Moving to Colorado Springs from New Jersey (Elizabeth: middle schools, college)

[justausername]

Thank you otowi & MsMetal.


I figured COS had a big athletic culture. Brandon Carlo plays in the NHL for the Boston Bruins and is from COS. You've got a few D-1 football players from that area. Daniel Carlson is a D-1 field goal kicker for Auburn University and went to Classical Academy High School. The Olympic training facility is there.
The Air Force academy is very athletic.


Another question -------------------- Is Aspen, Vail, and Breckenridge only accessible through Denver, or is there a back way through the hills from COS. If there's both, which way is better. Thanks.

[DoodlemomCoS]

Justauser, both my elementary kiddo and my mid school kiddo have PE. Elementary is 1x a week, middle is every other day. My son gets an adaptive PE coach to help him (he has mild cerebral palsy).
Hope that helps.

[TCHP]

Goose Gossage, Cullen Bryant, Brandon McCarthy, Reggie Jackson (the basketball one, not the baseball one), Lamarr Houston, numerous Olympic and World champion figure skaters even before adding the Olympic Training Center, Colorado College hockey (a D3 school with a D1 hockey program)....yeah, we have a pretty athletic culture here.

Yes, except for the Aspen area during winter, most ski resorts are all accessible via multiple routes. Highway 24 to 285 to 9 to Breckenridge is the most popular from Cos. Less crowded than I-70, but also only one lane both ways for a lot of it. Better, IMO, yes, but speeds may be a bit slower and you have the two-laned, no guardrail, switchbacks of Hoosier Pass, which unnerve some people. Its state highway vs Federal highway with most of what that entails.

Vail and Aspen both require require at least a portion of driving on I-70 no matter what, even if you take the "back way." However, for actual skiing we also have access to Cooper, Monarch, Crested Butte and all point south and west of Cos that avoid the Denver crowds. For just vintage town visits, Leadville, Salida, and Buena Vista are closer and less expensive than the ski towns.

[hollyt00]

Athletics are everywhere. In one of the HS in District 49 (where i work) requires one year (two classes) of P.E. Often it is one of their more challenging classes and the students love it (especially weight training). The state really has little to no guidance on graduation requirements (it seems) and most schools either go above and beyond what is required or something similar to other schools in the area.

I encourage you to read the thread MsMetal linked to re: religious views as while there is a variety of opinions and experiences, most posters here have a consensus that the "religious nutjob" image that is consistently perpetuated is not true and unwarranted in the vast majority of the city.

[otowi]

Yes, there is a 'back way' to Vail etc. from Colorado Springs - and it is a much more pleasant drive than I-70, imho. The traffic on i-70 can be terrible. And I put 'back way' in quotes because if you're down here it isn't a back way - it is a normal drive on normal roads not going some weird out-of-the-way route.

[MsMetal]

Yeah, we take the 'back way' & think of it as the 'normal way' too.

I-70 coming & going into Denver can be hell on long weekends, I've seen it backed up for 20 miles. To be fair Hwy 24 can be backed up going in & out of the mtns too, but nothing like I-70.

[TCHP]

I made the mistake of taking I-70 into Denver one summer weekend after Country Jam in Grand Junction, a jazz festival in Vail, and a hillclimb event in Georgetown. Took me 3 hours to travel from Eisenhower to Parker.

[justausername]

Thanks Doodlemom, and all the best to you and your son.


Thanks TCHP. I saw Goose Gossage and Sparkly Lyle pitch relief at Yankee Stadium in the 1970's.
That was a crazy time in NY with the Son of Sam, the blackout. You did not feel very safe in that city.
Goose threw very hard. Couldn't even see the ball in the stands when it left his hands.
Sparky ended up coaching the Somerset Patriots later on. I grew up in Somerset NJ, and used to go see the Patriots play.


Thanks Hollyt00 about the p.e. in school comment. I also get the sense that there are always a few extreme religious people in any crowd, but most people just want to go to work, be nice to their neighbor, and come home to their family. That's the majority of people anyway. Except in NJ. On the way home from work they want to cut you off, curse you out, and pass their kids onto the neighborhood coach.
Sorry, just kidding.


Thanks MsMetal, otowi, and TCHP. I will always use the "back way" to the ski spots. I would much rather take a few minutes longer to get there just to make the ride more enjoyable.

[Maynerd]

I was born in NJ, and lived there through High School. That was a long time ago, though. I've lived in Colorado Springs for over 20 years now.

The differences?
- No shore.
- We have mountains instead, but I frequently miss the beach.
- Less traffic.
- No humidity.
- Taylor Ham is hard to find here (but it used to be impossible).
- No WaWa.
- No mosquitos (OK, we DO have mosquitos, but essentially none when compared to NJ).

Skiing is terrific, but it's not nearby. People think "Colorado" and "skiing" go hand in hand, but it's a couple hour drive MINIMUM to get to a ski slope.

Opportunities for physical fitness are off the scale here. Trails all over the place, both in town and in the surrounding area. Very bicycle-friendly. Rock climbing. Some very nice golf courses.

If spectator sports are your thing, pro sports require a drive to Denver, but that's not unreasonable. We have a AAA baseball team right here in town, and a lower division pro Soccer team. CC Hockey is generally top-notch, and Air Force has Division 1 football, basketball, hockey. If you want, you can also catch other sports there, everything from lacrosse to water polo to fencing. The Olympic Training Center is right here in town.

The weather is better than a lot of people would expect. Of course, we get four seasons, but it's not unusual to have a foot of snow one day, and sixty degree weather the next.

I think you'll enjoy it here.

[justausername]

Hey Maynard.


Thanks for the info. What part of New Jersey are you from ? I grew up in Somerset (near New Brunswick), but moved with my wife to Columbus (10 minutes south of Trenton) after getting married.




So glad you brought up the mosquitos. People don't realize that going outside in New Jersey in the summer time means you're dripping wet immediately from the humidity and you've got bugs and mosquitos in your backyard all summer long. Legions of them.


We're not a beach family, but many residents here love the beach. The biting flies and dirty ocean are not our thing. We'd rather just swim in our pool.


Thanks for the info on the sports teams in town. The Triple A baseball sounds great, along with Air Force football and the hockey team. I saw a game from the Academy this fall in HD, and the sky looked unreal on the picture.


We like the four seasons. We were looking at California or Colorado, and we decided on Colorado because of the seasons. Plus California I believe has a lot more "issues" than your state. Nothing is perfect.