Learning, Sharing, and Teaching > Ask a Mustachian
Mustachian Relocation Guide
jordanread:
THIS POST RESERVED FOR EXPANSION
jordanread:
THIS POST RESERVED FOR EXPANSION
jordanread:
Colorado Springs, CO
I make an effort to love everywhere I find myself, but it was so much easier here. The city itself is pretty large, with the natural growing pains that come with expansion. However, all expansion is moving east. To the west (a 20 minute bike ride from downtown), you have access to the foothills (and Pikes Peak). Throughout the city, there are a lot of bike trails, and they are very well maintained (as in some get plowed before the streets do). There is a plethora of fun free activities, and UppaDowna does weekly rides downtown. Weekly 5K fun runs are held almost year round. Bear Creek is a fun park, as is Fox Run (on the north side). COS is home to USA Triathlon, US Cycling, and USA Ultimate. Costs for housing vary within city limts. The North end of town is most expensive, and housing costs drop as you move south. I currently live just East of downtown, and the housing here is very cheap, since they are ranch style homes built in the 50s, and not McMansions that are in more demand these days. Colorado gets 300 days of sunlight, so our passive solar heat works quite well. I'm not familiar with many indoor activities here, but that's because there is a whole lot of outdoor activities and they are free. Hiking, bouldering, and biking are common hobbies, and they are all easily accessible (you can bike to a location for any of these). We also support dispersment camping in National Forests and BLM lands, so as long as you stay 100 feet (or something) away from rivers, you can just pitch a tent and enjoy. Even though it costs money, one of the most fun things that you have to try is outdoor laser tag at Battlefield Colorado, and the Starlight Spectacular is an awesome biking event where they close down the streets for a ride in the dark. The soil up north is more clay, so there will be some work getting a garden to grow. The soil seems to get better the further south you go. Throughought all of Colorado, there are strange laws regarding water usage and storage. It's technically illegal to collect rain water, but I haven't had an issue with it yet. Due to the proximity of the mountains, sunsets aren't anything all that great, but sunrises are cool. The views of the mountains are outstanding, and never cease to amaze me. There is a fair amount of sprawl, so be prepared to travel a bit if using an alternative mode of transportation. The libraries (21C) are great, and even have CNC machines and 3D printers that you can use (if you take a class and provide the materials). Overall, it's a great place to live, especially if you like outdoor activities. If you are a social butterfly, you can also find all kinds of groups to engage in activities with others (there is seriously a red wine and hiking group).
jordanread:
New Orleans, LA
Coming soon...I just hate dead links.
Parizade:
I've found this resource to be helpful. You can select any state and any county or town within that state. The tool then generates a bare bones budget of living expenses for that town or county.
Living Wage Calculator
http://livingwage.mit.edu/
It's not perfect, I think many of the people who participate in this forum could live on less than the calculator suggests. Still, it's a useful starting point for comparing communities.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version