Colorado Springs OR Fort Collins (Denver, Mead: transplants, new home, transfer)

[Krick123]

Originally Posted by otowi

It will depend on where you live in COS - there are some different water companies. What do you pay there? My parents pay over 100/month in summer sometimes, but I'm on a different water company and my bill has never exceeded $40 - although I gather that is unusually cheap for around here.

We pay $500/mo for A/C and average $200/mo for water.
I’m sure the winter heating bills will make it a wash though

[Krick123]

Originally Posted by SYS

I live in Briargate area (across I-25 from USAF), and typically my utility bill comes to around $250 during winter months (heating) and summer months (watering) and the rest months around $170 on average.

Water bills have never been what I'd consider "expensive" at all. I've cut down on my sprinkler activities. I have a really large backyard, and I stopped the sprinkler watering some years ago when we had a water shortage. I now only water manually some fruit trees and some gardening areas. My front yard isn't large, so I use the sprinkler system as needed.

One thing I like about CS is the overall cost of living. In fact, in the most recent Newsweek rankings of the best places to retire, CS came in #2. CS usually makes the top 25 best places to retire or to live in most of the magazines that do such rankings, but #2 is the highest I've seen. The real estate is really taking off here. Although it has gotten much higher in just a couple of years, it's a great time to get in on it, as the forecasts are that the real estate market will just go up in the next decade or two as CS is expected to take over Denver as the major city in Colorado. I do expect to see worsening traffic in the next decade, but with recent road improvement projects on Woodmen, I-25 and other places, I'm hopeful.

Such great information to know. Thank you!!

[otowi]

Originally Posted by Krick123

We pay $500/mo for A/C and average $200/mo for water.
I’m sure the winter heating bills will make it a wash though

Wow, that's a lot. My AC here adds about 10-15 dollars to my electric bill in summer for the month. My heating bill has never been over $150 and after price reductions last year it was never over $100.

Would definitely depend on the size of your house, etc., but your numbers sound high. I think some people may spend that on water here in summer, but definitely not the other 9 months of the year.

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by Krick123

We pay $500/mo for A/C and average $200/mo for water.
I’m sure the winter heating bills will make it a wash though

That seems really high. For a 3000 sq ft home we average about $100/ month for gas/electric and about $40/month for water.

[Krick123]

Thank you everyone. Amazing information to put on our spreadsheet! Last question (i think). For a $650,000 house here we pay about $2500 here for homeowners insurance. Does that fall in line with prices there?

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by Krick123

Thank you everyone. Amazing information to put on our spreadsheet! Last question (i think). For a $650,000 house here we pay about $2500 here for homeowners insurance. Does that fall in line with prices there?

We pay less for a similarly priced home. $1000 deductible, $140,000 of personal property, replacement cost.

[Krick123]

Thank you so much everyone

[TCHP]

As I pointed out over in the Ft Collins thread, insurance can vary quite a bit depending on housing location. Houses, and cars, in CO are almost all subject to the potential for hail, but some are also at risk to flood exposure, landslides, mine subsidence, underground water flooding, tornadoes, or wildfires. Any of these threats will alter your rates, and in some cases, homes can be located with a a couple of these hazard zones all at the same time. As you compare and shop, ask questions about what hazards your potential property may be located within.

Also, question your realtor about their background and experience relative to CO. 52% of Coloradans are from somewhere else. That ratio probably translates into real estate salespersons as well so the odds are you may have an agent who may be a recent transplant and may not be aware of hazards you may face in any particular area, whether in Colo Spgs or Ft Collins.

[Krick123]

Awesome. Thank you TCHP

[Tominftl]

COS is breathtaking. I love being that close to the mountains. Never been to FC.