools there are not the greatest. Of course, Simla's Big Sandy school district is among the top 20 in the state but that will still leave you in a windy small town in eastern El Paso County within Cos' orbit and not much more culture than watching them load the COOP trucks.

Perhaps Bailey or Windsor might fit better and still leave you with a reasonable drive to Denver. I can't comment on culture because I think its regulated to the local restraunt. Ouray and Telluride have great schools and are also smallish towns that may have a thread of culture in them. But are no where close to Denver and may be a bit pricey for what you get

So necessary items I can gleen from your posts are:
reasonable real estate prices
small town
mild weather with minimal wind but seasonal snow okay
minimal evangelicals but mild conservatism okay
culture
reasonable travel to Denver
average or better schools


Pretty simple list that could have most criteria met at any number of places. Although you haven't defined what exactly it would be for you, I may be inclined to say culture and small town may not necessarily go together any place between the Mississippi River and the Sierra Nevada mountains. I think this will be you biggest stumbling block based on the little info we can extract from your posts. Population density east of the Mississippi may allow you to find that small town within the orbit of a significant cultural edifice that can't be found in the central US. I'm thinking a satellite town to Atlanta, Nashville, or Charleston for example.

[MrGuy]

Originally Posted by TCHP

Maybe Pueblo's Historic Northend District can avoid cookie cutter blandness and present you with considerable diversity, although schools there are not the greatest. Of course, Simla's Big Sandy school district is among the top 20 in the state but that will still leave you in a windy small town in eastern El Paso County within Cos' orbit and not much more culture than watching them load the COOP trucks.

Perhaps Bailey or Windsor might fit better and still leave you with a reasonable drive to Denver. I can't comment on culture because I think its regulated to the local restraunt. Ouray and Telluride have great schools and are also smallish towns that may have a thread of culture in them. But are no where close to Denver and may be a bit pricey for what you get

So necessary items I can gleen from your posts are:
reasonable real estate prices
small town
mild weather with minimal wind but seasonal snow okay
minimal evangelicals but mild conservatism okay
culture
reasonable travel to Denver
average or better schools


Pretty simple list that could have most criteria met at any number of places. Although you haven't defined what exactly it would be for you, I may be inclined to say culture and small town may not necessarily go together any place between the Mississippi River and the Sierra Nevada mountains. I think this will be you biggest stumbling block based on the little info we can extract from your posts. Population density east of the Mississippi may allow you to find that small town within the orbit of a significant cultural edifice that can't be found in the central US. I'm thinking a satellite town to Atlanta, Nashville, or Charleston for example.

Pretty much. Weather, absence of a religious culture, and schools are my main 3. In my job I can transfer to other locations around the country and still work at home, so proximity to Denver is only a secondary concern, as I could transfer another office without much hassle.

I am actually also considering moving to Florida (satellite/Melbourne beach) Durango, co or Corrales, NM.
Floridas pretty unlikely but loving by the beach in s pool home sounds like an adventure. The other 2 are more likely.

I am a CO native (well mostly, I have grown up and worked most of my 40 years here). I have lived in Baltimore and Albuquerque as well. Liked ABQ, hated Baltimore.

Re: small towns, yeah I generally agree that smaller town = more conservative. However I have lived in a few mountain towns where the typical midis ski bums/summer bums, older landowner/ranchers, yuppies, and college kids. So not like super liberal or anything but a good mix, pretty tolerant, and religion does not have an overarching presence. That's basically what I'm going for.

[DrDog]

If you want less cold weather and fewer conservatives, how about Northern California?

[MrGuy]

Originally Posted by DrDog

If you want less cold weather and fewer conservatives, how about Northern California?

Meh too expensive. The whole n cali/Portland/Seattle thing doesn't appeal to me for some reason. Perhaps I should reconsider.