Need help picking a specific area, please!

[MomDadplusThree]

Thanks a lot, JWiley! I appreciate all the honest info..honest answers are exactly what we are looking for. My husband is great at his job. We live solely on his income and we don't struggle to get by. We aren't by any means rolling in money, but we are practical, definitely minimalists, don't spend more than we have to and save everything else. Almost everyone I know struggles financially on much more than we bring home - it is ALL about budgeting like you stated. My girls are only one and they are still sharing w room, so we are interested in staying in a 2BR until they are a couple years older (by that time we would hope to have found where we want to have a home rather than a rental). We definitely aren't going to be making impulsive decisions and certainly know we could be taking a risk here - the good news is: we could always come back and he could always come back to his position here in New York! Thank you again for all of the info - grateful!

[Hatehumidity]

Mom, When I visited CO few years back I loved Loveland(less traffic, prettier area). I did not like Greeley or Evans at all. Fort Collins was way to busy for me and I am single. Traffic was horrid. Colorado Springs I like best of all, large enough to live on the outskirts and not be to far away from most dealerships. David the Mod has better info than I do, I trust his judgment. Jim

[MomDadplusThree]

Thanks for your input, Jim! I am not bothered by traffic, not even sure I noticed it during my stays in Fort Collins but my husband isn't a fan so this is helpful. I haven't heard any good about Greeley (ever) so I haven't even looked into it. Friends and family out in CO have tried to steer me from Colorado Springs because its a "very conservative, military town w/ anti-abortion billboards all over" (their words, not mine) but then many on here really love it there. I am one to always check it out for myself and go off of my own intuition so I am more than happy to look at COS during our trip this fall and plan on it..thanks for the help!

[Count David]

Originally Posted by MomDadplusThree

Friends and family out in CO have tried to steer me from Colorado Springs because its a "very conservative, military town w/ anti-abortion billboards all over" (their words, not mine) but then many on here really love it there. I am one to always check it out for myself and go off of my own intuition so I am more than happy to look at COS during our trip this fall and plan on it..thanks for the help!

Good idea. I hated COS with a passion my first few years in CO, and it was basically only because that city exemplifies everything I generally hate.

But, after more pleasant/positive visits to the city, I may even like it some now. I would even go as far to say that the natural geography exceeds every other Front Range city with the exception of Boulder, so at least it has that going for it.

[lurtsman]

Honda dealership off Woodmen in Colorado Springs has fairly high ratings online. Of course, that doesn't tell you a great deal about the working environment, but it seems better than one with constant low ratings when it comes to job security.

I definitely love living in Colorado Springs. The town votes conservatively, but it is mostly live and let live. Few people will ever try to press their views on you unless you really insist on engaging them in conversation. I don't notice billboards much, especially if they are boring like most anti-abortion ads, so I wouldn't know how many we have. I would be okay with seeing some reductions in people being allowed to put up billboards, but that is a topic for another day. I only had one experience (in nearing on 3 years) of a person trying to push their religious views on me. Once I realized that was all he wanted to talk about, I broke off the conversation. He was catholic and wanted me to have children, I don't want to have children and don't give a [expletive] about his opinion on what I should do. I thanked him for sharing his views and told him we would both keep doing what we believed was right for us. No big deal. He was a nice enough guy other than believing that his religion should call other people to do things, rather than strictly imposing it on himself.

[MomDadplusThree]

David- I have heard it is a great place as far as aesthetics an outdoor activities are concerned.

Really, all of you are very helpful and I am grateful for your advice and suggestions. Lurtsman, I'm not even bothered by any of that (though, I do strongly agree with you about less billboards in general) I think the people I know that have moved there are being a little dramatic about their opinions to show me they "know" Colorado - I am pretty sure none of these people have spent any fair amount of time in COS but rather hear things about them and spout those things to others because THEY are impressionable. Anyways, that's why I am here to get more fair suggestions and that's what I am getting from all of you. Thanks!

[MaggieMoonlight]

We will be there The 2nd week of May to do our exploring - we will only be there a few days but we are excited nonetheless. Thanks for all you guidance - it will help us greatly, I'm sure! Thanks!