I didn't always love this state. I used to hate it with a burning passion.
Now, however, I'm finding it hard to leave (which is unfortunate, since there are no real top class acting jobs here in Colorado Springs). I love it here, so I'll ramble a bit, but I'm sure there will be someone who will disagree with me on a few things.
First, we have our sun. Sure, you burn within five minutes on a sunny day, but we have so much of it. I believe we have about 350-360 days of sun a year, which is probably why our obesity rate is so low. We're a very health-conscience, active state and if you like hiking, bike-riding, jogging, swimming, this is the place to be.
Second, our scenery. If you live up in the Woodland Park area, you'll find yourself surrounded by trees with a beautiful view of the mountains. It's a wonderful place to escape to. Head out east and you'll find a dryer area with more plains and less greenery. Up north and to the west, it's cool and a little bit wetter. Head down south towards Pueblo and it's much warmer (here in the Springs, it's about 82 today, but in Pueblo it's 95 and in Teller County, it's 75).
We actually have something resembling four seasons. Most of the time. The draught recently has made things a little bit whacky, but for the most part, we still have warm summers, rainy springs, cooler falls and nearly every winter we get a blizzard (not last winter, alas alas, but usually).
I'm not such a big fan of Denver or Pueblo, but Colorado Springs is becoming surprisingly liberal. Some people have said we're a very religious state (our baseball team is said to be super religious, but we love them anyway
), but on the whole I've found people very accepting here. Almost no hate crimes in the area I live and people are very open to other nationalities, religions, sexualities, etc etc.
If you're an animal lover, you'll be happy to know that we're not all like Denver. In fact, here in the Springs, we've become a safe haven for pit bulls (and bully breeds). Places like
All Breed Rescue and
Mariah's Promise are wonderful places to adopt bully breeds from and the majority of bully breed owners are responsible and friendly.
Attractions! We're not a big club/bar state (at least, not around here), but if you're anything like me, the attractions we do offer will be enough. Manitou Springs and Old Colorado City are fantastic places to spend the day outdoors and get a feel for Colorado. I've had a few people tell me Manitou is evil because of "THE WITCHES!!11!", but everyone there has been exceedingly friendly and a lot of fun (particularly the more eccentric of its population).
Ghost towns are fun, as well, if you're into that sort of thing.
South Park City is a place I've been raving about for awhile and we also have
Buckskin Joe's (a replica ghost town with fun stuff for everyone). If you're more into the abandoned ghost towns,
St Elmo is a beautiful, quiet place to visit.
Unfortunately, it's also expensive to live here. My family became very, very lucky in 1992 when we bought our house, as it had become a bit of a mess and was repossessed by the bank before we bought it for half its price. It's now worth about 250k and we still wouldn't be able to afford a house like it if we had to move! You have to be careful what areas you move to, as well. Five minutes north of my house you have all of the super expensive houses owned by retired generals and doctors; five minutes south and you have the tiny houses and a growing gang problem. Stick in the middle and you'll be safe. I've had quite a few out-of-state people tell me how strange it is to go from both extremes all within ten minutes.
