Pueblo, Fountain, or Colorado Springs? (Pueblo West, Eagle: to rent, crime, loans)

[osumaffia]

Hello all, this website has been very helpfull so far, but I need some help. I will be reloacating my family (myself, wife, and 1 month old daughter). We are moving from Houston, and my new office will be in Pueblo. We are both 30, and still like to go out and have fun...i.e. happy hours, sushi, good steak, etc. We are looking to spend between $200k - $300K on our new house, and will probably only be there for 18-24 months. I have done quite a bit of research on this site, and others, and am at a a loss. My wife is currently a 5th grade teacher (and a good one), I am assuming it will be more difficult for her to get a job at a good school in Pueblo? And much easier in the COS area. is that fair? Is there anything for us to do in Pueblo, or will we be driving to COS often? My main question is, how is the drive to Pueblo from COS? Is is something I can do everyday without going crazy? What about Fountain, it looks somewhat in between? Or should I just buy a home in Pueblo, have a short drive, and be fairly certian my wife can find a teaching job? I know these are a lot of "what if's", but I would appreciate any insight anyone would care to share either via a reply on here, or a PM. Thanks so much.

btw....I am really looking forward to not spending another summer in Houston! And moving back to a state that has 4 seasons. Not just hot and hotter.

[McGowdog]

As a Pueblo/Pueblo West represent, you could do either.

If I were in your shoes, I'd say you could buy or rent a nice home for that in Pueblo or Pueblo West and do great here if the food and entertainment/shopping/etc. is up to par for you.

I don't know much about Pueblo grade schools. You probably have a number of schools in the city limits of district 60 (if they do districts for k-5) and a number of schools in the district 70 county (Mesa area, Pueblo West area, or Colorado City/Rye area). Does it have to be 5th grade? Would she consider teaching at the Middle School (6th through 8th out here) level as well? Then you've got your charter schools (can't think of them now. She being a good teacher, she'd be welcome here. I don't know the exact stats to the schools in Pueblo. Like most towns, academics are a tad better in the 70 county schools than the larger 60 schools-STATISTICALLY! This doesn't mean an individual can't go and excel at the big schools, right?

Lastly. You can move up north and commute. If you're gonna do that, you might as well go up a bit into Springs and be amongst the nicest neighorhoods for the kids/ shopping/ entertainment/ food, than Fountain, but the commute would be better in the south end. I can get from P-dub (Pueblo West) to the CS airport in an hour flat-that's door to door. I think it would be a bid much to live in Briargate and drive all the way to Pueblo for work.

Good luck with this. I'm sure many in the Springs can help you from here. Take it away CS.

Add: If you're considering Pueblo, let's say you're an avid golfer. If you can afford to buy/rent near our golf courses then you might consider the Walking Stick area, Pueblo Country Club/ Ridge/ Eagleridge area, Elmwood Golf Course area/ Regency Ridge Park area/ El Camino area, or Desert Hawk Golf Course/ Liberty Point Pueblo West/ Pueblo Reservoir area

[dpitts]

You may want to rent a house and not buy. You will be in the area a short time and may have a hard time selling it when you leave. Maybe not? I would stay close to where you are at most. probable your job. i would commute to entertainment before work. The west side of Pueblo may be a middle ground. if you moved to Fountain you would be commuting to both.

[Crematia]

The drive to the Springs isn't bad, there wasn't any traffic when I ventured up there. I'm used to commuting an hour or more to work each way in awful traffic, the commute to the Springs is cake from Pueblo.

As for a good steak, none to be had here unless you make it yourself. I haven't found anywhere good yet. They do have decent steaks in the supermarket though.

As for jobs, the job market is horrible. Over 50% of all of the job postings are for medical help. The other half are minimum wage schlep jobs. Check out the Pueblo Chieftain online and see.

