Moving to Colorado Springs from New Jersey (Denver, Castle Rock: fit in, amusement park)

[justausername]

Retiring from 32 years of physical education teaching in New Jersey and want to move my wife, three boys (ages 17,13,9) to Colorado Springs next summer (2018).


Planning on visiting this summer (2017). The Garden of the Gods, Red Rocks (Morrison), the bridge, and the amusement park near Denver are on the list so far. Any other nice places for families to visit between Denver and Colorado Springs ? Not looking to go as far as Breckenridge or further.


Looking at housing in northwest COS. Would like to work for Good Life Senior Care or substitute teach. I hear physical education is not state mandated in Colorado. What percentage of schools in Douglas county have P.E. classes ?


Looking forward to leaving the humidity and saying hello to the dry air and the mountains. Won't miss the northeasters either. Two of my boys suffer from pollen allergies. Mine were cured by eating locally grown honey every day for the past 15 years. Was wondering if allergy season is bad in COS.



We're a traditional family who accepts all people no matter what they believe. People are very intense in New Jersey. Looking for a more laid back environment.


Any advice on our summer vacation visits, or advice on how much work I could find in Douglas County as a substitute gym teacher would be great. If the work isn't there for teaching, then perhaps I should follow my idea of working to help seniors. Or perhaps do both. We'll see.


thanks for your help

[Vision67]

Here's a list for attractions around Colorado Springs

45 must-visit attractions in and around Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs Gazette, News

[TCHP]

Hmm. my kids have all had to take PE in school. Only exemption for us is in high school if the student is in varsity sports. But I'm in D11 in the heart of Colo Spgs. I have no idea about Douglas County schools.

Colo Spgs has over a half dozen different districts in its metro area. Not sure that you need to commute to Douglas County for work, but it may depend on what your looking for. IMO, its not a fun drive as I-25 is getting more and more congested yearly, but more and more people seem to be doing it. Good Life Senior Care is in northern Cos, and easily accessible from most places in the city.

Vision has a good list of things to look at for recreation opportunities. The Terror-dactyl and various zip Lines may be high on the kids' to do list.

Pollen allergies, well, we may not be the greatest place for relief from that. The dryness (10-25% typically) may help considerably with some issues, but the dryness and variable weather means we have tree, grass, and weed pollens almost year round. Depending on which are the triggers, things could be worse in spring or fall with the possibility of mild irritations all year round. You may want to consult some local clinics for more specifics in regards to your conditions.

Dryness will also create new issues such as itchy skin, dried sinuses, and a constant thirst. That's pretty normal. Pick up a good sized bottle of sunscreen and lip balm once you get settled in your hotel.

We don't have Nor-easters but do get the occasional Alburquerque low, which can dump many feet of snow in a very short time. I wouldn't say we get them with any consistency though. Again, more of the wild weather variability we live with daily. We also may get toronados, damaging hail, flash floods, and drought to go with our almost endless sunshine.

[justausername]

Thank you both.


TCHP..... Thanks for the zip-line tip.


Glad to hear about all kids having P.E. class. That would make it easier to find sub-work in COS.
I'm guessing all schools have p.e., or are you not sure ?


If GLSC is in NoCOS, then living near there would be a good choice. Thanks.


I looking forward to seeing I-25. If you ever get out to Jersey, try Route 287, 18, 1, or many other of
our roads. We are the most populated state per square mile in the nation. That means our roads are as tough as our governor.


Thanks for the input.

[MsMetal]

You keep mentioning Douglas Co, just so you know, that's really southern Denver metro & you're posting in Colorado Springs forum. I don't have kids, so will skip those questions, but if you want answers about Douglas Co, you might be better off posting in Denver. It does go down through Larkspur & Castle Rock. While COS to Denver is commutable, it's not what most people would consider a commute they'd like to do daily. The first 1/2 of it is only 4 lane & has almost daily accidents. Also, you have to go over a pass (Monument Hill), which can make the weather & driving tricky. It IS all interstate, but sometimes the freeway is shut down at Monument Hill. If you are going to work in Denver, I wouldn't go further south than Castle Rock. If you want to work in the SPrings, then I wouldn't be in Douglas Co.

