Colorado Springs, CO: RFI

It's a beautiful, beautiful place, and it's a huge shame about the people.

uh basically your army brat friend otm, in my experience.

i have family there, and always enjoy visiting them, but yeah i think if you're not into either the megachurch thing or the armed forces thing, you don't really exist out there. the open hostility claim might be a bit exaggerated but you won't have a whole lotta friends.

Pretty culturally dead there, word has it, if'n you're not into suburban religious conservative thing.

or the broncos

I know (knew) one person from Colorado Springs: Jeff, my troubled freshmen-year roommate at Arizona State, dumb as a bucket of Limp Bizkit DVDs, the fully-formed alcoholic embarassment brat son of a high-ranking Air Force colonel, who I once witnessed drink two bottles of Captain Morgan spiced rum and then EAT A PINE CONE. He really, really loved Lynyrd Skynyrd (especially getting really drunk and then putting on Lynyrd Skynyrd and jumping up and down on his bed) and snowboarding/drinking to snowboarding videos. He flunked out and went home, probably got buried alive by his dad.

I also know someone who lives there currently, does IT for the Air Force, has a family and stuff so therefore doesn't care about hip cultural goingson, yet still wants desperately to move. Because Colorado Springs sucks and don't move there. Move to Albuquerque.

why the hell not denver? I LOVE IT HERE

Yeah, friend kind of OTM -- the city is culturally dead, and the vast evangelical presence is noticeable, annoying, and overbearing. There are a few enclaves that aren't like that (Colorado College), but there's every chance you'd be both bored and stifled.

Which is too bad, since it's beautiful around there. But there are choices! Colorado Springs is a little bit of an exception for the whole Colorado Front Range there -- Pueblo's much more friendly and comfortable, Boulder's the polar opposite, Denver's a little sprawling and weird these days but still nice ... just watch out for Springs, it's kind of a weird one.

And Albuquerque's great!

colorado springs has like six things going for it:

1. its close to the renaissance faire
2. it has a pretty neato zoo that's up on a mountain. it's really only neato because it's up on a mountain.
3. the garden of the gods is pretty sweet
4. my fam and i used to eat at this restaurant called luigi's that wasn't bad. i also went there for an ex-boyfriend's brothers birthday party and it was sort of awkward.
5. cave of the winds isn't bad!
6. manitou springs is nearby, and that place is pretty rad. they have an old timey penny arcade!
7. SANTA'S LITTLE WORKSHOP which was like this kinda ghetto amusement park that was supposed to be the north pole except it wasn't open in the winter? dummmb. I think it's still around but only has like one rollercoaster that looks like a candy cane.

that is all really!

nabisco how is denver weird these days!? WHA?

It's been a couple years since I was last there, but the immediate downtown part of Colorado Springs is kinda nice - lots of old buildings that would be perfect for some sort of music/art collective thing if you weren't afraid of being chased out of town by torch-carrying locals.

Albuquerque looks like the most likely candidate, but I'm a little worried about the high rate of property crime there

Have you considered northern Arizona? Flagstaff is a nice enough college town (bound to be somewhat more interesting than Colorado Springs), not a lot of pollution. But lots of pine trees.

Flagstaff also has an AWESOME Purina dog food factory which is great if you have dogs cause there's nothing dogs love more than that fresh dog food straight from the mill.

why the hell not denver? I LOVE IT HERE

I think Denver gets colder than I would prefer right now, plus isn't the air quality a bit bad? (Although I gather that's improved in the last several years.) I'm not at all familiar with Denver though. I don't think I have time/money to make another trip before I move somewhere, anyway. I need to get this VISA debt paid up, so I can live on it if necessary once I get to where I end up.

x-post:

Actually, I might just buy a gun and all that once I get out there. I could see myself turning into a progressive gun nut of the sort that seems to exist out there. (Not looking for a serious 500 post discussions of guns and gun control, however.)

