Suggest some nice small towns? (Colorado Springs, Canon City: real estate, homes, job market)

[DogLady321]

If you were from VT looking to relocate to CO and wanted to find a small-medium town area with that same New England feel and a good job market, what towns would you consider?
Don't want to be too far out, needs to have more than a general store and a gas station in town.
No bummer posts please, just looking for positive feedback here.
thanks

[COflower]

What defines a small town with a New England feel? I've never been there so I wouldn't know what might be in your requirements. :-)

[Curious in CT]

COflower, New England would probably mean quaint. Local mom and pop stores, maybe some trees and greenery. A place where "everybody knows your name" kinda like CHEERS.

[CSColorado]

I would again have to say Palmer Lake or Monument. Tourtrilakes.com has a lot of pictures of the area.

[Curious in CT]

In case any of you think New England is a town, cuz some of you may not know, New England is actually a region on the east coast consisting of six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusettes, Connecticut and Rhode Island. It's where the pilgrims first came to settle. I'm not trying to be miss smarty pants, but I've heard that people actually think New England is a town.

[CSColorado]

By the way, they call ponds "lakes" around here.

[CO ON MY MIND]

I live in Albuquerque, NM, but have my eye on 2 places in Colorado to eventually settle: Manitou Springs or Pagosa Springs. Manitou is very quaint and feels like a small village (rustic, European feel) and the people are VERY
friendly. It is located on the SW edge of Colorado Springs, so you have all the conveniences of a very large city within easy commuting distance.
Pagosa is stunningly beautiful! We were just there last weekend and found the people nice, as well. However, there is a huge amount of growth/development and it was a little too "touristy"....like seeing alot of little ants crawling around! I got the impression from some of the locals that they're not entirely happy about all the new growth. Real estate prices have skyrocketed (although probably still much more affordable than New England). Your commute to a larger city would be greater (Durango would be the closest, but it is by no means a big city). Also, I think it gets much colder and will likely get more snow than Manitou Springs. I hope this helps...good luck in your search!

[Crackerjack]

DogLady321, you might look at Montrose, CO. It is a small medium size town and has a New Englandy feel to it. Durango also has the Victorian homes and the old buildings but has more of a southwest feel to it and is larger. Montrose has a small charm too it. Ouray, near there is beautiful! But the winter is harsher there and Montrose and Durango more milder. On this city-data website, where data is on Montrose and Durango, they have some pictures on there. The last picture on the Montrose city-data website is I am pretty certain Ouray nestled in the mountains and the first two pictures are Montrose. You can also just google Montrose city data and Durango city data and get there too. It is this city-data website.

[Zen4All]

Pagosa is nice, Montrose, Durango, Canon City, Salida are all nice little towns with quite a bit to offer. Depending on how far South you want to go, Walsenburg is nice. Manitou is really more of a tourist place, so if you want lots of tourists around year round. Woodland Park is a beautiful town up in the mountains, really nice place to live, small town feel, but all of the amenities you need, plus.....you're IN the mountains!!! The further North, the more expensive, the further South, the least expensive.

[TomBomant]

What is it like in Walsenburg CO? Big city, tourist town, ranches? Any info would be appreciated.