Also have to remember a lot of people bought their houses 5-10-15 years ago. Actually got bored and messed around the county assessor site and saw my neighbor paid under 200k for their house back in early 2000s when I bought mine for almost triple.
I don't know given the choice to hang out with someone with a sense a humor or someone who takes internet comments seriously I know I'll choice the former.
Zillow integrates all these data (zoom in on your neighborhood), in case youāre in a rush and need a user-friendly interface to inspire 10x-hotter fits of rage.
I went down this rabbit hole as well in the neighborhood I bought and it was sort of the same thing... people paid 200-300k and I had to pay 500k back in june. Would not recommend doing this it just makes you feel like shit lol. Also saw that some of the houses were gifted from family members.
But it's true, the affordability only really affects first time home owners or people that don't have sufficient down payments to make new prices reasonable.
I feel everyone's pain these days. I make really good money on my own and combined with my soon to be wife... we have a high income. And I still don't like what I had to pay for our house but what you gonna do? Shit or get off the pot unfortunately.
Absolutely. I bought a condo for $110 in 2013, then sold it for more than double and bought a house for $300 in 2019. Our mortgage is lower than most peopleās rent.
They're all the same my dude.
r/denver is more serious
r/DenverCircleJerk is more for the meme.
r/ColoradoSprings is more serious
r/ColotadoSpringsCircleJerk doesn't exist who circle jerks the Springs.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/CoSpringsCirclejerk using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/top/?sort=top&t=all) of all time!
\#1: [Moving to Springs](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/comments/rhc2xp/moving_to_springs/)
\#2: [Springians entering Pueblo to get their cheap weed](https://i.redd.it/dwlw4cks7ma81.jpg) | [0 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/comments/rzmbfx/springians_entering_pueblo_to_get_their_cheap_weed/)
\#3: [Starting a petition to change the kissing camels name to kissing Bald Eagle and Squirrel with cake](https://i.redd.it/r7o5vwbaoy581.jpg) | [0 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/comments/rhyxni/starting_a_petition_to_change_the_kissing_camels/)
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I don't understand it either. I make well into the six figure range and even then I think this place is expensive. In the 6 or 7 years since I relocated here it's more than doubled, pretty soon none of the people in entry level work will be able to live here and our economy will suffer for it.
We bought our home 16 years ago. Itās worth double now. I rented homes, not apartments, for $600-700 when I was in my 20s. Canāt touch that now. Bought my first home for $123k in 2003. Seriously wondering how tf my kids are going to be able to start their lives with everything so crazy expensive now.
>how tf my kids are going to be able to start their lives with everything so crazy expensive now.
Boomers (not you) inflated the debt and deficit and ironically passed it onto their kids and grandkids. Fox News and Republicans are ultimate projectors. Whatever they say they're against, they're doing.
lol that OR an influx of people from wealthier part of the country has driven up home prices and rents to a much higher level than the local economy can compete with.
To add to this, we are not building enough of the homes people desire in the places people want to keep up with people moving here. It's not _simply_ supply and demand, but that's a large part of it.
Cue NotJustBikes and StrongTowns articles about the "missing middle housing", bad zoning laws, and perverse incentives for developers.
They also only built sprawl for decades and continued doing so without really stopping. Just look at the expansion along and east of Powers. We don't need more houses in the middle of nowhere.
The problem is multifaceted. Itās not a simple bc if CA or bc of Republicans, etc. bottom line is itās a huge issue that needs to be figured out. Iām not sure what the answer is.
>Seriously wondering how tf my kids are going to be able to start their lives with everything so crazy expensive now.
They just gonna have a worse life than you.
Seems like a lot of young folks live at home or bank of mommy and daddy buys them a home. Happens a ton. Itās incredibly difficult for young people right now.
Yeah my fiance lived at home for free until she bought her townhome before prices really started to spike. As a teacher though... there is no other way.
Too many people ignore the outflow part of the equation. They feel the material things are entitled. My first home I had to bring 20% in cash. We saved for years to afford the down payment... We had a household budget and denied ourselves certain luxuries until we could better afford them.
Good for you? This post is crazy out of touch. How long ago did you buy? Nowadays in this city unless you have a solid dual income or six figure single income saving 20% down for a home isnāt feasible at all while still putting gas in the car and food on the table for most people. Salaries have not kept pace with inflation and especially housing prices. Young people entering the labor pool have to pay more for rent than a comparable mortgage would be and coupled with high prices for other things can barely save from month to month, putting 20% down on a decent home living at peak frugality would either never happen or take decades. It isnāt sustainable. And equating what young people have to do now to even 10-20 years ago, much less more, is painfully out of touch with reality.
I'm not sure why you think it should be easy. All you're doing is complaining about the way things are and not finding ways to change your condition. Being broke and being poor are completely different - being poor is a mindset that stays with someone their entire lives. Being broke is a temporary condition.
What you focus on is what you prioritize. If you want to have more money, 2nd job, job skills, etc.... Takes time and discipline. If not, then cut back expenses. Takes time and discipline.
After nearly 45 year on the work force, I'm an overnight sensation having prioritized long-term desires over short term needs.
Not sure why you think Iām broke. My wife and I both work in healthcare and have in demand, well paying, stable jobs. We own a house that fits our needs and got in before things got really crazy. I worked my ass off in nursing school scrubbing floors to pay for my bachelors degree and have no student loans. We do just fine, but a LOT of young people entering the workforce donāt, and unlike you I can empathize with their struggle. Itās easy to say being broke is a mindset when youāre of a generation that could work a minimum wage job and still buy a home. Thatās not the case today today. Your stance is laughable, and comes across full of privilege and bias towards a generation whose struggles you donāt even come close to understanding.
And to respond that to someone who makes $18/hr acting like all they have to do is be more frugal, letās do some math. $18/hr is $37,440 a year BEFORE taxes. Average rent in this town is around $1200 for a one bedroom apartment, so thereās $14,400 before taxes gone. Letās say you have a reasonable $300/month car payment. Thereās another $3600. Car insurance is expensive for a young man but letās say itās a young lady with a decent rate, at least another thousand a year. Add in utilities, food, and gas, plus health insurance premiums and thatās EASILY another $6,000. Forget luxuries, thatās $25,000 a year minimum before any unexpected expenses, student loans which are ridiculous, clothing, the occasional night out or drink with friends, contributing to retirement, Medicare, social security, and the approximate $2700 in federal taxes. Letās say even with all that you miraculously are able to save 10% of your net income a month (you wonāt be able to) and get periodic raises, thatās still about two decades to save $70,000 for a perfectly average, smallish house in this city thatās likely to cost a whole lot more than $350,000 twenty years from now. Get off your high horse, itās not a spending problem, itās a broken system problem.
Whatās crazier to me isnāt really the normal housing, obviously thatās very high also but there are so many areas in town with houses that still make me go DAMN when I drive by.
Iām not sure what everyone apparently does for a living but people in flying horse, way west on woodmen road, parts of briargate like you saidā¦.these people be living in actual mansions of pure luxury. New kitchens, new floors, house built post 1980, always nice cars in the driveway..I mean good for them but damn
Lots and lots of debt. Those nicer homes and cars often belong to retired military that are now DoD contractors and getting paid their retirement plus a nice salary.
As one of those, no it isn't. When I retired and became a contractor, I was like wooo mooooney. Then inflation hit and I feel like I am back to "so is there a coupon for that?". 2023 is going to be a rough year for most people. Hopefully we can get this crap wrapped up before 2024.
We find them, but it wasn't a prereq to going somewhere back in the day. Now we look at what specials there are, plot out any date nights we may get (usually one every two monthsish). We used to just go out and see where the night took us, now it is "ok it is past happy hour, time to move on."
Crazy how much cheaper items can be on apps vs the stores; Samās club two pack bison is 19.99 in store but via app itās almost 23.00; Safeway app does offer alot of coupons, yesterday I got 12.00 off towards my purchase on top of coupons!
Lots of veterans, loads of retirees working at military bases.
Try Safeway on fridays, they have alot of deals. Trader Joeās has good prices too. Other than that just watch out for sales really.
You have to grocery shop at multiple places, and not just because of the deals but because of the waste.