Everything I hear about Arizona (well not everything, but enough of it) has been kind of offputting. Will take a long at Flagstaff. Pines are bad for me, but so is just about any green growing thing. (Even Albuquerque has more green than you might expect.)

x-post:

uhm, no dogs.

i will also rep for garden of the gods, the zoo, and santa's workshop

the stuff you hear about arizona, culturally, probably doesn't apply to flagstaff. but it's a small city.

actually colorado springs is only 70 miles south of here and gets cold, if not colder, than denver. denver has a pretty mild climate, despite its reputation for snow. the only reason it makes the news when there is a big blizzard is because of the airport. it gets just as bad in co springs.

The temperature averages for Colorado Springs look slightly warmer than Denver's. But anyway, they both have fewer really warm months than Albuquerque.

Denver:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Avg. High 44° 46° 52° 61° 70° 81° 88° 85° 76° 66° 52° 44°
Avg. Low 16° 20° 25° 34° 44° 52° 58° 56° 47° 36° 25° 17°
Mean 30° 34° 38° 48° 57° 67° 74° 71° 62° 51° 38° 31°

Colorado Springs:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Avg. High 41° 44° 50° 58° 68° 78° 84° 81° 74° 64° 50° 42°
Avg. Low 16° 18° 24° 34° 42° 51° 57° 55° 47° 36° 24° 17°
Mean 28° 32° 37° 46° 55° 65° 71° 68° 60° 50° 38° 30°

Albuquerque:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Avg. High 46° 54° 61° 70° 78° 90° 92° 88° 81° 71° 57° 47°
Avg. Low 21° 26° 32° 38° 48° 58° 64° 62° 55° 44° 31° 24°
Mean 34° 40° 47° 55° 64° 74° 78° 76° 68° 57° 44° 35°

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/

But yeah, if I'm going to consider Colorado, Denver seems like a more likely candidate than Colorado Springs overall.

Wait, what am I reading that I am saying Colorado Springs is warmer? The very stats I posted disproved me. (Unless I mislabeled them?)

haha warm and no plants = LAMAR
umm yeah you don't want to move there
surprisingly warmer than not far away = PYEBLO aka Pueblo aka "Sun City"
you probably don't want to move there either

all these supposed "perks" of springs -- garden of the gods, etc. -- are precisely the kind of things you'd rather just drive an hour to do, like, twice in your life. that shit is like saying it'd be great to live in canon city because, hey, royal gorge! nothing improves your daily existence like a big-ass canyon, amirite guys?

actually one perk would be if you had a decent amount of money and didn't REALLY like skiing, but nevertheless enjoyed zipping up to the broadmoor on weekends for a nice dinner and some bunny-sloping

sadly, i do not think they have shut down or memorialized the room in which bush had his religious conversion

haha warm and no plants = LAMAR

Bleah. Lamar is an episode of City Confidential just waiting to happen.

Average Annual Temperature
Phoenix 72.6
Tucson 68.4
Las Vegas 67.1
Los Angeles C.O. 66.0
Albuquerque 56.2
Philadelphia 54.3
Denver 50.3
Colorado Springs 48.5
Flagstaff 45.8

Intra-Day Temperature Variation (out of 10)
Flagstaff 8.61
Denver 8.09
Albuquerque 7.64
Las Vegas 7.53
Colorado Springs 7.35
Tucson 7.34
Phoenix 7.03
LA 4.58
Philadelphia 4.04

Average Relative Humidity M A
PHILADELPHIA, PA 76 55
LOS ANGELES C.O., CA 75 53
FLAGSTAFF, AZ 70 39
DENVER, CO 68 40
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 63 40
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 60 29
TUCSON, AZ 53 25
PHOENIX, AZ 51 23
LAS VEGAS, NV 40 21

CITY, STATE ANNUAL % AVG POSSIBLE SUNSHINE
LAS VEGAS, NV 85%
PHOENIX, AZ 85%
TUCSON, AZ 85%
FLAGSTAFF, AZ 78%
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 76%
PUEBLO, CO 76%
LOS ANGELES C.O., CA 73%
DENVER, CO 69%
PHILADELPHIA, PA 56%

