Job might move us to Pueblo (Denver, Colorado Springs: buying a home, established neighborhood, buying)

[deena647]

Does any one know about Pueblo? Would you raise your kids there? Is it safe? I hear so many negitive things.....Please help

[winglady]

Probably the biggest issue for Pueblo is jobs -- but since your job is the reason for the possible move, that doesn't look like an issue for you.

Is it safe? Like many cities -- even smaller ones like Pueblo -- there are different parts of town that are better or worse than others. I remember a thread on this Forum not too long ago talking about various neighborhoods in Pueblo -- you might try doing a search for "Pueblo" and looking over what's already been posted.

Raising your kids: I'm not a parent, so I can't answer this directly. I think it can be a great place for kids. On the other hand, from what I read in the local paper, the schools didn't seem all that great. Test scores weren't very good, and it seemed like a low percentage of students go on to college. Others more tuned in to the Pueblo schools may be able to offer a more informed perspective on this than I have.

[mes3fils]

While ordering some address labels from a catalog that I receive in the mail.....the company is based west of Pueblo. When done ordering, I took advantage of the fact that the customer service rep I was speaking with lived there. I asked her 'are there bad areas that I should avoid buying a home in?' and her reply was 'just stay away from Pueblo'.

HTH. Sorry I can't elaborate anymore and that it came from a complete stranger whom I was ordering items from!!

[vespagirl]

Nah, it's not bad! My mother grew up there and I have tons of family in the area.

The downtown area is improving. Pueblo is knocked because it's not as scenic as Colorado Springs or Denver, but it's smaller and the traffic isn't bad either... and the weather is better in the winter. It's also more of an historically working-class town because of the Army Depot and steel mill.

Pueblo West is more suburban but there are some older, more established neighborhoods - Sunset Park has more retirees and older houses, but it's nice.
Here are some PDFs with local info: The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Pueblo, Colorado U.S.A (broken link)

If you move there, go out and meet people and get involved. There are plenty of things to do and
it's friendly and family-oriented. And cheaper than some other parts of CO.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by winglady

Probably the biggest issue for Pueblo is jobs -- but since your job is the reason for the possible move, that doesn't look like an issue for you.

I'm paranoid, I'm always thinking of plan B. Here's another idea (one that I use). Pueblo isn't that far from COS. Why not live in COS and commute to Pueblo? (Sure, if you live in Pueblo you could eventually commute up to COS too.) That way if this job doesn't work out you can work in jobs in COS & Pueblo. I live in Monument for this reason: COS & Denver jobs are within 40 or so minutes.

[lookingup]

Check City-Data.com

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by winglady

Probably the biggest issue for Pueblo is jobs -- but since your job is the reason for the possible move, that doesn't look like an issue for you.

Is it safe? Like many cities -- even smaller ones like Pueblo -- there are different parts of town that are better or worse than others. I remember a thread on this Forum not too long ago talking about various neighborhoods in Pueblo -- you might try doing a search for "Pueblo" and looking over what's already been posted.

Raising your kids: I'm not a parent, so I can't answer this directly. I think it can be a great place for kids. On the other hand, from what I read in the local paper, the schools didn't seem all that great. Test scores weren't very good, and it seemed like a low percentage of students go on to college. Others more tuned in to the Pueblo schools may be able to offer a more informed perspective on this than I have.

I'd ditto that. I live in Pueblo West and work in a small community nestled in the foothills just south of Pueblo. My wife has a really good job in Pueblo and I like it for a lot of reasons that other people don't.

It's definitely more of a blue-collar town, but it seems to be awakening slowly. It's just big enough for us, too big for those on the eastern plains.

For me, Denver and Colorado Springs are nice places to visit. We are surrounded by family in this area, so that makes a difference for us too.

There are several 4A high schools here in town; Pueblo County and Pueblo West (District 70), Central, Centennial, East and South (District 60). South of Pueblo, you've got Rye High School which is a 2A (3A at times) school which may not offer as much as the larger or charter schools, but class rooms are smaller and the student gets more one-on-one attention, test scores are higher than the norm, the sports programs are awesome for their size, and the school served me and many others well. Colorado State University at Pueblo served my wife and many of my friends well, but you may have to go elsewhere to find technical positions. Hopefully, that will change one day. If it does, then maybe I won't have to travel so much. I work for a global company, so it doesn't matter so much where I live, so long as I'm not too far from a major airport. I can be at the gate in Colorado Springs in about 1 hr.

We've got a nice reservoir here. The mountains are 45 minutes to an hour away. I guess you've got to check it out to appreciate it. You can commute to Colorado Springs or you can get more home for your buck out here.

Good luck, however it goes.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by mes3fils

While ordering some address labels from a catalog that I receive in the mail.....the company is based west of Pueblo. When done ordering, I took advantage of the fact that the customer service rep I was speaking with lived there. I asked her 'are there bad areas that I should avoid buying a home in?' and her reply was 'just stay away from Pueblo'.

HTH. Sorry I can't elaborate anymore and that it came from a complete stranger whom I was ordering items from!!

Sounds like she lived in one of those bad areas or hated her job!