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I know, I know all over the place but those are the choices and we have to choose just one! Kinda hard as we have never been to ANY of them.
Here is a little background. Our family, that includes two children ages 4 and 2, live in San Diego right now and can't wait to move just based on home prices and cost of living alone. On the positive side, we love the outdoors and the cultural diversity of San Diego.
We don't mind urban living as long as it is safe and has easy access to a park(s). Nothing too rural as we don't like the feeling of being so isolated but a house on the water would be a dream come true. Schools are very important because of the kids.
What do you think?? Are they all about the same or is there a real choice to be made? Help!
Anyway, Colorado Springs might be what you are looking for. Its a very clean, safe place with about 600,000 in the Colorado Springs area.
The parks system is excellent. They have Palmer Park right in the middle of the city basically in a large forest like setting. Downtown they have Moument Valley park which is a long park that goes basically a mile from just west of the restaurant/entertainment district downtown to Colorado College.
They also have three different huge regional parks with lots of trails that are very interesting topography. North Cheyenne Canon Park, Bear Creek Park and Garden of the Gods Park. The parks and recreational oppurtunities are great but as far as areas of water they are few and far between in SE Colorado.
I would recommend the Northside of Colorado Springs. 80918 and 80920 would be zip codes as the cover the northside of the city. Which is generally the area with the largest concentration of families. A house of 2,000 square feet generally goes for 200,000 dollars in Colorado Springs in a good area. Some areas to the NW are a little more, SE Colorado Springs is a little less.
Other then the water part, Colorado Springs is a great choice. Its an extremely clean, safe and recrationally oriented, affordable area of around 600,000 people. The northside of town 80918 and 80920 is also family friendly with a heavy concentration of families.
The climate in Colorado Springs is great if you like lots of sun and dry weather. Winters are usually fairly mild in the 40s and 50s during the day but sometimes a cold snap that will last a few days will come in and highs will be much colder then that.
In the summer time its usually in the 80s during the day and 50s at night.
All are good choices but I would pick Portland. Culture, the great outdoors at its best, great weather, fantastic downtown, great public transportation, scenic beauty is breathtaking, close to pacific ocean and its many great beach towns, pretty safe for a major city, great restaurants, great neighborhoods, dense and walkable. Downtown is fantastic with great shopping from Nordstrom, Saks and the grand re-opening of Macy's in late 2007. Didn't know what to expect the first time I went there but turned out to be quite a surprise. I live in Seattle and recently caught the train there for the 8th time. It truely is a beautiful and enjoyable city to be in.
I would pick Boise, Idaho.
It's a clean state, very safe.... crime is low.
Pace is slower, and the schools have improved a lot.
Great University.
Never gets really cold, sometimes, you can wear shorts in January.
There is a lot of culture in Boise, and a lot of outdoor activiites.
I'd say Colorado Springs. It's a great area with a ton of outdoor activities, culture, and very safe. A classmate of mine lives there and they absolutely love it!
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Boise, hands down
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