Colorado Springs vs. Denver (Boulder, Black Forest: houses, job market, neighborhoods)

[CB18]

My family and I are considering moving to Colorado. If we do so, we'll be going to either Denver or Colorado Springs. They both seem great and I see that Denver is more of a City, but other than that...can you tell me how these two places compare?

[MattDen]

They are completely different cities overall.

Colorado Springs has 600,000 people in the area and Denver is an area of over 2.5 million. Denver proper is about 560,000 and Colorado Springs is about 375,000 proper

Colorado Springs proper is sort of a family, baby-boomer, military-retiree mix city and Denver is sort of a young singles town although they do have family neighborhoods in Denver also. The suburbs of Denver are fairly typically suburban lots of married couples with large houses with larger families.

Colorado Springs is much more conservative then Denver politically. Although I wouldnt say Colorado Springs is as religious as its national perception however it still is rather conservative in its politics.

Both cities are very laid-back overall although Denver is probubly the most laid-back.

As far as employment oppurtunities, Denver and Colorado Springs both have fairly weak economies and have since about 2001. The economy in both places is growing fairly slowly, although Colorado Springs is really not doing well at the current time.

Housing values are a little lower in Colorado Springs overall then Denver although Denver has some neighborhoods which are just as affordable as the cheapest neighborhoods in Colorado Springs. Overall, the difference in wages though probubly makes Denver the best value however because wages in Denver are quite a bit higher overall in Denver then in Colorado Springs.

The traffic in both places is rather bad. Colorado Springs has better traffic flow on the interstate but its road system tends to be more difficult to navigate and slower then Denver. Denver is more on a grid and easier to get around on the sidestreets.

Denver weather tends to be slightly warmer then Colorado Springs about 3 to 5 degrees warmer and the elevation is about 800 feet lower. Also, Denver proper has less hills then Colorado Springs although much of both cities is fairly flat.

Denver has a much larger downtown then Colorado Springs its much more busy and fast-paced downtown then Colorado Springs downtown which has more of a main-street quaint feel with some commercial devolopment built-in.

Both cities have good parks systems, although Colorado Springs in my opinion has better recreational oppurtunities and parks but that is just my opinion. Colorado Springs just seems to have a lot of open space adjacent to the city which is very nice.

Denver is much more diverse then Colorado Springs. Although, Colorado Springs has some diversity it doesnt have nearly as much as Denver.

[MtnSurfer]

I debated this same question before moving here. We landed in Colorado Springs.

I think MattDen described and compared both very well. A lot really depends on your personal preferences and your job options IMO. Also note that people may end up living in both places depending on job markets.

Colorado Springs itself varies a lot depending on which part you live (southern, mid, northern borders). For example the Monument, North Gate and Black Forest areas get much more snow than suburbs just to the south. This makes winter commutes in the snow longer/icier roads and 'digging out' more work. Colorado Springs on average is cooler than Denver proper during hot summer days. It sits closer to the mountains. Watch both on the weather.com this summer and you will see what I mean.

I have heard there are some micro climates within Denver like eastern compared to western Denver.

There is more traffic in Denver especailly around downtown work areas.

What are your personal interests, preferences, work options, etc...?

Even though we like CS for many reason we are actually considering moving to a Denver/Boulder suburb. Our family really loves the outdoors and we spend a lot of time up in RMNP and in Boulder open space area. That is not to say CS doesn't have great outdoor opportunies as well. We just like the ones near Denver/Boulder better. I do not want to live 'in' a big city so we would live either in a northern or southern suburb of Denver if we move.

If looking at CS the district 20 schools usually rank amoung the highest. We currently home school so that is not as important to us. But it you have children it might be something to consider. Some of the District 49 schools suffer from overcrowding and other isues.

As you can see there are a lot of things to consider. Both places offer a lot of advantages and some potential disadvatages as well.