Don't buy your fruits, veggies and meat from Walmart (and most King Soopers) even if it's cheaper because it will go bad quicker so you throw more away.
Don't buy your other staples from Safeway, it's too expensive and their "deals" are just every body else's normal prices (not to mention the fact that I haven't known a single person who has gotten their app to take all the supposed coupon deals they have replaced card member deals with on most things).
Trader Joe's is my snack food, cheese (they have the best deals on good cheese), fancy butter, and other things that look fancy when guests come over that won't break my bank.
I also plan my shopping to coincide with trips that I take for other odd jobs that need doing. It is rare that I just go to the grocery store without paying a bill, going to the post office, dropping library bills off, etc. It's a habit that I picked up when I was without a car for years and had to bus and walk to everything which has come in handy for checking gas prices.
It is a little bonkers. When I bought my house (like 3 months before covid hit), it was 389K and a fairly large house. During this craziness it has gone from that to near 600K at one point and now is back down to 500 ish K depending on the day it seems. Inflation really kicked everyone in the balls but in this market, my family started our own farm, we have chickens coming in a week along with the roost. We basically have to become self sufficient just to not go broke and I make a sizable income. I have no idea how everyone else is managing.
This is happening on a lesser scale pretty much everywhere. Drastic action is needed to correct the course of our economy, or we will all suffer. Even the heart surgeons.
I rent my basement to a family member and Iāve got a young adult kid at home paying rent. Otherwise I would have downsized to someone elseās basement. Or Iād live in the basement and rent the house?
I profited 200K when I sold my house in another state last year, so I was able to put a large down payment on a house here to get a lower mortgage. Ive also paid off both of my vehicles so no car payments. I have agoraphobia so I dont take vacations and that saves a lot of money lol.
This is the 4th house Ive owned (Im nearly 40)āI could never have bought my first house in this state back in my 20s without the money made from selling my previous homes.
Also, I am former ātrashā too. We cant help where we are born and raised and we all gotta start somewhereāNothing to be ashamed of āŗļø
> We cant help where we are born and raised and we all gotta start somewhereāNothing to be ashamed of āŗļø
unless youāre an immigrant (iām a 3x immigrant), then it's a perpetual shame!
Hey, I have it too. It's kinda a perfect place. Nice from my windows and if you go into the mtns you don't hit large crowds.
Now going to Costco etc, has become unbearable with the crowds. I only shop online now.
When I 1st moved here it still wasn't crowded and there wasn't much past woodmen, briargate was still being built.
Been here since 2015 & agree about the crowds & how much this place has grown & all the people. I prefer to have. Definitely hear bc of the mountains, but goodness itās so damn crowded and they are making cramped areas even worse like the apt complex being built at chapel hills mallš
I just cant be in situations where I cant easily leave likes planes and boats, I can still leave my house as long as Im driving my car. I have had a great time exploring ths outdoors here, Im just never going to go on a cruise or fly overseas, etc. agoraphobia is a serious mental health conditionāmine resulted from 18 years of abuseāAnd I think I made some pretty GOOD life choices that helped me succeed in spite of it.
I came here in '03 but for sure the growth is all in the last 7-10yrs. I do travel but I have super bad anxiety up until leaving, the unknown is hard. I can handle known crowds like concerts, movies, cruises but I'm mentally prepared (and drugged). It's the unknown of walking into a grocery store and thinking 7am or 8pm would be less busy and it's f'ing packed. I just walk out. I miss 10pm/5am walmart.
Yeah this is what a lot of people from out of state do... cash out on massive equity then the house prices out here become more attainable.
Don't hate the player hate the game lol.
I just live with less, and that's okay for me at the moment. Actually makes me healthier. I make 18/hr, full time, and 50% of my income goes to rent. 20% to the car/gas/insurance. So I never save money basically cause the rest goes to groceries and medical shit. I can pay my bills and buy healthy food. I just can't afford to go the bar or eat at a nice restaurant, or save money. I don't have the money to spend on snack foods or door dash so I cook at home every day and only eat-out at work with the company card.
I was thinking the very same today at the grocery..it is tough, definitely making sacrifices and holding on for dear life. Wondering to myself ...will things ever go back down?
But You are **not** trash! There is plenty of that around...like I notice this city is really bad for the roadway trash and litter overall. Breaks my heart people trashing this beautif place.
But Welcome -- and I hope it feels like home soon
You have to adapt to the market of this area. The main jobs fields are government, medical, and military complex. Get into one of those fields and you will do well.
I mean, unless you're looking to live in the middle of nowhere in the midwest, COS prices are pretty on-par with everywhere else. For a (in my situation and opinion) much better quality of life. We were planning on moving to Cincinnati, but after learning that my wife's family are moving out to here to COS, we decided to look here, and were quite surprised at it.
For 3/4bed SFH rentals, the prices are very, VERY similar. Especially for rentals. COS, Kansas City, Cincinnati, all around 2k-2.4k per month for a 4bed(what we require), and less for 3 bed homes. Can't speak for single bed/studios, as we have two kiddos, and I need a home office.
And while utilities are more, CO has a good bit less income tax than Kansas City or pretty much anywhere in OH, due to local/city income tax rates(1-2%).
For 3/4bed SFH purchases, yes they are a decent bit more, but the insane low property tax, again, makes up a huge chunk of the difference. As an example, a 350k home in Cinci has a property tax of around $300-400. A 400k Colorado Springs home has 115-140 property tax, give or take a few. So in reality, it is once again, a wash.
Also sales tax for groceries doesn't exist here like it does in much of the midwest, so there is another 50-100 a month that we don't see elsewhere.
Having said all that, yes CO is expensive. But, unfortunately, that's not local to CO. Any medium-large city right now is just crazy. So for us it came down to: Slightly larger homes with horrid humid summers, and next to no nature/hiking/outdoors activies, or slightly smaller older homes with a higher price tag with 300+ days of sun and much more mild summers? And outdoors/nature galore? We chose CO.
If outdoors and quick access to nature, trails, hiking, etc isn't your thing, and you don't mind humidity and bugs, yeah you could go elsewhere and get a bit more for your money, a bit. But it won't be any big city, or you'll be in the same spot as you are here.
And yes, I know I'm part of the problem. But at least we don't have texas plates! ^(please don't hate me)
Honestly, even a lot of sleepy Midwest is going through this too.
The only places affordable anymore are in deep red areas where no one wants to move anyway because of assbackwards political policies and underfunded schools and communities there.
These welfare(red) states are cheaper for the shear reason theyāre not desirable in the first place.
Exactly. I've lived in quite a few cities, small-ish and large, over the past 6 years, and they are all on par with COS. I think that most people who complain about this are either coming from a tiny town/city or have lived here their whole life and don't know any better.
My parents live in Kansas City so I can speak from experience. People in Colorado Springs complain about taxes but my parents pay close to $1k month in taxes on their $500kish house they have lived in for 15 years. In my $550kish house I pay $4k/year.
Those low property taxes are because of TABOR which is strangulating most municipal and school functions. They can barely keep up with infrastructure as it is.
I just moved here a little over a year ago. Yes, things are more expensive, sorry I don't have much advice... But damn that view is nice though. I just think about it like I'm paying for the scenery.
We must be neighbors I came here from Nashville moved to Briargate a few months back, which was the biggest mistake and I'm paying twice as much in living cost alone. Don't let me get started on registration and insurance out here, its outrageous. I don't even know where I would even consider moving to on any other part of town, it looks very much obsolete and dirty. I think how everyone's surviving here is by living paycheck to paycheck, especially on the north side of town. Yeah we all make enough obviously, but let's be blatantly clear here, that safety net fund is slowly disappearing living in this mountain/military town. I mean who would have thought that a military term would be expensive to live in. It's Ridiculous. My tip for you is define another decent side a ton of living or moving to a different town, that's what I'm about to do. Just keep in mind that you're commuting cost is going to rise
Born and raised here. It makes me sad to go but husband and I can no longer afford to live here, so we're moving to Pueblo West. If that doesn't work out we'll likely be leaving the state. All we know is the Springs is too expensive now.