But, in good things to say, we love our house, we love our neighborhood (Pueblo West) and we don't go to the Springs for anything. Everything we've needed (so far) is right here. The State Fair is here, the Zoo, plenty of places to walk and exercise, there's a drive in, a mall, and you could shop until you drop here along Route 50. I don't plan on ever leaving Colorado

The Springs is very congested, very city-like. The houses are very close together and are as expected more expensive. They do have incredible views, but so do we in Pueblo West. The only thing the Springs has over us is jobs and perhaps good food (haven't eaten up there yet).

And rent, don't buy. Don't buy unless you're going to live in one place for 7+ years. Dpitts is right.

I haven't been to Fountain yet so I can't offer any advice there. Schools either, can't help ya, I don't have kids.

[McGowdog]

I like the steaks at
DJs Steakhouse (Beef, Lamb Shank, Bison, maybe Elk, Ostridge, etc. Ha! We have a commercial on youtube!) and Texas Roadhouse ok. My SIL from Florida said the crab legs from there were gr8! That's saying something.

But you can make a mean steak as Crematia says by going to Franks Meat Market and there's another one on East 4th I think.

You can surely get a steak in town. I'm gonna revise and update my Pueblo Mexican food thread really soon. Please check it out when you get the chance.

[SheridanL]

So WHAT makes a good steak, in everyones opinion?
I mean, I have had "bad" steaks before but, I am almost positive there has to be at least 1 or 2 restaurants in a halfway decent sized town, that has a good steak! Right? Unless of course one is the most pickiest human being on the planet and, only dines at 5 star restaurants!!!!!!!!

[Bob from down south]

Whew, where to start.

First, dpitts is dead on. Buying a house in this market with a holding period of less than 2 years is a hideously bad idea. Selling a $300K house will cost you over $20,000, and that's assuming the house doesn't sit empty for months when you're tryng to sell, and that it doesn't continue to depreciate through that holding period. (it will)

Second, not sure why you'd think Pueblo would be a harder place for your wife to find a teaching job than Colo Springs. I question that assumption.

I think any plan that involves a 45-60 min commute with gas prices where they're at is a recipe for big trouble.

Do some research on crime stats. Pueblo has a very active knife and gun club.

[McGowdog]

I googled "Pueblo Colorado" + "Knife and Gun Club" and I got this 22 year old girl's Myspace page. That was the only hit.

Before you go spoutin' off such accusations as that Bob, how long have you lived in Pueblo Colorado? How long have you lived in Colorado Springs for that matter?

Our murders here are statistically related to domestic disputes or gang-related. Hey, nothing much good happens out on the streets after dark, specifically 2:00am when the bars get out. Is someone from Colorado Springs actually going to pull out the Crime-Stats card on Pueblo? Get real. Crime is something we can't hide from or evade.

I threw out some pretty good neighborhoods in an earlier post out of the respect of the OPs situation. What more can I do here? We Puebloans will handle the pros and cons of this town if you don't mind. I'd expect those from the Springs to do likewise.

[McGowdog]

Oh, nobody? Well allow me to retort; so as I was saying, if you're not in a gang or involved in a drug deal, or involved in a domestic dispute where gangs and drugs are involved, you're pretty safe in Pueblo. But feel free to cite crime stats if that's your thing.

Good morning all.

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

Oh, nobody? Well allow me to retort; so as I was saying, if you're not in a gang or involved in a drug deal, or involved in a domestic dispute where gangs and drugs are involved, you're pretty safe in Pueblo. But feel free to cite crime stats if that's your thing.

Good morning all.

Well, the combination of the crime stats and what I've seen when driving around the area in Pueblo are both pretty damning, from my perspective. As a guy who's had a gun stuck in his face before, the risk manager birdie on my shoulder tells me to stay clear of the place.

I have to challenge the idea that being in an area of increased gang and drug violence is safe, as long as you're not ganged-up yourself. That's rationalization of a bad situation. Sorry, nothing personal, but Pueblo makes my skin crawl.