I have been in the Springs area 14 years. I too hail originally from the Midwest. I lived all over the Denver metro area for 5 years back in the 90's and LOVED it. We were living in New Mexico (8 years there) when my ex got an opportunity to transfer back to CO in late 2006. We jumped at it, but decided on the Springs because the traffic had gotten so bad in Denver and the Springs was much more affordable...back then. The cost of living here has skyrocketed but that's not the worst of it. The climate here, contrary to all of the national ratings on "great places to live" is really not very nice. I loved the weather in Denver, but the Springs is VERY different. Everything is just extreme here. The WIND is constant and frequently gale force (or hurricane force if you reference the 2019 Bomb Cyclone), we have tennis ball sized hail (no, that is not an exaggeration), torrential rains, and sun is very intense at this altitude. The Springs sits 1,000-2,000 feet higher than Denver depending on where you live and you can feel it. It's sunny here a great deal of the time, which is great if you enjoy the sun, but do NOT go out without heavy sunscreen. I personally do not like the sun, so I'm covered head to toe if go out it, and still had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my face (right between my eyes, so always covered by my sunglasses and a hat) about 1.5 years ago. Your skin will be dry all the time, hands cracked all winter, and the risk for skin cancer is high. We live in a rural area so the wind ensures that everything in our house is covered in a layer of dirt all the time, unless we never open our windows. I have literally watched the wind pick up one of my 8-pound dogs, flip her over, and slam her onto her back. I'm not kidding. If you have soffit vents on your house you might have your attic fill with snow, and if you have a shingle roof you will want to replace it with metal. Like Scott from San Antonio wrote, good luck affording housing here. The housing market has gone crazy and taken everything else with it. The massive military presence supports whatever the economy does, because it has to. We have 5 military bases here and an enormous number of retired veterans. It really is exactly as Scott wrote, and if you work in the private sector, it can be difficult to make ends meet. We are working on our house and a sheet of OSB is now $47--yes, one sheet. Don’t get me wrong, there are many beautiful places in Colorado, and it's a great place to visit, but living here is expensive and you must choose your geographic location carefully. Personally, if I wasn’t tied to the Springs because of my daughter, I would have had a for sale sign in my yard the day after the aforementioned Bomb Cyclone, during which I spent 15 hours trapped in my car in freezing temperatures, 100+ mile per hour winds, and zero visibility. I had three tiny dogs in my car with me and my vehicle was facing just the right direction such that the tail pipe would freeze over every time I let the car run for heat. The plugged tail pipe started sending carbon monoxide back into the passenger cabin and had to be cleared. I carry severe weather gear, but going out in that storm and breaking the ice out was insanely dangerous. Carrying ski goggles (I don’t ski) seriously saved our lives that day. So, unless this all sounds appealing to you, I’d recommend looking somewhere in Colorado other than Colorado Springs.
AIMEE | Calhan, CO | Report Abuse