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I think you meant to say OLD Colorado City (west side of Colorado Springs) since you mention Divine Redeemer church which is near downtown. Commuting from Colorado Springs to Canon City is doable but not all that advisable. The weather will cause a problem a few times per year but it's mostly the distance that makes it not such a good idea.
Pueblo West may have some housing options, as will parts of Pueblo.
Sorry--Meant to say Colorado Springs. I lived on Hancock Ave. Thanks for the advice.
I have been interviewing for a job in Canon City and reading these posts with interest. I am wondering if the locals could elucidate about the unusual culture mentioned in some posts. I'm a Midwesterner, so saying its like some California towns doesn't help me much. Some examples would be great. Thanks!
I have been interviewing for a job in Canon City and reading these posts with interest. I am wondering if the locals could elucidate about the unusual culture mentioned in some posts. I'm a Midwesterner, so saying its like some California towns doesn't help me much. Some examples would be great. Thanks!
Canon for the most part is just your normal small town. It is moderately busy during the day but completely dead most nights. As far as unusual culture, I've only been here about a year but haven't seen anything really unusual. Some say it is a more right wing / religious area but I'm completely the opposite and have never really felt like I don't belong. Exactly the opposite almost everyone we've met has been extremely friendly. If I was young and trying to date or have a social life, I wouldn't want to be in Canyon. There is simply nothing to do other than a few bars, a bowling alley, and a small theater. As a middle aged married guy, I love it. We are far enough from large city mayhem but close enough if we want to have more shopping, dining, or entertainment options.
I am hoping to get hubby to move to CO, our son and I figure we will have him worn down by the time he has finished rehab (it will take approx. 8 months).
I am checking out towns, creating a list of what might be a good place.
After rehab he will end up on permanent partial disability and with his pension and SS we can move, no family left here. Some family is in Denver CO, but don't want to live in Denver.
What we don't want is freezing weather, and I am talking about a winter that has temps below 20 for most of the winter time and single digits below zero at night with wind chill factors of 20 or more below. Sleet instead of snow, black ice so bad highways and county roads may need to be closed.
Heat, it isn't going to be too bad today, so far it has been a mild summer, temps right now at 75 degrees with humidity at 40s %. High is to be 87 with 77% humidity. Almost no breeze, wind is 7 mph.
Where exactly is Lincoln Park located in Canon City? Chemical spills, eh, no big deal to some extent, a major cleanup due to a chemical plant that shut down was finished about 10 years ago. We don't drink the well water here because of the contaminates in the river and ground water anyhow. I'd still like to not live in that area, but it doesn't scare me from wanting to live there in Canon City. Nor the prison, there is one near where we live.
Right now Montrose is on the top of my list, still checking out several others town and adding more. We don't mind some snow and heat, but the dampness from the sleet and temps in the single digits and lower along with the high humidity in the summer is just overwhelming us. We live in the foothills of the Appalachian Mts., so hills are a must to us. I want to see some hills in the distance, not noting but flat land, that is just scary to look at.
I read the replies to a similar post about Canon City on this site a couple years ago and said "well OK" before moving our family to Canon City. We were seduced by lower home prices, yet now we deeply regret having made that decision. Yes there is beauty all around, the Royal Gorge, the Arkansas River, Wet Mountains, etc. However the "prison vibe" is inescapable. In addition the the dozen or more prisons, rehab centers, juvenile centers and such, there are the relatives of the incarcerated who come to Canon City to be near their loved ones. Prison guards, (who must have one of the world's most soul sucking jobs,) can't help but bring some of that negative energy out into the community when their work day is done because a job like that can't do anything but make you jaded and suspicious of others. Those brilliant city leaders who so eagerly gave tax breaks and land to the prisons didn't know they were selling their town's very soul in the process. I'm guessing many of them now regret that. Too many prisons in one area, period. Yes there are friendly people to be found, hard working civic minded folks who build trails and put up hanging flower baskets. In some ways it seems to be improving, but the hollow eyed, "hills have eyes people" are still everywhere roaming the streets. If you don't mind all this, a highly conservative town, seeing confederate flags flying from the back of trucks driving through town and such, then you'll be in good shape. Otherwise, if you are looking for a town that says "this is Colorado" well, this ain't it. It's not all bad and you may find yourself at home there, but for God's sake, spend some time there, (preferably a few weeks after tourist season is over,) and get to know the place before investing your hard earned money there.
