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I've lived (for long enough to get a solid feel for these places) in:
Northern Virginia
Cincinnati, OH
Des Moines, IA
Olympia, WA
Now here, since 2011.
I don't tout the natural beauty because frankly, I've lived in Washington State. The natural beauty up there is surreal. But I do love the skies, there can be some impressive light and shadow shows, and there are beautiful places to go around here, sure. What I love most, are the PEOPLE, and the size category of the Springs. I do not prefer "big city" environments, Denver is too big for me. They feel stressful, I worry about where I'm going to park all the time, and trafficky and...honestly?...dirty. Just too much dirt and trash and concrete. I like a small to mid size city, and CoS fits.
And I like the "old town" type areas, with quaint shops and things, and we've got some of that downtown, and more in OCC and Manitou. Lovely.
I also love how we've got parkland in the middle of our developed city, the various open spaces and Garden of the Gods, stuff like that. There is some really good hiking adjacent to my neighborhood.
I think that whatever kind of political persuasion you are not a fan of, if you have any ability whatsoever to mind your own business (and just try growing up in the shadow of DC like I did, without developing that) then you can probably, mostly, live here and ignore whatever it is that you do not care for. Like, I'm pretty liberal, and while I see the signs and bumper stickers and flags, and I do live on the north side, I don't feel like I have a problem where it's all in my face or I'm in any danger from others. I have loads of liberal-ish (or at least moderate) friends. I mean, we actually do have quite a contingent of left leaning counter culture here. Pre Covid, the Pride event, while modest if compared to a bigger city, was still pretty big and a lot of fun here in the Springs. So no matter how we vote, given the fact that last year I only saw one protester there telling us we were all going to hell, that tells me that folks can live and let live.
And something I've realized while talking to family members who are even ardent Trump supporters, is that if I can get us off the "team red vs team blue" mindset for a minute, and talk about how we wish things were, as far as matters that actually affect LIFE in America for Americans....we actually agree on a lot. Most people are pretty reasonable actually. We just need to talk to each other, and treat each other with decency. If I thought that my neighbors were violent radical anarchists or gun waving KKK lunatics I'd be more afraid of them than I am--and I am not. We all need to set down the outrage porn and chill. Our neighbors are probably pretty nice. Mine are, anyhow!
Oh, so to circle back... It's the people I love here. Who are, by and large, I have found, the exact perfect balance for my taste in terms of being friendly but genuine (not fake) and creative and interesting, but down to earth and in possession of some common sense. I am going to have to move away next year, and I'm not thrilled about that, but I will be back. This is the first place that has felt like "home" since I was a kid.
I thought it was hilarious when my daughter took the ACT up at Pomona HS (it's been a bear to get kids places to take standardized testing- many sites have been canceling left and right). The six kids in her room were astonished to find out she came from *Colorado Springs* and peppered her with questions like "how long did it take you?" "Did you have to stay overnight?"
People come less from Denver to Colorado Springs than the reverse. People probably go from Denver to the Springs about as often as I go to Pueblo. I've gone more to Pueblo in the past two years than I had ever been (track meets and taking the SAT twice= four times over the past few years)
I agree that when you don't visit the area or know anyone directly from the area, you tend to just rely on the various random points of view that people have had over the years and derive meaning from it. Certainly you don't learn anything about a city when you see memes like this:
LOLOL at the last meme (about Pueblo)!
Pueblo gets such a bad rap.
I have generations of family in Denver so I visit the Denver area 1-3x a year.
I've driven through Colo Springs too many times to count for over 20 years.
Have spent short times there such as accompanying a relative to a doctor's appointment in the Springs from Aurora. I also sometimes stop at Walmart in the Spring when I'm passing through.
I agree with the poster that said the city has a "lackluster vibe". Yes, it's vibe is tepid but that's what I like about the city. I'm a regular church-attending Christian (when pandemic restrictions are over), laid-back, reserved person and very familiar with the major Christian ministries there. Almost all of which I've listened to their radio broadcasts or TV shows for years, if not decades. The fact that certain Evangelical groups are headquartered there makes the city more appealing to me.
Driving from Denver to New Mexico this past summer, I stopped in Pueblo and took pics of the downtown area to send to my mom who has never visited but for some reason in love with the city/town.
The Gazette is running a series of stories about Colorado Springs. This one is its history wrt churches:
Colorado Springs at 150 years | How churches helped shape the city of Colorado Springs
"The prolific rise of fundamentalist religious ministries in Colorado Springs — more than 30 organizations arrived between 1988 and 1993 — led the city to become known as the "Vatican of evangelical Christianity" by some and the “evangelical capital” of the nation by others."
The Gazette is running a series of stories about Colorado Springs. This one is its history wrt churches:
Colorado Springs at 150 years | How churches helped shape the city of Colorado Springs
"The prolific rise of fundamentalist religious ministries in Colorado Springs — more than 30 organizations arrived between 1988 and 1993 — led the city to become known as the "Vatican of evangelical Christianity" by some and the “evangelical capital” of the nation by others."