Average Annual Precipitation Days
PHILADELPHIA, PA 117
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 91
DENVER, CO 89
FLAGSTAFF, AZ 82
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 61
TUCSON, AZ 53
PHOENIX, AZ 36
LOS ANGELES C.O., CA 35
LAS VEGAS, NV 26

Precipitation scores (out of 10)
Philadelphia 6.90
Flagstaff 3.80
Colorado Springs 2.71
Denver 2.57
LA 2.46
Tucson 2.00
Albuquerque 1.48
Phoenix 1.28
Las Vegas 0.69

Average Annual Snowfall (Inches)
FLAGSTAFF, AZ 100.3
DENVER, CO 60.3
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 42.4
PHILADELPHIA, PA 20.5
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 11.0
TUCSON, AZ 1.2
LAS VEGAS, NV 1.2
PHOENIX, AZ 0.0
LOS ANGELES C.O., CA 0.0

Wind scores (out of 10)
Philadelphia 7.05
Tucson 6.25
Colorado Springs 6.00
Las Vegas 4.95
Albuquerque 4.65
Denver 3.90
LA 3.00
Flagstaff 2.80
Phoenix 2.40

Overall Weather Variety scores (out of 100)
Flagstaff 57.29
Colorado Springs 55.90
Denver 52.72
Philadelphia 50.06
Albuquerque 44.08
Las Vegas 31.11
Phoenix 27.79
Tucson 41.25
LA 15.72

"Most Dangerous" MSAs (Morgan Quitno)
4 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
15 Albuquerque, NM
18 Tucson, AZ
21 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

"Most Dangerous" Cities of 500,000 or More (Morgan Quitno)
5 Philadelphia, PA

I have thought a little about Las Vegas, but I'm afraid the culture and economy revolve too much around the casinos (etc.) than I'd be comfortable with. Actually the casinos draw some rare foreign performers I'd like to see, but as far as I know they aren't smoke-free (and if that seems like a petty thing to worry, keep in mind that this whole relocation thing is being driven by my sinus problems), plus those shows tend to be pretty expensive. But what kind of cultural life exists outside the casinos? It seems like an odd place to live, but then I hear "I have friends who live there and love it" and I see that it's definitely a growing area.

Wow, Albuquerque has almost twice as many violent crimes per capita as Dallas.

My grandparents loved living in Vegas... in 1967.

lot's of family in the springs. seems like a nice place to visit, but...

i agree with the sentiment that flagstaff and albe seem much more sane places to live... you can always drive to vegas or grand canyon or other scenic places for scenic things.

i hear santa fe is kinda cool.

flagstaff is kinda dope from an elevation pov. significantly cooler in temp.
m.

are you against places that get real hot in the summer?

i grew up in tucson and knew lots of people who relocated there for health reasons and loved it.

I keep reading that Flagstaff is so expensive, but when I looked at one of these cost of living things, it suggested it would be less expensive than Philadelphia. I think it's colder than I want though. Colder and possibly greener (and hence more pollen-y?). I'm kind of attached to the idea of Albuquerque, but I feel like I need to keep testing it, because it's far from being a perfect place. (Maybe that will keep it from becoming prohibitively expensive.)

Santa Fe is a lot more expensive that Abq. and I don't like some of things I'm hearing (or reading) about it. When I was in Albuquerque recently, I was surprised to meet someone who said she regularly drove to Abq. for salsa dancing. For ongoing activities like that, typical of urban centers, as opposed to more tourist-driven things, Abq. seems like it would be better.

x-post:

I think Arizona might be a little too hot. Albuquerque has about as hot a summer as I would want (and frankly, I could probably do without getting into the 90s, but it's worth it for the weather the rest of the year). I just hear bad things about Arizona cities being out of control with congestion and pollution and sprawl, and lots of negative things about the attitude of people living there. I don't think I'd like the political/cultural climate much.

