Newbies to COS - How do you like it so far? (Denver: apartment, mover)

[Curious in CT]

This is strictly to people who have moved to COS recently (like within a year or so....or more)..... Are you happy with your move? Any comments good/bad would be appreciated. Thank you

[DR1665]

Agreed. I'd appreciate hearing what people have to say about the area beyond, "It's pretty" or "I like mountains." I think it might also be interesting to see where you moved from if that's not too much to ask.

Thanks.

[SevenAteSix]

I moved here once from Philly and another time from SF. I moved here twice if that's any indication.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by DR1665

Agreed. I'd appreciate hearing what people have to say about the area beyond, "It's pretty" or "I like mountains." I think it might also be interesting to see where you moved from if that's not too much to ask. Thanks.

For reasons, logic & rationale used in our decision to come here, see my post in this forum (page 2) Why Choose Colorado Springs.

I lay it all out in there.

s/Mike from back east

[DR1665]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

my post in this forum (page 2)

Wow. Thank you, sir! Jackpot! Wo0t!

[Jeremy Gibson]

I'm not a recent mover (moved in 2001 from San Antonio, Texas) but I'll share my views anyway. I moved because I wanted a change from the 120 degree summers and there was a job in Colorado. I work from home and do some travel so I didn't need to be concerned with a city commute. I ended up about 1 hour - door to door - from the airport, which puts me in the mountains around Divide.

I love the quiet of the mountain areas and the fact that I don't see or hear from my neighbors much. That's not to say they're not friendly...just the opposite. We help each other out with snow plowing or share firewood, but also give each other privacy.

I love the low property taxes ($800/year on a $160K home) but don't like the state income tax. They balance out compared to Texas with no income tax but a high property tax.

Colorado Springs has all the entertainment and shopping I need or want. Even the mountain town of Woodland Park (closest to me) has two grocery stores, a nice 2-screen movie theater for $6.00, coffee shops, hardware stores, etc. There is even a nice breakfast & lunch restaurant I go to almost every weekend.

If you are a frequent flyer you may prefer the Denver area for more direct flights. I don't mind flying out of Colorado Springs too much...just connect to Denver or Chicago. Only sometimes is it difficult getting home in the event of a delay or canceled connection.

The weather is very nice in my opinion. We don't have an air conditioner and don't need one. Just open the windows during the day in July or August. That being said, there can always be a cold front come through and require a little heat. Most remote homes are heated with propane and I pre-purchase in September for the winter. That locks me into a rate and usually saves me money over time. I also have a pellet stove for additional heat that is cheaper and cleaner than propane/wood.

I miss really good Tex-Mex, BBQ, and margaritas. I also miss some of the disiduous trees found at lower elevations. That's not a concern as much in Colorado Springs (6,300 ft) as it is in Divide (9,000 ft). Up here we have pine/fir trees and aspens. The aspen leaves are spectacular in the fall, but mainly there are only those two varieties.

[Houstonvamp]

Hello, I just bought a home in Highland Lakes, Divide. I can't seem to find a place to buy firewood. I would also need to have it delivered. Does anyone have any leads for me? Thanks Layce ps and any suggestions how much i should buy.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Houstonvamp

Hello, I just bought a home in Highland Lakes, Divide. I can't seem to find a place to buy firewood. I would also need to have it delivered. Does anyone have any leads for me? Thanks Layce ps and any suggestions how much i should buy.

Usually such places pop up in the fall, and/or put ads in the paper in the fall when people are buying firewood.

[GADOE]

Originally Posted by Curious in CT

This is strictly to people who have moved to COS recently (like within a year or so....or more)..... Are you happy with your move? Any comments good/bad would be appreciated. Thank you

GOT STOP-D IN VA
IM NEW TO THE GAME,I GOT 1ST REAL MOV-N VIOLATION IN U KNOW, VA !!! 90 IN A 60, ITS SEEMS CRAZY BUT IT ME THINK-N ABOUT THE RESPECT OF POSTED SPEEDS ON HIGH-WAYS THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT,IM FIGHT-N IT IM LOOK-N FOR GOD'S MERCEY&THE JUDGE'S

[datoney]

I moved out here with my wife and 7 year old, from Suffolk, VA about 6 weeks ago. I wanted to post my impressions so far. Let me start by saying that we have been avid readers of this forum since we decided to move here around January of this year and that it has been a great help. We wanted to get away from the heat on the East cost and get back to the mountains, both my wife and I are more westerners than easterners, we love the dry climate and also wanted to slow down the pace a little.
Anyway onto my impressions.

