Old Colorado City-give me a rundown (Denver, Colorado Springs: crime, houses, schools)

[hdwell]

I remember visiting there shortly before 911 and felt the warmth of an old established section of town. Some questions I have about this area of CS are-1. Crime? 2. Property values? 3. Schools? Anything anyone can offer would be much appreciated-Thanks Hugh

[bashep]

Hey Hugh-

Well here are some websites to help you get started. www.greatschools.net, www.springsgov.com/SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=7, www.familywatchdog.us.
Old Colorado City is a neat part of Colorado Springs, I am not sure what the schools would be in that area. Also the price range of homes varies aswell. bashep

[hdwell]

Originally Posted by bashep

Hey Hugh-

Well here are some websites to help you get started. www.greatschools.net, www.springsgov.com/SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=7, www.familywatchdog.us.
Old Colorado City is a neat part of Colorado Springs, I am not sure what the schools would be in that area. Also the price range of homes varies aswell. bashep

Thank you bashep for the info. I'll try to find out more about OCC. It is a cool place.

[coltoncity]

Do OCC and Manitou blend into each other very much or are they 2 very different cities?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by coltoncity

Do OCC and Manitou Springs blend into each other very much or are they 2 very different cities?

IMO, OCC sort of blends into MS, but there is a strong line between them in that Hwy 24 essentially bisects the two. OCC would be north of 24 and MS to the south... but its not a 100% clear cut delineation in that a small edge of MS begins on the north side of 14, but about 98% of MS is on the south side. As you come out of downtown COS, you cross over I-25 and the RR tracks, and start heading west into OCC. As you do, the unique character of OCC becomes slightly ever more pronounced with each passing block. By the time you get to MS, you are in a somewhat bohemian, hippie, touristy, rustic, eclectic, off-beat kind of place with some very interesting shops and great food choices... like a fondue place where you cook your meats/fish/game/veggies/desserts on a hot plate and dip these in various sauces or cheeses or chocolates....or the place with the buffalo pot roast and seating over a babbling brook....yummmmm

s/Mike

[sesamekid]

Hi, I am looking at houses in OCC and they seem to be affordable. Are there any drawbacks to living in this area? Is it true that Colorado Springs area is "ultra-conservative"? What is the mindset like in OCC? I was kind of hoping for more liberal & open-minded... someone suggested Manitou Springs but home prices there are over my limit.
any feedback would be appreciated.

[Mike from back east]

sesamekid....

Are there any drawbacks to living in this area?
A: None that I know of. Homes are older and smaller. Fair amount of traffic on Colorado Avenue. One street fair each summer (Old Colorado Days?) that ties things up badly for 3 days. A slightly more mainstream version of Manitou Springs.

Is it true that Colorado Springs area is "ultra-conservative"?
A. No. We're a diverse mix of politics and viewpoints. The highly religious folks are not a problem.

What is the mindset like in OCC?
A. Working class, shopkeepers, some free spirits with purple homes, mellow.

I was kind of hoping for more liberal & open-minded... someone suggested Manitou Springs but home prices there are over my limit.
A. A bit pricey, very touristy, a compact tiny town on the flank of Pikes Peak, full of shops.

[Averie-Jay]

To add my 2 cents...

When I first moved to Colorado and looked for a place to live/work, I fully expected to hate Colorado Springs. I'd read a lot of negative feedback on this forum. When I visited, I couldn't understand what all of that nonsense had been about. Naturally, as with any city, there's crime and "nicer" areas than others, but the city as a whole is as wonderful as it is beautiful.

I wound up living/working in the very north part of Colorado Springs (right on the border of Monument). I work for a faith-based company, which terrified me at first! I'd heard about the ultra-conservative religious tone in this area and was worried because I'm open & liberal (though also Christian). In any event, my worry was for naught. I have to be careful not to let the "F"-bomb fly at work, but otherwise everyone is pretty darn normal.

Generally speaking, though, I've seen lots of diversity in the Springs. No one's tried to convert me to the Evangelist Church, as I'd expected, and although the city is family-friendly, I've never struggled to find things to keep me busy (I'm in my 20s). I've made so many friends I had to change my cell phone plan, I've joined more activities than is possible for a human being to keep up with, and am having an absolute ball. There are all kinds of different people here, it's just a matter of what you focus on.

I've been around Old Colorado City (and frequent there more often now that I know Dunkin' Donuts is on Colorado Ave....their iced coffees are a weakness of mine). Lovely area. I wouldn't think of Manitou Springs as a place to live as much as a place to visit. I imagine it'd be inconvenient to commute to work from this location, and I think the trousit-y feel would grow tiresome after a while. If it's a matter of findind a smaller city, I'd suggest Palmer Lake and Monument as possibilities.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Is it true that Colorado Springs area is "ultra-conservative"?
A. No. We're a diverse mix of politics and viewpoints. The highly religious folks are not a problem.

I've been trying to tell people this for years. If COS is conservative, it's more because of its defense/military connections. The religious groups like FOF/Dobson simply don't have enough people connected to them locally to really impact the political or cultural climate to any great degree. If you look at numbers, voting patterns in COS tend to be "red state" but in line with Denver's suburbs, if not Denver itself. Douglas County, if anything, is more consistently Republican voting even than El Paso county.

Nowhere is the "fundamentalist" perception stronger than right here in Denver. To hear talk, you'd think that COS is one big Waco-style compound of apocalyptic cultists stockpiling weapons for the end times. It's all too funny, except that I'm quite sure that this perception has hurt COS significantly in the pocketbook -- Perceptions matter when it comes to economic development.

I personally think that COS needs a plan to combat this perception, to advertise itself as well within the political and religious mainstream and open to all lifestyles and persuasions without problem.

[sesamekid]

thanks for all the feedback!
and tfox, I agree with you that Colorado Springs needs to do something to combat the negative image that it has acquired. My perception of the Springs is the scary FOF and Dobson & the whole conservative anti-gay, anti-liberal mind-set. It is such a shame because it really is a BEAUTIFUL city with fantastic natural scenery & lots of ammenities. I think I will keep closer to Manitou and OCC because it does seem to be more of what i am looking for there.