Thinking about moving to the Co. Springs

[rysam]

Im going to be looking to GTFO of cali in the next year or so and am wondering what the life situation is out there. Its been probably 13 years since I was last through there for a couple days of training at the Wickes Lumber yard and losing a few bills at the dog track. Co. Springs has always been in the back of my mind since.
Im reasonably educated, and so is my wife, got 2 kids and a couple of dogs, big welder etc... Im looking for forest service/Natl resources/Heavy Equipment type work and the wifey is into restaurant management.

We actually are productive members of society.

So gimme something to think about that I cant get from google.
work availability? rents? crime? BS? I can only get so much from the internet searches.

This is just in the research stages too, all I know is that I cant do cali anymore and Co. already meets some other needs I have..

 

[KRONIK]

1. i think the dog track is closed... so that may help your situation! lol
2. we have some crime... but nothing compared to cali.
we have our wanna be gang bangers. nothing to be worried about.
3.search our yellow pages for companies you may be interested in working at. give them a call before hand to see how there hiring situation is.
4.Co Springs is a great place to raise a family! its a little hard right now. but there will be hard times no matter where you go right now.
compared to cali, the price of living is way less!
there are many parks, and many 4x4 trails.


5. you may not like winter here.... but you have a jeep. you will be fine!

6.cops LOVE lifted jeeps! cops HATE imports!
its a perfect place for me!:sunshine:

there is alot more to consider when "up and moving" to another state.
this will just get you started!

 

[rysam]

yeah I know my "up and move" list is long thats why Im starting my research now.

Winter doesnt bother me I grew up in Lake Tahoe, the wifey is game too.

the fuzz being relatively cool is a big plus for me too.

 

[KRONIK]

yeah I know my "up and move" list is long thats why Im starting my research now.

Winter doesnt bother me I grew up in Lake Tahoe, the wifey is game too.

the fuzz being relatively cool is a big plus for me too.

im sure the local FUZZ will chime in soon! :gee:

you will get a lot of info from the other locals too!

 

[jdxj]

Great place to live couldn't love it more!

That being said our economy is pretty pathetic right now!
I run heavy equipment and have been unemployed for over a year now( I have 18 yrs experience)! Just not a lot of work out there now, don't get me wrong there's jobs just not very good jobs!

 

[in4aride]

colorado springs is cool, winters are pretty mellow, crime is pretty limited. you are kind of far from the "colorado" type stuff to do-skiiing and such.
the springs feels a bit like ventura CA. too many people that feel obligated and not really much to do aside from shit you can do anywhere.

i would suggest living outside of the springs. CO is killer but the springs is hurting job wise as well as things to do wise.....

the 'burbs of denver or western denver are the places to look i think. COL is way better than Cali thats for sure.
i used to live north of Santa Barbara for reference..



oh, and drivers here still suck

 

[O-Gauge Steamer]

I like the Springs... But the unemployment is over 10%. Most of the manufacturing jobs have left town and what is left is, mostly, call centers with more centers on the way. The other "big" opportunity is IT. The Springs is well on it's way to becoming a national center for Servers as we have reliable (and relatively cheap) power and no earthquakes, floods... Just an occasional, extremely rare twister.

 

[Apostle]

oh, and drivers here still suck

Thats cause all the people from Cali came here. Started in 99

 

[in4aride]

Thats cause all the people from Cali came here. Started in 99

funny, im from CA/NV and have ZERO problem driving, aside from the assholes with "LOCAL" stickers who freak when it rains

 

[rysam]

This is all good stuff to think about.

Work situation is a priority obviously, and I can rely on the wifey to bring in some $$ being in the restaurant manager biz.

what about the schools? we are in the middle of school nightmares here with closings and the general political no money BS. I would really like to move my kids to something more stable.

Drivers suck everywhere. I get to play dodge the old people here and have the dents to prove it..

 

[in4aride]

springs schools are good depending on where you are. up north schools like liberty, pine creek and lewis palmer are good. fountain fort carson schools can be good due to govt money helping out. but mostly the fountain area schools suck

guess it depends on how old the kids are?

 

[rysam]

1st and 3rd grade right now.

Elementary and middleschool would be my main concerns.

Apart from the lack of work, I'm liking the picture I'm getting so far.

 

[xj-grin]

The two districts on the north end of town, 20 and 38, are a couple of the best in the state, and ranked high nationally. As is cheyenne mountain on the SW side, where rents are well, high. The springs is really a pretty cool place, and not the psyco ward that its national reputation might imply. Skiing is less than 2 hrs away at Monarch or Breck, with the rest being within another hour of that, winters are pretty mild (Really mild this year), but the wind sure seems to blow a freaking lot...

 

[in4aride]

but the wind sure seems to blow a freaking lot...

this!!!!
and it bring the suck

 

[old_man]

Might think of heading north to Loveland. We just won a NASA contract and they expect 7000 new jobs in the next few years.

 

[XJNOOB93]

I moved here from So Cal about 4 1/2 years ago... couldn't love it more. I graduated from District 38 and have heard nothing but good things about it. The people are nice, but like Mike said... drivers SUCK!

 

[gvns8.]

I'm from San Diego and have been here almost 4 yrs. The big obvious changes are the super low humidity, drasticly changing weather (thunderstorms everyday in summer months/crazy wind), crappy drivers (no one knows how to merge), but no ice like big bear so no need for chains. Another random point is everything closes here at like 8pm even though it is a fairly large city now.

I love it here though we got all sorts of stuff to do outdoors that some people don't even notice because you have to search for it- wheeling, mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, skiing. Also its pretty much a military town if you didn't know with like 6+ bases in the area. Anyways good luck with your decision.

 

[ColoradoRaptor]

Colorado is a great place to live all around! COS is a great city but the economy is really bad right now. Good luck with the job hunt.....

 

[gloriavoxdei]

There is a ton of construction on Ft Carson but it's mostly out of state companies but you can still get in there. As for the fuz, Springs PD likes to write speeding tickets but as far as crime it's quiet compared to So Cal. Our crime is getting worse with budget cuts to the PD though (I work for a neighboring county SO). Look at Woodland Park, it's 20 min west of the Springs and super quiet setting in the mountains and close to hiking and some trails.

 

[rysam]

Its really encouraging that everyone has a positive view of it there. In my free time I've slowly been checking out the places you all have mentioned and it certainly looks like a better situation than here. Thanks for all of your input!