Relocating and living in Colorado Springs

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Westbound and Down

....I would not live in ABQ again on a dare...YMMV...

A pal who lives there tells me that auto theft among high school students is a guilded craft.

Crime stats for cities may be checked by clicking on City-Data.com in the upper left corner of any page.

[Westbound and Down]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

A pal who lives there tells me that auto theft among high school students is a guilded craft.

Crime stats for cities may be checked by clicking on City-Data.com in the upper left corner of any page.

It is an example of "you get what you pay for" when your choice of where to live is restricted by housing budget. "Homeless" panhandlers on every corner, car theft, and property crime are rampant there - we could not wait to get out of there, and we love it here in Colorado Springs, a "night and day" difference in quality of life.

[frankrj]

Originally Posted by Westbound and Down

Your budget for Colorado Springs housing is low unless by "homes" you include townhouses and condos. Nice rentals with a garage? Even decent apartments with garages or at least covered parking will likely run above your budget. There are plenty of neighborhoods close to TJs, etc., with trees, but again your budget is a problem. I am renting a nice 4BR/3Ba house in just such a neighborhood, and it has a nice big garage, but rents for homes that size, location, and quality typically start at $2,000 per month.

The fear of Californians is overblown. I think that would be much more of an issue in AZ...

SUV not necessary here for snow as long as you have front wheel drive and don't plan to drive over to the ski areas on a regular basis...for in and around Colorado Springs, snow will not hold you up for more than a day or so a couple of times a winter.

Finally, if access to doctors and good health care are important to you, Colorado Springs is outstanding in this regard. Many places "out west," including very popular destinations like Boise, have physician shortages. Be sure you have a good picture of this situation wherever you end up moving...be sure you know what you are getting into in AZ, at least outside of the Phoenix metro.

Thanks Westbound and Down and TCHP -

Actually, that's not my budget, it's more of a want. I have consistently checked Zillow and today there are 191 homes from $250-$300k that meet the criteria of 3bdrm, 2bath with garage and they look fairly new.
I guess they are not in an area of COS I'd like?
Californian's aren't a problem for me. I'm from there and still like certain neighborhoods. I think the people that leave have the same common sense logic I have about desired quality of life and how elected officials should make or enforce laws. I spent 2 yrs in Idaho's winters working outside in zero or less temps and 1 year in North Jersey, so I know snow. I've had it easy since leaving and didn't want to relive those days.
If the snow me typically melts quickly that's a plus. It does seem Denver and COS can get freak-ish drops in temps in 12 or 24 hours of 60 or 70 degrees? Denver was 83 on Wednesday and then 13 on Thurs night.
I appreciate the recommendation of ABQ but it won't be a good choice for me due to work.

[TCHP]

$230-300 is not impossible and yes that is a price point for a segment of homes here. However, most of these will typically be east or south-east parts of the city or far east and of modular construction. Whether those are acceptable for your expectations that you haven't spoken to here, you would have to research and decide.

Colo Spgs is like a tree, the older, established, neighborhoods with larger, mature tree canopies are in the central part of town and the construction gets progressively newer as you get out from there. Cos grew out of the prairie. Trees are not natural to this environment so the newer the neighborhood, the newer and/or smaller the trees.

We only have one Traders Joes at 5342 N. Nevada Avenue, pretty centrally located within the city. The majority of homes at your price point are a good 8-10 miles away from this store.

Central Colo Spgs is home to the most local or regional chain eateries. The further out from the city center you go the more chain stores you find. Not entirely, but predominately. The east side does tend to have a lot of food trucks though.

Cos is not Mayberry, we do have violent crime here, but we also does not have ghettos with deeply entrenched, generational poverty. The east and south-east sides of the city do tend to have crime rates higher than other parts of the city. With that said, however, random violent crimes are not the mainstay, and most tend to be between people who know each other. As such, it is pretty easy to avoid these issues, even in the less desirable areas, by simply being mindful of your surrounds and people you associate with. Again, you would want to research your tolerance level with specific areas to see if they are compatible with your ideals and tolerance.