Another thing is that I've heard that much of Arizona has become very bad for people with allergies (thanks I guess to so many varieties of non-native plants being brought it, on top of whatever grows locally--thoough I have to admit Albuquerque has some of that as well, especially on UNM's campus and in the Nob Hill area).

mandee's list of cool things are all great and the only good things I remember about colorado springs from when i lived in colorado. oh, also it had some malls.

Tell me more about Tucson, if anybody knows more (and yes, I am also looking for info. online). It sounds like it might be better for allergies than Abq., which has to be my top priority (although it's not the only thing I'm considering).

I should have given this thread a broader title. I thought I was narrowing things down, but I see I am still undecided.

Just found this:

TS: Tucson vs Alberquerque

i was gonna ask - how much priority do you really want to give best-for-allergies over other factors? anywhere you go is going to be (substantially?) better, allergy-wise, than where you are now, right? so maybe cultural differences should be given more weight? ABQ and Tucson are probably about even, culturally, but I'd imagine Vegas and Denver would be superior to both, though the proximity of Santa Fe (at least in summer) and Phoenix would mitigate that somewhat. Phoenix itself would also probably offer a greater breadth of cultural options, tho that might be mitigated by the average culture there (but people might make too much of this).

Still, though, I have to wonder - is dry desert air really the best for, er, natural irrigation? wouldn't salty sea air and ocean breezes be good for allergies? are you sure you want to rule out beachfront parts of California cities?

(note that when talking about culture i'm referring to diversity/amount of options, not the coherence/visibility of a subcultural scene)

anywhere you go is going to be (substantially?) better, allergy-wise, than where you are now, right? so maybe cultural differences should be given more weight?

Well, maybe, but Abq. doesn't have a great reputation for allergies. I could end up having a different set of bad problems there. When I was there it didn't seem too bad, but even on my brief visit I did experience some allergy symptoms. (It's hard to judge based on a short visit though, especially since I left Philadelphia with what seemed like a minor sinus infection, and then the plane messed up my sinuses in its own way, and then there were some storms in Abq, which also tend to give me sinus problems aside from my allergies. Still, I definitely felt the difference created by not having lots of mold around.)

I think Denver gets colder than what I want. Do you really think Las Vegas would be better culturally? It seems like it all revolves around the casinos. Of course, I've never been there, but I don't see a lot of comment online than really contradicts that prejudice.

are you sure you want to rule out beachfront parts of California cities?

Yes, too expensive. Probably the ideal climate would be that kind of salty sea air climate in a place like San Diego, but I don't see how I can swing it.

I wish I could afford to visit all these places, but doing so would end up delaying reloaction, which I don't want to do at this point. I've had it with the climate in Philadelphia. (In fact, the humidity alone seems unacceptable now that I've been out to New Mexico.)

not the coherence/visibility of a subcultural scene

Yeah, that's fine. I don't expect to be living in edgy subcultural fashion these days (although it's nice to have somewhere to hear some freaky music if I want to).

Anyway, Nabisco likes Albuquerque, and Nabisco is usually OTM. (Okay, mostly kidding. I wouldn't want to risk a major life decision on that.)

Cost of living is a big consideration too, since I might end up moving without a job lined up, and maybe drop out of my current profession (which is probably going to mean a salary cut, maybe even a big one, since Philadelphia pays librarians a comparatively decent salary).

then the plane messed up my sinuses in its own way

they tend to do that

Do you really think Las Vegas would be better culturally? It seems like it all revolves around the casinos.

i don't know. it's a bigger metro than ABQ, and it's devoted to entertainment. most of which probably isn't my style, but doesn't it get lots of bands in town?

