Paging any Colorado PS'ers...

[dcgator]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if there were any Colorado-based PS'ers around here? My DH and I are looking at some potential opportunities in the Colorado Springs area and I was trying to get some info from people on the ground there. Is there anyone who lives in CS or Denver who can give me some real world feedback on life there? How are the real estate prices? How are the schools/childcare? How is the area in general?

Thanks for any and all info!

 

[Smores84]

Hi! I'm from Gainesville, FL and recently moved to Denver 1 month ago. LOVE it! The weather is beautiful, I can see the mountains from our building, there's tons of stuff to do. The people here are fantastic and friendly. Good luck with your search!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I grew up in Denver and lived for 4 years in Colo Springs. I now live in Northern CO. I would be happy to answer any questions. Real estate in CS is fairly reasonable, but there are really lovely areas and true ghettos. The south, central and west areas are the best places to live. The cost of living for a city that size is actually pretty cheap. CS is the oddest place I have ever lived. The western and central parts are liberal enclaves with some of the most beautiful places in the country, including garden of the gods. I can not emphisize enough how beautiful and amazing this area is. The downtown has these pretty old buildings and the ends of streets just go straight to the mountains.
However, it also has more religious fundamentalist groups headquartered there than any other city in the US and a terrible meth problem. The north and especially the eastern parts are about as ugly as you get and are filled with questionable areas frequented by guys off the air force base.
The public schools in CO are mostly bad. We are one of the wealthier states but we are last, dead last in spending per student. Despite that, it is a very kid friendly town. It has amazing rec centers, including swimming pools with wave pools and slides. The weather is amazing and there are parks, hiking, natural hot springs, etc. There is a reason CS/Denver always make the fittest cities list. There are 2 colleges, so plenty of nanny and babysitter material. Although neither of the schools is large, they do get nice cultural events. I remeber the whole town showed up at my tiny college when Tony Morrison came to speak and they have a world class organ that the best players in the world use at my alma mater.

For Colorado more generally, there is beautiful scenery, good weather and a lot to do. Obviously there is skiing, but there are an amazing number of sports, cultural events like the new art museum and the 3rd largest st pat's parade in the country (My favorite I am in it every year) and Denver north is the Napa valley of beer. Denver is pretty much as good as any other major city in the US and has high end shopping, off beat areas, etc. Boulder gets named happiest place in the US, Fort Collins always makes the 10 best place to raise a family, Denver is named sexiest city, etc.

If you are not outdoorsy, there is less to do, fair warning. There are museums and pretty old houses, but no where near as many as out east or in San Fran for example. You can find mining towns, and western CS that are basically still completely Victorian, but it is very different. I LOVE it here and was loathe to leave for college, even to go to a more prestegious one. I will keep an eye on this thread, I would be happy to answer specific questions.

 

[dcgator]

Ladies,

Thanks so much for your input!

Smores - Yeah for Gator girls! I'm glad to hear that you made the smooth transition for G'ville. And now you get Tebow in Denver, so jealous! So are you in downtown or one of the secondary cities?

Irish Hussy - I didn't know you lived in CO, I always assumed, due to the name sake, that you were in fact across the pond. Thanks for the very detailed info on CO and CS in particular. My DH would be working on the AFB, so I think we would only consider CS or maybe Monument. We did some searching online and I totally agree that you can get a super nice house for not very expensive (at least compared to where I am now). That is interesting about the liberal vs ultra religious area. I will def have to look into that some more. As for the schools, I was researching and I heard that District 20 had some amazing schools and that they teach Mandarin Chinese as a second language. Is that just certain schools within that District or is that district better than the rest of the state? As far as areas, we were looking at some of the bigger developments, as I like the idea of everything in one place. Any take on that? Also, in reality, how far is CS and Monument from Denver? We would like to occassionally head into the city, but we were hoping it could be done pretty easy.

As far as the lifestyle, we are indeed outdoorsy (I love to run and DH loves to run and bike) so I think we could eat that up. I like the idea of the little cultural events too.

Again, thanks so much for all the info. We are just waiting right now to see if we get any knibbles on job apps, but if we do, I would love to pick your brain some more.

 

[BeachRunner]

I also recently moved to Denver, and I must say, I love it here thus far!

My husband and I live in the city of Denver (about 5 miles from the heart of downtown). There are restaurants, shopping, museums, parks, festivals, shows, parades, etc. There is ALWAYS something to do. We're about 1-1.5 hours away from great hiking, and CO is one of the best for skiing, duh. I'm still learning as well. CO schools are not the best. Hubs and I haven't looked into public vs private vs charter yet as we don't want a kid for another couple yrs, but it is something to consider. Property is pretty pricey in the city, but I can't speak for CS.

CS is very conservative, and I wouldn't/couldn't live there. But again, I only know what I hear on the news. We've visited once to go the the Garden of the Gods. It's beautiful, of course.

Fort Collins is a wonderful little city, but it sounds like that is not an option for your family. I think it was recently rated the #6 city of live.

Overall, CO is a wonderful place to live. Beautiful weather (over 300 days per year of sunshine!), nice people, very athletic and active lifestyle, and just a good vibe overall!

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Hey there, DC. I've lived in Denver for two years now and absolutely LOVE life in Colorado.