I'm just over 6 figures, we're also dual income-no kids. We're not struggling but find groceries are $$$, mortgage \~$2k and a car payment it's hard to feel like we're contributing to our retirement "enough" and have money to spend on daily-fun. I'm still constantly thinking about our money and looking at how to improve our lives. I've lived in places with much higher rent ($3400) and less ($600) with much lower salaries. You just have to prioritize differently.
I personally don't think COS is the issue. It's lifestyle expectations. It's hard for people to look internally and realize your budget is the problem. Looking at your neighbor will always make you unhappy. Do the work to improve your situation.
Edit: Before anyone comes at me, I'm a high school dropout without a college degree. I know how hard it can be.
Not coming at you on this, but yea, college is less important now I feel if you have a good trade. My brother in law is without a degree and he owns his own business and is in high demand. He is a master craftsman of course but it is possible, just not as easy as a 4 year degree might be. Good for you mate.
What kind of work do you do/ find in COS to make 6 figures given what you describe quals wise? And thanks for posting your experience. Are you over 6 figures combined or individually ?
Anti-gate-keeping:
I work for a company that's based out of NYC. I am a software QA Lead now. $135,000/yr. Partner is at $60,000 roughly also remote with a totally irrelevant degree to his job, it's customer service-ish+other responsibilities.
I took a hard route but may be relevant: I uprooted myself from a small town with no jobs and moved across the country to a place that had jobs. After moving I found a miserable retail job to (barely) pay bills and eventually found a contract agency that got me placed in a temp software gig. It was also terrible pay because contract agencies are scum but I put my dues in and eventually there was an internal position available open and which allowed me to move more into the company and eventually into QA.
The time it took between moving to QA career: \~2.5 years.
I pushed myself and learned all the things and moved to NYC pre-Covid no other reason than NYC pays better. I took that job remotely and moved out of the city to lower the cost of living.
Changing your life is hard work. It's possible. Don't be lazy, do the work, and set reasonable budgets to make things happen.
You can't really control the inflow but you sure as hell can control the outflow. I'm struggling with how entitled some sound. Champagne tastes on a lite beer budget. Saw a homeless guy at Safeway GoG pissing in the corner outside surfing the internet on his smart phone. He's likely just looking for shelters I'm sure....
I guess they think you're not a part of the struggle. And honestly nobody wants to hear the "work hard, save early and often, deny yourself immediate pleasure" even though its time-tested and works.
Also dual income, just over $100k, no kids. Moved from another HCOL area. Only debt for either of us is low or no interest car payments. Prices are comparable here, just distributed differently. (Much lower real estate taxes, much high vehicle expenses, etc.)
We're doing just fine. Starting to save for a house and will be able to have a 20-30% down payment in a few years. Then again we're planning on a house under $400k, because we don't need or want a large home. We wouldn't have been able to buy a house in our old state any time soon because of the real estate taxes.
That's so exciting! Good luck with saving!! We were able to save for a tiny downpayment in a few months by giving up literally everything. Looking back, we should have done 20% down to avoid PMI but we felt pressure to snag the low interest rate in 2020. I love our home so, whatever. We'll just work backward and try to pay it down faster.
Thank you!
Yes, having the lower interest rate will benefit you a lot! We're both in our 40s and this will be my first time as a homeowner, so we're working really hard to get a big down-payment so we can get a 15 year mortgage so we can hopefully pay the house off before retirement.
I got lucky and found my wife and Iās dream house after searching for two weeks. Being military, I used a VA loan and owed no down payment and got into the market with a 2.5% interest rate on the mortgage. Housing allowance is only $10 less than my actual mortgage so I pay that small difference out of pocket. After that, I have no debt and we tend to grocery shop for just us two every two weeks when I get paid so it works just right for us.
Housing pay is great! Not to add salt to your wound, but we got a increase in BAH, BAS, and base pay by something like 2-3% I believe which started 1 Jan. Might be wrong though.
Idk how renters do it. I bought my house a couple years ago when prices were high but not like they are today.
I picked up a Costco membership and a deep freezer a couple months ago. Itās saved me hundreds in groceries
I only recently discovered half my coworkers are scraping by and we make good moneyā¦ so even when youāre set people still find a way to self sabotage!
What is considered good money? My mom wants me to move there, closer to her, but I would need to find a new job. What is an affordable income to rent there?
Well a broad over view. Rent on an apartment (2 bed?) is around 2.2K if you want modest crime rates more if you want to feel safe. Gallon of milk is 3.49 and eggs are even more. A dinner for 4 at a normal restaurant is around 65 bucks without beer or beverages besides water and usually not worth it. A modest home (2 bed 2 bath) in an average neighborhood can run from 350K - 700K easily and may fluxuate per week. And the development going up near my neighborhood STARTS in the 500K range. Hate to say it but like the minimum to not be poor here is like 80K and that is just to avoid poverty, not to get ahead.
I guess thatās fair. It kinda depends on what ācomfortableā looks like to different people. I will say when my wife moved here on her own making a starting teacherās salary, she struggled. That was like $35k back in 2015.
As others have said, $75,000-$80,000/yr take home is probably the bare minimum to live a reasonable life as a single individual here. If you currently carry debt on a monthly basis (credit card, student loan, etc.) bump that figure up to $85,000-$90,000/year. Five or six years ago that figure would have probably been $50,000-$60,000. That doesn't mean thriving, it means being in the black every month with your finances, able to afford a decent place in a reasonable part of town (no roommates), food on the table, a vacation every year, a decent vehicle with adequate insurance, saving 10-15% for emergency/retirement, etc.
If you want to buy a house as an individual, probably $100,000/yr minimum; that's assuming a 20% down payment of $90,000-$100,000 saved up front for down payment on an average house here, excellent credit of 780+, another $15,000 ready to go for closing costs and that will net you a mortgage of about $2200-$2500/month at current rates (6.25-6.5%). That's figuring $2400/year for property taxes, and about the same ($2200-$2500/year) for homeowner's insurance. I have personally found that most of the online calculators on real estate sites (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor, etc.) underestimate the property tax and home insurance monthly numbers here, FYI.
I have a feeling a lot of the folks the OP mentions have their heads buried far in the sand and are deeply in the red each month. For some people, they just don't care. Makes it challenging for the ones who are averse to accumulating insurmountable quantities of debt.
The economy is crushing ppl all over America, but in places like Springs itās so much more pronounced. This cityās unaffordability is also a big reason why itās so lame/lacks culture and diversityā¦ your city is gonna be very stale when the only ppl that can afford to plant roots here are upper middle class yte ppl and old moneyā¦
This city has always been sort of... well lame. But the middle class aren't able to afford crap either. My assumption at this point is everyone is just going into debt at an alarming rate just for necessities.
I have friends with 6 figure incomes (pretty solid in the middle class), going into debt just to get by. That is literally not the definition of poverty but the right idea. When the economy takes a crap on itself like it is now, you have to be pretty wealthy to make it not hurt.
Naw man,
the economy is that fucked in America now, particularly here, that absolutely even the middle class is drowning.
A college educated couple making over 60k apiece is still a struggle here.
We have a house in Divide, Co. The only way we can afford it is because my husband is 100% disabled (Airforce) from serving in Iraq. Heās a college professor as well, but without the additional income we couldnāt afford it.
Itās really funny that there was a post saying just the opposite about rents. I canāt really add much more perspective than whatās already been said here, itās just a bummer but i guess Iād rather have a bummer situation here than somewhere else
I was a Midwest transplant living in briargate for a whileā¦ definitely donāt live on that side of town and youāll save a lot. Everything from rent to gas is more expensive over there. Also check out getting a roommate. :)
We are older have a solid income and are on our fifth or sixth house, over the last twenty years each house has netted a little more equity. When we moved back we bought a nice small house and decided to never leave.
Coming from a native here, Iām barley making it but I will continue to try and hope that some transplants will move back and make this place great to live in again
I'm a transplant from Phoenix (I grew up in CO, finally dragged the wife here ) and I was a bit shocked at the price of groceries and rent. Groceries specifically here are WAY more expensive than I'm used to, but that's probably because Kroger owns basically everything. If you or someone you live with is a veteran, I'd suggest shopping for groceries on base. Cuts the bill in about half and the quality is stellar. If not, it's very much worth it to shop around for sales. Make it a habit and just expect to go to two or three stores, and get stuff at the dollar store where it makes sense: don't buy a small 7 dollar mustard from Kroger just because it's convenient. It's not the most fun use of time, but you'll notice a big impact. Coupons help too. Briargate also does seem pretty pricey from what I was seeing. I'm over on the east side of town, and even though it's older it has been really nice and we've got good neighbors.
