Do your research. Things change.
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11/4/2021
I'm not a CO native. I didn't move here from CA. We've been here over 16 years.
We are looking to move.
Now that I said that, I'll say this: This is a nice small CITY but the expansive growth has not been welcome to most who have lived here awhile. Housing prices are very high. Public schools are good. Crime is low but rising. Plenty of jobs within 30 miles or so but the traffic now is bigger city traffic and it can take awhile to get to Denver for work. Great if you work from home.
It's sunny most of the time. It's also smoky most of the summer from wildfires. I wouldn't recommend this area if you have breathing/lung problems.
You can still see the mountains and Pike's Peak in the distance but not like you used to be able to do partly due to the over development and partly due to the smoke in the summer and summers have been like this for YEARS.
We are both retired USAF. Buckley AFB is nearby. There are a lot of military and retired military veterans here.
We moved here for the large town, small city feel, good schools for our daughters, jobs and colleges nearby AND the wide-open spaces.
We don't have much space around here anymore.
Much of the open spaces, horse pastures, etc. that were supposed to be protected are now filled with overpriced but cheaply made apartments and houses and if you move here, you need to remember that CO gets very cold and it gets very hot and it's an alpine desert. Utilities are high. Lots of HOAs which I don't mind but green grass is still crazy popular here and it costs a lot of time, effort, water, chemicals and money to keep it lush and green. You're going to need to shovel snow or buy a snowblower. Not many folks around here will do it even for pay.
We've used Sperling's for over 16 years and we moved a lot before coming here. We have one more move to go.
One more thing: Many of the younger people who can afford to live here are living in the low-income apartments that have sprung up and others are living 2 couples in a 2 bedroom apartment, so, they can afford rent.
Parker has lost much of it's charm.
N.G. | Parker, CO