I live north of there, but much of the east slope shares a lot of characteristics.

Things to remember about the Colorado Springs area:

It's a major target in the event of a nuclear exchange with Russia or China. You'll want to be well away from the military sites, preferably to the west (upwind) if that is something you want to prep for.

It's pretty dry, so you will want to make sure you plan accordingly with regards to what kind of crops you plant. Ranching is more common. Figure on 12-15 inches of precipitation a year, and it gets drier the further west you go. Make sure of your water supply. Colorado has some pretty harsh laws regarding water usage/rights (rainwater collection is illegal) and wells have to be registered with the state. Post EOTWAWKI all the current laws won't matter so much, but right now it is something you need to take into consideration.

Fires are your biggest natural hazard (aside from draught), so keeping a good distance between flammable buildings and the treeline is important.

Weather wise, winter snow can be pretty heavy at times, but the area gets a surprising amount of sunshine on a yearly basis. Solar energy would do pretty well there most of the year.

 

Rainwater

Rainwater collection is illegal state wide? That's pretty crazy. As for the state licensed wells, is a license hard to get?

 

Rainwater collection is illegal state wide? That's pretty crazy. As for the state licensed wells, is a license hard to get?

I lived in the springs for 15+ yrs before I moved down here in '03.

You can only collect rain water if you have a well permit and then you can only use the water like you could your well water.

If you have 35+ acres you can get what is called a domestic permit. You can water outside animals and irrigate 1 acre.

< 35 acres and you can get what's called a household permit. Inside use only. No trees, no garden, no flowers, no outside animals....can't even wash your car.

Water was one of the reasons I left. Before I did, you couldn't collect rain water under any circumstance.

Super short growing seasons is one of the others. In 15 years I never had a successful veggie garden.

 

Why not save some money and just get a small house / apartment there in the springs and your actual BOL alittle further away , like say 1 1/2 - 2 hrs away ?

In the long run if you shop wisely with the current market being what it is you could very well come out ahead.

If that would be something you would be interested in drop me a PM, and no I am NOT in real estate.

 

Though you've had several good replies from folks that know what they're talking about..... I'll chime in anyway :. I've spent a little time out there,working with an old buddy that's a contractor in the Denver area,and I really loved it out there.
That being said,IMO, the state is just TOO permeated with bonehead lefties to be an ideal BOL. Most of the surrounding states would be much more ideal in my estimation ( Utah,Wyoming,etc.) Much more 2nd amendment-freindly,and less populated and dominated by brainless, left-leaning-activist,pot-head, enviro-nazis.
As much as I loved the state of Colorado, I feel much safer,long term, here in my home state of Georgia.
Just my .02.

 

The Springs is much more conservative than Denver. It seemed like everyone that was stationed at Peterson or Carson over the last 40 years wanted to retire there. I swear 85% of the homes in my block were ex-military.

That being said, one of the reasons I sold out and moved was the Kalifornikator libtard infiltration.

 

Look elsewhere.

Look for somewhere where there is water.
Colorado is full of idiots, lib-tards and bureaucrats.
We're looking to relocate, probably to the Ft Collins area but it's still not an improvement in some circumstances.

Look elsewhere.

 

Thanks

Thanks for all the responses especially from those that have lived there. I didn't realize how tight the water situation is there. It's unfortunate that my job will likely keep me around Colorado Springs, not sure there's much I can do to change that at this point.

Hard to believe a state would have laws making it illegal to trap rainwater off of your own home. I'm either going to have to get my hands on a well permit or maybe rent while I'm there so I can afford to build a BOL somewhere else.

 

Hard to believe a state would have laws making it illegal to trap rainwater off of your own home. I'm either going to have to get my hands on a well permit or maybe rent while I'm there so I can afford to build a BOL somewhere else.

Yeah, it is kind of weird, but as someone said, that dates back to the 19th century and was the result of "water-wars" with neighboring states/territories. The state had to cut a deal with the surounding states so that they would get some of our runoff. The state constitution considers the water to belong to the state, so it makes things difficult at times.

Of course, if SHTF/EOTWAWKI happens, those agreements/laws become pretty meaningless anyway. If things collapse, no one is going to be enforcing those laws anymore and it may be advantageous to be near the snowpack runoff.

I've been looking at the San Luis valley as a possibility. Very dry (about 8 inches a year), but the water table there is very shallow for irrigation and there is a surprising amount of agriculture there as a result. That is quite a ways southwest of Colorado Springs, but it is sparsely populated, away from important targets and being pretty far south has a slightly longer growing season.

 

well, if you're reconsidering "living there permanently", i'd just get a residence for the job. the least expensive place needed for you to live there. save what money you can and look out for bol in another state for when the opportunity comes for you to move. sounds like that isn't the best place to be wtshtf so i'd prep for being or going some where else, just in case. good luck for sure.

 

Joel Skousen doesn't like the area. http://www.joelskousen.com/strategic.html
http://www.joelskousen.com/about.html

He has some valid points.

Ranks it #2 on the list of nuke targets.
Cheyenne Mountain is right there.
Loads of government facilitys. Which puts you in the belly of the beast if we were to see a martial law / fema camp situation. Securing their perimeter would be high on the list of things to do.

Colorado Springs area would be about the last place I'd go, besides Florida or DC.