Pretty sure Woodland Park took the title a few years ago.
It is mostly Denver/Boulder people who look down at the Springs, but they dont' know their a** from a hole in the ground. Most of them have never been here and have built up an idea in their minds that the Springs is full of religious wackos. They also have no clue what sort of outdoor recreation opportunities we have. I ran into a guy mountain biking in Buff Creek a couple years ago from Boulder. When I said I was from the Springs, he said "Do you guys even have mountain biking down there?" We probably have 5x the mountain biking that Boulder does.
The Springs is a relatively moderate place with pockets of liberals and pockets of conservatives. Most places are moderate, though. And while it is more religious than Boulder, it is probably somewhere in the middle if you were to line up the 100 biggest cities in America by religiosity.
If you spend a lot of time downtown or on the westside, like I do, some of these stereotypes are just bonkers. I suppose if I spent more time in Briargate I might see it more. It's also funny when I hear people who live in Cordera or Briargate or some other new suburb act like anything south of Garden of the Gods/Austin Bluffs is the ghetto.
The Springs is a hard-to-find combination of a small city that is pressed right up against the mountains and has an unbelievable amount of outdoor fun to be had. We have multiple 700+ acre open spaces that are some of the best in the country. Garden of the Gods is probably the coolest city park in America. North Cheyenne Canon, Palmer Park, Ute Valley, Red Rocks Canyon Open Space.....it is absolutely crazy how much stuff we have in town that is vacation-worthy for most of the US population. To top it off, our downtown is a manageable size but has some really neat stuff now (especially all of the new stuff on the south end of downtown), there are quite a few highly-ranked schools and the weather is great. Personally, I think the Springs is one of the most desirable places to live in the United States, assuming you have a good housing budget. I expect this city to keep growing quickly. I really don't know of another city that does this combination of things better.
Last edited by Wittgenstein's Ghost; 07-11-2021 at 03:00 PM..
It is mostly Denver/Boulder people who look down at the Springs, but they dont' know their a** from a hole in the ground. Most of them have never been here and have built up an idea in their minds that the Springs is full of religious wackos. They also have no clue what sort of outdoor recreation opportunities we have. I ran into a guy mountain biking in Buff Creek a couple years ago from Boulder. When I said I was from the Springs, he said "Do you guys even have mountain biking down there?" We probably have 5x the mountain biking that Boulder does.
The Springs is a relatively moderate place with pockets of liberals and pockets of conservatives. Most places are moderate, though. And while it is more religious than Boulder, it is probably somewhere in the middle if you were to line up the 100 biggest cities in America by religiosity.
If you spend a lot of time downtown or on the westside, like I do, some of these stereotypes are just bonkers. I suppose if I spent more time in Briargate I might see it more. It's also funny when I hear people who live in Cordera or Briargate or some other new suburb act like anything south of Garden of the Gods/Austin Bluffs is the ghetto.
The Springs is a hard-to-find combination of a small city that is pressed right up against the mountains and has an unbelievable amount of outdoor fun to be had. We have multiple 700+ acre open spaces that are some of the best in the country. Garden of the Gods is probably the coolest city park in America. North Cheyenne Canon, Palmer Park, Ute Valley, Red Rocks Canyon Open Space.....it is absolutely crazy how much stuff we have in town that is vacation-worthy for most of the US population. To top it off, our downtown is a manageable size but has some really neat stuff now (especially all of the new stuff on the south end of downtown), there are quite a few highly-ranked schools and the weather is great. Personally, I think the Springs is one of the most desirable places to live in the United States, assuming you have a good housing budget. I expect this city to keep growing quickly. I really don't know of another city that does this combination of things better.
COS has 2 world class tourist attractions -- Pikes Peak and Garden Of The Gods. Other things are not exceptional.
COS has 2 world class tourist attractions -- Pikes Peak and Garden Of The Gods. Other things are not exceptional.
I would say that its true they are not exceptional if you're just passing through or on vacation. Living with those as amenities on the other hand does make the area exceptional (if you're into the outdoors). Unless you're on the way eastern edge of town you're never more than 10-15 minutes away from a trailhead. That its not something you find in a city this size anywhere else.
While COS has better views, parks in town, and mountain recreation within 1 hr than Denver, it doesn't have the access to the rest of the ranges that Denver or other parts of the state have. Pikes Peak is the reason the town is on the map, but Pikes Peak is also an uplift to itself isolated away.
Part of the deal the Springs is going through now that's unique to it's geography is it's basically built out as big as it should be, the city shouldn't and to a large extent can't expand its footprint. Outside of growing Woodland Park / Divide, basically any of the good spots to develop have been developed and the city is hemmed in on all sides. There's a little bit of room to dense up but it's still COS, it's not going to have public transportation and blocks of apartments like Denver built.
It's blatantly apparent the powers that be really don't want to expand development eastward, and rightfully so, that's god ugly country if there wasn't the view. At least east of Pueblo and Denver it's farmed somewhat, east of COS is barren. Marksheffal could have been a ring road freeway, it was purposely kept 2 lanes to not expand another ring of the city east. So, from my standpoint, unless you're willing to fork out big bucks and overpay for the few nice lots for sale, the future for homeowning southern Coloradoans with a WFH job is the smaller spots, Canon City, Buena Vista, Colorado City, each with geographies at least as good as COS.
