3rd Springs visit - Observations (Denver, Monument: transplants, neighborhood, property taxes)

[SwampyNeedsMountains]

I'm planning on moving to The Springs within two years, so my family and i have enjoyed our little visits. We have tried to do some of the local (non tourist) activities. Would love some feedback from veterans and current residents to either agree or cut my observations to shreds

Roads:
I haven't made an acquaintance with a pothole yet!!!

Traffic:
CS has a superb infrastructure for a city of its size. North to South takes hardly any time and rush hour seemed barely an issue. I commend the city roads planners. I've traveled in AM and PM rush hour, heck even July 4th traffic. Nothing bad at all. Maybe it's all relative? Baton Rouge and New Orleans traffic is woeful.
We were snarled up due to a wreck in Monument when headed to Denver. I'll guess that can be commonplace, more so when bad weather appears. Leaving a Rockies game, took us 65 mins and we were back Spings-side.

Panhandlers:
Nothing major at all. Springs or Manitou. Never found it to be overly bothersome.

Religious nuts:
Kind old lady in grocery store. More conversational. No bible bashers on street corners saving souls either.

Weather:
I've only done summer months. I'm ill-informed to comment. Cool mornings and warm summer days felt great. Need to visit during harsher times.

Greenery:
Likely relates to weather above. Found CS to be much greener than anticipated. Does it really 'brown' at other times?

Food:
Loved it. Some great eats. Surprised me. We ate downtown, OCC and Manitou. No chains.

People:
Pleasant. Tourists are happy, so focusing in on the locals.
We hiked Pikes Peak - met many friendly hikers, have visited a good few parks, wait staff, store staff - all two thumbs up and if any were transplants themselves, they'd happily tell their story of why they moved.

Views:
West is the best. Pretty much everywhere has simply gorgeous views.

Anyway, rambling. Would love some knowledge from the locals.

One thing that I simply cannot get out of my head was North Cheyenne Canon Park. Forget Pikes or garden of the gods, I get what they mean and the $$$ they bring in, NCCP is a CITY park!!!! I was floored by its beauty, its size, the quality of the roads, the signs, superb staff, cute buildings. Same can be said of Cheyenne Mountain State Park. There's obviously a serious allocation of tax money into the outdoors. Yes, I'm bias, that's a big draw for me, but that's wonderful for so many people and is another reason why Colorado is the healthiest state in the Union.

[otowi]

I'm glad you're enjoying your visits! I am really surprised you haven't met a pothole yet! As for traffic, it is good to hear your perspective. As a long-time local I can get grumpy about it sometimes because in my head I compare it to when the city had half or quarter the population it does today! Ditto about the panhandlers.
I have had the same experience with you re: religious nuts - I've lived here my whole life and rarely come across something confrontational or in your face. As for weather - yes, do come back in winter! - that would also relate to the 'brownness' - We can be brown in summer during a drought year, but every year all the lawns and grasses etc. go dormant for the winter months starting in October and they start greening up again around April. I don't have much basis of comparison for food, but I have had a similar experience with you re" people - I think most are quite pleasant or at least keep to themselves. We do have some great parks and great hiking, etc. compared to a lot of other places that is close by.

I just encourage everyone to help maintain those areas and keep the experience good for everyone as our population and thus usage grows - at the minimum, stay on the trail and don't take or leave anything, learn about and observe proper trail etiquette about right of way and so on, pick up your dog poop and other trash, don't start fires where and when you're not supposed to and if you are in an area where that is okay make sure it is OUT 100% when finished. And at some point consider donating and/or volunteering for your favorite park system!

[MsMetal]

If you are here right now or just left, we're in monsoon season. That's why everything is so green. Usually, it's brown all winter & much of the Spring. Summer gets a bit greener, but that depends on rainfall except for the 3 weeks or so of monsoon season, when it's rainy. We've had in my hood about 2 1/2" of rain in the last 3 days. That's more than we often get in 2 MONTHS! Average rainfall is 18" of rain/year (higher than I thought actually), so you do the math. Much of it falls during monsoon season (which can be in July or August) & in March/April in the form of snowfall.

The infrastructure is actually horrible. But that's directly tied to TABOR & our super low property taxes. Many of the pipes underneath our city are literally crumbling. But you're not likely to notice that as a tourist, unless a sinkhole happens to open up or a pipe burst happens on the road you're on at that time. There was recently a tax increase approved for potholes specifically, so I agree those aren't that bad, certainly better than in prior years, but that's b/c there was a huge public outcry about them & the city finally had the funds to start fixing them. The traffic flow is more of a problem east-west, than north south, though they are working on that too with a big project at Woodmen. There's also a huge problem going to & from Denver, that has been getting progressively worse. A few years ago they shut off street lights (made national news) & removed all trash cans from city parks. So, the infrastructure & lack of tax dollars, is a huge problem.

Panhandlers, you're right it's not bad, but I know I compare it to years past & it's way worse than it has been. It's still not bad compared to other cities though.

