More about Pueblo lifestyle
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6/11/2007
Several questions about Pueblo in regards to neighborhood, culture, and lifestyle have been answered to varying degrees, so I thought I would throw in my $0.02:
I have lived all over Colorado during my lifetime, from small towns to big towns to mountians, foothills, and the plains; so I have a fairly impartial view when it comes to assessing a place to live.
I first came to live in Pueblo when I went to attend the University there (it is now called Colorado State University - Pueblo). There has been some improvements to the school over the years but it is basically a commuter campus with limited on-campus student life and/or a regional/national/international influx of energy (as compared to the larger state schools in Boulder, Ft. Collins, and Denver). But as with everything in Pueblo it is really affordable.
Pueblo lifestyle is very relaxed, although there is a great many people who work extremely hard at their jobs. There is still a very blue-collar mentality to what the working people expect in a job and company to provide, but many of the small businesses do not offer much in the way of benefits, compensation, and advancement opportunities. This town used to be a one-trick pony when it came to jobs (The old CF&I Steelmill, which was just purchased by a large Russian steel conglomerate Evras). They have spent the last 20 years developing a fairly decent industrial park just east of town where Trane Corp., Target, BF Goodrich, Haddenstone, Adams Aircraft, and several other medium sized manufacturing and warehousing companies have plants. In addition to that is a large cement plant and a coal power plant that are being built and are providing alot of jobs during construction and a handful of residual jobs. Mission Foods has a plant in town, and there is a very large amount of agricultural work in the area, which is fairly fertile due to the Arkansas River, Fountain Creek, Huerfano River, and St. Charles Rivers all converging in the area. The Government Printing Office has a large operation in downtown Pueblo, and there are many political and economic centres for the southern colorado area that are located in Pueblo.
As mentioned, there is also a large segment of "entrenched" both upper-class and lower class groups. Most of this is tied to past cultural influxes of people of different heritage. Making some gross generalizations, there is a demographic of those with Italian heritage that seem to be dominate in the real-estate, cultural
Scott | Pueblo, CO