BIH gave some great input re: CS. I have a young-ish friend in the springs (late 20's) who LOVES living there. She lives in the heart of the city and has no qualms with CS life... and she isn't ultra-conservative. I've spent a bit of time in the area and would agree that there are good parts and bad parts. My husband lived on the East end of the city for a few weeks when he was in the midst of pharmacy school rotations and (unbeknownst to him) roomed with an actual crackhead. (Moral of story: Don't find roomies off of Craigslist) There are also really beautiful, well-kept areas of the city. My BFFs uncle works at the Air Force Academy and lives in a terrific development/neighborhood with views of the Broadmoor Hotel. Lots of other Air Force personnel live in their development. They are nice homes but not extravagant by any means.

Denver is roughly an hour away from the springs... maybe more, maybe less depending on where you decide to live. It's not a terrible drive, just a straight shot up I-25.

Though you won't be living in Denver, I think it's a terrific place to be... and unlike many cities, I don't think there are "bad" parts of Denver. Some of the surrounding communities are rough around the edges, but Denver is a pretty safe city.

I can't speak to CS schools, but I strongly believe a child's educational experience depends on external influence and family life as much as it depends on the school system and teachers themselves. I will soon start teaching in DPS and know that there are plenty of awesome educator preparation programs in Colorado that focus on developing culturally responsive urban educators. There are also some terrific magnet schools in Colorado!

Anyway- CO is a terrific place to live. We enjoy it immensely and I doubt that I will ever leave (though I may move from Denver up North... some day... waaay down the road )

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I did live in across the pond for a while and will likely move back, the name was my nickname in high school, long story.
I realized my comment about the air force guys might have come off badly. I just meant that you a saw a lot more of them at dive bars than the coin museum.
Denver is about an hour, straight up 1-25, so easy. A lot of the drive is suburbs, but there are also some nice areas around Larkspur.
I don't know about specific districts down there, but there are certainly pockets of good schools in CO and I did know about the Mandarin since my Chinese language professor went in sometimes.

 

[zoebartlett]

I don't live in CO but I have family who do. They love the active lifestyle, and there's a lot to do in the Denver area. I'm not sure about CS but my aunt has friends who live there, and they like it. Sorry I can't give you more info.

What I wanted to mention, though, is a website that is very helpful for people looking at different areas. Try checking this out: http://www.city-data.com/forum/

There's a home page to City-Data but this link is for the Colorado forum specifically. They narrow it down to different areas of the state, and there are separate ones for Denver and CS.

 

[kittybean]

I'm another Colorado PS'er who loves life in Denver! I grew up in the mountains, and Denver is close enough to feel like home, but big enough that it feels urban and exciting. I love being just an hour or two away from my family and the ski resorts, and I love living in the downtown area. The climate is great, and my hair is never frizzy thanks to very little humidity in the air. I can't complain about all the sunshine we get, either!

I don't know too much about the Springs as I've never lived there, but I do have friends there who seem to enjoy it. In my line of work, there are a lot of liberals, and the ones that work in CS seem to be surviving okay. I think it's possible to find friends and like-minded people anywhere you go, and the Springs is a beautiful place to live.

Maybe you should look at some of the suburbs between the Springs and Denver, if you are okay with living in the suburbs. I attended one of the Douglas County public schools when I was little, and I know my parents were happy with the education I was receiving there. There are also options for open enrollment if you want to attend a school other than your neighborhood school.

By the way, after seeing all of these Coloradans responding here, I am thinking we might need to have a PS GTG in Denver at some point.

 

[dcgator]

It's great to see all these ladies coming out of the woodwork to represent CO.

Beachrunner - I've seen you often in the Healthier Lifestyle thread, but have yet to cross paths with you in here. Thanks for chiming in! If DH and I move to CO, it would likely have to be in CS, or one of the outlying suburbs, but it's good to know that Denver is so great. I am sure we would try to ge there on the weekends and such.

PPM - Thanks for the warning on the East side, I will def stay away (from that and crackhead roomies, lol). I think we would go with a nice community too, so I'm all over that. I am not too worried about "conservativism" b/c right now I am living in the land of ultra liberal and I wouldn't mind a change of pace As far as the schools, I will definitley look more into that as we are actively trying to have kids, but we do have a bit of time before they go into regular school. I totally agree about the parents role in all of it though. The experience is what you make of it, right?

BIH - No worries on the AF comment. My DH was Army so he has his own ideas about the AF, hehe. I will also check out that Larkspur place.

Zoe - Thanks for the weblink. I actually came acrross that site the other day and it rocks for getting real and even sided info on a place.

Kittybean - Thanks for info. I love the non-frizzy hair thing, esp since I have super thick, wavy hair I will have to check out Douglas County area, and see how far it is is to CS. I didn't know about the open enrollment thing. I will def look more into that too. Btw, if you guys end up getting together, have a drink for me

 

[BeachRunner]

dcgator- I mostly lurk in the family forums. DH and I aren't ready for children (child) yet, but I love reading about everyone's experiences. Maybe in a few yrs I'll be able to post!

And, regarding a Denver GTG; Yes! As a newbie to the area, I would love to meet other ladies in the area.

Kittybean- My EC would love to meet your EC!

But, getting back to CO. I've never heard anyone say, "Eh, its OK here". It's truly a wonderful area to live in!