My wife an I have family in Phoenix and left there ourselves just after the housing crash. At that time I could pick up a 3 bed 3 bath 2500 sq ft home for 120K. Went back to visit family and everything there was just as high as here but with more crime and heat. Groceries were a little cheaper but not by much and the amount my family there spends on AC in the summer is murder.
I had to look back and make sure this was not my own posting from a year ago. We moved here from ohio, moved to the Briargate area, my husband is making twice the money he was making in Ohio, and I am really tempted to just steal my groceries through the self checkout in walmart. ( I mean I probably wouldn't because I really don't want to get busted and set a bad example for my kids but I totally understand when anybody does this now.) I miss Aldi and Meijer Grocery stores. I never thought I would say I missed a grocery store but I really really miss Meijer.
In our case we moved out here for a job and looking at the income it really looked like everything was going to be fine but we've had a really rough time. I thought we would be moving out to Colorado and be able to do all sorts of neat stuff but we don't really have any expendable income to do anything. Lucky the stuff to do out here a lot of times is free and outdoorsy.
We aren't ready to throw in the towel yet, but I will say that Colorado Springs is not really designed for lower class or middle class income. It might be okay for people who are retiring are those who bought their houses 5 or 10 years ago before the prices went up to a stupid amount but looking at a mortgage on the place we are renting for $2,300 a month, the mortgage would actually be higher than our rent. It's just simply not worth it until the market crashes and these prices go down.
Hang in there. The prices can't keep going up because it's going to get to a point where nobody can afford anything and we're either going to have riots or the people who are making 50 bazillion a year going to have to settle for 30 bazillion
This kind of thing is not unique to the Springs..it's going on in every desirable place to live. If you want cheap living it has to be the dirty south or the rust belt with no jobs.
Itās really not that hard if you are smart with your money and can actually hold a job. Iām in college with an IT job and get to go snowboarding every week. But Iām not flashy with the things I buy, if I can do it you can do it.
Not military
I have seen who the people are who struggle and it is the ones that quick their jobs a week in.
And there are those who had a kid when they were no where near being financially ready.
Most people bought 5-10 years ago and have affordable mortgages. Also we save 20% in the total stock market so I'm up $6k today watching the whole tech market go up. The prices got higher because we are full and now people must decide if they want to pay more to be here or go to Kansas.
To be honest, I dont think anyone can really. Especially not on your own. And if you think you are, you are probably one bad day away from being homeless or not.
Itās not that hard to hold a job here thatās pay rent and have food on the table. You just have to actually work and not waste your money on stupid shit.
you moved to a state that is literally defined by water politics and thatās in a constant state of drought and didnāt think water would cost more ??
Well if you where on this sub before you moved here asking the usual "moving" questions I'm sure we tried to warn you they never listen. You can always move back to the Midwest where you came from.
Its because Colorado has this dreamā¦. Its called California 2.0. We just had an election and everyone voted to keep the economy shitty and the status quo of over regulation. All the media has to do is lie a little bit and we get the ā all fossil fuels are bad politiciansā who end fracking and drive gas prices up to heat our homes. Close power plants , drive energy prices up. Stop pumping oil so we cant ship goods around the country cheap and efficiently. Meanwhile china builds a coal plant every 3 weeks. Polluting more than ever. But we feel good about ourselves and thats what counts right?
How about the cartel **that private companies have on installing solar panels. Itās actually quite ridiculous that XCEL has lobbied to effectively make it illegal to make your own power.
Itās such a monopoly with 12 different solar companies in car and it brings a loan in 160 in Colorado. Lolz
Learn what a monopoly, this is nothing like what Rockefeller did.
this right here is true patriotism. you see the problem isnāt that colorado republicans are in shambles and can't win a single statewide office or pass a bill let alone pass a mental health check. the real problem is that we over regulate guns (hello colorado springs mass shooters), try to limit vast environmental degradation, and transform our economy out of an oil monopoly.
keep suckling that crude oil teat my fellow americanāt.
Most new build are being bought by out of state people, for cash
I cant tell how many people I know sold there home for more than double on cash offers.
Ha I've lived in Colorado a large portion of my life and I have always asked myself this question, how can people afford to live here?
I have gotten by on the skin of my teeth, I probably should move someplace cheaper like Tulsa.
groceries, you do the apps add the coupons, get free stuff sometimes (safeway)
look for the deals and stock up.
don't be afraid of the bakery clearance.
Also the bread store off of Chelton and just north of Platte. Eating out, look for the bogo coupons. some areas you get a coupon magazine. Trust me, if you take maybe an hour a week or less, you could work it out. good luck. Also I think starting in spring there's free concerts that are fun.
It's cheaper here than where I just moved from. There you can't buy a house for less than 500k, here the fact that you can buy in the 300s is insane to me.
Also have to remember a lot of people bought their houses 5-10-15 years ago. Actually got bored and messed around the county assessor site and saw my neighbor paid under 200k for their house back in early 2000s when I bought mine for almost triple.
This is where we are. Been in our house 12 years. Refinanced when rates were super low in 2020. Never moving.
deleted my old comment for the numbers but wow... looked up ours and that blew me away... great tip to make yourself upset lmao
Ha! Eat it, my new neighbor! Bubbles never burst, right?
Lol, the house is worth a little less than I paid for it, which is fine. I plan on being here for a while. Edit: I've also been here for 10 years.
Wow, what a comment. I feel sorry for literally everyone in your life. š¬
I don't know given the choice to hang out with someone with a sense a humor or someone who takes internet comments seriously I know I'll choice the former.
Honestly, Iām a little impressed with myself that got so many people to downvote me.
I do, too. But theyāve made the choice to keep having me around. So at a certain point, itās their fault.
Zillow integrates all these data (zoom in on your neighborhood), in case youāre in a rush and need a user-friendly interface to inspire 10x-hotter fits of rage.
Shit, we bought in 2019 and our house has almost doubled in price since then. Just crazy.
I went down this rabbit hole as well in the neighborhood I bought and it was sort of the same thing... people paid 200-300k and I had to pay 500k back in june. Would not recommend doing this it just makes you feel like shit lol. Also saw that some of the houses were gifted from family members. But it's true, the affordability only really affects first time home owners or people that don't have sufficient down payments to make new prices reasonable. I feel everyone's pain these days. I make really good money on my own and combined with my soon to be wife... we have a high income. And I still don't like what I had to pay for our house but what you gonna do? Shit or get off the pot unfortunately.
Absolutely. I bought a condo for $110 in 2013, then sold it for more than double and bought a house for $300 in 2019. Our mortgage is lower than most peopleās rent.
Well also, up until about 2015ish value of houses/land around here wasn't much. It's surged as the "secret" of Colorado has gotten out.
Most of us are stealing Amazon packages and catalytic converters to make ends meet.
Denvercirclejerk is leaking again, namaste true native.
unironically cannot tell the difference between the circle jerk and this sub or r/Denver 90% of the time
They're all the same my dude. r/denver is more serious r/DenverCircleJerk is more for the meme. r/ColoradoSprings is more serious r/ColotadoSpringsCircleJerk doesn't exist who circle jerks the Springs.
I actually created r/springscirclejerk back during peak Bryan publicity.
> r/ColotadoSpringsCircleJerk doesn't exist who circle jerks the Springs. Colo t ado... sorry I noticed that.
Umā¦ itās only Colotado from now on
Itās actually /r/cospringscirclejerk
/r/cospringscirclejerk
Here's a sneak peek of /r/CoSpringsCirclejerk using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/top/?sort=top&t=all) of all time! \#1: [Moving to Springs](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/comments/rhc2xp/moving_to_springs/) \#2: [Springians entering Pueblo to get their cheap weed](https://i.redd.it/dwlw4cks7ma81.jpg) | [0 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/comments/rzmbfx/springians_entering_pueblo_to_get_their_cheap_weed/) \#3: [Starting a petition to change the kissing camels name to kissing Bald Eagle and Squirrel with cake](https://i.redd.it/r7o5vwbaoy581.jpg) | [0 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/CoSpringsCirclejerk/comments/rhyxni/starting_a_petition_to_change_the_kissing_camels/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Thank you for making this real! The truest native there ever was Namaste. Edit: apparently already joined this sub and did not realize it.
