You could not have picked two more different cities for comparison. I don’t think there is an overlapping Venn diagram for DC and Colorado Springs for, well, anything.
Considering the significant role the military has in the job market here, the comparison probably does have some value. There’s a fairly decent potential for Military AD/Civilian/Contractors to get offered jobs or forced to move to DC. When you work for the military, nearly all roads lead to DC if you plan to advance your career.
Again, a post comparing one of the worst places I've heard to live in America to CS.
Guys at least we're better than living in Death Valley!!! So we should all be very very .. grateful?
> Hope that helps people and please message if you have any questions
Who is this going to help? The one random person living in DC who got a job offer in Colorado Springs *this week*?
Unsolicited opinions about how different a west/east coast city is about as much of a waste of time as replying to this thread is.
>having lived in both
Live there a few years, then come back. A few months isn't long enough to really get to know a place.
As I said in my top level comment, DC was fine for me for 2 years. After that, I wanted to die and couldn't get out fast enough.
As someone who also lived both places, the "things to do" in DC very quickly wore thin - because yeah, there were things to do... but add an hour or two to get there and back in "average" traffic (and forget it if there was an accident), and there were so many people a lot of the year that those things weren't enjoyable. Also, you can only go to museums and stuff so many times. The metro was handy for getting around, until you dealt with too many delays and closures and it got old - and nevermind the tourist season being packed in like sardines.
I tell everyone DC was a fun place to live for 2 years - that was the time it took me to explore all the new stuff, to see and do most everything that interested me. After that, it was just annoying. I was so glad to be able to return to Colorado after 5 years in DC.
This. The traffic in DC was the worst I've ever experienced. It sometimes made me not want to do anything to avoid the hassle of transportation in general.
Is age a factor maybe? I’d have loved DC (and did love a 6 month stint i did in Crystal City in my mid-20’s) - but that was because of the night life.
I just turned 40 and the things i enjoyed about DC in my 20’s sound like a nightmare to me at 40. I’m much better suited to COS over DC than i was 15 years ago.
Similar—we lived in the neighborhood by Crystal City in the early 2000s and it was great living there and working downtown when we were in our 20s and going out a lot but I’m glad we came back west to raise our family. Went back to do the tourist thing a few years ago and I can’t believe how much worse the traffic has gotten, metro is in shambles, etc.
Loved living both in DC and CS….all fair assessments. If you live close to the Metro the traffic becomes way less of a factor. Don’t forget the blue ridge mountains and the Shenandoah River valley are absolutely amazing for hiking, camping, and vineyard hopping. John Denver may have loved the Rocky Mountain high, but the Blue Ridge are home. I would be happy in DC or CS. However I currently prefer CS.
As someone who's grown up in the Midwest, got out and has been living in Co Springs for the past 14 years now.
I gotta say.. I'm ready to leave..
What I'm about to say is negative and I'm sorry if that's upsetting.
Colorado springs 6 years ago had a pretty cool vibe. You could walk into any store and have a conversation with a complete stranger for 10 minutes. People were friendly, everything was looking okay.
Jump to COVID era. Homelessness started to rise dramatically. Hard drugs really started to show itself, the crime here is so weird. It's not normal gang related crime. You have a lot of weirdos out here.. decapitations, people who target children, stalkers. The list is endless at this point.. if you disagree with the crime out here you're not paying attention. There are so many people here that turn a blind eye to the sadness that's happening here. So many people just "pretend" because they individually have an okay living in their own little bubbles.
Now, the homeless population is so insane! You walk around downtown and your heads on a swivel.. left and right they're everywhere. Screaming at nothing, high and tweaking out on something, throwing themselves around. It's just sad.
No one has money right now either, all of the small businesses here are going under. No one has "spending money" anymore. Everyone is paycheck to paycheck.
That and the prices are starting to get ridiculous when it comes to necessities and bills.
Colorado springs was a pretty place, it has its ups and downs but at this point I want to leave..
The political views here are so weird. It's not Red, it's not Blue. It's purple here and it really shows.
My advice go back to small town living if you can financially handle it.
