RFI: Relocating to COS

[SemperFry]

Howdy yall! Well, I hit my 20 years on 02Oct09, and looks like I'll soon have to decide what tie to wear in the morning, shuffle into an office of whining civilians at 0900-(oops, I mean 9am!) every morning and gossip around the water cooler about American Idol. I'd rather gouge my eye out with a fork! But, I digress... with my release from Active Duty also comes liberation- I can ride a mororcycle without having my Commading General sitting behind me making sure I have my reflective vest on, I can legally operate a motor vehicle after midnight, and even go to Mexico- if I feel lucky!

I also get to pick where I live, for the 1st time in a long time. I am from CA, but it is over-run by freaks, flakes, fruits, nuts and worse- liberals! love the ocean, desert and mountains, but housing is ridiculous, and the traffic- ugh.

Then theres Texas- God Bless her! Sold my house there in 2007, but it's still a great place- Cost of living is reasonable, God fearing patriots are the norm, and they make Shiner Bock...

I love the mountains, mountain Biking, Jeeping, hiking, fly fishing and fresh air. I have a Top Secret/ SCI eligible clearance, and would like to use it once I get out. Colorado Springs seems like a perfect place for me- proximity to military bases (Commissary, gym, etc), lots of defense contractors- L3, Lockheed, Boeing, Harris, good cost of living, four seasons, abundant outdoor activities in a picture postcard surrounding.

Seems like crime sucks for certain areas- the murder map on the Gazette web page is pretty useful!! I was looking at Manitou Sprgs area/Old CO City...

My question is (after rambling incessantly!)- If you had a CHOICE, what do you think of COS? Usually you hate where you get staioned, because you are there against your will, but COS seems to really be a decent place- Money Magazines #1 'Big' city to live in in 2006...

Thanks for your opinions!

[devildog4x4]

What the h&$$ is COS? When I have time I'll send a my .02 worth feelings & hardaches/challenges of getting out after 20 yrs from CA. Send me your email or we can converse openly here. abafred@charter.net

S/F

[Halftrac]

COS is real nice kinda pricey on living but not totally outrageous, jobs can be hard to come by if your not in the techincal field. I plan to stay here myself.

[JK Owner]

In my opinion, cos, aka, colorado springs is a nice area to live. If you like the outdoors as you noted you do, there is plenty to do here. I've been stationed here since march 06 and the wife and I are talking about staying here after I get out. Right now, the housing market is good. It is a buyers market at this time. Plenty of trails to drive if you enjoy 4wheeling. Any other questions you have please feel free to ask. Hope this helps.

[04jeepguy]

The hills are great here. the locals are crazy the stuipd fuks cant drive and hell you can tell when the normal ppl have a day off there are no recks. but hey the Mnts make up for it. and when it snows and rains oh hell watch out thats a load of fun.

[ColoFreeJeeper]

I decided to stay here after I get out too. I can't say enough good things about this place. Jeeping, mountain biking, camping, hiking, skiing...and I do it all. It seems you've done your homework so I'll just throw in a couple of things. The housing market is depressed here, so now is the time to buy. Like most major cities in the West, drugs are pretty bad, especially meth. El Paso county has almost a half million people in it and it's almost too big for me and consequently crowds and traffic can be pretty bad. 5 miles outside of town and you're in a national forest. The Springs is also a mile and a quarter above sea level so it takes a little getting used to, but once you do, it's clear, dry air. My house sits at 6400 feet. If you do decide on the Springs, you won't regret it. Here are some pics I've taken.

[TBrock]

Retired here, by choice, after 20 in the AF. Work for the 2nd largest defense contractor (not on your list) and love the area. Reasonably priced housing can be found. Lots to do and pretty conservative over all.

[SemperFry]

Outstanding Gents- Thanks for the boots on the ground scoop! I am definitely leaning that direction- What amazing scenery! Pikes Peak, GOG as my backdrop would be too cool!
So is the Powers corridor the place you wanna work, but NOT live? Where are the places to avoid for sure, and where are ther places where you can have .25 acres or so, that aren't so isolated as to where you'll need a snowplow to get to work Monday morning (even in a Jeep!) Does the snow stay long anyway?

Manitou Sprgs looked coolest on the map- not too far out of 'town', and less than a mile or so to food, gas, groceries... hardly ANY murders there at all from the Gazette map..haha

I forgot to add the other spoke in the wheel- Higher education! I'll be using the new GI Bill, and seems like theres some decent schools out there. I'd actually been looking at CTU for a few years as far as online stuff, but they have a campus right there in COS!

The best part of it all will be the Military jeepers group- like minded people to hang, wrench, grill and wheel with! And you'll know what i mean when I say "Roger that, zero nine thirty" haha:beer:

[ColoFreeJeeper]

Powers has exploded in the last 5 years. All the neighborhoods there are cookie cutter houses that are right on top of each other and are (to me) extremely overpriced. Places to avoid (again in my opinion): South Academy before you get to Widefield and also South Circle. Based on your comments in your original post, I don't think you would like Manitou Springs. It's fairly liberal and bohemian, kind of like San Francisco, Seattle or Austin. Housing is a bit expensive there too. I noticed you mentioned Shiner Bock. There are more micro-breweries in Colorado than any other state. The Springs also has a bunch of higher education facilities. I'm going to UCCS with my GI Bill after I get out. It snows a lot in the higher elevations above town but because we're in a rain/snow shadow, we might get 8 to 12 inches of snow and then it's gone in 2 days. I've been here since Sep 04 (not counting 2 Iraq deployments) and my wife has lived here most of her life. After being here, I can't see living anywhere else, and I'm originally a proud native Texan.

[KW AV8R]

I have to agree with ColoFreeJeeper regarding Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City, way too liberal. Something to keep in mind is where you plan on working because you're going to hate the communte in this town. To get from the south side of the Springs (Hancock and Drennan) to Powers and Woodman takes approximately 1/2 an hour on a good day. My wife and I plan on retiring here when the time comes but I'll make sure I live close to where I'm working.

[04jeepguy]

how many kids do you have is another thing to look at. Some of the school zones are bad. very bad. Widefeild/ fountin is ok. Walmarts are everywhere." stay away from the one on Platt, circle is good in some and shaty in others. anything eles you want to know just ask.

[TBrock]

Consider out east. Falcon. Most of the DoD contractors have their officeson the east side of town and Pete and Schriever are easier to access from east. If you're looking at doing contractor work with the Army (on Carson) look into the fountain area.

If you don't mind sucky commutes, Black forest or Monument.

[FrankZ]

Firts things First...Semper Fi!!

I've lived here most of my life and don't plan on leaving. I run my own HVAC business here and even though times are tough I'm gonna stick it out.

Like anywhere else in the country, the economy is taking it's toll on the housing market so there are great deals out there. I get to travel all over town on a regular basis and am very familiar with the various neighborhoods. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.