Agreed. I will say the "this is Colorado" vibe generally comes with a high price tag and sometimes a pretentiousness that can be off-putting. To that end, not having that feel is refreshing. I call it "keeping out the affluent effluent."
But there is no denying that the Fremont County economy has a serious structural problem: an over-reliance on one industry. And having that be the prison industry has the additional problems you mention. As I said in another thread, you can't deny the prisons affects the community's psyche. And as much as I'd like to deny it, the heavy prison concentration likely makes it hard to recruit companies to relocate here.
Fixing the over-reliance on prisons will likely take a generation or more. It's going to take some contrarians to decide that most of the Front Range is over priced and decide that Fremont County is a good alternative. And then we start over-heating our market...etc.
Personally, a good neighborhood in Pueblo County or city, while maybe not as pretty, would probably be a better choice...you can be in Cañon in 40 minutes to an hour.
The Florence/Cañon City area is at very least a great place to visit or stop when passing through. Specifically, we love checking out the antique shops in Florence and just discovered a great pizza joint there.
I buy ribeyes at the Hilltop when in the area and my favorite mechanic is still there on 9th/115/Vietnam Veterans' Hwy but since the shop burned down, he had to relocate down a bit from Rick's Pumps to that Brookside area between Cedar and MacKenzie.
We also love going to Colon Orchards off MacKenzie just south of the Home Depot for those golden colored watermelon, Palisade peaches if you need, other watermelon cantaloupes, heirloom tomatoes, pumpkins and squash, hand picked orchard apples, etc.
We eat dinner and when we can lunch at Petit Chablis, and the Abbey is a great place to visit and shop. Oh, and it was brought to my attention that there's a huge True Value hardware store just east of town that I'd like to check out.
I read the replies to a similar post about Canon City on this site a couple years ago and said "well OK" before moving our family to Canon City. We were seduced by lower home prices, yet now we deeply regret having made that decision. Yes there is beauty all around, the Royal Gorge, the Arkansas River, Wet Mountains, etc. However the "prison vibe" is inescapable. In addition the the dozen or more prisons, rehab centers, juvenile centers and such, there are the relatives of the incarcerated who come to Canon City to be near their loved ones. Prison guards, (who must have one of the world's most soul sucking jobs,) can't help but bring some of that negative energy out into the community when their work day is done because a job like that can't do anything but make you jaded and suspicious of others. Those brilliant city leaders who so eagerly gave tax breaks and land to the prisons didn't know they were selling their town's very soul in the process. I'm guessing many of them now regret that. Too many prisons in one area, period. Yes there are friendly people to be found, hard working civic minded folks who build trails and put up hanging flower baskets. In some ways it seems to be improving, but the hollow eyed, "hills have eyes people" are still everywhere roaming the streets. If you don't mind all this, a highly conservative town, seeing confederate flags flying from the back of trucks driving through town and such, then you'll be in good shape. Otherwise, if you are looking for a town that says "this is Colorado" well, this ain't it. It's not all bad and you may find yourself at home there, but for God's sake, spend some time there, (preferably a few weeks after tourist season is over,) and get to know the place before investing your hard earned money there.
Thank you for the excellent comments and advice. Haven't visited Canon City yet, but want to check it out. We're retired and considering relocating from our home in northwest WY to some other place in the inter-mountain west where the winters are a bit less severe. Canon City is on the list of possibilities and your comments are certainly insightful. Much appreciated!
As I said in another thread, you can't deny the prisons affects the community's psyche. And as much as I'd like to deny it, the heavy prison concentration likely makes it hard to recruit companies to relocate here.
I know this is an old post, but.....
Yes, you CAN deny it. The above statement is utter hogwash. The only residents here who ever think about the prisons are the ones who work there; to the majority of us, they are just not a "thing" and they have no impact whatsoever on our quality of life. Over in neighboring Florence, numerous homes are in close proximity to the Federal "Supermax" prison, and a brand-new subdivision is going in directly across the highway, in full view of the concertina wire....
As to the statement on recruiting companies, that is just conjecture. As opposed to other places I have lived, I don't see a concerted effort on the part of CC/Fremont County to do any industrial recruiting at all. And that is just fine to most of us. This area does not need to develop into a clone of the Front Range; a lot of people moved here to ESCAPE that mess....
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