Relocating to Fort Carson and Considering living in Pueblo West (Colorado Springs: coops, how much)

[huskers]

Good Morning and a big thank you in advance to anyone who may take the time to read this and respond. My family and I will be relocating to Fort Carson, CO this June and we are seriously looking at purchasing a home in Pueblo West. We have lived in military housing throughout our military career and the thought of having an acre of land all to ourselves sounds wonderful. Anyways, we are noticing that some of the homes that we are looking at have propane tanks. My husband and I are not sure exactly what the costs associated with propane are. The homes that we are looking at are about 3000 sq ft in size. So, we are wondering how much it costs to fill one of these tanks and how long that usually lasts? We have also heard that utilities in Colorado Springs, CO are relatively inexpensive, how do utilities in Pueblo West compare?
We also are interested in finding out what the average drive time to Fort Carson would be from Pueblo West. And last but not least we will have children in high school, middle school, and elementary school. I have looked up the report cards online for all of the schools, but I would really like to get some personal feedback from anyone willing to share on how they feel these schools really are.
Have a great day!!

[McGowdog]

What a drag. I just posted a big huge bunch of info here and when I hit post reply, the server went down.

Bummer.

Is there anyway I can get my lost post back?

[Josseppie]

I don't think so, that happens to me too. One thing I do is type it in another place then just copy and paste that way if it goes down I have my original copy.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

What a drag. I just posted a big huge bunch of info here and when I hit post reply, the server went down.

Bummer.

Is there anyway I can get my lost post back?

I ****'n hate it when that happens! . That has happened to me a number of times-- where I had crafted a long, thoughtful reply, and then either the server stopped responding or my DSL connection went inactive. Then when I press back to go to what I had typed, everything that was there is erased! I've learned since then to save a copy of every post that I don't want to lose in a little notepad file before I press the send button.

[reginhild]

I would HIGHLY recommend a visit to Pueblo and Colorado Springs before making your decision. Some people will not like living in one area over another. You don't want to have a spouse mad at you for choosing something that she does not like.

Colorado Springs utilities are relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of the US. Our water bills may be higher than Pueblo but your overall utilities will likely be low unless you have 1/4 acre of Kentucky Bluegrass that requires lots of water - and even then you will only have a spike in cost for three months of the year (my water spiked to $200 - $250/mo for the hottest three months when I had 1/4 acre Bluegrass - before our 40% water rate hike). Propane can be significantly higher cost for home heating compared to public utilities.

An acre of land in Pueblo or areas of Colorado Springs that are not at the base of the mountains or in Black Forest will have sandy soil and natural vegetation (sparse prarie grass or Xeriscape) unless you commit lots of water to keep other stuff alive. An acre of dirt is not much use other than to not be crowded by neighbors. An acre of grass will cost you big $$$ to keep green in both Pueblo or Colorado Springs. There are lots of parks and greenspace in the area giving you free land next to your home without paying for it - easy to find homes that back up to parks or greenspace in Colorado Springs.

If you want nice land, I recommend Manitou Springs, Cascade, Green Mountain Falls, Black Forest, or Woodland Park - all have lots of trees (also listed from closest to furthest from Ft. Carson).

[Bob from down south]

A good rule of thumb for gallons of annual propane usage in this area is one half the square footage of the house. Right now propane is pretty cheap, but last winter it was over $3 a gallon, so a 3000 sq ft house was burning close to $5000 a year in propane.

If all the money printing the Fed has been doing lately has the predicted effect of driving commodity prices back up, it could get expensive again.

Natural gas doesn't fluctuate as wildly. Within the city of Colorado Springs, all utilities (gas, water, electricity, and sewer) are provided by the city utility, and energy is typically 10-15% cheaper than the rural electric/gas coops like Mountain View and Aquila.

[reginhild]

Originally Posted by Bob from down south

A good rule of thumb for gallons of annual propane usage in this area is one half the square footage of the house. Right now propane is pretty cheap, but last winter it was over $3 a gallon, so a 3000 sq ft house was burning close to $5000 a year in propane.

!!!! That's an average of $417/month for the propane alone! My total utilities bill including gas, electric, water, and sewer in Colorado Springs runs between $125-$250 per month right now in my energy star rated home of the same size. My previous home (rental), also same size but not energy star and with 1/4 acre grass, was $150-$350 per month.

...basically, propane for heating is what you use if you are off the grid and you have no other choice! If I were off the grid, I would spend the extra 5% while building and have a home made with SIP or ICF (walls with R30 to R50) to severly cut down on heating costs.

[sterlinggirl]

Having an acre is nice, but acreage in Colorado usually comes with other costs like hauling water and/or buying propane for your house. Living outside of town (and the town's water/gas supplies) is doable, but you have to determine if the extra lot size is really worth all the extra effort and cost.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by Bob from down south

A good rule of thumb for gallons of annual propane usage in this area is one half the square footage of the house. Right now propane is pretty cheap, but last winter it was over $3 a gallon, so a 3000 sq ft house was burning close to $5000 a year in propane.

If all the money printing the Fed has been doing lately has the predicted effect of driving commodity prices back up, it could get expensive again.

Natural gas doesn't fluctuate as wildly. Within the city of Colorado Springs, all utilities (gas, water, electricity, and sewer) are provided by the city utility, and energy is typically 10-15% cheaper than the rural electric/gas coops like Mountain View and Aquila.

And in the city of Pueblo its even cheaper!

[Dalesheather]

My family and I will also be relocating in June to Fort Carson. This is our first military move and I have no clue how to go about finding housing. I am very nervous that we will not find housing. I have 2 children who are middle school aged. Any help on anything would be appreciated. Thank you to all who take the time to read this.