eHomeSales by Shawn Jardine
Colorado Springs a Safe City?
I think so! According to a recent study conducted by Farmers Insurance Group, we rank at number 18. The study looked at the different factors that make a city safe: crime, foreclosures, weather, air quality, life expectancy and job loss stats. We ranked just below Seattle and just above Denver. Read the rest of this entry »
USAFA Commissary…Is it worth the trip?
I made my monthly trip to the commissary this weekend and yes, it was worth it! For you who are civilians and reading this, you might want to just skip to the next post. This will not mean anything to you but for military people who are moving to Colorado Springs, this could have some meaning.
I do admit that I split my shopping between the King Soopers in my neighborhood and the USAFA commissary. I think that most people do that unless they happen to live on base. I don’t have time to drive up to the Academy if I am out of milk but definitely use the store for my big shopping.
As commissaries go this one at USAFA rates a 6 on a scale of 1-10. My dream store would have a much bigger selection and of course be just like my neighborhood grocery store. The store at Peterson AFB is much larger and nearly new but still has that “commissary” feel to it.
Things I like about the USAFA commissary:
Close to my house (I live in Flying Horse Ranch near the North Gate of USAFA).
Small and usually not crowded
Good selection of the basics that I like to stock up on
Things that I hate about the USAFA commissary:
The produce department is terrible! I just skip it other than maybe buying potatoes.
Holiday displays make this small store too crowded.
Not enough selection of certain items. This is typical of all commissaries so it’s not that big of a deal.
All in all, this store is a good one. When I was an active duty spouse, my first thing to locate when we made a PCS move was the commissary. Having a decent place to shop has always been important to me. The store at USAFA certainly does meet my needs. If you plan to live in the northern part of Colorado Springs, this is the closest facility. The store at Peterson AFB is new and mega big but it is located on the far east part of the base and is about 40 minutes from my home. Just not worth it for me but for you it could very well be great.
Fort Carson Post Housing Goes Private
Want to live on post?
Fort Carson has a wide variety of on post options for housing. The problem is the waiting Read the rest of this entry »
Colorado Springs In The Top 40
Casey Kasem would be proud of us!
We made the top 40 in something! Yippee! Actually, Business Week magazine just named Colorado Springs number 24 in the Top 40 Strongest U.S. Metro Economies. The article gives facts about our gross metropolitan product (down 2.7% over last year) and home sales. According to the author, home sales were flat as compared to the same time last year. Flat? That sounds, well, flat.
Actually in this case flat is a good thing. Compared to other cities in the US, we are not doing too bad in our real estate market. Colorado Springs was never as much a boom town as other areas were. Think of cities like Phoenix. Their market has declined as much as 30% in some areas with more room to fall as more Alt-A loans begin to reset. In this case our being flat is a thing to cheer!
Our market remains fairly stable in most parts of the city. I have to believe that this is due to a very steady payroll coming into play every two weeks from the five military installations here. The military is key to our success and survival. As the overall economy improves, other businesses will consider moving to the area for many reasons.
We have a great quality of life here! think about it–we drive to work every day with a view of Pikes Peak. I don’t even have to drive to work to see it since I work from home. My loft/office has a perfect view of the mountains and I love it! Our water and air are clean. Schools are great and offer many educational options from pre-school to Ph.D programs.
We don’t have the high excitement levels that many large cities have. No beach, no Broadway theater (don’t even try to compare a traveling version of Mama Mia at the Pikes Peak Center to Broadway), low crime, no real high rise buildings. I am fine with all of that. That’s why God gave us DIA. If I want to go to the beach or to see James Gandolfini on Broadway, I can easily do it. The good news is that I don’t have to breathe smoggy air or drive in traffic on a daily basis.
Now for a long distance dedication (you can tell that I was an AM radio geek in the 70’s). This post goes out to the cities that didn’t make the top 40 this week. So sorry but right now Colorado Springs is THE place to live, work and play. Good job CS!!
