Colorado Springs vs Prescott, AZ (Pueblo, Woodland Park: appointed, low crime, neighborhoods)

[Rich2010]

Some help in better understanding the comparative pros and cons of spending May through October each year in Colorado Springs vs. Prescott AZ would be much appreciated by this retired couple -- if there's anyone in the forum who is sufficiently familiar with both places!

[Marcy1210]

You can read these threads about Colorado Springs, then go to the top of the page where it says U.S. Forums, click it on, click on Prescott, AZ and read their pages to compare the two.

[Rich2010]

I've long since done that, Marcy1210, but it's only useful up to a point. I'm interested in subtle points as to the weather in different months, ease of access to good hiking trails, quality of local government, traffic and crime burdens, ease of shopping for basics, quality of select neighborhoods, etc. To do this myself, I'd have to spend at least a year each in both places. I don't have that luxury.

Effective discrimination requires comparisons; it can't be done in a vacuum. My wife was disturbed by a plethora of comments in another forum -- about crime in COS, its cold spells in May and October, the rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes in the summer, high winds, bad traffic, the high price of everything, the influx of undesirables, a golden age that is no more, etc., etc. I've read similar jeremiads in the Prescott forums.

A high order of skepticism is in order in relation to such postings. I've found that one sometimes gets a better assessment when a comparison of specifics between two cities is requested.

[lalahartma]

I can't see how CoS could be more expensive than Prescott (or Flagstaff). I am sure the weather is more temperate in those AZ cities. If I could afford Prescott, I'd live there over CoS.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Rich2010

... My wife was disturbed by a plethora of comments in another forum -- about crime in COS, its cold spells in May and October, the rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes in the summer, high winds, bad traffic, the high price of everything, the influx of undesirables, a golden age that is no more, etc., etc. I've read similar jeremiads in the Prescott forums.....

Rich, whatever your wife was reading is almost totally bogus, to the max. We disproved all allegations of the disgruntled types who can find negative things to say about anywhere. I've read every post ever made in this forum since day one and there is little here to warrant any such pessimism.

The weather all over COLO is changeable; the other week we hit 60F and a week later we were at -20F.

October is usually mild, though late October we often get our first snow, usually an inch or two, sometimes a foot but that's rare.

May is another fickle month, shorts one day, coats the next, maybe a dusting of snow, but hardly ever any at our elevation.

Sunny a few days, then a snow blows through, then it's sunny again and it melts out.

We're dry, with little rain, most of which comes to us in the summer monsoon of frequent afternoon showers that can occur most anytime from late June into early August, for the most part.

I lived 30 years in DC, trust me, there is little about our traffic to call bad.

We get some very windy days now and then, same all over the state; that the variety many of us like.

Only 3 people in COLO have been killed by tornado's in the last 50 years, none here in COLO SPGS. Some funnels do show up out east of towns on the plains, but those are very few; mostly it's over by the border with Kansas where the weather systems really crank up.

Prices here are absolutely NOT high, that's the dead giveaway that someone has been reading a pack of lies.

There is no influx of undesirables here, whatever that means.

[hollyt00]

I find that someone's enjoyment of a city corresponds to what they put into it, and also what their expectations are before they came to the city. If you expect tons of snow, for example, you'll be sorely disappointed here. Yes we do get our big snowfalls, but as Mike said, they're gone very quickly. It has snowed in almost every season here, I just haven't seen it in July or August yet. I've lived here for a short ten years so far.

It seems a lot of people who are disappointed in Colorado Springs are more disappointed because their dreamy vision of it hits reality when you actually work and live here. The snow removal sucks, but the sun does the work for the most part.

Re: crime; I really think that people who complain about the crime in Colorado Springs have lived in small cities or isolated areas in their life. The crime in Colorado Springs is not that bad. It really isn't. I'm not afraid for my life. Even in the "bad" areas of town, realistic people who have lived in more crime-ridden areas find that it's pretty mild. Much of the crime here has to do with people hurting others they know.

Specifically about the weather:

We do get very high winds. We recently had tropical storm sustained winds with hurricane force winds. Does it happen all the time? No, I'd put it at maybe (at most) once a month? On average? Does it ruin my experience here? Absolutely not.

I don't go camping until mid June as it does get cold until then. We had a memorable blizzard a few years ago in the middle of May. Earliest snowfall in October for me is the first week of October. ON AVERAGE (this year has been messing it up) after October/November, any precipitation we have is in the form of snow.

Summertime: if the weather is smiling on us, we get a thunderstorm every day around 2-4pm, but that only happened the first two to three years I lived here. It hasn't done that as often. As Mike said, tornadoes don't really occur frequently in Colorado Springs, but more farther out east.


If you want to move somewhere that doesn't experience any sort of violent weather, no undesireables, low cost of living, etc, then in my limited, young experience, you can't find that anywhere.

Good luck with your decision.

[froggin4colorado]

I don't condsider myself from AZ anymore after living in Colorado for 14 yrs, Arizona 8, but I choose COS over Prescott.
But that's mostly due to scenery, moderate weather and terrain is different. Prescott is still too much of a desert for my liking. Pueblo has more of a CO feel to it which is a city I consider most comparable to AZ.
Like Mike said, different areas experience different amounts of snow. The southern end of COS is far different than the east and west sides and even the north end. If you want less snow, then go to the southern end and even possibly Pueblo.
I recommend visiting. I haven't been to Prescott for years and I have been away from COS for a year now.

[otowi]

I think if people come to a place expecting to like it, they probably will, and, likewise, if they don't think they'll like it, they won't.

[Marcy1210]

Originally Posted by Rich2010

I've long since done that, Marcy1210, but it's only useful up to a point. I'm interested in subtle points as to the weather in different months, ease of access to good hiking trails, quality of local government, traffic and crime burdens, ease of shopping for basics, quality of select neighborhoods, etc. To do this myself, I'd have to spend at least a year each in both places. I don't have that luxury.

Effective discrimination requires comparisons; it can't be done in a vacuum. My wife was disturbed by a plethora of comments in another forum -- about crime in COS, its cold spells in May and October, the rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes in the summer, high winds, bad traffic, the high price of everything, the influx of undesirables, a golden age that is no more, etc., etc. I've read similar jeremiads in the Prescott forums.

A high order of skepticism is in order in relation to such postings. I've found that one sometimes gets a better assessment when a comparison of specifics between two cities is requested.

Well, I'm in Oro Valley, after 37 years in Teller County, CO. Despite the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, despite the border issues, I'd much rather be in Prescott, in the mountains, with the four seasons, than in Colorado Springs. Northern AZ is so beautiful. You'll have everything you want in Prescott; small city, lots of wildlife, recreation, four seasons, warm summers, cool winters (a lot like Woodland Park in CO) close to shopoing and towns (Phoenix and Scottsdale) and the mountins, as well. It's really the best of all worlds...

Yet, COS will give you all that, too. Mountians, prairies, civilization, low crime, lots of outdoor hiking, biking, walking. Everything Prescott would have, but maybe higher in cost. So, honestly, they're very similar. It then becomes which state offers you the best property taxes, and cost of living....

Honestly, if I were you, I'd choose Prescott.....

I'm so very sorry for any discrimination your wife may have felt, but I can pretty much guarantee, it wouldn't happen in AZ.

[xeric]

Originally Posted by froggin4colorado

Prescott is still too much of a desert for my liking.

Just a clarification: Prescott gets an average of 3-4 inches MORE precipitation per year then CO Springs.