Food & religious nuts, I guess it depends on what you're used to, so yeah, to me that part is relative. I'm from a large, very liberal city, so I find the food situation uninspiring & boring & with almost no variety. But I'm used to having every ethnic variety I want available & usually at least 3-7 options of every ethnicity. I'm also vegetarian which means I eat a lot of ethnic cuisines. I'm pretty vocal about the religious nuts, but I think it's b/c I live within a mile or so of both New LIfe & Focus. As much as I loathe it b/c I find the whole idea so unbelievably presumptuous, it's not common to have a complete stranger come up to you & try to convert you. It happens, but maybe once every year or two (not counting the door knocking missionaries), so it's certainly not something I'd expect you to experience as a tourist.

Totally agree with you on the people & the views. The weather you'll also find to be relative. If you're from LA, you may find winters rough. Me, being from MN, they are a piece of cake :-) So glad you enjoyed your visit & it really is a good place. It's not perfect, but nowhere is. The beauty makes up for a lot of what the city lacks, IMO.

[justausername]

Appreciate your input.


From someone who plans on moving the family out there next summer from NJ, I have these questions.


1- How long was your visit ?
2- What were the ages of everyone who visited.
3- Did anyone use saline spray to keep their noses moist ?
4- Did you drink extra water during your visit ?
5- Did you drink beer, get headaches ?
6- Did anyone have any difficulties adjusting to the altitude and dry climate ?


thank you !

[DrDog]

Originally Posted by justausername

Appreciate your input.


From someone who plans on moving the family out there next summer from NJ, I have these questions.


1- How long was your visit ?
2- What were the ages of everyone who visited.
3- Did anyone use saline spray to keep their noses moist ?
4- Did you drink extra water during your visit ?
5- Did you drink beer, get headaches ?
6- Did anyone have any difficulties adjusting to the altitude and dry climate ?


thank you !

Have you already decided to move here?

[justausername]

Originally Posted by DrDog

Have you already decided to move here?

Yes

[SwampyNeedsMountains]

Thanks for the responses!!!

Otowi:
Planning a Winter visit. A must. Appreciate your insight.
Agreed 100% of leaving no trace behind. Scenery is breathtaking in Colorado, long may it continue.
We loved our Barr Trail excursion.

MsMetal:
Veggie here too! When i move, i'll be pestering you for some hidden food gems.
Interesting on low prop. taxes.
The beauty is most definitely pulling at me.

Justausername:
1. between 10days-2 weeks.
2. 46, 42, 13
3. nope
4. incredibly large amount. Started hydrating 2 weeks beforehand........Pikes hike in mind. I love the outdoors
5. Beer after the hike. Definitely noticed it affected me more. Note, i'm from sea level, heck, some areas below sea level.
6. Wife struggled a tad, she's outside less than my son and I. I always find my nose gathers more junk compared to my day to day life in humid Dagobah.

Hope helps, how are you handling things?

[hollyt00]

I have a soft spot for Louisiana, but compared to LA, our infrastructure is a dream.

Driving from TX to AL on I-10 is smooth, bumpy all through LA, then smooth again in AL

[TCHP]

This certainly does point out that perspective, prior experience, and previous location can be major factors in perception of how good or bad a place may be.

I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your visits here. Cos really is a nice place overall and while it does not come without its quirks, most of them are quite tolerable to most of us. It sounds like you are looking beyond the obvious tourist activities and trying to get a feel for regular life. I applaud that and say you are doing well. Even being a resident means sometimes you will try out a more popular thing from time to time, if nothing else just confirm a suspicion about it - pro or con.

The city has invested heavily in its park and trail system. The Cheyenne Canon areas are great! Monument Valley, Ute Valley Park, Pulpit Rock Park, and Palmer Park are other large, natural like parks in the city limits. We also have our share of traditional city parks with grass, playgrounds and sports fields as well as numerous recreational leagues in multiple sports. The city is laced with numerous trails, many paved, for runners and bicyclists, that thread through out the city, many of them interlinking to create huge circuits of travel.

Cos has small slice of numerous things for a broad selection, but may lack high quality and diverse choices within those selections. We have everything from roller derby, strip clubs, and neighborhood dive bars to an art museum, art walks, wine tastings, and debutante balls. Certainly a lot in between all of those extremes as well. The further out from the city center you go, the more corporate and chain store oriented, anyplace USA you will find. The older parts of town, west, central, and south-west will tend to be the most diverse and locally centric, although the south-east side of town is developing some of this too out of sheer necessity. No where else in the city will you find the sheer quantity of food trucks than what is found on the south-east side.

[SwampyNeedsMountains]

Originally Posted by hollyt00

I have a soft spot for Louisiana, but compared to LA, our infrastructure is a dream.

Driving from TX to AL on I-10 is smooth, bumpy all through LA, then smooth again in AL

Sounds like you have a rocky relationship with LA
Totally agreed on road observation.