Visiting COLO SPGS over the Fourth of July (Denver, Colorado Springs: apartments, houses)

[oktocolorado]

Hello everyone, just wanted to get recommendations as to things to do while we're in Colorado Springs from July 3rd through the 6th. Thanks!

[Mike from back east]

3 July, Friday.
Fireworks at Fort Carson.
Fireworks at Skysox Stadium.

4 July, Saturday.
Fireworks at USAF Academy.
Various parades and fireworks around town.

5 July, Sunday.
Brunch at the Broadmoor, a 5-star world famous resort.

There are many other things to do in the area, any day you choose. Click here to go to the index, then cursor down to "visiting" for the existing threads on things to do when visiting here.

Tell us more if you wish. Is this a vacation or judging by your screen name, is this a house hunting trip?

[springshomeblog]

Palmer Lake has a great fireworks show every year - they call it the "best small town fireworks show on earth" and it's a lot of fun! Of course, there's the typical tourist things like Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, etc. The hot tourist spots will be pretty crowded over the weekend, but it's still a lot of fun.

If you want to go up Pikes Peak, you might want to do it no later than mid-morning, in case traffic starts backing up (and before afternoon clouds start rolling in).

Last year on the 4th, there was a harpist playing at the GoG. A beautiful place to hear a harp concert (though I think it was more of an impromptu thing, not an officially scheduled concert).

Have fun!

Carrie

[oktocolorado]

Thanks! Mike from back east - yes, this is a vacation, but as you mentioned the screen name is kind of a giveaway to my aspirations. I do love Colorado, it is very much worth the 9 1/2 hour drive, and we will be getting a better idea for which area we want to live in, hopefully within the next two years. It is the only place I ever visited where as soon as I got there, I started toying with the notion of moving. Oklahoma is where I grew up, but I want my family (wife, airedales and someday-kids) to live in the environment that Colorado provides. Plus, it's only a short day trip away from home, so They can come see us, or vice-a-versa. But thanks for info, talk to ya soon.

[PokerMunkee]

If you like gambling, head up to Cripple Creek. It will be 10-15f cooler than the Springs, so it's nice in the summer! The new rules take go into effect July 2nd at 12:01am, adding new games craps and roulette, along with a $100 max bets (used to be $5) and 24/7 gaming. It's also a beautiful drive from the Springs to CC, going up in almost 4,000' in elevation. The Moly Kathleen Gold Mine tour is fun too if you like those kind of things.

[nitsirk77]

We just moved here a few weeks ago from Yukon! We don't know all the fun things to do on the 4th here yet, but just wanted to say that all of our family is in Oklahoma too and the leap is well worth it! Hope you have a great time here!

[oktocolorado]

Awesome nitsirk77! Thanks! So it was worth the leap, huh? How did you decide where to move to in COS? How is the job market? Yeah, the wife and I will there July 3rd through the 5th, just a long weekend, but can't wait to get away from the OK weather. Today was a high of 100, and humid of course. Of course while we're there, we'll be kinda scoping out the area, but if you get any good COS info for a fellow Okie, then let me know if you don't mind.

[nitsirk77]

I will! We're still trying to decide what to do that weekend. I don't know about the job market, I assume it depends on what kind of job you're looking for. My hubby had two offers to come here. He works as a project supervisor in industrial heat/air. (or something like that) The area we were focused on was Briargate - some really great schools, shopping, and views, but we wound up in Mountain Shadows on the west side. It's close to my husband's work and it's really pretty. I found it a little overwhelming b/c there are just so many great areas to choose from! One thing that was odd to me is that so many houses here don't have A/C! In Oklahoma that's unheard of!! You're going to love the lack of humidity here....it's awesome! I can wear jeans in June! Who knew?? Anyway, hope you guys have a great trip! It's going to be hard to decide what to do in such a short time! Good luck!

[BigD Looking for More]

It's funny that there are people from all parts wanting to "migrate" to Colorado!! I have only seen pictures and had a buring desire to live there for a loooong time. I've lived in Texas for the past 13 years and I'm soooooo ready to shed the heat and fall back in love with WINTER! Originally from Toronto Canada so this heat index and sweatin till the cows come home is just not natural! I hope that the IT industry picks up soon as my fiance just informed me that she wants to move BEFORE next year June (2010)when we had originally planned, to THIS October! We are both excited and terrifed but the positives far far FAR outweigh the negatives (I can't think of any at the moment). My question to those of you out there is:

How can I get a potential employer to notice me and take me seriously if I'm not a "local" as yet, but will be there soon? I'm sure that if I got a decent offer I'd be able to get up there within a couple of weeks. I've seen some really nice apartments/rental properties in southern Denver and Col Springs (preferably) that would fit my budget.

I wanted to cart the family up there this coming Labor Day weekend, but we'll see now that she's made her intentions known. What about the job markets in general up there? I'm sure people are still hiring for positions that need to be filled. I'm not too proud to do what I must to get my feet wet.

Gratz to all that have made the plunge into Colorado! Hopefully we'll be there soon!

BigD

[Mike from back east]

Big D, you need a cell phone or Vonage account with a 719 area code, so that your resume looks local to employers, else you get few if any calls. Some people say a cover letter stating that you will relocate at your own expense also gets them calls/interviews. Unemployment has risen here, but is not as bad as many other places.

COLO SPGS is a big military town and has a lot of contractors supporting them.

Denver is a big govt town as well as the center of commerce for the intermountain west; it's the big dog for about 600 miles in all directions.

It is possible to live in the northern end of El Paso County, as in the town of Monument and thereabouts, and be commuting range of both COLO SPGS and the Denver Tech Center on the south end of that metro area.