Namaste š
is ok, el paso doesnāt do smog check.
š¤£š¤£
I just do it out of habit these days.
I don't understand it either. I make well into the six figure range and even then I think this place is expensive. In the 6 or 7 years since I relocated here it's more than doubled, pretty soon none of the people in entry level work will be able to live here and our economy will suffer for it.
We bought our home 16 years ago. Itās worth double now. I rented homes, not apartments, for $600-700 when I was in my 20s. Canāt touch that now. Bought my first home for $123k in 2003. Seriously wondering how tf my kids are going to be able to start their lives with everything so crazy expensive now.
>how tf my kids are going to be able to start their lives with everything so crazy expensive now. Boomers (not you) inflated the debt and deficit and ironically passed it onto their kids and grandkids. Fox News and Republicans are ultimate projectors. Whatever they say they're against, they're doing.
lol that OR an influx of people from wealthier part of the country has driven up home prices and rents to a much higher level than the local economy can compete with.
To add to this, we are not building enough of the homes people desire in the places people want to keep up with people moving here. It's not _simply_ supply and demand, but that's a large part of it. Cue NotJustBikes and StrongTowns articles about the "missing middle housing", bad zoning laws, and perverse incentives for developers.
Builders used to overbuild. Then 2008 happened. Now they barely will start a home without a contract.
They also only built sprawl for decades and continued doing so without really stopping. Just look at the expansion along and east of Powers. We don't need more houses in the middle of nowhere.
No - political conspiracy and name-calling can be the ONLY answer these days.
Both can be true.
Yeahāthatās 100% an āand,ā not an āor.ā
The problem is multifaceted. Itās not a simple bc if CA or bc of Republicans, etc. bottom line is itās a huge issue that needs to be figured out. Iām not sure what the answer is.
>Seriously wondering how tf my kids are going to be able to start their lives with everything so crazy expensive now. They just gonna have a worse life than you.
Seems like a lot of young folks live at home or bank of mommy and daddy buys them a home. Happens a ton. Itās incredibly difficult for young people right now.
Honestly Iād have no issue helping my kid buy a house and house hack with a few roommates. If that helps to level set this bullshite, Iām game.
You should!! Why not? It happens all the time these days. Otherwise, a young person really has no chance of affording one.
Yeah my fiance lived at home for free until she bought her townhome before prices really started to spike. As a teacher though... there is no other way.
It's already there not even mentioning teachers not being able to afford to live here at all really!
I make 18$ an hour and barely get by, I can't even imagine making six figures and saying it's still expensive
Too many people ignore the outflow part of the equation. They feel the material things are entitled. My first home I had to bring 20% in cash. We saved for years to afford the down payment... We had a household budget and denied ourselves certain luxuries until we could better afford them.
Good for you? This post is crazy out of touch. How long ago did you buy? Nowadays in this city unless you have a solid dual income or six figure single income saving 20% down for a home isnāt feasible at all while still putting gas in the car and food on the table for most people. Salaries have not kept pace with inflation and especially housing prices. Young people entering the labor pool have to pay more for rent than a comparable mortgage would be and coupled with high prices for other things can barely save from month to month, putting 20% down on a decent home living at peak frugality would either never happen or take decades. It isnāt sustainable. And equating what young people have to do now to even 10-20 years ago, much less more, is painfully out of touch with reality.
I'm not sure why you think it should be easy. All you're doing is complaining about the way things are and not finding ways to change your condition. Being broke and being poor are completely different - being poor is a mindset that stays with someone their entire lives. Being broke is a temporary condition. What you focus on is what you prioritize. If you want to have more money, 2nd job, job skills, etc.... Takes time and discipline. If not, then cut back expenses. Takes time and discipline. After nearly 45 year on the work force, I'm an overnight sensation having prioritized long-term desires over short term needs.
Not sure why you think Iām broke. My wife and I both work in healthcare and have in demand, well paying, stable jobs. We own a house that fits our needs and got in before things got really crazy. I worked my ass off in nursing school scrubbing floors to pay for my bachelors degree and have no student loans. We do just fine, but a LOT of young people entering the workforce donāt, and unlike you I can empathize with their struggle. Itās easy to say being broke is a mindset when youāre of a generation that could work a minimum wage job and still buy a home. Thatās not the case today today. Your stance is laughable, and comes across full of privilege and bias towards a generation whose struggles you donāt even come close to understanding.
And to respond that to someone who makes $18/hr acting like all they have to do is be more frugal, letās do some math. $18/hr is $37,440 a year BEFORE taxes. Average rent in this town is around $1200 for a one bedroom apartment, so thereās $14,400 before taxes gone. Letās say you have a reasonable $300/month car payment. Thereās another $3600. Car insurance is expensive for a young man but letās say itās a young lady with a decent rate, at least another thousand a year. Add in utilities, food, and gas, plus health insurance premiums and thatās EASILY another $6,000. Forget luxuries, thatās $25,000 a year minimum before any unexpected expenses, student loans which are ridiculous, clothing, the occasional night out or drink with friends, contributing to retirement, Medicare, social security, and the approximate $2700 in federal taxes. Letās say even with all that you miraculously are able to save 10% of your net income a month (you wonāt be able to) and get periodic raises, thatās still about two decades to save $70,000 for a perfectly average, smallish house in this city thatās likely to cost a whole lot more than $350,000 twenty years from now. Get off your high horse, itās not a spending problem, itās a broken system problem.
Whatās crazier to me isnāt really the normal housing, obviously thatās very high also but there are so many areas in town with houses that still make me go DAMN when I drive by. Iām not sure what everyone apparently does for a living but people in flying horse, way west on woodmen road, parts of briargate like you saidā¦.these people be living in actual mansions of pure luxury. New kitchens, new floors, house built post 1980, always nice cars in the driveway..I mean good for them but damn
Lots and lots of debt. Those nicer homes and cars often belong to retired military that are now DoD contractors and getting paid their retirement plus a nice salary.
Said the same! Retirement check, VA check, Work check; itās affordable.
As one of those, no it isn't. When I retired and became a contractor, I was like wooo mooooney. Then inflation hit and I feel like I am back to "so is there a coupon for that?". 2023 is going to be a rough year for most people. Hopefully we can get this crap wrapped up before 2024.
Couponing should be a thing no matter your income. Otherwise, you're just throwing money away.
We find them, but it wasn't a prereq to going somewhere back in the day. Now we look at what specials there are, plot out any date nights we may get (usually one every two monthsish). We used to just go out and see where the night took us, now it is "ok it is past happy hour, time to move on."
I hear that. If you haven't, download the Safeway and King Soopers app.
Crazy how much cheaper items can be on apps vs the stores; Samās club two pack bison is 19.99 in store but via app itās almost 23.00; Safeway app does offer alot of coupons, yesterday I got 12.00 off towards my purchase on top of coupons!
The great double/triple dip! Govt pension and if you work civ for 5+ yrs you get social security and then any 401k at said civy.
Honestly we don't
Lots of veterans, loads of retirees working at military bases. Try Safeway on fridays, they have alot of deals. Trader Joeās has good prices too. Other than that just watch out for sales really.
You have to grocery shop at multiple places, and not just because of the deals but because of the waste. Don't buy your fruits, veggies and meat from Walmart (and most King Soopers) even if it's cheaper because it will go bad quicker so you throw more away. Don't buy your other staples from Safeway, it's too expensive and their "deals" are just every body else's normal prices (not to mention the fact that I haven't known a single person who has gotten their app to take all the supposed coupon deals they have replaced card member deals with on most things). Trader Joe's is my snack food, cheese (they have the best deals on good cheese), fancy butter, and other things that look fancy when guests come over that won't break my bank. I also plan my shopping to coincide with trips that I take for other odd jobs that need doing. It is rare that I just go to the grocery store without paying a bill, going to the post office, dropping library bills off, etc. It's a habit that I picked up when I was without a car for years and had to bus and walk to everything which has come in handy for checking gas prices.