I have owned in Douglas Co. There's a world of difference between the laid back, liberal or middle of the road people in Denver, than those in COS. COS is very religious, very conservative & major military. I am none of those things & still choose to live here, but it can be challenging. You may want to check out the Woodland Park thread, as it went in depth with a number of POV's on the religion/conservative aspect to living here. I CAN tell you that the North part of COS is the most highly fundamentalist & also where most of the new houses are. So, if you like a large, nice new house in D20, you will be in the heat of it. OTOH, in Douglas CO, you'll get more MOR people but, there can be a lot of keeping up with the Jones' & my kid is better than your kid, high pressure stuff.

I don't want to dissuade you, as you get more for your money, by a long shot in the Springs. Which is why I, as a super liberal atheist/agnostic decided to move here anyway lol, but people can be intense. However, it is a big enough town that you can seek out like-minded people for sure! It's just that 2 huge fundamentalist orgs are HQ'd in 80920. You can read some actual examples of things that I have dealt with in the Woodland Park thread. I mean none of them are a big enough deal to affect our lives, it's more of a general vibe.

If you're going to be in Morrison on vaca, definitely check out Dinosaur Ridge, you can see real life dinosaur footprints & tracks, on the side of the road, it is super cool & your boys may get a kick out of it. Hell, I'm a 50+ woman & I think it's super cool, but I'm a rock geek :-).

[MsMetal]

OP, the other thing to watch when you're here, is how the altitude affects you. It generally raises blood pressure for a significant time before leveling out (for me it was a year) & depending on your health, it can affect you. The other thing is that some people who seem really healthy have an issue with it & some who are older/overweight, etc, do fine. Reaction to altitude is highly individual.

I really can't speak much to allergies. I have a bit of an annoyance, but nothing major. DH suffers a bit worse, but nothing that OTC meds can't deal with. Obviously YMMV. I'd look up some of the local allergy clinics & see if you can find some articles about altitude & allergies.

[emm74]

Don't bother driving up to Denver just to go to Elitches - there are plenty of other things in Denver that are worth the drive but that's not as good as Six Flags Great Adventure. Don't get me wrong, it will be worth going to when you live here but if you have limited time on a sightseeing trip, there's other stuff that's more worth it.

re: allergies, I grew up on Long Island and had bad allergies and don't seem to be sensitive to what's out here. But I think that's something you won't really be able to tell until you are here in person.

[justausername]

Emm74....Thanks. We're 10 minutes from Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, and I was thinking the same thing. Why visit Elitch if we have Great Adventure right in our back yard. Maybe wait until we move to COS is a better idea.


I'm thinking the same thing as you with allergies. As you know, New Jersey is called the Garden State because of all our green and trees. The pollen is everywhere.




MsMetal.....Thank you for your input. I think based on the other poster that I can find plenty of work in COS. I guess I'm geographically challenged, thinking Douglas County was more populated than COS. I would rather not leave COS if I don't have to. Thanks.


We appreciate the very religious people. We live in a highly Christian town (Mansfield, NJ). The head cop, post office clerk, and many store owners all went to the same Baptist Church in town. Very nice people. I've also driven and spent time in very Hasidic neighborhoods in Jersey, like Franklin Park and a small town near Belmar that I can't remember. I love these towns as people are very friendly and family oriented. Just what we are looking for. I don't care if you're Jewish, Christian, or agnostic. If you love your family and treat others with love and respect, than our family will fit in your town easily.


My main goal in Morrison is to see Peter Frampton w/the Steve Miller band this summer. I'm thinking of getting the cheap seats just to soak up the atmosphere with my wife. Thanks for the Dino tip.


Lastly, the altitude didn't affect my wife and I when we were in Lake Tahoe 25 years ago. I think Lake Tahoe and COS are at the same altitude level, but I could be wrong. But drinking lots of water, staying away from the beer, and having moisturizers is a good idea.

[justausername]

Oh yeah. If anyone knows what percentage of schools in COS has physical education classes, I'd love to hear. Thanks.

[MsMetal]

Douglas Co IS more populated than Co Springs or at least more densely populated. I'd have to look up exact figures. Douglas County is geographically from the south end of the Denver burbs down to Larkspur-ish. In the Denver burbs it's very populated & dense, then a bit further south, there's quite a bit of open space or less dense population until you hit Castle Rock, which is now what I would call densely populated & still growing.

COS is in El Paso County, which is a very large area, but not as densely populated.

I'd love to see Peter Frampton! I'm like you, I'm pretty cool with any religion, I just don't appreciate people trying to convert me to theirs. But if you're a decent person, then that's what's important to me!