If you could live anywhere in Colorado Springs... (Manitou Springs, Center: rent, hotel)

[Krick123]

Originally Posted by DoodlemomCoS

I live in the far north east part of Colorado Springs in the forest and with exception to fire danger, I love it up here. I feel like we are living in the mountains and my kids have almost a full acre of forest to run around on. We are always cooler temperature wise than Colorado Springs proper and we get more snow.

I do love the SW part of town, by the Broadmoor. It's gorgeous and green with deciduous trees (as opposed to mostly pondeBullBoxer31 up north). When my husband and I are older I would love to live in Old North End, an area that has beautiful old Victorian houses.

Do you come across a lot of rattlesnakes? They're my BIGGEST fear! Although, I live amongst a HUGE population of MANY poisonous snakes..I just don't want to seek out areas that have MORE.

[DoodlemomCoS]

Nope, I haven't seen those, just lots of squirrels (those guys keep eating my outdoor seat cushions!) deer, a few foxes and bobcats and occasionally there is the neighborhood bear (usually at night looking for some new neighbor who put his trash out early). You wouldn't see some of those if you lived in Flying Horse (FH) however.

We live close to Fox Run Park. You can google it to see our topography. Gleneagle and FH are much more suburban than our area but still get squirrels and deer.

[TCHP]

I live downtown and we regularly have deer, fox,and raccoons. We've also had a moose and a bear as well. There is hardly a place in Cos where you won't encounter some form of wildlife.

[DoodlemomCoS]

Originally Posted by TCHP

Cost no object, it would definetly be one of the old or old looking estate styled places in the Broadmoor. Simply because I love old houses and many of these are sitting on 2+ acre lots.

Manitou is nice for its old architecture, but the lots sizes are simply not compatible with my lifestyle.

Some of the areas on Mesa Rd are very nice. Most are mid century, which isn't my preference, but some of the new construction is pretty nice. This stretch of road has probably the best views both east and west of any place in the city and in most cases, lots are large enough to suite my taste.

I'm actually very happy where I'm at in Old North End. I'm in one of the more average sized houses in the area and would love to have a larger one, but overall the area is great. Wide roads, wide sidewalks, old tree canopy, active community, near downtown, close to the interstate, and more.

There are some very nice newer neighborhoods in the growing northern parts of the area. If you have a budget target and school needs, I'd look at schools and programs you need first, budget areas nearby, then sort through specific neighborhoods.

TCHP, you live in my dream area you lucky duck! Someday! I tried to rep you but apparently I need to spread it around first.

[abcdefg567]

Originally Posted by TCHP

I live downtown and we regularly have deer, fox,and raccoons. We've also had a moose and a bear as well. There is hardly a place in Cos where you won't encounter some form of wildlife.

East of Powers we had black squirrels, which I had never seen before.

Our current neighborhood has a coyote pack.

I also love the sounds of the seasonal birds.

[captain_hug99]

I'm in the NE side of COS, but in an older neighborhood. It was built in the mid-80's and love it. Mature trees, close to Powers and Academy, yet I have a fantastic mountain view.

[StarrySkiesAbove]

I am pretty much in my preferred neighborhood; I live downtown in a historic home on a large lot. I wanted to live in this area since I was a kid.

I grew up in the Garden Ranch area which was a new part of town back then, the house we lived in was built in 1968 and my parents purchased it in 1975. It was a great area to grow up in, quiet, lots of kids. Union Blvd did not go through yet and that area was a kids heaven to explore; huge cottonwood trees, trails, rock formations, wildlife, ponds (they drained the ponds when they put Union through).

We used to go downtown via Flintridge to Templeton Gap Rd. along the turf farms. We would go to the public library downtown every Saturday and I would love driving along the old tree lined streets looking at the vintage homes. As a kid I adored old houses. My mom not so much, our first house was a Victorian in Manitou Springs and my mom hated it lol.

When I got married our first two homes we bought were up North due to affordability, we finally moved downtown in 2006. The only other area I would move to would be a historic home near the Broadmoor (but not to a huge mansion, our current house is just under 4000 sf and that’s plenty big for us) or around the Cheyenne Canyon area. But more than likely as long as we are in the Springs we will stay where we are.

[SYS]

There are MANY areas in Colorado Springs that I'd love to live in, but I really love where I'm right now for the following reasons:

1) D20 schools: My sons went to Academy International Elementary School, Mountain Ridge Middle School and Rampart HS -- all walking distance. They're now in college, and I can look back with a 20/20 hindsight that I really appreciate the IB program for having well-prepared my sons for their colleges.

2) New community developments: We also walk to the relatively new John Venezia Community Park, which we've been waiting for years to complete. Now that it's here, it's a fantastic place to play either tennis or pickleball, soccer and football or have a big picnic. Just across from the park is the Memorial North Hospital which is currently building its Children's Hospital division. Both my sons volunteered at the hospital all throughout their high school years. The Pikes Peak Library 21C is a fantastic public library, which was also built just a few years back. They even have a studio for recording. Also a walking distance from our house is the "Promenade Shops at Briargate" with another "Highlands at Briargate" shopping area currently being constructed right next to it. I-25 is just a half mile away, so a quick, convenient access. Pine Creek Golf Course is also only a mile away, and we play there frequently.

Oh, how about those free annual Thunderbird air show they put on during the Air Force Academy graduation?

3) Traffic: What traffic? Never experienced any traffic issues in Briargate, except around the school areas during drop-off and pick-up times. Now that my sons are in college, we don't even need to deal with that!

4) Crime: Very low in comparison to other parts of the city.

5) Airport: For years we had to drive to the Denver Int. Airport (about 1.5 hours, and that's IF we're lucky not to run into traffic stall on I-25) to fly to visit our relatives in San Diego, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, etc. I hate using DIA. Our own Colorado Springs Airport, however, has recently picked up traffic thanks to Frontier offering more direct flights to these cities. AND the best part of this is that Frontier offers great discounts, often at jaw-dropping prices. For example, I flew to visit my mother in San Diego at $38 round-trip a few months ago. Shortly after I returned, they lowered the fee to $15 one-way! I expect them to add more direct flights to other cities in the near future.

[dr.frog]

I like my current home and neighborhood off 8th Street, but I've been giving some thought to moving to a more urban-type condo in OCC or downtown or maybe even Denver at some point in the future. My current house and garden are really too big for me and I'm finding I'm having problems keeping up with the maintenance. Maybe once I actually retire from my job it won't seem like such a chore, but looking at options for the long term, city life with easy access to shopping/services/transportation appeals to me more than a senior citizen community.

[otowi]

So it seems like most everyone likes where they live and most everyone also likes the West side/Broadmoor/ONEN areas.

SYS - about the airport - where I live it is literally 10 minutes away - that is SO awesome compared to DIA. And if I'm going to park at DIA, once I figure in gas and parking etc., it is usually not really that different in price to fly out of COS. Plus the time factor!