Colorado Springs vs. Pueblo? (Pueblo West, Fountain: fit in, 2014, crime rate)

[Addicted2Coffee]

Hello All,

I was thinking about checking out the Colorado area as a place to possibly relocate to down the road. I was wondering what are the primary differences between Colorado Springs and Pueblo? I'm guessing Pueblo is smaller but how are things like crime, colleges, employment, housing and things to do between the two places?

Thanks for any info!

[Arrby]

Begin with //www.city-data.com/city/Pueblo-Colorado.html and //www.city-data.com/city/Colora...-Colorado.html , then look at //www.city-data.com/forum/color...vs-pueblo.html and //www.city-data.com/forum/color...eral-info.html and //www.city-data.com/forum/color...all-great.html and //www.city-data.com/forum/color...o-springs.html and ....

[BornintheSprings]

I would say the Springs is miles ahead of Pueblo when it comes to natural beauty and crime safety. Not to mention the economy is stronger in the Springs than in Pueblo.

[Count David]

I'm choosing Colorado Springs every time.

Colorado Springs is prettier and bigger.

[Littlekw]

Pueblo vs Colorado Springs is comparing apples to oranges. Here's my take on the two cities:

Pueblo is very similar to a midwestern rust-belt city. It had her heyday when steel was king and has been struggling, economically, since then. It has some great people in the city but is also trying to get back on its feet. Pueblo is a cheap, beautiful city with some incredible architecture but it's not easy to make a living there.

Colorado Springs sits in one heck of an aesthetically appeasing location. But it is very dependent on the military, retired folks and the service/retail industry. If you can find a job in Colorado Springs, you're off to a good start. But Colorado Springs is a very popular place to live and jobs can be hard to find. The COL isn't as cheap as Pueblo, but it's manageable.

They're both great cities but they both have some major drawbacks. Their economies are not in the best place, no matter what some surveys say. Also, Pueblo might have a statistically high crime rate but it's not as bad in real life as the media portrays it. Cripes, I'm tired of Colorado Springs news making a point to point out the crime in Pueblo when the same things happen here.

[Addicted2Coffee]

Thanks for all of the links and information everyone, very helpful! It sounds like most people prefer Colorado Springs but it also sounds like housing costs are higher. I was wondering what are the safer areas in Pueblo? How is the area around the university there?

I would like to go and check out both places but wanted to get a bit more information from the locals. It's hard to really figure out if a place is right or not going off articles created by people who don't live there (yahoo).

[Terytee]

There's a frequent poster; Josseppie, who knows everything about Pueblo, and is a very passionate advocate about it.
Perhaps he'll join in. I'm sure he could provide a wealth of information.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by Littlekw

Pueblo vs Colorado Springs is comparing apples to oranges. Here's my take on the two cities:

Pueblo is very similar to a midwestern rust-belt city. It had her heyday when steel was king and has been struggling, economically, since then. It has some great people in the city but is also trying to get back on its feet. Pueblo is a cheap, beautiful city with some incredible architecture but it's not easy to make a living there.

Colorado Springs sits in one heck of an aesthetically appeasing location. But it is very dependent on the military, retired folks and the service/retail industry. If you can find a job in Colorado Springs, you're off to a good start. But Colorado Springs is a very popular place to live and jobs can be hard to find. The COL isn't as cheap as Pueblo, but it's manageable.

They're both great cities but they both have some major drawbacks. Their economies are not in the best place, no matter what some surveys say. Also, Pueblo might have a statistically high crime rate but it's not as bad in real life as the media portrays it. Cripes, I'm tired of Colorado Springs news making a point to point out the crime in Pueblo when the same things happen here.

Excellent and very objective! This really says all you need to know and there's really not much more to add. The fact that the so many think Spring is supercool and Pueblo is sadly uncool is actually one of the drawbacks of Springs, IMO.

I have had family in Pueblo for 100+ years, many of them who still live there. What I like about it is that it has an unassuming sense of its own history which has not (yet) been exploited with cartoony (Jazz's term -- love it) over-development. The river walk is very nice and adds a lot to the town, but it still feels like it's made primarily for its citizens and its natural flow of visitors and not just to draw tourist wallets into town while alienated the real folks. Still, I would never choose to live there, because of the reasons Littlekw brought out...

I live much closer to Springs and think its location is great as cities go. For a town of its size, it has some remarkably good attractions like the zoo, Garden of the Gods and of course Pikes Peak rail & hwy. Oh and the views, which are without parallel among cities of its size. But I live well north of the city, rarely go there unless I have to, and would never choose to live there. The reasons were mainly as Littlekw brought out, and also because many of the places where the more affordable housing is feels very sterile and unnecessarily congested to me. Also, I don't fit in around a lot of military and/or church people. But I have to qualify that by saying the stereotypes about that are WAY overblown and should not be reason enough alone to dissuade anyone from moving there.

[otowi]

Some might find this article relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/up...abt=0002&abg=1

Based on the measures they were factoring in, Pueblo county is considerably "harder" to live well in than El Paso county. Obviously that isn't the whole story and some people will prefer Pueblo to Colorado Springs - but generally speaking, things are a bit "better" in Colorado Springs for the typical person living there.

I like certain things about Pueblo - like the politics and social culture compared to COS I personally kind of prefer. I don't like its hotter weather, but some would love that. I do think crime is at least as much a concern in Pueblo and probably more so in proportion to its population when compared to COS. COS is obviously bigger and has more to do and has a better job rate. I have some friends who've been in Pueblo for years and loved it but are trying to move out now because of what they perceive as an increasing gang problem where they live - they've had some pretty scary incidences just hanging out in their front yard minding their own business. They're looking to move back to Widefield/Security/Fountain where they're originally from. I think the physical beauty of COS is WAY better than Pueblo. If you're truly undecided you could always split the difference and go for Fountain!

[1B3H]

Originally Posted by Addicted2Coffee

Thanks for all of the links and information everyone, very helpful! It sounds like most people prefer Colorado Springs but it also sounds like housing costs are higher. I was wondering what are the safer areas in Pueblo? How is the area around the university there?

Talk of crime in Pueblo is a bit over blown, it's more a case of some neighborhoods being economically depressed. Basically kids can't find jobs, move away & homes that were in families for 2 or 3 generations end up selling for cheap to people who don't maintain them, you'll have no trouble telling a good neighborhood from a bad one, the eyeball test will tell the tale.

University is one of the nicer neighborhoods and there's still new construction going up there. Most will tell you to avoid the East side, Lower east side, West side, & Bessemer, though there's still some nice homes in those places.

Go to google.com/mapmaker & type in Pueblo, then hit the browse button & type "neighborhood" a map with the neighborhood boundaries will come up.

You should also consider Pueblo West, if you get a home there near the highway it's a short commute if you get a job in Colorado Springs.