Springs Compared to Everything North of Denver (Colorado Springs, Fort Collins: apartments, rentals)

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Again, keep in mind that Colorado Springs voted for Polis and Biden. So "conservative" is probably a label I would question. We tend to vote for conservatives in city politics because turnout is low, but we are now reliably voting for Democrats in national elections.

The conservative, religious stereotype is overblown.

[deadhead948]

Thanks to everyone who replied. People mention how they don't care for the "powers corridor". I'm interested in finding a townhouse. There was a listing near Dublin Blvd. and Powers that looked perfect for me. Why do people refer to the powers corridor in a negative way? Are they talking about anything close to powers going through the entire COS region?

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by deadhead948

Thanks to everyone who replied. People mention how they don't care for the "powers corridor". I'm interested in finding a townhouse. There was a listing near Dublin Blvd. and Powers that looked perfect for me. Why do people refer to the powers corridor in a negative way? Are they talking about anything close to powers going through the entire COS region?

Grossly overloaded with traffic. South of Woodmen there are a ton of traffic lights to slow you down. Lots of people speeding and driving in other risky manners. It's been eight years since I lived there (Powers and Old Ranch Rd area) and IIRC north of Woodmen it was only two lanes each way (instant bottleneck). If this is outdated then some of the regulars on here can update this info.

[mtngigi]

Originally Posted by deadhead948

Thanks to everyone who replied. People mention how they don't care for the "powers corridor". I'm interested in finding a townhouse. There was a listing near Dublin Blvd. and Powers that looked perfect for me. Why do people refer to the powers corridor in a negative way? Are they talking about anything close to powers going through the entire COS region?

What Mike said. I may be wrong, but I imagine people who've lived here for a fairly long time don't care for the unchecked growth that occurred and is ongoing on the east and north parts of the 'Springs, and the traffic because of that growth.

Personally, that's how I feel about it ... it's way more congestion and traffic than I care to deal with any more. If you're a big city, lots of traffic person, it may not bother you.

[otowi]

The areas along Powers include some nice options for housing, but compared to a lot of other places in the city you will experience higher rush hour traffic issues - it is mainly a density issue - lots of businesses, houses, etc., in that area. But the housing is very popular for a reason - a lot of it is newer than some other parts of town, and of decent quality. I personally would not rule out such a listing. And Wittgenstein's Ghost comment about the politics is dead on.

[TCHP]

I would ask why they don't care for the Powers area or look at the age of posts around that. 25+years ago that area was a special tax district that had some builder defaults and some additional risks for services as a result. Those problems are effectively gone now and it has grown into a very popular area.

It is a newer build out of the area with, as otowi points out, a lot of everything and decent quality construction. Anytime you have a lot of everything, it gets busy. Busy tends to increase traffic, wait times at restaurants, idiot drivers factor, etc that many find annoying. Powers itself is a very wide, high speed transportation corridor, so the few stop lights long its length are very annoying when pulling a car down from 50mph (or more as some are prone to driving). This also means motor vehicle accidents tend to be worse than other places and will cause significant disruptions.

[Randy and Shay]

I lived in COS for 5 years, came from NH. I picked it based on its location to 14ers as I am a hiker. I thought it had the best of both worlds, all the amenities of a city, but still not the city feel like Denver or Boston. As far as COS being overly conservative? I'm not terribly political and I never noticed anything in that regard. No different than most places, it leans right, but you don't have too. I might move back when I retire, to me it's the best place in CO to live.

[chiluvr1228]

My new house is near the airport in a new subdivision. Is that the Powers Corridor?

[Loyoung]

Originally Posted by chiluvr1228

My new house is near the airport in a new subdivision. Is that the Powers Corridor?

If its where Im thinking, by Big Johnson Reservoir than technically is part of the Powers corridor, though not what is being referenced here. If your house is north of Palmer Park than yes.

[deadhead948]

Does Colorado Springs have a nice walkable downtown area comparable to an Old Town Fort Collins or an Old Town Arvada filled with restaurants and shops?