Yes, too expensive

there are a lot of expensive beachfront areas, but there are at least some that are much less expensive

median resident ages
phoenix 30.7
los angeles 31.6
tucson 32.1
san diego 32.5
denver 33.1
colorado springs 33.6
vegas 34.5
albuquerque 34.9

Events in the casinos (some of which would interest me--like all those Arab singers who play in Las Vegas) don't really do me much good since they aren't no smoking, and I don't necessarily count on that changing, since Las Vegas seems like a place that will be a hold out on smoking (given its image as a place that embraces all vices). And if it's indie rock bands you have in mind, I probably won't be bothering with them anyway.

Older median resident age might be better for me at this point. (I am 41, unfortunately.)

There are probably affordable places to live on the NoCal coast, right? Mendocino and Humboldt counties?

all of my best friends are from albquerque; this doesn't say much for how it is now, since they don't live there currently, but I do know a lot of cool people who lived there 20 years ago. I haven't been there in at least that long as well, but I'd take new mexico over colorado springs any day.

i should also say that i live in denver and i still get pretty bad allergies

also if you want the southwest dont you want some kokopellis n shit? i mean you dont get none of that in colorado much unless you go down to very southwest corner of the state. i mean, if you are going to live in the southwest you'd better do it right - with chili pepper lights adorning your house and dream catchers and kokopellis dancin on your walls.

the best cities (best being first) for allergy sufferers are, according to like some pretty haphazard googling:

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin
Seattle, Washington
San Francisco, California
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Chicago, Illinois
Syracuse, New York
Salt Lake City, Utah
Los Angeles, California
Denver, Colorado

Seattle isn't mold city?

this is for pollen and dust allergies, so maybe mold has another list.. like i said, some pretty wreckless googling over here

also if you want the southwest dont you want some kokopellis n shit?

One reason I've never been too interested in the Southwest is because of all that whole "I fell in love with the Southwest and now my body is completely encased in turquoise jewelry and I have a dream-catcher in my car and my house is completely filled with Day of the Dead folk art" thing. It's just too much. I'll take the chile-laced food though.

see, i kind of like southwest kitsch.. but maybe it has to do with fond memories of going on road trips through new mexico and arizona as a kid. i havent encountered any of it during my adult life, i just look back with fond memories when viewing photos of me in 1988 wearing a turquoise colored tshirt with the image of a neon pink coyote howling at a full moon screen printed on the front (or something like that).

Ever consider the Palm Springs area? Outside of PS proper the prices are low (for California anyway) and it's only 2 or 2.5 hours from LA for culture, and even less for San Bernardino and Riverside, which are large enough and college-y enough to get touring musicians. And you'd be set for the Coachella festival every year. It may be hotter than you'd like, but it is very dry.

so you want not too cold, not too hot, low cost of living, low amount of allergens, and some culture or at least a little bit.

yeah man it sounds like albuquerque is your best bet!

Ha:

Defend the Indefensible - Southwestern Color Schemes

I've seen that list before. Unfortunately, mold is not as well-documented as pollen, and I haven't come across any mold-focused lists. I wish there were. I also don't understand the fixation on "spring allergies" and "fall allergies." Wouldn't it be good to see how the whole year (or at least spring through fall) goes? I struggle to make any sense of these lists for myself. There are annual lists (maybe it's just one) where cities routinely jump around ten and fifteen points.

x-post:

so you want not too cold, not too hot, low cost of living, low amount of allergens, and some culture or at least a little bit.

yeah man it sounds like albuquerque is your best bet!

I think I have it rigged for that outcome. I'm not really in love with Albuquerque, I just have a crush on it, but I see the potential for something more serious.

Palm Springs, I haven't looked at, but I'm not interested in having anything to do with L.A., so its proximity to that city is not much of a draw, but I will see what it looks like in itself.

Oh right, you did say San Bernardino and Riverside too.

