Relocating to Colorado

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Wife and I will probably be relocating to Colorado Springs, probably about this time next year. We are beyond excited. I fell in love with CO about 5 years ago when I went on my first elk hunt, and we have been visiting diff areas since then.

We have been looking in the Woodland Park / Manitou Springs area.

Any other suggestions ? I will need to be 45 mins or so from Colorado Springs, and we both want to live in the hills, not the plains. Also, high speed internet availability will be a must.

We figure we will be able to afford about 1/2 the size house we currently live in, which is fine, because as of this year kids are gone.
 
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I live north of Denver about 50 miles. House prices have gone up a lot in
the last three years. Probably even down in the area you are talking about.
Try taking a paper, or hooking up with a realtor and give them some
idea of what you want.
They can auto send emails when houses with your information comes up.
That is a beautiful area down there. I know the wind can be strong in
Colorado Springs, but not sure of the mountains.
Manitou Springs is just a few miles from west of Colo. Springs.
 
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I moved here about nineteen years ago and couldn't be happier.

Not very familiar with the Colorado Springs area though.
 
Beautiful area!
Have spent time up that way, it's very nice.
Houses are probably more expensive than where you are now.
Find a good realtor and shop hard!
 
When we were searching for a 2nd home in the mountains west of Evergreen, we had traveled there several times and were familiar with the area we had interest in. We enlisted the service of a local realtor who was long established and knew the area well. Told her EXACTLY what we were looking for, and also told her to not forward or otherwise bother us with property we were not looking for. Took her about six months of research and looking at properties herself before she located just what we were interested in. She handled all of the purchase arrangements, inspections, etc. We purchased the property sight unseen (other than pictures), traveled from MN to Evergreen on the weekend of the closing, signed the papers, and moved in. We had a very informal arrangement with her and loved the spot she found for us. Try it, you might be pleasently surprised, as we were.
Dave
SWCA #2778
 
My sister wants me to move in the other direction (South Carolina).Using her house as a starting point I found numerous places that interested me.

I used Zillow-dot-com to research the area.Might be a good starting point for you...pictures,prices,etc.

Give it a shot!
 
I've been looking at zillow, recolorado, etc..

we pretty much know what we want in the "style" of house, what we are wondering, is what are some other nice towns that are worth looking at, not too far from Colorado Springs ?

Someone mentioned Divide was just a little too far away, and that snow could be more of a problem up there?

Also, i noticed a lot of the houses we looked at online, most do not have a paved driveway?
 
Weather doesn't do much for pavement. Hot, cold, freeze, hot, wet, etc. Gravel You just jump on the tractor and grade. Pavement You call the contractor annually. Woodland Park is beautiful and if You need to be close to CS for work, expect a long commute. MS is just the foothills and lots of fires. If You're retired, it don't matter. Shopping is good in WP, but cheaper in CS.
 
My only advice on a house would be to avoid anything with more than two levels. Mine has four levels and it's difficult to keep them all at a comfortable temperature.

Also, you're really buying in at a high point right now and could be difficult to get your money back out of it when the market goes back down.

According to my tax appraisal, the value of my house is up nearly $80,000 from last year. I might have to fight the county about that.
 
Nice town. I used to go there every February to visit a buddy and do some winter motorbiking. He lived in the west end of town up toward Manitou Springs in an area of modest older homes. Manitou Springs looks pleasant. Winters are quite mild compared to what I am used to.
 
CO is an impressive state. I've worked around Alamosa and CO Springs. Been thru the SE corner a time or three also. Making another trip this fall.

I could live there no problemo. Good call.
 
mr-mom made an excellent recommendation. Look for a long time, experienced realtor. I've been here 34 years and still love it. Yeah, I could do without the recreational pot, the stupid law making background checks mandatory even on private sales and the stupid mag limit law (if you already have any over 15 rounds you're good to go).

BUT it is a gorgeous state, the weather isn't really as bad as people other places make it out to be, plenty of places to recreate as much or little as you'd like and for the most part folks are still really friendly here.

If you do end up in the hills just make sure you have a cleared area around your home of brush and trees. When (not if) the wildfires kick up they can be quite nasty.

Neither of my sons have an interest in moving away which is another huge plus for me. The older one and his wife have 2 little guys and I'm thankful I can see them as much as I want.

Today it was in the mid 70s and by Monday we'll be in the 90s. The joke is if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes. Good luck in your search and welcome.
 