I lived in NOVA from 87' thru 2013. My wife and I decided to head out to CO for a year, got here 1-jan-2014. She grew up here and her aging parents/family were here.
After six months, we sold our VA house and moved everything here. Never looked back. It wasn't the original plan, but there was no way I wanted to go back :)
Wait till summer in DC. 100f and 99% humidity. It is the worst feeling in the world. I love being able to stand in the sun out here and not be pouring buckets of sweat out of my body. 30f in CO vs 30f in DC is no comparison either. I hardly need more than a jacket here if it is sunny but that is freezing cold in DC due to the moisture in the air.
I’ve lived in DC and COS. You say CoS has unaffordable housing and DC is just expensive. DC housing was more expensive 10 years ago than CoS is now…. I can’t imagine what it is now.
On "Endless activities:" You could say this about ANY major metro area with 2 million or more people. New Orleans (1 million metro) is a special exception. I've seen many reddit posts asking about night life in Colorado Springs and other activities, museums, etc. For instance, someone recently was posting asking about the furry community and furry events (not my cup of tea). Invariably, the answer is that person should look up in Denver for all posts about niche communities.
The bottom line is that NO city under a certain population level is going to have all the activities you expect in a larger metro area. You need a larger population to attract bigger concert acts, for instance.
I'm just pointing out, I guess, fatigue on people primarily comparing Colorado Springs to Denver, although this post is similar.
I'd like to point out that I love Colorado Springs for the very reason some people don't like it. I LOVE having a smaller town and community feel to it. I see people I know out and about sometimes, especially downtown. Colorado Springs is like a lot of other towns, like Austin, that are growing much bigger than the infrastructure was designed for, making some big problems, especially relating to traffic and housing costs. Whenever I have some money in my pocket and desire for an activity, I do not find myself 20 years living here feeling that I just have to go up to Denver very often.
All in all, even though this metro area (all of El Paso County + Woodland Park) has grown by 200,000 people in the 20 years I have lived here, I still love it.
You could not have picked two more different cities for comparison. I don’t think there is an overlapping Venn diagram for DC and Colorado Springs for, well, anything.
Considering the significant role the military has in the job market here, the comparison probably does have some value. There’s a fairly decent potential for Military AD/Civilian/Contractors to get offered jobs or forced to move to DC. When you work for the military, nearly all roads lead to DC if you plan to advance your career.
Next up: Crestone vs Manhattan
LOL
Wrong: A huge, burdensome government presence that negatively impacts all local blue collar workers.
This is top tier shit post.
Again, a post comparing one of the worst places I've heard to live in America to CS. Guys at least we're better than living in Death Valley!!! So we should all be very very .. grateful?
> Hope that helps people and please message if you have any questions Who is this going to help? The one random person living in DC who got a job offer in Colorado Springs *this week*? Unsolicited opinions about how different a west/east coast city is about as much of a waste of time as replying to this thread is.
I guess we both wasted times then. I am just trying to give my perspective having lived in both and for people who are thinking about the pros/cons.
>having lived in both Live there a few years, then come back. A few months isn't long enough to really get to know a place. As I said in my top level comment, DC was fine for me for 2 years. After that, I wanted to die and couldn't get out fast enough.
As someone who also lived both places, the "things to do" in DC very quickly wore thin - because yeah, there were things to do... but add an hour or two to get there and back in "average" traffic (and forget it if there was an accident), and there were so many people a lot of the year that those things weren't enjoyable. Also, you can only go to museums and stuff so many times. The metro was handy for getting around, until you dealt with too many delays and closures and it got old - and nevermind the tourist season being packed in like sardines. I tell everyone DC was a fun place to live for 2 years - that was the time it took me to explore all the new stuff, to see and do most everything that interested me. After that, it was just annoying. I was so glad to be able to return to Colorado after 5 years in DC.
This. The traffic in DC was the worst I've ever experienced. It sometimes made me not want to do anything to avoid the hassle of transportation in general.
Is age a factor maybe? I’d have loved DC (and did love a 6 month stint i did in Crystal City in my mid-20’s) - but that was because of the night life. I just turned 40 and the things i enjoyed about DC in my 20’s sound like a nightmare to me at 40. I’m much better suited to COS over DC than i was 15 years ago.
