Relocating to COS and starting from scratch (Denver, Colorado Springs: real estate, apartment complex)

[Jme57]

Hi

My family and I will be relocating from Fayetteville, NC to COS at the end of the year. We will be visiting around Aug.... I've been told that housing is more expensive in COS but grocaries and gas etc is a little cheaper. We will pretty much be starting from scratch.... We will be transitioning from millitary to civilian life. I currently stay at home with my 16 month old daughter because I trust no one when it comes to her. We will be moving around Oct-Nov time frame and by that time she'll be almost 2 years old and We'd have to wait another year to be able to put her in preschool before both my husand and I can both work during the day.... Until then i won't let anyone else watch her (daycare/baby-sitters). My husband and I plan on one of us working full time during the day and the other part time at night. I have an aunt that lives in 80915 and she says it's safe there.... I'd like other peoples opinion please....

My question is....

What do you think of 80915?

Constitutioin Square.... reviews please! I don't trust those apt reviews it just seems like their fake and managers from other apt are either sugar coating their place or bashing the others....

If one of us worked at night.....what type of jobs are out there for night shifters? Are there any in the entry level accounting field?

What are the driving conditions during the winter? Should I take classes because I'm not expierenced...will I be fine?

Also....we have a 4x4 SUV and also a car that's not awd/4x4... do i need to trade it in for a 4x4?

Also I have been inquiring about 80918 area....what do you think of those areas as well?

This might be a silly questions but..... How do people make ends meet in the civilian world? In the Military BAH (Basic allowance for housing) helped us out a lot.......do majority live paycheck to paycheck?

Also, What is the career outlook for home inspectors in COS and

please help

[Charles]

Both those zip codes are fine areas; I've driven around both and to me they look safe, comfortable, not too much traffic, lots of amenities, shopping....Colorado Springs in general doesn't have too many bad areas.
Winter driving - you'll be fine with all season radial tires. Occaisionally, basically worst case, you (and most people) may find it a little challenging going up a steeper hill on an icy morning or night. Most of the time those roads are sanded but once in a while the city is caught off guard. It happens, but there isn't too much you can do about it. It's pretty rare.
I don't know too much about the working/career questions. I don't think housing is moving too much right now - Less work for home inspectors???

[JAF1976]

I would check out the 80922-80923. The 80915 is kind of industrial area, and some 70's to mid 1980's houses, and appartments. The 80918 is ok. The 80922-80923 is the newer part of town(NE) powers region. I live in the 800923 and I really like the area. There a few nice shopping centers with just about everything you can think of within a 2-3 mile radius. They just put in a costco a mile in a half from my house. We have a new hospitle opening a few miles up the road. You should be ok with a car, if you also have a 4wd suv. The roads can get VERY slick in a hurry hear, and you need to be very defensive driver. If you have alot of experiance driving on the snow and ice you should be fine, if not I sugest you educate yourselfe about it before hand.

[YvZ]

Here is a link to a site that gives you a very good comparison as to the cost of living in both cities [mod cut]

You will see there that it is not true that food and gas is cheaper here, it is actually a little higher. Yes housing is A LOT more here.

I don't know 80915 but I live in 80918 and can tell you that it is a really nice central area to live in. You have a good mix of expensive and less expensive housing and good schools. Don't let anyone tell you that D-11 is so bad, we have some really good schools without paying the premium on housing. Are you looking at renting a house or apartment? We have a really nice apartment complex just up the road from us Preserve at Hidden Creek, Apartments for Rent in Colorado Springs CO If you are lucky you can get a unit with some great mountain views. This apartment complex is right in the middle of an established neighborhood. The other one pretty close to us that looks nice is Pine Bluffs Apartments in Colorado Springs, CO It looks a little bit more expensive. Let me know if you would like me to check on a few more for you. I will definitely check out the Springs Ranch and Stetson Hills area as JAF1976 suggested. It is a young area with lots of new retail there.

Regarding work, I am sure I do not need to tell you this but anything to do with homes are not a good career at the moment. Many people I know that were in mortgage companies were laid off the past month. I know a guy that took early retirement from his job at a high tech company to become a home inspector. Let's put it this way, his wife had to jump out and take an $8 an hour job to make ends meet.

To work at night you will probably look at the supermarkets that are open 24 hours. There is also the possibility of a call center job, where they are open till very late. I know Carnival Cruises has a shift from 4pm till 12am. I am sure some of the others in town might have the same thing. Checks Unlimited and Progresso might also have late shifts.

As long as you have one 4x4 in the family you will be fine. You just don't go out on the days that the roads are so slick. You get used to it pretty quickly.

I don't really know how to answer your question regarding how civilians make ends meet. Nope we don't all live paycheck to paycheck :-) I guess we never got used to any other way of living. But I do know what you mean. We are looking at moving to Austin TX but don't know how people afford a nice house with the high property taxes there. Where we pay about $100 per month in CS, we will pay about $450 per month there for the same price house (which is about impossible if you want to buy in a good school district).

I hope this helps you some. It definitely helps that you have family in town though. Good luck with the move.

[Amery523]

We live in 80918. Not all of it is D-11. When you are looking be sure to look for 80918 with D-20 schools. It's older homes, established neighborhoods, TONS of kids, TONS of trees. We didn't want track housing or cookie-cutter homes. That is why we didn't look east or far north in the newer areas. I would say you need to find a job first, and then figure out where you want to live and how much of a commute you want to make.

Night shift jobs: T-mobile has a call center (I would venture that other cell phone companies do as well), there's always the medical field, supermarket stocking jobs. I think some of the car insurance places have night shifts too - check Progressive or USAA. I don't think any accounting places do night work, except maybe during tax season?

Drive slowly during your first winter, as you learn how to navigate icy hilly roads. A car with higher clearance (i.e. SUV) is nice esp. if you live in a subdivision that doesn't get plowed. (Most don't.)

[froggin4colorado]

No more humidity....fewer bugs....brown winters and fewer trees though...bummer.

It is a bit more expensive to live here. The cost of living is cheaper in Fountain, southern end of Colorado Springs. Our city seems to shut down on wintery days, kind of funny actually. Everyone delays or closes as far as schools, banks, churches, etc. You do not need a 4x4, you just need common sense. Real Estate agents are always on the hunt for a good house inspector for cheap. My gf bounces between a couple who average on $100 for an inspection. As far as night jobs, I only know of stockers (for grocery stores), security, dispatchers, fire and police, tow truck drivers/plows...think that is it.

[spatin]

Why would you want to leave Fayetteville to move here to Colorado Springs?
The Springs was a nice place to live when we first moved here in 1990 (we live in 80919), but it has become way too crowded. The infrastructure has not kept up with the growth, and the city is trying to find sources of water to handle the population explosion here. It is a 200,000 person city with 500,000 people in it and still growing. Too many people. Traffic is awful, but not as awful as Denver which has the same problem, only worse. The prices for food and gas and utilities are through the roof compared to some years ago.
The views of Pikes Peak and the foothills are nice, but there are also a lot of frustrations living here. We're thinking about moving back to the south, maybe to North Carolina, ha ha.

[vfrpilot]

We will be transitioning from millitary to civilian life.

You should look into civil service jobs at one of the local bases. Usually better benefits and pay than outside jobs.
Good Luck with your search. This is a nice area and there are lots of ex-military.