Woodland Park/Cripple Creek (Colorado Springs, Victor: home, teaching jobs, transfer)

[scdckchc]

We are looking at moving to CO and I have a few questions I'd LOVE for the wonderful "locals" who are so good about the postings here.. My husband would be working in Victor at the mine there and we have two kids (6 and 7). I will be looking for and "office" type job because of my education. I am thinking that Woodland Park, Divide or Florissant would be our best bets although I haven't ruled out Cripple Creek either. Here are the questions:

1. What would the commute be like from those places to the mine?

2. Which would be better suited for my finding employment?

3. Our son is very much into wrestling - do you happen to know if there are any programs for the youngsters in any of those places?

4. Do the kids from Divide and Florissant go to school in Woodland Park or are there schools there? How big are these two towns?

5. Any suggestions???? Tips????? Comments?????


Thank you so much for any info you can share with me!

[ceadda]

1. If you live in Divide, Florissant, or Woodland Park you are looking at about a 30-45 minute drive to Victor. It can be a little rough during the winter. If you live in Divide, its about 20 minutes to Woodland Park and about 30 minutes to Victor if there is no snow. In the winter, it can be significantly longer. The drive from Divide to Victor crosses the western shoulder of Pikes Peak.

2. Woodland Park will be the place you are most likely to find employment.

3. The Christian school in WP has a wrestling program, but that is the only one I am aware of. However, there is soccer, baseball, basketball.

4. There is an elementary school in Divide called Summit elementary. That services Florissant and Divide. If you go south from Divide toward Cripple Creek you move into the Cripple Creek school district.

Perhaps look at living in Divide and working in Woodland Park. That would split the drive up for both of you. I lived in Divide for 5 years and loved it. We moved to Colorado Springs in Sept. because of my wife's health (she has migraines and the doctor suggested a lower altitude). Good luck with the move.

[scdckchc]

Thank you for the info! We are coming to visit the area at the middle of June and we are looking forward to checking everything out! Thanks again for the info!

[MountainEarth]

Office jobs in Teller County will mostly be found in Woodland Park or in county government in Cripple Creek. Not so much Divide or Florissant. That is if you can find something that satisfies. Most Woodland Park residents commute to Colorado Springs for work.

The drive from Divide to Victor along Hwy 67 south is winding, two-lane, breaks 10,000 feet elevation, and can definitely be hairy in winter. In fact the highway was closed much of last night for snow (a foot in Woodland Park).

Victor is a lot farther than "30 minutes" from Divide as someone suggested. Try 45 min - 1 hour, longer on snow days. If you're husband is going to work in Victor I would recommend you look at Colorado Mountain Estates area between Cripple Creek and Florissant. This would put your husband much closer to Victor, with a safer commute, and you would still be within 20 - 25 miles of Woodland Park.

Cripple Creek / Victor has its own school district.

[Todd TCE]

This thread cought my eye.

If you've never been to Victor, or to a less extent; Florissant, Divide and even Cripple Creek you may not be finding quite what you think.

Before someone calls me out as an AZ guy (and former <oh no!> CA resident) let me say that I grew up where you are speaking of. Eight miles south of Divide in fact. About one mile before the old RR tunnel. Yup, off 67 in a home in Rainbow Valley subdivision. Granted this was now nearly 30yrs ago so some things have changed. But I suspect some have not.

I also went back to Victor as a racer for many recent years running the hill climb race there so I've seen Victor the past few years. And CC with all its glory. (gag me, but that's simply my opinion)

Being a grad of WPHS 26yrs ago I not only spent four years of schooling there but a couple years post working in the area.

With that out of the way, let me say that for kids 6-10yrs of age you had best think about what you want them exposed to and opportunities afforded them. Personally I don't have kids so I'm not going to tell you how to raise them however my experiences there merit some thought.

For the most part kids (albeit teens) want nothing more than to get out of that God foresaken area. Say what? Why? Kids want things to do and places to go. Aside from WP (where back in the day hanging on Main was about all you could do) there's not much there. Divide is a tee intersection. Florissant is a spec on the map with a gas station and great apple pie. Victor is depressed and lives on mining workers and drinkers. CC on the other hand thrives on taking money from the CS folks who drop quarters and dollars for time.