One of the reasons that we moved out here was to be an owner builder, for those of you that don’t know what that is, it is where you build your own home by hiring your own sub contractors. You are your own contractor and save a bunch of money. Well that was the plan, it turns out that there is no land in the springs, it has pretty much all been eaten up by developers, if you want some you will need to look out in the Payton, Falcon, Larkspur, Woodland Park areas or to the south, my point is that you will have to drive a long way to find some, unless you are willing to pay top dollar ($150,000 to $200,000 to start for ¼ - ½ acre) in the springs (North End). We really wanted to be in the D20 school zone but it was way out of our price range, we were looking for a home that was built within the last five years around the $300,000 - $350,000 mark, there are plenty of homes but they are all in the $450,000 - $500,000 (or more) price range and built on postage stamp lots (literally). CS is way more built up then I expected houses are all built on top of each other! why with all the land that is out here they built everything on tiny lots I have no idea..........maybe it was so they could make more money:P

Once we ruled out the Briergate and surrounding areas we started looking in the monument/Palmer lake area, again, very little land and again over priced, houses were older or in undesirable neighborhoods. Black Forest was out of the question, 5 acre lots older homes and nothing available (and Crazy money!!!!) So then we began to give up, it looked like our dream of building our dream home was not going to happen, so we started looking at Meridian Ranch, a sprawling mass of cookie cutter homes out in Payton. Now don’t get me wrong some of the homes are very nice and seem to be built well, but it is way out there to the east on prairie land, no trees just lots and lots of flat. They have great facilities, and lots of new stores, but again, everything is built on a postage stamp, if you want a big lot ¼ or ½ of an acre then you have to pay a premium normally around $23,000 or more. Our price range was around the $300,000 - $350,000 mark. You can get homes out there for that price and its great if you like to live with your neighbor. But that is not why I moved to Colorado.

Finally we drove up to Woodland Park, oh my gosh! I don’t know how to describe it, but it was exactly what I was looking for, beautiful scenic views, a small town feel with modern amenities, new Wal-Mart (that didn’t make many people happy, but to their credit I think that Wal-Mart did a very good job to make it blend in and not stand out). Land is more plentiful, and you get more of it (I only want about ½ and acre). I talked to a lot of people about what was the worst thing about living in WP, I was expecting to hear, “the snow” but instead it was “ the commute”. I timed the drive from my apartment on Briergate blvd (North end of CS), to the center of WP and it took us 40 mins, that was at normal speeds not gunning it.

I found that the people in WP were really friendly, we also visited a church up there and talked to the members, three of the guys I talked to said they commute to the north end of CS everyday and that it was not a big deal unless you don’t like driving. I asked them what about in the winter and they said that because 24 is the main road everyone uses it to get to the gambling city of Cripple Creek, because of that the road is really maintained well in the winter, and has never caused them any real problems. It may get closed once or twice a year. Also everyone I talked to said that snow is not an issue as long as you live on a school route, also because of the alt the sun is much more intense and melts the snow very quickly.

So that is where we are looking to move to, I know it will be a commute, but I moved here to have the Colorado experience, and in my opinion WP is where you will find it. Now if you like malls and shopping and all that go with it, well WP may not be for you, but all of that is only 25 – 30 minutes away in the springs. Oh and weather, bugs, traffic, not bad at all, I have seen 1 mosquito since I got here!!!! Temps have been awesome.

I hope that this helps someone out there Sorry the post was so long, good luck if you are thinking of coming here, I would highly advise flying out to check it out first, but all in all, I love it.

datoney