I'm looking at moving there hopefully in the next year too. We've been looking at Zillow and a couple of the other home sites to get the lay of the land. We've also talked to a few builders about doing a new home while I've been TDY out there and brought my wife along.
 
I used to be a Realtor here in Las Vegas, NV. during the last
housing boom. Try looking for houses in Colorado Springs
on Realtor.com. Just about every house listed in the USA is
on that site. Just narrow you search to Colorado Springs, CO.
 
My first time in Colorado Springs was 1964. It was a great town back then. I haven't been back since the early 2010's. Lots of memories there.

 
A lot of Californians are moving to CO. Just look at all of the stupid California style gun legislation which is being enacted in CO. Soon CO will be considered to be East California.
 
I would double the distance/driving time and look all the way to Fairplay, South Park area. Believe me, if you love freedom, nature, and can deal with some snow, you'll be lot happier. Just too many people in the front range and it's growing = not good for real gun guys...
 
The front range is definitely growing. I heard in the next five years or so we might need a third area code.
 
Satoken said:
I would double the distance/driving time and look all the way to Fairplay, South Park area. Believe me, if you love freedom, nature, and can deal with some snow, you'll be lot happier. Just too many people in the front range and it's growing = not good for real gun guys...
Click to expand...



^this! The Springs is turning into a suburb of Denver! Traffic, congestion, building everywhere. In the past almost-20 years we've been here, it's changed dramatically and there are no signs of stopping. Woodland Park at least, or farther out. Fairplay, Guffey, somewhere outside of civilization would be my recommendation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
For the OP, before you listen to the guys who mentioned Fairplay, just know that Fairplay to Colorado Springs is about an hour and forty-five minute drive one way when the weather is nice. If the weather gets bad you can expect that time to double or triple. Also, if you do much driving before sunrise or after sunset you run the risk of hitting wildlife. And I'm not talking rabbits or raccoons or even deer. I'm talking elk. If you will have to commute to a job in the Springs I wouldn't live more than maybe twenty or thirty miles out of town. Fairplay to Colorado Springs is probably around eighty miles.
 
FairPlay? I have been there.
Was going through - making a run South to Buena Vista - Salida.
It certainly never dawned on me it could a place to commute to the Springs!
I also recommend buying pretty close to town.
And close to your work location.
Like if you are working up on the North end, I would look at Monument- Palmer Lake and around there.
 
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BigBoy99 said:
A lot of Californians are moving to CO. Just look at all of the stupid California style gun legislation which is being enacted in CO. Soon CO will be considered to be East California.
Click to expand...

Many of us refer to this as the 'Californication of Colorado'.

RE: Colorado Springs in particular, very rapid growth over the past 30 years or so has resulted in some serious problems with traffic congestion. Loved Colorado Springs while I lived there (1972-1983), but now I hate going there because of the traffic and crowds of people. Continued high demand has driven housing costs through the roof (easily 50% or more higher than Pueblo, just 40 miles to the south on I-25), and property taxes can be a burden.

To the west of Colorado Springs you will pass through Manitou Springs (really just part of the greater metro area), then Cascade, Green Mountain Falls, then Woodland Park. Since everyone wants to live in the hills you can expect to pay premium prices for properties in those areas, and municipal services can be expected to be less than outstanding for the most part. US Highway 24 carries a great deal of commuter, tourist, and commercial traffic so you can expect some difficulties coming and going every day.

To the north of Colorado Springs are the Black Forest area, Monument, and Palmer Lake. All very nice areas, but also known for relatively high housing costs. I-25 and Colorado Highway 83 are the primary travel routes, with very high traffic volumes and frequent delays.

Hook up with a local Realtor, try to arrange a few days to come out and be shown around to familiarize yourself completely before finalizing any decisions. If the relocation is firm you may benefit from renting a home for the first year and learn about all the surrounding areas before committing yourself to a specific location.
 
Thx for everyones feedback. I will have to be fairly close to Co Springs, as I will have to go into the office a couple times a week.

One thing I will miss, is being able to sit on my back porch and shoot any gun I own, but there has got to be some ranges nearby.

I'm not too worried about hunting, as there is plenty of public land.. I've heard turkey hunting is good just outside of Woodland Park.

arjay said:
Shoulda been here 40 years ago! [emoji1]
Click to expand...

I'm always a day late & dollar short.
 
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