Air Quality per Sperling's Best Places using semi-arbitrary zip codes (from 1 to 100, with higher better)

87 Tucson
43 Davis, CA
42 Missoula
37 Santa Cruz
35 Boulder
31 San Luis Obispo
29 El Paso
24 Colorado Springs
22 Denver
21 Santa Fe
20 Santa Barbara
19 San Francisco
18 Flagstaff
15 Albuquerque
13 Palm Springs, Riverside
12 Las Vegas, Philadelphia
11 San Bernardino
9 San Jose, Palo Alto
1 Phoenix, San Diego

Comfort Index per same
78 Santa Fe
76 San Francisco
71 Flagstaff
69 Missoula
68 Colorado Springs
67 Santa Barbara
65 San Luis Obispo
63 Albuquerque, Boulder
60 Las Vegas
58 Denver
55 Santa Cruz
53 Palo Alto
52 San Jose
51 Davis, CA, El Paso
47 San Diego
45 Phoenix
44 Tucson
43 Philadelphia
29 Palm Springs
25 San Bernardino, Riverside

there's lots more data there - go, for instance, here and plug in zip codes at the end of the url

i guess i didn't need to include San Jose/Palo Alto

Albuquerque: 15?! Okay, I need to dig some more. It seemed great to me, but then again, how often to I get out of Filthadelphia?

well, it's a limited measure

The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals.

while the comfort index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Another (important) question: are any of these places much better than Abq. for carless living? (That is not asking for that much.) Not having to immediately get a car and get usde to driving would make a difference. It's going to be rough living long without a car in Albuquerque.

(Sorry for my east coast prejudices re: AZ and much of CA, although it's all too easy to find at least anecdotal confirmation online, but then every city has its haterz.)

yeah, San Francisco

$

Although it doesn't look as costly as San Diego (which surprises me).

I think most parts of SF are costlier than most parts of SD

SF neighborhood COLIs per Sperling
Castro/Noe Valley - 249
Embarcadero/SoMA - 220
Inner Richmond - 246
Inner Sunset - 222
Haight - 215
Hayes Valley/Tenderloin - 239
Ingleside/Excelsior - 196
Japantown/Western Addition/Pacific Heights - 209
Lake Merced - 195
Marina/Cow Hollow - 457
Mission/Bernal Heights - 207
North Beach - 401
Outer Richmond - 219
Outer Sunset - 217
Potrero Hill - 228
Presidio - 206
Russian Hill/Nob Hill - 184 [wau! does no one want to live on a hill?]
SoMA - 144
Twin Peaks - 225

haha, DFW rates a whopping 22 on the 'comfort scale,' even worse than Houston.

I wonder if there are places that rank lower in the US (excluding Death Valley).

not on your short list, but boulder is great for carless living.. which is probably why the air quality is so good (everyone walks or rides a bike,.... aka town of hippies.)

san diego seems very expensive. and it's hot and full of rich people! but man it's pretty.. i would live there in a heartbeat if i inherited a million dollars

Boulder's not on any of my lists, but that does sound appealing. I was really interested in Naropa Institute when I was in high school, but I sort of cringe thinking about all of that now. I realize Naropa is by no means Boulder, but I wonder if Boulder would be just too much of a Tibetan Buddhist poetry kind of place for me. But walking everywhere sounds great. It's kind of expensive there too isn't it? Of course, that can be offset by not needing a car. That's how I pay the rents I do. Not that you can't find cheaper rents in Philly, but I am paying for a noise-proofed apartment that's reasonably well maintained. That is a whole lot harder to find for cheap, and this place is by no means as luxury as it bills itself. In fact, it's kind of ugly. But that brings me to another issue that is kind of crucial--

Noise. I have moved so much in Philadelphia because I haven't been able to find an apartment that's satisfied me and at least half the time it's been due to (internal) noise problems. One BIG advantage I see to parts of the Southwest is that there is simply more space. When I've looked at Craigslist for Albuquerque apartments, there are a lot of these "apartments" which are free standing one bedroom homes. That could be a solution to the problem of internal noise. And these places aren't outrageously expensive. Of course, now that I am getting to know more about the city, I would need to take a second look and see where they are located. But that kind of thing isn't going to exist in, say, San Francisco.

(Incidentally, to get back to Palm Springs, it sounds like it gets too hot.)