Back to the kids. We spend countless hours on travel to school. I was the second to last bus stop on the WP run. Your kids will love the 45min ride...but when they get a bit older they'll want to "hang with buds" in WP after school so you best have travel for them to get home. Driving? Sure but at $3+ a gallon can they afford the gas AND the car? I got by on a mc and a VW for years I guess. Did we mention the double to triple flow of traffic now on both 24 and 67 that you deal with? Drunks, wrecks, snow.... At 14 or 15 I hitch hiked that road more times than I can recall. Even picked up by Gary Shoemaker the Sheriff at the time~! I'd say the above estimated drive times are a bit optimistic. Especially if one is not up on mtn driving with tourists, construction and Winters.

So the kids are younger now than 14. Ok but when they get older they'll wonder how they date. Who does the driving? Where do they go? Prom? Oh, that's down on C/S! Sure but don't forget the after prom party in WP that he'll be driving home from. I drove home foolishly drunk way more times than I care to think about. Stupid me. Your kids won't grow up that way? Forget it. In towns this side they are exposed to the same elements that the adults are; bars, drugs and parties. With less to do for a 12yr old he'll come to grips soon that this is his way of life. Until he's older and wants to get out.

Jobs? Clerical? I'm not thinking there's much. Most work is in the service industry. Local grocery store, loaf and jug cashier, waitress, you get the idea. Now I'm sure there are more 'white collar' jobs today than 30yrs ago. But don't expect big city pay because you have a degree. Supply and demand will rule. City and County are your best bets I suspect.

As for the CC&V schools I can't comment on exacting feel. I'd guess much what I grew up with back when WP was much, much smaller. But with even greater distances to deal with for kids.

What's interesting is that today I like the area and see what my folks saw. But knowing what I know I don't think I'd raise kids there. I turned out alright I guess so who knows. My thoughts end with the notion that parents buy what they see as ideal for raising the kids, often with blinders on being taken by the beauty (that the kids could care less about) and overlook the logistics of what the kid will truly be exposed too.

Best wishes and do let everyone know your decision!

[sayhola]

Kids in Divide and Florissant go to Summit Elementary school, which is in Divide just N of Hwy 24. Middle schoolers and HS students have to come into town (WP). Colorado Mountain Estates, off S. 67, is divided in half. The Northern fork of CME attends WPSD and the southern fork of CME attend CCVSD, RE-1 (Cripple Creek-Victor School District). I know that WP has wresling at the HS level, but don't know if CCV has this. As far as activities for youngsters--you have to actively seek them out, but Parks and Rec in both towns have events, sports leagues, etc. for all ages and many other recreational activities (photo classes, yoga, dog obedience, etc.).

Travel to Victor from anywhere in Teller county is quite involved, ie lengthy. For housing, you might also look into Cripple Creek Mountain Estates, which is definitely in the CCV school district area of attendance. For you, employment with the county or city would probably be best, in CC or WP, as others have recommended. Commute WP to Victor is surely 45 minutes, at least.

Florissant and Divide are about as big as you can see driving through. There are lots and lots of housing areas back in Divide, but most of them are north of the highway and you'll probably be wanting to live more south, closer to Victor.

I live in WP and commute down the pass to Manitou, which may also offer more employment opportunities, or you can find employment on the west side of COS. From WP, these are only about 12-14 miles, and Ute Pass is very well taken care of in the snow and highly traveled with constant moving flow, so even when traffic is "heavy," there really is no delay. Travelers are also conscious of each other and that it's the ONLY way down/up, so they tend to be more patient, line up quickly when they have to move single file, let people in in these cases, etc. At least that's my perception after two school years of commuting down the pass. Good luck!

[mcpherli]

Sayhola,
You used to teach in the WPSD? I'm teaching in Texas right now. I'm working on filling out all my paperwork to get certified in Colorado. What a process....

We hope to move our family out to possibly WP sometime soon. DH needs to find an awesome opportunity first and then I'll submit my resume for teaching positions, that is after I get my Colorado teaching certificate. I'm not sure if I have to take a Paxis exam of what. I called the main office for Colorado state certifications and they said they'd have to review my application first to determine that.
Anyway...please share your thoughts about the district and any other ones near WP.
Thanks.

[anniecat]

We are moving from St. Paul, Minnesota to the Florissant/Cripple Creek area. My husband will have a home office and travel to job sites (nothing new) I just completed all the paperwork to transfer my high school Language Arts/Theater teaching license to Colorado. While I found the Woodland Park high school site, the Cripple Creek district web site is vague. Anybody have any idea of the availability of teaching jobs? Also, both of us are musicians and theater folk looking for part time (for fun) gigs. (husband is a Berklee College of Music grad/drummer and arranger who works in theatrical lighting and rigging design), I worked as a professional actress, director, sing and play guitar.
We chose this area and are aware of the pros and cons...
Thank-you for the feedback!