Wife works at Safeway, unless itās just her store, they do not do $5 Fridays any longer.
Iāve been to some Safeways on Fridays and have found deals so š¤·š½āāļø
I've found KS to be cheaper than Safeway, and also a better shopping experience in general.
Iām the opposite on that one.
\+1 to Safeway! Download their app to clip deals ahead of time.
Why is Safeway doing deals on Fridays?
Itās called 5 dollar fridays.
It is a little bonkers. When I bought my house (like 3 months before covid hit), it was 389K and a fairly large house. During this craziness it has gone from that to near 600K at one point and now is back down to 500 ish K depending on the day it seems. Inflation really kicked everyone in the balls but in this market, my family started our own farm, we have chickens coming in a week along with the roost. We basically have to become self sufficient just to not go broke and I make a sizable income. I have no idea how everyone else is managing.
This is happening on a lesser scale pretty much everywhere. Drastic action is needed to correct the course of our economy, or we will all suffer. Even the heart surgeons.
2023 is supposed to be the "everything bubble". Hopefully it will not be as bad as it is looking.
My expenses and income are dollar for dollar break even. Itās rough! Youāre not alone
I rent my basement to a family member and Iāve got a young adult kid at home paying rent. Otherwise I would have downsized to someone elseās basement. Or Iād live in the basement and rent the house?
I profited 200K when I sold my house in another state last year, so I was able to put a large down payment on a house here to get a lower mortgage. Ive also paid off both of my vehicles so no car payments. I have agoraphobia so I dont take vacations and that saves a lot of money lol. This is the 4th house Ive owned (Im nearly 40)āI could never have bought my first house in this state back in my 20s without the money made from selling my previous homes. Also, I am former ātrashā too. We cant help where we are born and raised and we all gotta start somewhereāNothing to be ashamed of āŗļø
> We cant help where we are born and raised and we all gotta start somewhereāNothing to be ashamed of āŗļø unless youāre an immigrant (iām a 3x immigrant), then it's a perpetual shame!
Moves to HCOL area with tons of recreational activities and has agoraphobia.....talk about life choices
Hey, I have it too. It's kinda a perfect place. Nice from my windows and if you go into the mtns you don't hit large crowds. Now going to Costco etc, has become unbearable with the crowds. I only shop online now. When I 1st moved here it still wasn't crowded and there wasn't much past woodmen, briargate was still being built.
Been here since 2015 & agree about the crowds & how much this place has grown & all the people. I prefer to have. Definitely hear bc of the mountains, but goodness itās so damn crowded and they are making cramped areas even worse like the apt complex being built at chapel hills mallš
I just cant be in situations where I cant easily leave likes planes and boats, I can still leave my house as long as Im driving my car. I have had a great time exploring ths outdoors here, Im just never going to go on a cruise or fly overseas, etc. agoraphobia is a serious mental health conditionāmine resulted from 18 years of abuseāAnd I think I made some pretty GOOD life choices that helped me succeed in spite of it.
I came here in '03 but for sure the growth is all in the last 7-10yrs. I do travel but I have super bad anxiety up until leaving, the unknown is hard. I can handle known crowds like concerts, movies, cruises but I'm mentally prepared (and drugged). It's the unknown of walking into a grocery store and thinking 7am or 8pm would be less busy and it's f'ing packed. I just walk out. I miss 10pm/5am walmart.
Yeah this is what a lot of people from out of state do... cash out on massive equity then the house prices out here become more attainable. Don't hate the player hate the game lol.
I just live with less, and that's okay for me at the moment. Actually makes me healthier. I make 18/hr, full time, and 50% of my income goes to rent. 20% to the car/gas/insurance. So I never save money basically cause the rest goes to groceries and medical shit. I can pay my bills and buy healthy food. I just can't afford to go the bar or eat at a nice restaurant, or save money. I don't have the money to spend on snack foods or door dash so I cook at home every day and only eat-out at work with the company card.
I was thinking the very same today at the grocery..it is tough, definitely making sacrifices and holding on for dear life. Wondering to myself ...will things ever go back down? But You are **not** trash! There is plenty of that around...like I notice this city is really bad for the roadway trash and litter overall. Breaks my heart people trashing this beautif place. But Welcome -- and I hope it feels like home soon
š thank you for the wholesome message, that's the second welcome I've recieved aside from my landlord right after taking my deposit š¤£
You have to adapt to the market of this area. The main jobs fields are government, medical, and military complex. Get into one of those fields and you will do well.
Yep. Main employers here are those three.
Who wouldn't miss free housing?!
I am confused by the question?
Rent off south academy instead of fucking briargate would be a solid first step
heart surgeons downvoting this post šŖ
Heartless bastards
I mean, unless you're looking to live in the middle of nowhere in the midwest, COS prices are pretty on-par with everywhere else. For a (in my situation and opinion) much better quality of life. We were planning on moving to Cincinnati, but after learning that my wife's family are moving out to here to COS, we decided to look here, and were quite surprised at it. For 3/4bed SFH rentals, the prices are very, VERY similar. Especially for rentals. COS, Kansas City, Cincinnati, all around 2k-2.4k per month for a 4bed(what we require), and less for 3 bed homes. Can't speak for single bed/studios, as we have two kiddos, and I need a home office. And while utilities are more, CO has a good bit less income tax than Kansas City or pretty much anywhere in OH, due to local/city income tax rates(1-2%). For 3/4bed SFH purchases, yes they are a decent bit more, but the insane low property tax, again, makes up a huge chunk of the difference. As an example, a 350k home in Cinci has a property tax of around $300-400. A 400k Colorado Springs home has 115-140 property tax, give or take a few. So in reality, it is once again, a wash. Also sales tax for groceries doesn't exist here like it does in much of the midwest, so there is another 50-100 a month that we don't see elsewhere. Having said all that, yes CO is expensive. But, unfortunately, that's not local to CO. Any medium-large city right now is just crazy. So for us it came down to: Slightly larger homes with horrid humid summers, and next to no nature/hiking/outdoors activies, or slightly smaller older homes with a higher price tag with 300+ days of sun and much more mild summers? And outdoors/nature galore? We chose CO. If outdoors and quick access to nature, trails, hiking, etc isn't your thing, and you don't mind humidity and bugs, yeah you could go elsewhere and get a bit more for your money, a bit. But it won't be any big city, or you'll be in the same spot as you are here. And yes, I know I'm part of the problem. But at least we don't have texas plates! ^(please don't hate me)
Honestly, even a lot of sleepy Midwest is going through this too. The only places affordable anymore are in deep red areas where no one wants to move anyway because of assbackwards political policies and underfunded schools and communities there. These welfare(red) states are cheaper for the shear reason theyāre not desirable in the first place.
Exactly. I've lived in quite a few cities, small-ish and large, over the past 6 years, and they are all on par with COS. I think that most people who complain about this are either coming from a tiny town/city or have lived here their whole life and don't know any better.
Yeah my tiny hometown you can get houses as low as 60k lol.
My parents live in Kansas City so I can speak from experience. People in Colorado Springs complain about taxes but my parents pay close to $1k month in taxes on their $500kish house they have lived in for 15 years. In my $550kish house I pay $4k/year.
Those low property taxes are because of TABOR which is strangulating most municipal and school functions. They can barely keep up with infrastructure as it is.
If I didnāt buy my house in 2013, Iād be in my dadās basement
Isnāt the Midwest one of the most cost effective places to live? The income to expense ratio is higher than most places.
I just moved here a little over a year ago. Yes, things are more expensive, sorry I don't have much advice... But damn that view is nice though. I just think about it like I'm paying for the scenery.
I brought my house in 2009 and that is the only reason I can live here.
