pueblo housing (Craig: apartments, rental, crime)

[lepgold91]

Hi, I am relocating from UK to Pueblo and seeking a small, safe and clean place to live. i am a US citizen who has lived over here for almost twenty years. As i am self employed and have owned my home here with no mortgage, i have experienced some difficulty obtaining rental housing. I am financially stable and able to support myself for up to three years while transitioning. I am seeking a 2+ bedroom house or apartment in a safe area. I am 39, single, no kids or pets. I have lived responsibly on my own for many years and am not sure that a roommate situation (especially with strangers) would be suitable. Any advice would be gratefully recieved. If you or someone you know has a property that may be suitable, please reply. (please keep sarcastic comments to a minimum).

Thanks

[lurtsman]

Hey Lepgold,

Don't worry about the lack of a rental history. If you're looking a nice rental you can explain to them that you have savings equal to more than a year's payments and would be happy to provide a bank statement to show your savings. When my wife and I have needed to move we often got past any barriers by showing a statement that proved we would have no difficulties meeting the rent for our first lease. When it was time to renew, they had a history with us for the first lease with every payment on time, so they were happy to renew.

That's by far the easiest way to get around the "lack of rental history". Yes, you'll find several 2+ bedroom houses and apartments (you'll be able to pick whichever style you want) in safe areas. I don't know the individual properties there, but Pueblo has a very affordable cost of living. There are some crime ridden areas, but there is significantly more good than bad.

[Josseppie]

Just stay away from the lower east side and Bessemer.

[OldManDax]

Hey lepgold,

I can't help but wonder where you lived in the U.S. prior to living in the U.K.. This would determine how much of a culture shock you may experience in Pueblo.

I am originally from NE KS and lived in Southern AZ for 4 years prior to moving to Pueblo last summer. I have to say Pueblo has been a culture shock for me. Although it's like NE KS in many ways I was surprised at how conservative Pueblo is. Not just politics but, shopping, open self expression, people keep to themselves and it takes a lot of time to break the ice. Best in Pueblo ranked "church" as "the best place that's open on Sunday." Don't get me wrong, I'd say the folks here are a nice bunch and I don't have anything against going to church, but it does give you an idea of the culture. In all honesty Pueblo has the feel of Topeka of the 1960s. Not a bad thing just that the 60s was 50 years ago. Maybe because Topeka is the Capital of KS and two major universities are 20 and 60 minutes away (and Kansas City 60 mins) it has had the benefit of more influence from other parts of the country and the world that it seems to have progressed more, Idk.

I'm not a big shopper, but I like to be able to go get what I need when I need it, and I'm having a hard time doing that here with many things. It is fairly isolated. Folks here seem to have an aversion to phone numbers (area code) not of CO or Pueblo in particular. I have posted items on Craigslist here and for the first time I don't get calls. One man who did come to get a free item said he was iffy about calling because he had heard scammers use your phone number to "charge thing to you" (I still have my old KS number which wasn't a problem in AZ) . His concern may be unique to him, but I have had more than a few raised eyebrows when I have to give my number with a different area code.

At the public library (which is fairly new it seems) I've had to wait 2-3 weeks for inter-library loans for most of the books I want to check out, and it's not like I'm looking for anything unusual.

Also, most movies I want to see do not make it here and don't typically end up in a Redbox either. The grocery stores here lack organic (there is one Natural Grocer) and have a limited selection to what I personally am used to; they are also smallish, noisy, and crowed. Being gluten intolerant one of the first things I tried to find were restaurants that had at least a couple of GF items on their menu. The first two places I found that advertised GF fell flat when I asked more detailed questions to see if they really were GF, they weren't. I'm glad I asked first because if I hadn't I would have been very sick. :/

Think about the things you really like to do before moving anywhere and really research. If you like movies go to Fandango and search the zip code you are going to and see what movies are playing. Use other sites for other activities.

I do not want to come across as bagging on Pueblo. It's a nice town, but very old school. For it's size I expected more variety and be a bit more ..."worldly".

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by OldManDax

Hey lepgold,

I can't help but wonder where you lived in the U.S. prior to living in the U.K.. This would determine how much of a culture shock you may experience in Pueblo.

I am originally from NE KS and lived in Southern AZ for 4 years prior to moving to Pueblo last summer. I have to say Pueblo has been a culture shock for me. Although it's like NE KS in many ways I was surprised at how conservative Pueblo is. Not just politics but, shopping, open self expression, people keep to themselves and it takes a lot of time to break the ice. Best in Pueblo ranked "church" as "the best place that's open on Sunday." Don't get me wrong, I'd say the folks here are a nice bunch and I don't have anything against going to church, but it does give you an idea of the culture. In all honesty Pueblo has the feel of Topeka of the 1960s. Not a bad thing just that the 60s was 50 years ago. Maybe because Topeka is the Capital of KS and two major universities are 20 and 60 minutes away (and Kansas City 60 mins) it has had the benefit of more influence from other parts of the country and the world that it seems to have progressed more, Idk.

I'm not a big shopper, but I like to be able to go get what I need when I need it, and I'm having a hard time doing that here with many things. It is fairly isolated. Folks here seem to have an aversion to phone numbers (area code) not of CO or Pueblo in particular. I have posted items on Craigslist here and for the first time I don't get calls. One man who did come to get a free item said he was iffy about calling because he had heard scammers use your phone number to "charge thing to you" (I still have my old KS number which wasn't a problem in AZ) . His concern may be unique to him, but I have had more than a few raised eyebrows when I have to give my number with a different area code.

At the public library (which is fairly new it seems) I've had to wait 2-3 weeks for inter-library loans for most of the books I want to check out, and it's not like I'm looking for anything unusual.

Also, most movies I want to see do not make it here and don't typically end up in a Redbox either. The grocery stores here lack organic (there is one Natural Grocer) and have a limited selection to what I personally am used to; they are also smallish, noisy, and crowed. Being gluten intolerant one of the first things I tried to find were restaurants that had at least a couple of GF items on their menu. The first two places I found that advertised GF fell flat when I asked more detailed questions to see if they really were GF, they weren't. I'm glad I asked first because if I hadn't I would have been very sick. :/

Think about the things you really like to do before moving anywhere and really research. If you like movies go to Fandango and search the zip code you are going to and see what movies are playing. Use other sites for other activities.

I do not want to come across as bagging on Pueblo. It's a nice town, but very old school. For it's size I expected more variety and be a bit more ..."worldly".

I never pay attention the best of list as its not a real list anyway and I say that as someone who loves the Chieftain. I think they started this because they think other cities have it so they thought we should as well. The problem is its easy to stuff the ballot so you never know if what won should have and the example about Church on Sunday is one of them because most stores, including the mall are open. That brings me to my next point. I am not a big shopper either but most everything I need can be found in Pueblo. Also, the library is new as we expanded the library a few years ago and keep adding satellite library's. Now I have not needed to use the library since I was in college so I can not talk about the rest of your experience. Now I do not know what kind of movies you watch, however, Pueblo gets all the ones I watch. Then again I am not really into independent and foreign films. Another thing I agree Pueblo is not big on organic food and its a waste of money anyway its just trendy right not but I do admit gluten free is hard to find in Pueblo and I understand that some people need to have gluten free for medical reasons.