What about El Paso? It sounds remarkably good on a lot of measures, but not knowing Spanish (and possibly not being Hispanic) is going to be a real drawback there, especially for job hunting. I'm not sure I would want to feel like that much of a minority. Also the economy is pretty poor in general.

I almost recommended El Paso yesterday, but the air quality is pretty lousy.

Really? Not according to various online bullshit, including Sperling's Best Places. Oh yeah, I guess it's not so great. It's better than Albuquerque's though, sadly (and of course it's better than Philadelphia's). (Haha, Philadelphia's water is rated 1 on a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being best. I'm glad I use a water treatment system. Lots of people don't seem to notice how horrible the water is here.)

Wait, though it's another place that gets into the 100s regularly. I'd really like to avoid that.

(No, that's the extreme highs, not the average highs. Hmmm. Still sounds pretty good, though Abq. shows up better on the comfort index.)

wau, dc gets a 34 for air quality, but of course is less comfortable than philly

a city it's not, but check out Durango - air quality 59, comfort index 72 (and Telluride's even better - air quality 79, comfort index 100)

yeah man durango is pretty sweet... and its far enough southwest where you can totally still rock the kokopelli bolo ties if you suddenly got the urge

I think ABQ pretty much rules. It manages to be the particular balance between extremes that I am looking for in many areas (a real city, but somewhat smaller than what I'm used to; warm, but not too warm; uh, those things anyway). (Now I have a lot of work to do. . . It would be so much easier if I had, say, $50,000 lying around, but then it always would be.)

http://www.andywardley.com/images/graphics/kokopelli/kokoline2.gif

Colorado Springs goes dark

Colorado Springs cuts into services considered basic by many
By Michael Booth
The Denver Post
POSTED: 01/31/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
UPDATED: 01/31/2010 09:17:44 AM MST

COLORADO SPRINGS — This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.

The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.

Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that.

Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero.

City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won't pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need.

"I guess we're going to find out what the tolerance level is for people," said businessman Chuck Fowler, who is helping lead a private task force brainstorming for city budget fixes. "It's a new day."

Some residents are less sanguine, arguing that cuts to bus services, drug enforcement and treatment and job development are attacks on basic needs for the working class.

"How are people supposed to live? We're not a 'Mayberry R.F.D.' anymore," said Addy Hansen, a criminal justice student who has spoken out about safety cuts. "We're the second-largest city, and growing, in Colorado. We're in trouble. We're in big trouble."

This is not good my friends.

Peter.

Terrifying, most of us like to imagine the fires can't come out of the mountains and into town, but here we are.
Amazing seeing the smoke from flagstaff fire today go from a wisp to Inferno in an hour.

Watching video of C130s dumping slurry on fires-crap those pilots are crazy!

this is terrifying.

http://newsroom.redcross.org/2012/06/26/press-release-red-cross-operates-two-shelters-in-colorado-springs-and-divide-colorado-for-evacuees-of-waldo-canyon-wildfire/#more-7881

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2012/0626/20120626_113654_colorado_wildfire_waldo_canyon_newcover.jpg

32,000 people evacuated yesterday, more evacuations being called in the past hour.

Pres. Obama is on his way to tour the destruction on Friday.

Can't wait for Michelle Malkin to find a way to complain.

my sister in law lives out here with her husband. I don't think they've evacuated yet but she is a bit frantic about where they would go. they could go to Dallas where her folks are but that's such a long drive.

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/548793_3601192063409_963337099_n.jpg

i have a conference there in a few weeks. i'm looking at places to stay. would it be a pain to stay in manitou springs if my conference is at the university? (i'll have a car)

manitou springs seems like a friendlier more liberal hippie kind of place than conservative co. springs but colleagues go out at night after the conference and i don't want necessarily want the pain of having to drive a while away

going there again for the same conference, staying in manitou springs again. what are some good hiking spots close to manitou/co springs? garden of the gods? is it worth it to rent a bike?