Is Colorado Springs right for my family? (Denver, Woodland Park: for sale, crime)

[heididawg]

I got it reginhild?

Originally Posted by heididawg

Sorry I meant reginhold or whatever it is?

[otowi]

Parts of Colorado Springs are pretty diverse - some folks just never leave their white-flight northern-end suburbs to see it. Walk into a public school classroom in the heart of the city or down on the south end of town and you'll see a good mix. That is what diversity is, after all, a mix, not a shift from all-white to all-hispanic or all-black. Colorado Springs has never been that segregated, thank God. And Colorado Springs does NOT get a lot of snow. We get some snow but nothing like certain places back East. Average about 43" a year, most of which melts within 24-48 hours. Compare that with, say, Syracuse, NY at 112" inches a year.

[heididawg]

What parts are not diverse?

Originally Posted by otowi

Parts of Colorado Springs are pretty diverse - some folks just never leave their white-flight northern-end suburbs to see it. Walk into a public school classroom in the heart of the city or down on the south end of town and you'll see a good mix. That is what diversity is, after all, a mix, not a shift from all-white to all-hispanic or all-black. Colorado Springs has never been that segregated, thank God. And Colorado Springs does NOT get a lot of snow. We get some snow but nothing like certain places back East. Average about 43" a year, most of which melts within 24-48 hours. Compare that with, say, Syracuse, NY at 112" inches a year.

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by otowi

Parts of Colorado Springs are pretty diverse - some folks just never leave their white-flight northern-end suburbs to see it. Walk into a public school classroom in the heart of the city or down on the south end of town and you'll see a good mix.

Go into a D-20 classroom on the "white flight northern end" and you'll see a good mix, just like in the gang-infested barrios in the heart/south end of the city.

Now, how did you like my generalization of your end of town?

That's what I thought.

[otowi]

Since I happen to be a teacher I don't entirely agree about the diversity of D-20. The general pattern is that the northern neighborhoods are whiter and less mixed than southern ones. One of the primary reasons for this is that the army base is located on the south end of town, but that is not the only reason.

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by otowi

Since I happen to be a teacher I don't entirely agree about the diversity of D-20. The general pattern is that the northern neighborhoods are whiter and less mixed than southern ones. One of the primary reasons for this is that the army base is located on the south end of town, but that is not the only reason.

But not nearly all-white. Still mixed. The AF Academy is on the northern end and brings (educated) diversity to D-20. And there are hispanics everywhere not related to the military bases. I guess those would be the "Outta Town Brown" northern end hispanics??

[reginhild]

Originally Posted by Bob from down south

But not nearly all-white. Still mixed. The AF Academy is on the northern end and brings (educated) diversity to D-20. And there are hispanics everywhere not related to the military bases. I guess those would be the "Outta Town Brown" northern end hispanics??

There also seems to be a fair amount of people with some Asian and Indian (India) heritage in the schools in D-20. The African American/Black population seems to be a bit lower but is still there with typically 1-2 kids in each classroom (along with 1-2 Asian/Indian, 1-2 Canadian, 2-3 Hispanic, 1 Eastern European...).

[janetjanetbobanet]

I wouldn't think his wife would enjoy driving into the Springs from Woodland Park or Divide in the winter after spending her life in California. I work at Memorial, but not in pediatrics. They get enough child abuse cases that I am sure there is some kind of team in place and they would welcome her expertise.

[Justin S.]

Janet, I think you are right about Woodland Park and Divide not being such a good idea for my wife. Thanks for the suggestion though froggin4colorado, I did take a look at both of them.

My wife contacted Memorial yesterday so we are waiting to hear back from them. Like you Janet, I'm thinking they must have some sort of child abuse team in place... or perhaps need one.

As far as the talk of diversity. I have lived in a handful of different places west of the Mississippi (SoCal, NM, CO, OK). I was also able to do some traveling overseas while in the Navy. I can attest to the fact that the division between "good" and "bad" neighborhoods exists everywhere. From my own personal experience, the lower-income neighborhoods typically have more diversity overall (race, religion, language, etc). The higher income neighborhoods typically have less diversity and are usually made up of 80-90% of one or two races.

Our current situation is a great example. We live outside of our school district in what is considered a "bad" area overall (based on crime, income level, gangs, etc). So this area is made up of a fairly diverse group though Hispanics take the lead with 60% of the popularion (the other 40% being a pretty even mix). The school that my kids attend is in another city (one of the "good" areas). That school is nearly 65% White, 22% Hispanic, and 9% Asain. That doesn't leave much room for other races. So the city (known as "bad") is much more diverse than the school that we drive to another district to attend (at least as far as race goes). The school is primarily made up of two races.

One could argue for days.. years as to why things are this way. People get master's degrees in the name of it. The bottom line for me is this: I will do everything so that my kids go to a good school that is safe. If 70% of the kids at their school are green and my kids are purple... it doesn't matter to me as long as the school is good and safe. That being said, exposing my children to the diversity of the world is important. By default, most medium-to-large cities provide this to some degree. My daughter, to this day, has never mentioned or asked why some people have skin that looks different than her own or why some people have different shaped eyes. In part, the reason is from living in a diverse region. It also has a lot to do with the way in which her school and her mom and I treat and react to diversity.

I lived on a small farm in Oklahoma until i was about 6. To this day, I remember seeing somebody with black skin for the first time. My 6 year old brain assumed that the person had been badly burned. Now, I would like to avoid that sort of lack of exposure to diversity I understand that COS is 75% white, 65% republican, christian.. etc. That being true, I am hopeful that we would still have the opportunity to expose our children to the diversity of the world. Now if Academy-20, Lewis-Palmer 38, and Manitou Springs 14 don't teach black history month, hanukkah, etc... then we have a serious problem for sure.

We are planning a 9 day visit next month. I was considering staying at the Town and Country Cottages in Manitou Springs. The off season price is great and it seems to be kid friendly. Have any of you been there?

I would like to visit the ares that most consider to be the worst parts of COS and the areas the most consider to be the best parts of COS. Without causing a huge argumentative discussion does anybody have any input for either location. Over the years, I have come to realize that the best way to find out the true nature of a specific area is to visit the local Walmart. So if you know of any Walmarts in the "good" and "bad" areas, that would be helpful as well.

I'm still coming up with a list of things to do while we are there (for fun and for moving research). I will be sure to double check with you all before I finish it

Thanks for all the help.

-Justin

[reginhild]

Originally Posted by Justin S.

...I would like to visit the ares that most consider to be the worst parts of COS and the areas the most consider to be the best parts of COS. Without causing a huge argumentative discussion does anybody have any input for either location. Over the years, I have come to realize that the best way to find out the true nature of a specific area is to visit the local Walmart. So if you know of any Walmarts in the "good" and "bad" areas, that would be helpful as well. ...

Even the "bad" areas of Colorado Springs are not that bad when compared to other large cities. You should not have any trouble forming your own opinion by just driving around a bit. The North, North-Central, West of I-25, East on the plains will all appear to be parts of town in better condition (homes and yards better maintained). Central area is a mix/transition. South-Central and South areas are where things will appear more run down in general although there are some pockets of neighborhoods in better shape. Security-Widefield to the South things start to look better again.