There is cool parks and natural access, but there's lots of room for improvement as well. For starters parking improvements and trail maintenance are a must. But connection and better access would really boost the outdoor potential, from Cheyenne Canyon west and through Rampart Range, it's way more segmented and disconnected than it could be. If there was a ring the peak comprehensive plan, it would go a long ways towards being a recreation gem, moreso than just stellar views. In my county in Atlanta, there's this huge masterplan to connect greenways all over the metro into a giant web. Outside of a couple mountain uplifts, the terrain isn't that unique, but with investment the access is better here than COS, even if it's just streams and hills and not geographical feature like Pulpit Rock.
It's blatantly apparent the powers that be really don't want to expand development eastward...
Have to disagree on this point. The current build plans for Banning Lewis Ranch will increase the number of COS homes by about 15-20%. It is a massive project on the east side of town that probably will take decades to complete.
The Springs is a relatively moderate place with pockets of liberals and pockets of conservatives. Most places are moderate, though. And while it is more religious than Boulder, it is probably somewhere in the middle if you were to line up the 100 biggest cities in America by religiosity.
If you spend a lot of time downtown or on the westside, like I do, some of these stereotypes are just bonkers. I suppose if I spent more time in Briargate I might see it more. It's also funny when I hear people who live in Cordera or Briargate or some other new suburb act like anything south of Garden of the Gods/Austin Bluffs is the ghetto.
This is kind of closer to the truth than an online reputation would indicate. While it is conservative leaning, Cos is much more moderate than many give it credit for. Evidence of this is found in the last presidential election results. This NY Time map proves that out - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ction-map.html
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost
The Springs is a hard-to-find combination of a small city that is pressed right up against the mountains and has an unbelievable amount of outdoor fun to be had. We have multiple 700+ acre open spaces that are some of the best in the country. Garden of the Gods is probably the coolest city park in America. North Cheyenne Canon, Palmer Park, Ute Valley, Red Rocks Canyon Open Space.....it is absolutely crazy how much stuff we have in town that is vacation-worthy for most of the US population. To top it off, our downtown is a manageable size but has some really neat stuff now (especially all of the new stuff on the south end of downtown), there are quite a few highly-ranked schools and the weather is great. Personally, I think the Springs is one of the most desirable places to live in the United States, assuming you have a good housing budget. I expect this city to keep growing quickly. I really don't know of another city that does this combination of things better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
COS has 2 world class tourist attractions -- Pikes Peak and Garden Of The Gods. Other things are not exceptional.
IMO, I don't know that I'd call Pikes Peak and GotG world class either. Highly unique, certainly. However, as listed by Wittgenstein's Ghost, COS is not unique for any one thing. Everything we have here can be found somewhere else in the US and certainly the world. However, what we do have is a broad range of items found within an hour of Cos that is hard to duplicate for sheer variety of outdoor experiences that can only be found in a very few places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil P
It's blatantly apparent the powers that be really don't want to expand development eastward, and rightfully so, that's god ugly country if there wasn't the view. At least east of Pueblo and Denver it's farmed somewhat, east of COS is barren. Marksheffal could have been a ring road freeway, it was purposely kept 2 lanes to not expand another ring of the city east. So, from my standpoint, unless you're willing to fork out big bucks and overpay for the few nice lots for sale, the future for homeowning southern Coloradoans with a WFH job is the smaller spots, Canon City, Buena Vista, Colorado City, each with geographies at least as good as COS.
There is cool parks and natural access, but there's lots of room for improvement as well. For starters parking improvements and trail maintenance are a must. But connection and better access would really boost the outdoor potential, from Cheyenne Canyon west and through Rampart Range, it's way more segmented and disconnected than it could be. If there was a ring the peak comprehensive plan, it would go a long ways towards being a recreation gem, moreso than just stellar views. In my county in Atlanta, there's this huge masterplan to connect greenways all over the metro into a giant web. Outside of a couple mountain uplifts, the terrain isn't that unique, but with investment the access is better here than COS, even if it's just streams and hills and not geographical feature like Pulpit Rock.
You really think the city government isn't serious about expanding east? Since you've lived here previously, I'm shocked by this statement. The growth to the east is massive. Personally I'd rather see denser growth instead of the sprawl heading east.
Oh, BTW, the Ring the Peak trail system does have a group developing a more comprehensive plan around access as well as closing the gaps in the trail. Unfortunately, you are correct that the NIMBY and anti-tax crowd in Cos do tend to exert enough influence to avoid the socialized spending on creating this much infrastructure to make a lot of what we have amazing and instead we are content to live with meh. As demonstrated through-out its life, Cos always waits for sugar daddies to foot the bill for these types of things. Today's sugar daddies aren't in it for social altruism and if they can't get the public to pay for their ability to reap profits, it aint gonna happen.
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