NPR - Question for Terry - and other CO folks...

[Pam M]

My parents are getting ready to move to Colorado Springs - they're actually there right now, checking it out for the second time. Terry, I read somewhere that you're close to there. Is it a nice place? Good medical facilities? What's it like from the point of view of someone that lives there?

They chose it in a strange manner. They're sick of hurricanes - they used to have this beautiful yard with gigantic trees and now it's completely bare! - so they were looking for a place with a decent climate (not too hot), that was an easy trip to San Diego (grandkids), and not an outrageous housing market. They searched for a year and declared Colorado Springs to be "perfect"!

Is it?

[Helene]

Hi! Depends on where your parents settle. We have pretty much everything. Mountains and desert... Trees and Cacti...
The "Front Range" follows north-south along the mountain range. I live south of Colorado Springs and I am always amazed how different it is from where Terry W. and Carol K. live (east of the Springs). I see the news reports of the weather there and the Denver area ...wind and snow reports...while here the sun might be shining. I live close to Canon City and it always has the warmest temperatures in the State.
I have lived about 13 years here and Colorado Springs has grown immensely. Traffic has gotten worse, especially, going towards Denver. Housing prices have risen dramatically, but that is everywhere (we had planned on moving to Florida, but gave up on that once we checked out Florida real estate prices).
Colorado Springs is a modern city where you can find everything. I like it much better than Denver. It is a very pretty city, in my opinion, on the foothills of the Rockies....The weather is nice, usually. Even in winter ...cold with low humidity. I, actually, like the winter here better than the summer when it can get pretty hot. Lots of outdoor activities...bicycling, wildwater rafting, hiking, lots of motorcycle riders....You can see "forever" ...for miles...The sun shines for about 330 days out of the year (we could use more moisture)....Low humidity, lots of dust....blue skies (I never thought I could get sick of the sun)....I miss green grass where I live. I have tarantulas and rattle snakes, rocks and pine trees on our property....Lips are always dry (summer and winter)...Hope this helps....

[Terry Wallace]

I live 20 miles east of it...worked there every day most of the past 17 years> I do NOT like it...never have. Too cold in the winter...nutty drivers, high prices, and forever windy. There ARE very good medical and care facilities... its a white-collar town for the most part, lots of high tech, 2 military bases, the Air Force academy, NORAD, etc... hence the high prices... I'd move south if I could. Where Helene lives is much nicer, much more temporate.... ;-)

[motorgypsy]

Pam your parents may think they want desert but I would strongly suggest they rent for a while before they buy out there. I live in Tucson Ariz for about six months and it is a wonderful beautiful place with fabulous weather and mountains and canyons and all sorts of things but after about four months I would sit and look at a lone cloud and just wish so much for rain. I also missed the hardwood and live oak forests, the coast. the ocean, the smell, even the bugs! You have to keep something like vaseline on your skin and lips or you'll dry up like a prune. It's fun and beautiful but a Floridian would have a hard time doing it year round.

[Polly Aulton]

That is too funny Motorgypsys. I just talked to a lady at the library that moved here from Arizona. I asked why she chose this part of Oklahoma and she told me they drove until they found tall trees and stopped.
They are delighted to live somewhere where it's green.

Polly

[CarolU]

You know, one of the nicer retirement areas in Colorado is Grand Junction - never too cold or a lot of snow in the winter and not too hot in the summer. And it's near the Manti LaSals...when it's hot you just change elevation.

Big retirement area, has all the conviences while still being very much like a small town. You have to get off the freeway and drive through it to appreciate it. We have our Great Western board meetings there and it really impresses me.

[Terry Wallace]

I lived in Grand Junction, on Patterson Road, for two years...I absolutely LOVED it....beautiful area, temporate weather, its also a fruit tree belt.
It was the best place I ever lived in Colorado. It is close to the Uncompagre (sp) forest for outings, and reasonably priced. It does not however, have the medical facilities of Colorado Springs, if that is a concern.

Absolute worst place I ever lived in Colorado was GUNNISON....! Arctic cold...sun shinning bright...ten below zero, day after day....twenty below at night....for months...

[Carol Kuiper]

We moved here from the East Coast 23 years ago and made lots of mistakes. We thought we needed the trees, so we moved to Black Forest, just north of Colorado Springs. After our first snow storm, we traded in the van for a 4 wheel drive truck. After the second snow storm, when the kids had to be kept in school for 3 days because they could not get them home, we learned that it is not always good to live in the trees. We are now on the open plains just east of Terry and Colorado Springs. The wind can be a problem but every time I look out of my front window and see Pikes Peak it is worth it. I love the area. Today it is too cold, but that will change in a few days. I would recommend renting a house before buying. That way your folks could decide just where they want to live. I believe that you have to live here a full year to know what it is like.

Carol Kuiper

[Pam M]

Thanks everyone! I'll pass this info on to them. They're actually looking for more of a "city" but Denver was a little big. They do need to be near medical facilities. My mom is much better, health-wise, in a dry climate. She has lung problems (nope, not a smoker!) and the humidity really affects her. They've spent lots of time out there and have mentioned Canon City and Grand Junction. I think Canon City was their first choice but then they decided on Colorado Springs instead. Probably because of medical reasons.

As for the cost of living - they're coming from Florida so it sounded wonderful to them! It's skyrocketing here! My house has TRIPLED in value in 3 years, as has theirs. They figured they would be able to sell their house here, pay off the mortgage, pay cash for a brand new comparable house out there and still have money left over! Cost of living is the only reason they chose Colorado over California - they would prefer to be there but it's just too outrageous on their retirement income. One of these days I'm going to talk my husband into becoming a westerner - I've lived in Montana and California and would move back in a heartbeat!

[Terry Wallace]

Canon City is a great place ... better weather than Colorado Springs...lots of trees....green lawns. I always liked the Canon area too.