Where are you originally from? Why Co springs? (Denver, Colorado Springs: sales, 2013)

[Vision67]

I moved to Colorado Springs from Tempe, Az. way back in 1977 for a job. I'm still here after 40 years. Why? I really like this place.

My job took me all over the world and I haven't found a better place to live permanently. I've considered returning to Arizona but I'd just be trading 3 too cold months for 3 too hot months. Furthermore, I really do enjoy the relatively clean air and water here in Colorado.

With DIA just 90 minutes away, the world is available for easy travel. My kids live in San Fran and that's just a 2.5 hour trip from DIA. Living here in the Springs I get to enjoy a much nicer house than I could ever afford in San Fran.

I also like the fact that just about anything that I need can be easily found within about a 2 mile radius. The traffic is not a problem if you don't need to drive that much.

[wilberry]

except now it has changed to 5 TOO HOT MONTHS in Tempe due to the fact that the climate is changing...
Colorado Springs is getting a little warmer also or maybe its just me I have hot feet.

[SpokaneCY]

GOING to be from Spokane WA in about a year. Mid-westerner by birth and training. We just bought a to-be-built home around Ute Valley Park and I retire middle of 2020.

My draw is the military presence, the abundance of outdoor activities, proximity to skiing and back-country, more sunshine, better air quality and maybe just wanting to start over. Wife and I have always loved the mountains and we'll try and explore that portion of our lives while we're still reasonably young and able.

[willc86]

never had intentions of coming to Colorado. I was recruited from College and it was a good paying job as an engineer.....really good paying... and I am not going to say no. Prob do not see myself leaving here until I retire; had no idea it was going to be in Colorado. Believe it or not, I wanted to live in Virginia ha ha

Anyhow, I am from Miami, FL

But one thing for sure, when I retire, I dont want to live in Colorado Springs. Maybe divide or something.

[kristie73]

I am from Northern Virginia. I moved to San Diego for work in my early 20s. I loved it there! But as I got older, it became too expensive, too much traffic (my commute was an hour or more each way), and the weather wasn't worth it anymore.


My sister moved to Colorado Springs for her work. I came to visit her and just loved it! I like the smaller city feel and the affordability. I work with the Department of Defense so the job move was easy. My commute is 20 minutes -no highway. The weather here is a trade off. Its better than the humidity and bugs of Virginia, but that wind and hail just sucks. I can handle the snow days. I love the sun too! I do miss the ocean air, but mountain air is good for the soul too.

[Sonic_Spork]

I'm also originally from Northern Virginia. Lived in Manassas, Dale City, Woodbridge, Fredericksburg for a little while, and the Eastern Shore area for a few months. I lived in a few other states between there and here, but this is the first place that feels like home to me. Now I want to stay here for good.

I miss some things about the other places I've lived. Fireflies. Cicadas. Proximity to the beach. Proper fall colors. I even miss humidity, but it was my normal I guess. The Labor Day fireworks in Cincinnati, the arts and music scene of the Pacific Northwest. Gotta be honest, I don't miss much about Iowa.

But what really makes this the winning place I don't want to leave, is the people. I believe that the people I know here have just the perfect balance of casual friendliness to authenticity, and fun quirkiness to down-to-earth common sense.

[TCHP]

I've lived in CO for most of my life and have never seen fireflies here until this summer and then it was in a place I never would have expected them. Found about half a dozen of them at a campground near the confluence of Chalk Creek and the Arkansas River in Chaffee County. Blew me away. My kids thought it was awesome! I had never seen them further west than central KS before this.

We occasionally have some bugs in the trees downtown that sound similar to cicadas but not exactly. Its softer and not as rhythemic. Its not often and not for long, but on occasion I hear them. I haven't figured out what they are yet.

[mtngigi]

You saw fireflies ... I can't believe it! I'll bet your kids were thrilled. I'm going to have to go there myself and hope I spot some.

I miss fireflies - they hold fond memories of summer evenings in New England. Me and my sisters would catch them and put them in our hair.

[dr.frog]

Well, I'll play. I'm here for the climate and lower cost of living, mainly. I grew up in Michigan, went to grad school at the U of Utah before spending 20 years in New England (split between Boston and New Haven). I was getting really tired of the muggy summers and grey winters with piles of dirty snow. At that same time, I'd gotten into a stable telecommuting job (which I still have) so that my job was no longer in Boston and I didn't have any reason to pay the high cost of living there any more. I'd been to Colorado Springs for vacations before and knew some people here, so when I started thinking about moving west again it was at the top of my list. At the time I sold my Cambridge townhouse and bought a home here, Cambridge housing costs were about 3x those in COS. It seemed like a good pre-retirement thing to not have so much of my capital locked up in my home.

There are a few things about Boston/Cambridge/New Haven that I miss.... more walkable neighborhoods, public transportation and Zipcar, better hospitals, cultural diversity (especially the food!) and more arts-type activities. OTOH I developed some new hobbies after moving here. Life is different, but not necessarily better or worse.

[hollyt00]

I saw a Zipcar- toyota corolla (or similar) trying to go up the South Elbert trailhead (4WD road). Turned around once he realized the road was overrun by a foot of snowmelt washing it out.