If you are thinking about moving to Colorado Springs, you have probably already watched a few videos telling you how beautiful it is here.
That is not this article.
I have sold real estate in Colorado Springs for twenty years and thousands of homes. I have helped people fall in love with this city, and I have helped people leave it. Both experiences taught me the same thing: the people who are happy here almost always arrived informed, and the people who struggle almost always arrived surprised.
So this is both sides. The genuine advantages, the real drawbacks, and a walkthrough of the different areas so you can figure out where you would actually fit.
I also recorded the full version as a video, which goes deeper on the parts that cost people money. You can watch it here.
After 20 years and thousands of homes sold here, here is the honest breakdown of living in Colorado Springs, including the costs most buyers never see coming.
The Pros of Living in Colorado Springs
1. The weather is better than most people expect
Colorado Springs sits at about six thousand feet, right up against the mountains, and we average somewhere around 240 to 250 days of sunshine a year.
Here is the part that surprises people. Yes, we get snow. But it usually does not stay. The sun is intense at this elevation, so it is normal to get several inches one day and have clear roads two days later. We also get warm downslope winds off the mountains that can take us from a snowstorm to a sixty degree afternoon in the same week.
We get four real seasons here. Spring, a summer that is warm without being humid, a beautiful fall, and a winter that shows up and then backs off.
If you are coming from the Midwest, the Northeast, or the Pacific Northwest, you are not trading up to a harsher winter. In most cases you are getting a milder one with a lot more sun.
2. The outdoors is part of daily life, not a weekend trip
This is what keeps people here long term.
In most cities, getting to real hiking takes a drive and a plan. Here it takes fifteen minutes. Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, North Cheyenne Cañon, Red Rock Canyon, Ute Valley Park, Palmer Park, Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and the Manitou Incline are all either inside the city or right on the edge of it. There are hundreds of miles of trail within the city limits, plus a growing network of paved trails if you are on a bike.
That proximity changes your actual behavior. People move here and start hiking on a Wednesday evening because it is right there and it costs nothing. Kids grow up outside. That is a real quality of life difference, and it is hard to appreciate until you have lived it.
3. The economy has a strong floor
Colorado Springs is home to Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, and the United States Air Force Academy. On top of that we have aerospace, defense contracting, a significant cybersecurity presence, and a large healthcare sector.
What that means practically is that this economy does not swing as hard as a lot of markets do. When other cities take a hit, we usually take a smaller one. For homeowners, that has historically meant steadier values through cycles instead of dramatic highs and dramatic crashes.
For investors, it means consistent rental demand, because people are always arriving and leaving on orders.
And if you are military or a veteran, this city is built for you. The agents, lenders, and inspectors here work with VA loans and PCS timelines constantly. That is not true everywhere. I have had clients move away and find out their new agent had never done a VA loan.
4. Your money goes further than it does up north
Compared to Denver and most of the northern Front Range, Colorado Springs generally gives you more house, more land, and a lower entry point for the same lifestyle. That gap has narrowed over the years, but it is still there.
Colorado's property tax rates are also on the low end compared to the rest of the country, which surprises people coming from Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, or New York.
There is an important asterisk on that last point, and I cover it in detail in the video. It is probably the single most valuable thing in it.
5. You are well placed for the rest of Colorado
Denver is about an hour north, so concerts, pro sports, and the international airport are all accessible without living in that traffic every day. Ski country is a couple of hours out depending on where you are headed. Cripple Creek, Royal Gorge, the Arkansas River, Cañon City, and Salida are easy day trips. The Great Sand Dunes are a weekend.
You get mountain access without mountain town prices.
6. You get to choose which version of Colorado Springs you want
This city is not one place. It is a group of very distinct areas that feel completely different from each other.
Most people who tell me they do not like Colorado Springs did not pick the wrong city. They picked the wrong part of it for how they actually live.
The Cons of Living in Colorado Springs
Every relocation article stops at the pros. These are the ones that actually cost people money, and the reason I made the video in the first place.
Hail
Colorado Springs sits in one of the most active hail corridors in the country. That is a real line item in your budget, not a footnote.
It shows up three ways. Roofs get replaced more often here than in most of the country. Home insurance premiums are higher than a lot of the country and have been trending up. And carriers have gotten stricter about roof age and roof condition, to the point that an older roof can affect whether you can get a policy at all, or what your deductible looks like.
There are specific questions you should ask about any property before you write an offer, and specific timing for when to ask them. I walk through those in the video. Buyers who ask early are ahead of most people shopping this market. Buyers who do not tend to find out at the last minute and have to rework their entire budget.