 

I once considered Colorado for a future home, thankfully you guys have set me straight too much nanny government for me.

 

I live in the Denver metro area, and while we are happy here, I would consider it to be a less than ideal BOL area. The Front Range is very populated, and water would be hard to come by in a SHTF scenario. The Platte river in this area would be a creek anywhere east of the Mississippi, and it is fairly low now.

 

.02 from someone who was born here. (Colorado) You don't need a license to have a well. If the property doesn't currently have a well, you need to apply for a permit to drill a well. Graywater usage is illegal unless you have a rural property. If you do, you can apply for a permit. Rainwater collection is not allowed, unless you are rural, and have a well. You can divert rainwater in the cities to irrigate plants, but you can't collect it.

This is the simplified version. Colorado water law dates back to the 1850's, and is pretty complicated, compared to the rest of the country.

On a related note, why does everyone always want to relocate to the mountains? Properties are cheaper on the plains. Water shouldn't be an issue. If something does happen, everyone is headed to the mountains. Weather is less of an issue. Longer growing season. Fire isn't a problem. Unless it's just the scenery, mountains are the last place I would build.

 

As a Colorado native, I have to say this a great state. However, there are things that you need t think about before moving here. NORAD wll be a prime target as will Ft. Carson, so don't live near there. The mountains are truly beautiful, but carry a risk as we have all seen. Not only do the forests burn, but you will have a hard time gardening because of the extremely rocky soil. Been there tried that. Higher up, the growing season is short, and most of the time you'll have lots of snow. Eastern Colorado is pretty but flat and hot in the summer. As far as water, find a place that already has wells. My place was built in 1928, has two domestic wells and city water. Because ours was the homestead for 19,000 acres, but was slowly divided up, I get to keep my domestic well status. I like the plains, I have good soil and room to grow. I can see the mountains from my house and can visit them whenever I want. Coloradoans are an independent breed like most mountain westerners so we kind of have big mouths. Other than that, welcome to our fine state!

 

Texas?

Thanks again for all the replies. Sounds like I'm just going to have to live/rent cheaply while I'm in Colorado Springs. I'll be stuck there for about 3 years. But if I live small I should be able to afford to buy a place somewhere else.

I was thinking since after my 3 years in Colorado it'd be pretty easy for me to get a job in the Houston or Dallas Fort Worth area maybe buying land 35-45 minutes out from those cities instead. I could probably get the land next year and start building it up as money becomes available and then I actually have somewhere to bug out to while I'm living in Colorado.

My end state would still be to build a monolithic home on the Texas property and live there permanently/ride out anything that occurs, while commuting into the city for work while jobs are still available. What are your all thoughts on that?

 

if you really like that area, i'm sure you can make it work. no place is perfect, but if it meets all your needs then it will be fine. good luck to you for sure.

 

not really

 

true especially in the springs.With all of thei rocky mountain high and the manitou "hippies"(search manitou on google search)its even weirder in real life.

 

Silly but cheyanne mountain isnt used any more. I do agree about the nuke tatgets. There is Fort carson,peterson AFB, shreiver AFB and the Air force academy.All in the same town. I live just north of there and if anything Martial lawy or fema camps popped up id be gone to my bol faster than you can say AH helll no, Girl hold my earings.

 

Everyone is worried about possible nuclear targets! Even while working on B-52's during the height of the cold war, I wasn't too worried about an exchange.

I don't think there will be much around if someone starts dropping nukes on the United States! I'm not sure I want to be here after a nuclear exchange. What part of the country would be out of harm's way? If you don't die in the initial attack, with radiation and radioactive dust blocking out the sun, who will survive?

I would worry about more limited and plausible end of the world scenarios. Like financial collapse, civil unrest, natural disasters, and plan your location accordingly.

 

What part of the country would be out of harm's way? That depends on who is attacking. Russia has enough to hit everything of consequence, but China and others do not. Western Colorado, for example, would probably come through an attack in better shape than the east slope. Most opponents would consider Colorado Springs a prime target, so it is definitely at higher risk than most of the rest of the state. If you don't die in the initial attack, with radiation and radioactive dust blocking out the sun, who will survive? People who avoid living in target areas for one : Seriously, if the attacks are limited, nuclear winter isn't going to happen and most people will survive one way or another.

I would worry about more limited and plausible end of the world scenarios. Like financial collapse, civil unrest, natural disasters, and plan your location accordingly.

I try to take everything into account. Even if a nuclear attack doesn't happen, most of the preps are the same for that as for most other disasters so they don't go to waste. I just avoid living in or downwind from major targets and then prep for everything else.

 

Dealbreaker

Yeah, I'm looking at it from a financial collapse/civil unrest standpoint. The water issue in Colorado was the real deal breaker for me. I want to make my property as self sufficient as possible.

 

Yeah, I'm looking at it from a financial collapse/civil unrest standpoint. The water issue in Colorado was the real deal breaker for me. I want to make my property as self sufficient as possible.

In an area like Colorado you just tailor your expectations appropriately. You don't grow water intensive crops or crops that require lengthy growing seasons and you rely more on cattle, sheep, goats, etc. to supplement your diet. Really the only hindrance I really see is the artificial existing water law situation, and in a major collapse that just isn't going to matter anymore because there will be no authority to enforce it. Still, the state isn't for everybody.