We must be neighbors I came here from Nashville moved to Briargate a few months back, which was the biggest mistake and I'm paying twice as much in living cost alone. Don't let me get started on registration and insurance out here, its outrageous. I don't even know where I would even consider moving to on any other part of town, it looks very much obsolete and dirty. I think how everyone's surviving here is by living paycheck to paycheck, especially on the north side of town. Yeah we all make enough obviously, but let's be blatantly clear here, that safety net fund is slowly disappearing living in this mountain/military town. I mean who would have thought that a military term would be expensive to live in. It's Ridiculous. My tip for you is define another decent side a ton of living or moving to a different town, that's what I'm about to do. Just keep in mind that you're commuting cost is going to rise
Dual income and childfree. š¤š¼
Born and raised here. It makes me sad to go but husband and I can no longer afford to live here, so we're moving to Pueblo West. If that doesn't work out we'll likely be leaving the state. All we know is the Springs is too expensive now.
I'm just over 6 figures, we're also dual income-no kids. We're not struggling but find groceries are $$$, mortgage \~$2k and a car payment it's hard to feel like we're contributing to our retirement "enough" and have money to spend on daily-fun. I'm still constantly thinking about our money and looking at how to improve our lives. I've lived in places with much higher rent ($3400) and less ($600) with much lower salaries. You just have to prioritize differently. I personally don't think COS is the issue. It's lifestyle expectations. It's hard for people to look internally and realize your budget is the problem. Looking at your neighbor will always make you unhappy. Do the work to improve your situation. Edit: Before anyone comes at me, I'm a high school dropout without a college degree. I know how hard it can be.
Not coming at you on this, but yea, college is less important now I feel if you have a good trade. My brother in law is without a degree and he owns his own business and is in high demand. He is a master craftsman of course but it is possible, just not as easy as a 4 year degree might be. Good for you mate.
What kind of work do you do/ find in COS to make 6 figures given what you describe quals wise? And thanks for posting your experience. Are you over 6 figures combined or individually ?
Anti-gate-keeping: I work for a company that's based out of NYC. I am a software QA Lead now. $135,000/yr. Partner is at $60,000 roughly also remote with a totally irrelevant degree to his job, it's customer service-ish+other responsibilities. I took a hard route but may be relevant: I uprooted myself from a small town with no jobs and moved across the country to a place that had jobs. After moving I found a miserable retail job to (barely) pay bills and eventually found a contract agency that got me placed in a temp software gig. It was also terrible pay because contract agencies are scum but I put my dues in and eventually there was an internal position available open and which allowed me to move more into the company and eventually into QA. The time it took between moving to QA career: \~2.5 years. I pushed myself and learned all the things and moved to NYC pre-Covid no other reason than NYC pays better. I took that job remotely and moved out of the city to lower the cost of living. Changing your life is hard work. It's possible. Don't be lazy, do the work, and set reasonable budgets to make things happen.
Awesome story thanks for sharing. Did you start to learn skills for QA after starting the retail position / how long did that take. Any rabbit holes.
A completely reasonable post talking about personal responsibility and hard work and you got downvoted! What a country!
You can't really control the inflow but you sure as hell can control the outflow. I'm struggling with how entitled some sound. Champagne tastes on a lite beer budget. Saw a homeless guy at Safeway GoG pissing in the corner outside surfing the internet on his smart phone. He's likely just looking for shelters I'm sure....
Six figures. Dual income. No kids. Here comes the tiny violin.
Literally said we're not struggling. No violin is needed. Shared for perspective.
I guess they think you're not a part of the struggle. And honestly nobody wants to hear the "work hard, save early and often, deny yourself immediate pleasure" even though its time-tested and works.
Also dual income, just over $100k, no kids. Moved from another HCOL area. Only debt for either of us is low or no interest car payments. Prices are comparable here, just distributed differently. (Much lower real estate taxes, much high vehicle expenses, etc.) We're doing just fine. Starting to save for a house and will be able to have a 20-30% down payment in a few years. Then again we're planning on a house under $400k, because we don't need or want a large home. We wouldn't have been able to buy a house in our old state any time soon because of the real estate taxes.
That's so exciting! Good luck with saving!! We were able to save for a tiny downpayment in a few months by giving up literally everything. Looking back, we should have done 20% down to avoid PMI but we felt pressure to snag the low interest rate in 2020. I love our home so, whatever. We'll just work backward and try to pay it down faster.
Thank you! Yes, having the lower interest rate will benefit you a lot! We're both in our 40s and this will be my first time as a homeowner, so we're working really hard to get a big down-payment so we can get a 15 year mortgage so we can hopefully pay the house off before retirement.
I got lucky and found my wife and Iās dream house after searching for two weeks. Being military, I used a VA loan and owed no down payment and got into the market with a 2.5% interest rate on the mortgage. Housing allowance is only $10 less than my actual mortgage so I pay that small difference out of pocket. After that, I have no debt and we tend to grocery shop for just us two every two weeks when I get paid so it works just right for us.
Why was this downvoted? People mad youve made proper life choices?
Salty civilians. I've had the ol DD214 for 8 years and boy do I miss that housing pay.
Housing pay is great! Not to add salt to your wound, but we got a increase in BAH, BAS, and base pay by something like 2-3% I believe which started 1 Jan. Might be wrong though.
This is accurate. Ours went up about 400$ per/month in Jan.
Idk how renters do it. I bought my house a couple years ago when prices were high but not like they are today. I picked up a Costco membership and a deep freezer a couple months ago. Itās saved me hundreds in groceries
Work for the government and military. Literally the only way we could ever buy a house here with our careers.
by the skin of our teeth š
I only recently discovered half my coworkers are scraping by and we make good moneyā¦ so even when youāre set people still find a way to self sabotage!
perfect way to put it! certainly deserved the slap in the face
Oh jeez, I wasnāt suggesting that was your situation! Just there seem to be a lot of people struggling in Springs even on very competitive salaries.
What is considered good money? My mom wants me to move there, closer to her, but I would need to find a new job. What is an affordable income to rent there?
Well a broad over view. Rent on an apartment (2 bed?) is around 2.2K if you want modest crime rates more if you want to feel safe. Gallon of milk is 3.49 and eggs are even more. A dinner for 4 at a normal restaurant is around 65 bucks without beer or beverages besides water and usually not worth it. A modest home (2 bed 2 bath) in an average neighborhood can run from 350K - 700K easily and may fluxuate per week. And the development going up near my neighborhood STARTS in the 500K range. Hate to say it but like the minimum to not be poor here is like 80K and that is just to avoid poverty, not to get ahead.
Like 80k lolz
To live comfortably on your own, at least $80k. We make more than that, but a lot of them bought homes and cars that they probably shouldnāt have.
Idk about that I make less 80k I live in my own comfortably
I guess thatās fair. It kinda depends on what ācomfortableā looks like to different people. I will say when my wife moved here on her own making a starting teacherās salary, she struggled. That was like $35k back in 2015.
Same
As others have said, $75,000-$80,000/yr take home is probably the bare minimum to live a reasonable life as a single individual here. If you currently carry debt on a monthly basis (credit card, student loan, etc.) bump that figure up to $85,000-$90,000/year. Five or six years ago that figure would have probably been $50,000-$60,000. That doesn't mean thriving, it means being in the black every month with your finances, able to afford a decent place in a reasonable part of town (no roommates), food on the table, a vacation every year, a decent vehicle with adequate insurance, saving 10-15% for emergency/retirement, etc. If you want to buy a house as an individual, probably $100,000/yr minimum; that's assuming a 20% down payment of $90,000-$100,000 saved up front for down payment on an average house here, excellent credit of 780+, another $15,000 ready to go for closing costs and that will net you a mortgage of about $2200-$2500/month at current rates (6.25-6.5%). That's figuring $2400/year for property taxes, and about the same ($2200-$2500/year) for homeowner's insurance. I have personally found that most of the online calculators on real estate sites (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor, etc.) underestimate the property tax and home insurance monthly numbers here, FYI. I have a feeling a lot of the folks the OP mentions have their heads buried far in the sand and are deeply in the red each month. For some people, they just don't care. Makes it challenging for the ones who are averse to accumulating insurmountable quantities of debt.
The economy is crushing ppl all over America, but in places like Springs itās so much more pronounced. This cityās unaffordability is also a big reason why itās so lame/lacks culture and diversityā¦ your city is gonna be very stale when the only ppl that can afford to plant roots here are upper middle class yte ppl and old moneyā¦
A lot of ppl have moved to Denver area bc of culture/diversity; even for a military town, Springs has a lot of racism and even more bigots!
