I have always said that I felt Pueblo was not a nice city to live in.  Not a city I would want to raise a child in.

As of late there have been a few people here asking about moving to Pueblo.  Before putting the city of Pueblo at the top of your "Places I want to live" list.....consider the following:

www.chieftain.com/metro/1130047200/9




Violent crime rate down in Pueblo

By PATRICK MALONE

THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN


Violent crime in Pueblo dropped 18 percent in 2004, but it's still more common here than in other Colorado cities of comparable size, according to statistics released this week by the FBI.

Westminster, which has a population of only 300 fewer people than Pueblo, reported 251 violent crimes in 2004 compared to 666 in Pueblo, according to the FBI. Arvada, which has a population within 2,000 of Pueblo's, reported 180 violent crimes.

Only Denver (4,490), Aurora (1,754) and Colorado Springs (1,623) reported more violent crimes last year than Pueblo (population 102,121).

Reference:

-Denver               (population 554,636)
-Aurora                (population 276,900)
-Colorado Springs (population 360,890)
-Pueblo                (population 102,121)


Pueblo Police Chief Jim Billings said he has no explanation for the dip in violent crime here. He questioned the validity of the statistics reported by other cities.

"Some of that probably goes to how (other cities) report their statistics," Billings said. "We strictly comply with the uniform crime standards for reporting. I honestly don’t think Pueblo is a more violent community than the other communities around us."

The police chief said habitual criminal laws that put repeat offenders in prison for lengthy terms have played a role in the reduced number of assaults Pueblo has seen.

Aggravated assaults here declined from 598 in 2003 to 422 in 2004. Pueblo proper had seven homicides in 2004 compared to six in 2003. Statistical changes in forcible rape, burglary and theft were negligible.

Overall property crimes in Pueblo were up in 2004, climbing from 5,571 to 5,775 according to the FBI report. Motor vehicle thefts rose from 402 in 2003 to 439 in 2004.

"Typically the property crimes go up when economics are not so good, when the stock market’s down and unemployment is up," said Billings.

Billings said the spike in auto thefts has been a concern for police, and the department has made combatting the problem a priority.

Pueblo's greatest difference in crime was the decline in arson fires. In 2003, Pueblo experienced 65 acts of arson compared to 34 last year.

I hope this won't affect your job security

Trying to sell a house in Pueblo West eh holms???

XJ,


       This is one of the few jobs in the world where I WISHED I got paid on commission



Shooter,


        I wish they named the city of Pueblo West with a name that did NOT include the word PUEBLO in it.  People automatically assume that Pueblo West is part of Pueblo.  The 2 cities are not connected, and are as different as night and day.......Something like Colorado Springs South, would have been more fitting

        I have friends in Colorado Springs that are looking for new homes, and I always direct them to Pueblo WEST, because you can get a LOT more bang for your buck in Pueblo WEST than you can in Colorado Springs.  And if you build on the north side of Pueblo West (up around Beacon Hill, exit 108) you can be to the south side (Circle Ave. exit) in 25 - 30 minutes if you do the speed limit....which I rarely do  

        Example: I found a house that was within 10 square feet of being the same size house that I had built (same floor plan, 3 bedrooms, 2 full bath, full unfinished basement, 2 car attached garage, etc).  The house in Colorado Springs was built in 1979 and they wanted $190,000 for it (south side of the Springs in a decent neighborhood, but not the best).  I BUILT my house in 2002 for $120,000 on 1/3 of an acre and my house has a lot of things the one in the Springs didn't (tile through out, central air, upgraded appliances, large bay window, etc, etc, etc).

        I live in Pueblo West, and plan on building another house in Pueblo West next year (on the north side, which will put us 25 - 30 minute drive to the south side of the Springs).  

        I would not have a problem enrolling my child (if I had one) in any of the schools in Pueblo West.  Pueblo West an awesome place to live and a great place to raise a family.  Not a rant, just spewing info.....guess I'm in one of those moods

Puebloans:  I see it as an excuse to expand your collection.  You need more thrust per squeeze!!

I lived in Pueblo for a number of years in the late 90's and early 00-01. Frankly I found it a sad little town. The old story is that it has per capita more bars and churches than any other place in the country. But I can tell you that for a small town it's got a LOT of property crimes..Theft was the single most crime worry I had. It always seemed that violent crime was mostly brown on brown, a very high # of gang bangers there. Almost every buliding on parts of the East side was tagged.
I didn't miss it a bit when was transfered back to Denver Metro area.
 As for Pueblo West. Yeah I guess if you like sagebrush, cholo cacti and tarantulla's then go for it. I have several friends who live out there and yes the views are nice but not my idea of place to live. I wonder if Qworst ever got the install time on phone lines down to less than 3 months.

MB

I wasn't going to post, but figured I might as well.  Now this is just my personal observation!  

I was heavy in that topic to move to Pueblo and have been considering it for a long time as I found 50 acres SW of town on Red Creek Ranch.  

I bought a ticket and flew down less than 2 weeks ago (and saw the Bronco v Patriots game BTW).
Anyway, when my family in Denver asked what I though, my exact words were "I can't believe anyone would willingly relocate to that dump".

First I saw the skyline off the interstate with the smoke stack things rising up.  Then I rolled into the outskirts of a town that was a cross between Scottsbluff, NE and an Indian Reservation in OK.  Dirty as all get out, modulars, trailers, crappy houses, run down businesses, ect.

I drove all over, looking at the town, new construction, the river walk, ect.  I liked the fact that my CCW had reciprocity with Colorado.....

I ate dinner at the Red Lobster (which was the highlight of my trip to Pueblo) and crashed at the Hampton Inn.

I stayed a grand total of 18 hours, and that was WAY too much for me.  I got in my rental car and bugged out to Greenwood Village where my wife's family lives.  It may be the south Metro area, but its very clean, tons of shopping, restaruants, movie theatres, sports, and other events.

No way in hell I'm relocating there  I figure if I can't stand the area, why bother selling real estate to people silly enough to chance it.

ALL IMHO Of Course

Well, despite all that Pueblo West is still on my short list for possible relocation towns.
Its primarily economics concerning what can be bought for your money in terms of acreages
and the close proximty to the mountains and other areas for camping and shooting.

That said, the crime thing worries me as well but you have to realize where I'm at
in Northern Colorado its like little gang banger central as well. I mean-how much worse
can it be? Also, my wife is with the local police dept and sees how their crime analysts
screw up on their reporting of crimes.  As anyone who has studied statistics its all about
how the information is reported and how it affects the random sample.

WOW, I would of not expected this about Pueblo.  My wife and I are coming out there this summer and check things out, to buy some property for retirement.  This is a real eye opener!

I lived in Denver a lot of years ago, back when Lowry AFB still existed and loved it out there, but I do not want to move to a big city, and I wanted to be in a milder climate so thats why I thought Pueble might be a choice.

Does anyone have any recomendation to what other cities to visit to make a permanent relocation from communist Illinois, where there are some jobs as in teaching and computers/software and be a free person from bans.

Thanks, and appreciate any advice good or bad.

PCGuns,




        Pueblo West is nice (not part of Pueblo).....There are A LOT more job oppertunities in Colorado Springs for teaching / computer field than in Pueblo.  Living on the north side of Pueblo West would put you about a 30 mintue commute from Colorado Springs.

         There is also a lot of development south and east of Colorado Springs.

.