Moving to Colorado from Texas?

Hey everyone!  I'm Ashley :)  Most call me Ash!  I'm a reg over on the post-op pregnancy board.  I've been on OH since right befor my surgery.

My husband and I are thinking of relocating to Colorado with his company.  We pretty much get to pick anytown and move.

I've lived in Texas and so has my husband all our lives.  My question is.....

What are towns you suggest and towns to stay away from????  We are very outdoors type people.  My kids hate being in the house!  We like fishing, camping, hunting, you name it we like it if it's outside.  That's our selling point on moving to CO due to all the outdoor recration.  We  want a good school district for our kids.  We don't mind living in the country, but we don't want to be 20 miles from the nearsest store either!  LOL.....  Right now we are about 1 hour from Dallas and thats fine with us.  We don't really want to live in a big, big city like Dallas.  We just know nothing about Colorado other than it's simply beautiful and breathtaking!  We will need a good pediatriction and a I will need a new follow up surgeon in case any problems come up from my RNY 2 years ago.

How is the real estate in Colorado?  Taxes, cost of living compared to Texas?

Any advice would be great!

TIA
Ash :)

Hi there,

My husband and I just moved to Colorado.  We are in Colorado Springs and it is an outdoorsman's paradise.  Camping, fishing, hiking very close by.  The city is about 800,000 people.  Big enough that you have everything you need here but not super huge.  We actually live in a suburb of the Springs named Peyton.  Great school district.  The 2 best are D20 and D49.  We are in D49.  Housing here is pretty reasonable but definitely more expensive than Texas.  We have most every store you would want here in the Springs but we are also only 50 miles from Denver if you need something from there.  Colorado Springs sits at the base of Pike's Peak if you want to look that up on the internet.  I am also going to need a new surgeon here for follow up.  I am waiting for a recommendation from my surgeon in Utah.  He told me that there are some excellent surgeons here.  If you have any other questions I would be happy to do my best to answer them for you.

Hi Ash!  Your post caught my eye because on May 1 I moved from Fort Worth, TX to the Denver area.  I actually live about 30 minutes north of Denver and 30 minutes South of Boulder.  Colorado is wonderful and amazing. I've been visiting the state since 1995 when my brother and his family moved here.  We are originally from NY.  I had lived in Texas for 8 years and loved it but it was time for a change.  I transferred my job with a big defense contractor and do not regret it one bit.  Colorado does have a few differences.  Cost a living is a bit higher, they have state income taxes and registering your car is not the normal $60-$70.  In fact to register my 09 Nissan Armada it was about $660.  However, you cannot help but feel more at peace in a place like this.  If you want to escape to the outdoors you onyl have to drive a short distance to the mountains.  They are everywhere and awe inspiring.  I live in Broomfield which reminds me a lot of Fort Worth, easy to get around in but not bustling like a big city.  I don't have kids so I can't tell you much about the school districts but I feel very safe where I am and its a nice place to live so far.  Lots of outdoor activities are around everywhere in Colorado. 

As far as a good bariatric office I would recommend Denver Center for Bariatric Surgery and Dr Michael Snyder and his team.  That's who I am working with right now.  From the initial seminar you can tell he truly cares about the patients and their struggles.  I look forward to getting my lap band sometime this year. 

Hope this helps.
Kimberly

Colorado springs Native, lived here my entire life.  Personally I don't think I'd want to live anywhere else, really have always loved it here.

 

Information about population and what not here you go:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado

 

Colorado Surgical associates are part of the Center of Excellence, have heard really good things about all the surgeons there. My surgeon is Dr. Fisher - and he is a really knowledgeable guy. I really do like him.  (they have a website)

 

Good luck

Hi I live in Colorado Springs, I love it here a there is a lot to do out doors.  As for schools, please stay away from D49....I know another poster said it was a good district, but I live there and have friends who work in the district and they are on superintendent number 5 in 3 years.....their board is not good....I am an assistant principal in another district in town, so do know education.  If you want your kids in a diverse setting then chooe district 2, if you don't care then chooe cheyenne mountain district.

I totally agree with the D49 situation - I live in D49 and send my child to a charter school in D2.  The school board/superintendent situation is just a mess. 

Jana

Well welcome. I add to the choir that Colorado Springs is the place. I moved out here in 1999 from Ca and so in love with it I will never leave. Colorado Springs is real close to most outdoor activities and you will be quiet happy with what you find and the amount of choices. It sits basically at the base of NORAD in Cheyenne MTN. You ever see the TV show Stargate it was portrayed there. We are also real close to Pikes Peak Mtn. We are like just below it and it is all we see when you look to the West here. As well as Colorado Springs is a  big town with a small town attitude. I moved out here for better jobs and better place to raise my kids. Could not have been a better choice. My kids are now adults. As for school districts. I have lived in 3 since I have been here. And to be honest D12 Cheyenne Mtn is the best. It sounds like you have a choice and money. It is kinda the rich area of town but the schools there were nationally rated against private schools back when my kids attended there. And it did nothing but impress me. And yes D12 is public school. That is the SW part of Colorado Springs. And for Pediatricians. The one I had when my kids were younger was pretty awesome. Do not know if he is still around but his name was Dr Harry Anderson. He looks like a hippie but do not let that fool you. He is REAL GOOD at caring for his patents. One of my kids had allot of special needs and he never missed a beat on caring for everything.

Good luck with the new baby!!

Kathy

Ok I just have to post about the western slope. I live in Grand Junction and would never live anywhere else! We are known for being able to ski and play golf in the same day if you'd like to! The skiing is about a half hr drive and usually when we get snow it melts same day or within a couple days. We have very mild weather and have never had a tornado as we are nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains.  We also have the worlds largest flattop mountain as our scenery which is absolutely beautiful. We are a city of about 130,000 people. Anyway, congrats on the move and I'm sure wherever you choose you will love the great state of CO!

My husband and I were born and raised in Texas.  We live in Castle Rock, CO and love it.  It is just south of the metro area about 15 miles.  We are much older than you guys (we have kids your age)  and we have been in CO since 1984.  We are originally from Beaumont.
Cost of living is much higher here; but it is well worth it.  There are lots of lovely places, Durango is one of my favorites, it is in the south west corner of the state.  If you like hunting and activities like that Craig is a great place - only about 45 minutes outside of Steamboat (would be colder than some other places because it is in the northwest corner of the state).  There are just a lot of great place  Buena Vista (pronounced Buna Vista by the locals), Salida, great places to 4-wheel and white water raft.

Hope this helps.
Kathie

I can't believe the number of Texans this post has brought out!  I'm originally from Weatherford, 30 minutes west of Fort Worth, and know of another lady here on the board who lives in Woodland Park who is from W'ford, too.  I lived in Sugar Land when we moved in '04 and now live in Co. Springs.  I love it.  If you land here, I'd love to talk to you and help you out with the dr. thing.  We move when our kids were freshmen in HS, so we did have a pedi.  Have a lot of the others, too.  :)  I live in D20, and found it very good, but there were a few kinks, minor ones.  Homes here are about twice the price Texas, housing taxes were 1/2 of Sugar Land, for reference.  Cars have been referenced, as has state tax. 

Julie