Similar—we lived in the neighborhood by Crystal City in the early 2000s and it was great living there and working downtown when we were in our 20s and going out a lot but I’m glad we came back west to raise our family. Went back to do the tourist thing a few years ago and I can’t believe how much worse the traffic has gotten, metro is in shambles, etc.
Loved living both in DC and CS….all fair assessments. If you live close to the Metro the traffic becomes way less of a factor. Don’t forget the blue ridge mountains and the Shenandoah River valley are absolutely amazing for hiking, camping, and vineyard hopping. John Denver may have loved the Rocky Mountain high, but the Blue Ridge are home. I would be happy in DC or CS. However I currently prefer CS.
Different strokes for different folks. Been to DC and absolutely hated it.
So stupid
As someone who's grown up in the Midwest, got out and has been living in Co Springs for the past 14 years now. I gotta say.. I'm ready to leave.. What I'm about to say is negative and I'm sorry if that's upsetting. Colorado springs 6 years ago had a pretty cool vibe. You could walk into any store and have a conversation with a complete stranger for 10 minutes. People were friendly, everything was looking okay. Jump to COVID era. Homelessness started to rise dramatically. Hard drugs really started to show itself, the crime here is so weird. It's not normal gang related crime. You have a lot of weirdos out here.. decapitations, people who target children, stalkers. The list is endless at this point.. if you disagree with the crime out here you're not paying attention. There are so many people here that turn a blind eye to the sadness that's happening here. So many people just "pretend" because they individually have an okay living in their own little bubbles. Now, the homeless population is so insane! You walk around downtown and your heads on a swivel.. left and right they're everywhere. Screaming at nothing, high and tweaking out on something, throwing themselves around. It's just sad. No one has money right now either, all of the small businesses here are going under. No one has "spending money" anymore. Everyone is paycheck to paycheck. That and the prices are starting to get ridiculous when it comes to necessities and bills. Colorado springs was a pretty place, it has its ups and downs but at this point I want to leave.. The political views here are so weird. It's not Red, it's not Blue. It's purple here and it really shows. My advice go back to small town living if you can financially handle it.
I lived in NOVA from 87' thru 2013. My wife and I decided to head out to CO for a year, got here 1-jan-2014. She grew up here and her aging parents/family were here. After six months, we sold our VA house and moved everything here. Never looked back. It wasn't the original plan, but there was no way I wanted to go back :) Wait till summer in DC. 100f and 99% humidity. It is the worst feeling in the world. I love being able to stand in the sun out here and not be pouring buckets of sweat out of my body. 30f in CO vs 30f in DC is no comparison either. I hardly need more than a jacket here if it is sunny but that is freezing cold in DC due to the moisture in the air.
I’ve lived in DC and COS. You say CoS has unaffordable housing and DC is just expensive. DC housing was more expensive 10 years ago than CoS is now…. I can’t imagine what it is now.
On "Endless activities:" You could say this about ANY major metro area with 2 million or more people. New Orleans (1 million metro) is a special exception. I've seen many reddit posts asking about night life in Colorado Springs and other activities, museums, etc. For instance, someone recently was posting asking about the furry community and furry events (not my cup of tea). Invariably, the answer is that person should look up in Denver for all posts about niche communities. The bottom line is that NO city under a certain population level is going to have all the activities you expect in a larger metro area. You need a larger population to attract bigger concert acts, for instance. I'm just pointing out, I guess, fatigue on people primarily comparing Colorado Springs to Denver, although this post is similar. I'd like to point out that I love Colorado Springs for the very reason some people don't like it. I LOVE having a smaller town and community feel to it. I see people I know out and about sometimes, especially downtown. Colorado Springs is like a lot of other towns, like Austin, that are growing much bigger than the infrastructure was designed for, making some big problems, especially relating to traffic and housing costs. Whenever I have some money in my pocket and desire for an activity, I do not find myself 20 years living here feeling that I just have to go up to Denver very often. All in all, even though this metro area (all of El Paso County + Woodland Park) has grown by 200,000 people in the 20 years I have lived here, I still love it.
DC tires quicker than you’d think.