Metro districts and your property tax bill
This is the one almost nobody tells you, and it is the reason I wanted to make this video.
A lot of our newer neighborhoods sit inside a metropolitan district. A metro district is a separate taxing entity created to pay for the roads, parks, trails, and infrastructure inside that development. It shows up as an additional mill levy on your property tax bill, on top of your normal taxes.
So two homes at the same purchase price, a few miles apart, can have very different annual tax bills purely because one is in a metro district and one is not. Depending on the neighborhood, that can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year, every year you own it. And it affects your monthly payment, because your taxes are usually escrowed.
That is not a reason to avoid those neighborhoods. Many of them are excellent, and the amenities you like about them are exactly what that district is paying for. I live in one.
But you need the number before you write the offer, not after.
Radon
The Front Range sits on soil with naturally high radon levels, and Colorado Springs is inside that zone. A large share of homes here test above the recommended action level.
The good news is that it is very fixable. A mitigation system is not a big expense in the context of a home purchase, and it is routine here.
But test for it every time, including on brand new construction. Do not skip it because the house is new, and do not skip it to make your offer more competitive.
Traffic and infrastructure
We are the second biggest city in the state and we are spread out. Most of the north and south movement happens on two main corridors, so when one of them backs up, you feel it everywhere.
The smaller things nobody warns you about
The air is very dry. Expect to drink more water than you are used to, run a humidifier, and give yourself a few weeks to adjust to the altitude.
The sun is stronger at elevation, so sunscreen is a year round thing here.
Our soil expands and contracts, which means foundation movement, cracks, and drainage deserve real attention at inspection. This is not a market where you skip the structural questions.
We get strong wind, especially in spring.
And our airport is convenient but limited on direct flights, so the larger airport up north ends up being the backup for a lot of trips.
None of these are dealbreakers. They are the difference between arriving informed and arriving surprised.
How to Pick Your Area
This is the part that determines whether you are happy here.
The west side and Old Colorado City give you older homes with character, walkability, and the closest access to the trails and the historic district.
Downtown has changed a lot over the last several years, with new residential, restaurants, a stadium, and a growing arts and events scene. It is the most urban option we have.
The north end and Briargate are heavier on newer construction, retail, and access up the interstate.
Monument and the Tri-Lakes area sit north of that with more trees, bigger lots, and a smaller town feel.
The east side, including the Powers corridor and out toward Falcon, is where a lot of the newest construction is happening, along with newer amenities and generally more square footage for the dollar.
Keep going east and you are into acreage, well and septic, and a lot more space.
The south end, including Fountain and Security Widefield, is closest to Fort Carson and often carries some of the strongest value in the region.
The southwest, including the Broadmoor area and the Cheyenne Cañon side, is our established, view heavy, higher end pocket.
Every one of those has different price points, different commutes, different lot sizes, and different school district boundaries. Verify the district boundary for any specific address, because they do not follow the lines you would assume, and research the districts yourself so you are making your own call.
If You Are Moving Here From Out of State
There are four things I would do, in a specific order, and the order matters more than people think. I lay all four out in the video, along with what goes wrong when people skip each one.
The short version: get your financing set up locally before anything else, see the areas in person under real conditions, understand your true monthly cost before you write on anything, and do not let distance talk you out of a full inspection.
The Bottom Line
Colorado Springs is a strong fit if you want daily access to the outdoors, a stable economy, real sunshine, four seasons, and more space than the northern Front Range gives you for the same money.
It is a harder fit if you need a deep specialized job market, a short daily commute to Denver, or big city amenities on demand.
I would rather you know all of that before you move than after.
Get the Full Colorado Springs Relocation Guide
If you are planning a move here, I put together a complete relocation guide covering the neighborhoods, school district boundaries, commute realities, cost of living, and what to expect step by step when you are buying from out of state.
It is free.
CHECK OUT THE RELOCATION GUIDE
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
Let's Talk
This is my hometown market. My team has been serving it for two decades and thousands of families, and we will tell you the truth about a neighborhood even when the truth costs us the sale.
And if you are reading this and you are moving somewhere else entirely, reach out anyway. We are licensed Realtors with a nationwide referral network, and we can connect you with a vetted, proven agent almost anywhere in the country. That costs you nothing, and it means you have someone good on your side instead of whoever happens to answer the phone at the open house.
📧 homes@treasuredavis.com ☎️ Call or text (719) 249-2020 🌐 treasuredavis.com
Because who represents you matters.
Treasure Davis Team | Brokered by eXp Realty | Colorado Springs, CO