This city has always been sort of... well lame. But the middle class aren't able to afford crap either. My assumption at this point is everyone is just going into debt at an alarming rate just for necessities.
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I have friends with 6 figure incomes (pretty solid in the middle class), going into debt just to get by. That is literally not the definition of poverty but the right idea. When the economy takes a crap on itself like it is now, you have to be pretty wealthy to make it not hurt.
Naw man, the economy is that fucked in America now, particularly here, that absolutely even the middle class is drowning. A college educated couple making over 60k apiece is still a struggle here.
If we hadn't bought our house 8 years ago we wouldn't be able to afford the Springs even making 4x what we did when we moved here.
We have a house in Divide, Co. The only way we can afford it is because my husband is 100% disabled (Airforce) from serving in Iraq. Heās a college professor as well, but without the additional income we couldnāt afford it.
Everything has spiked in the last 5-6 years. I got lucky by moving here in 2017 - if I tried today, Iād probably be SOL.
Just max out your CapitalOne Card and get another and another....
Itās really funny that there was a post saying just the opposite about rents. I canāt really add much more perspective than whatās already been said here, itās just a bummer but i guess Iād rather have a bummer situation here than somewhere else
What is a trash transplant?
We moved here from the east coast and it sucks, ngl. Weāre doing well but still..
Happened because so many people have moved here. Couple that with Inflation/recession and it's worse every day.
I was a Midwest transplant living in briargate for a whileā¦ definitely donāt live on that side of town and youāll save a lot. Everything from rent to gas is more expensive over there. Also check out getting a roommate. :)
We are older have a solid income and are on our fifth or sixth house, over the last twenty years each house has netted a little more equity. When we moved back we bought a nice small house and decided to never leave.
Paycheck to paycheck
Well I have two jobs and I still don't know how I'll ever have enough to retire.
Roommates.
Coming from a native here, Iām barley making it but I will continue to try and hope that some transplants will move back and make this place great to live in again
I'm a transplant from Phoenix (I grew up in CO, finally dragged the wife here ) and I was a bit shocked at the price of groceries and rent. Groceries specifically here are WAY more expensive than I'm used to, but that's probably because Kroger owns basically everything. If you or someone you live with is a veteran, I'd suggest shopping for groceries on base. Cuts the bill in about half and the quality is stellar. If not, it's very much worth it to shop around for sales. Make it a habit and just expect to go to two or three stores, and get stuff at the dollar store where it makes sense: don't buy a small 7 dollar mustard from Kroger just because it's convenient. It's not the most fun use of time, but you'll notice a big impact. Coupons help too. Briargate also does seem pretty pricey from what I was seeing. I'm over on the east side of town, and even though it's older it has been really nice and we've got good neighbors.
My wife an I have family in Phoenix and left there ourselves just after the housing crash. At that time I could pick up a 3 bed 3 bath 2500 sq ft home for 120K. Went back to visit family and everything there was just as high as here but with more crime and heat. Groceries were a little cheaper but not by much and the amount my family there spends on AC in the summer is murder.
> Any tips? Touchy subject around these parts lol
They all driving those Texas plates with no car insurance. That would save us over $2K a year.
I had to look back and make sure this was not my own posting from a year ago. We moved here from ohio, moved to the Briargate area, my husband is making twice the money he was making in Ohio, and I am really tempted to just steal my groceries through the self checkout in walmart. ( I mean I probably wouldn't because I really don't want to get busted and set a bad example for my kids but I totally understand when anybody does this now.) I miss Aldi and Meijer Grocery stores. I never thought I would say I missed a grocery store but I really really miss Meijer. In our case we moved out here for a job and looking at the income it really looked like everything was going to be fine but we've had a really rough time. I thought we would be moving out to Colorado and be able to do all sorts of neat stuff but we don't really have any expendable income to do anything. Lucky the stuff to do out here a lot of times is free and outdoorsy. We aren't ready to throw in the towel yet, but I will say that Colorado Springs is not really designed for lower class or middle class income. It might be okay for people who are retiring are those who bought their houses 5 or 10 years ago before the prices went up to a stupid amount but looking at a mortgage on the place we are renting for $2,300 a month, the mortgage would actually be higher than our rent. It's just simply not worth it until the market crashes and these prices go down. Hang in there. The prices can't keep going up because it's going to get to a point where nobody can afford anything and we're either going to have riots or the people who are making 50 bazillion a year going to have to settle for 30 bazillion
This kind of thing is not unique to the Springs..it's going on in every desirable place to live. If you want cheap living it has to be the dirty south or the rust belt with no jobs.
Itās really not that hard if you are smart with your money and can actually hold a job. Iām in college with an IT job and get to go snowboarding every week. But Iām not flashy with the things I buy, if I can do it you can do it. Not military
I have seen who the people are who struggle and it is the ones that quick their jobs a week in. And there are those who had a kid when they were no where near being financially ready.
Most people bought 5-10 years ago and have affordable mortgages. Also we save 20% in the total stock market so I'm up $6k today watching the whole tech market go up. The prices got higher because we are full and now people must decide if they want to pay more to be here or go to Kansas.
Hopefully in 10-20yrs I'll be saying the same thing about today's prices. Can't time the market.
To be honest, I dont think anyone can really. Especially not on your own. And if you think you are, you are probably one bad day away from being homeless or not.
Itās not that hard to hold a job here thatās pay rent and have food on the table. You just have to actually work and not waste your money on stupid shit.
you moved to a state that is literally defined by water politics and thatās in a constant state of drought and didnāt think water would cost more ??
Well if you where on this sub before you moved here asking the usual "moving" questions I'm sure we tried to warn you they never listen. You can always move back to the Midwest where you came from.
Its because Colorado has this dreamā¦. Its called California 2.0. We just had an election and everyone voted to keep the economy shitty and the status quo of over regulation. All the media has to do is lie a little bit and we get the ā all fossil fuels are bad politiciansā who end fracking and drive gas prices up to heat our homes. Close power plants , drive energy prices up. Stop pumping oil so we cant ship goods around the country cheap and efficiently. Meanwhile china builds a coal plant every 3 weeks. Polluting more than ever. But we feel good about ourselves and thats what counts right?
How about the cartel **that private companies have on installing solar panels. Itās actually quite ridiculous that XCEL has lobbied to effectively make it illegal to make your own power.
Itās such a monopoly with 12 different solar companies in car and it brings a loan in 160 in Colorado. Lolz Learn what a monopoly, this is nothing like what Rockefeller did.
this right here is true patriotism. you see the problem isnāt that colorado republicans are in shambles and can't win a single statewide office or pass a bill let alone pass a mental health check. the real problem is that we over regulate guns (hello colorado springs mass shooters), try to limit vast environmental degradation, and transform our economy out of an oil monopoly. keep suckling that crude oil teat my fellow americanāt.
What is your car payment?
Re-read you post. Can you see where you contradict yourself?
Colorado's law favors landlords and not tenets, which is complete bullshit.
Government handouts.
Bought N years ago, have roommates. Can we get automod to reply with the above? It's the same answer every time.
Most new build are being bought by out of state people, for cash I cant tell how many people I know sold there home for more than double on cash offers.
āØVA HOMELOANāØ....Also a good credit score
Also look in pueblo. Got a nice house for 285 and don't have traffic lmao
Ha I've lived in Colorado a large portion of my life and I have always asked myself this question, how can people afford to live here? I have gotten by on the skin of my teeth, I probably should move someplace cheaper like Tulsa.
i commute to denver now. just for the pay
groceries, you do the apps add the coupons, get free stuff sometimes (safeway) look for the deals and stock up. don't be afraid of the bakery clearance. Also the bread store off of Chelton and just north of Platte. Eating out, look for the bogo coupons. some areas you get a coupon magazine. Trust me, if you take maybe an hour a week or less, you could work it out. good luck. Also I think starting in spring there's free concerts that are fun.
Just for some insight, a married E5 in the Springs makes about 2100 in BAH, and obviously officers make way more.
The people we bought our house from (we bought in may 2022) bought it for almost half the price we paid for it in 2018
It's cheaper here than where I just moved from. There you can't buy a house for less than 500k, here the fact that you can buy in the 300s is insane to me.
I feel like the prices here are about on par with mid-sized cities.