Colorado Springs has received its fair share of recognition in recent years. Home to James Dobson’s Focus on the Family empire and scandalized Ted Haggard’s New Life Church, the city regularly makes a less-than-flattering appearance in the national media. But now, Christian fundamentalists and frustrated liberals alike in Colorado Springs have something to smile about. The city recently ranked number five on Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine‘s list of the top 10 places to live, work, and play. The magazine judged cities based on their economies and the availability of jobs, in addition to the cost of living and the number of "fun things to do."
Kiplinger’s dubbed Colorado Springs the mecca of "laid-back energy," noting the fantastic outdoor recreation possibilities of Garden of the Gods, as well as the "strong military presence" of the Air Force and the U.S. Army, not to mention the recent and robust growth of the information technology sector (even though, ahem, Hewlett-Packard told 800 Colorado Springs workers to pack their bags earlier this week).
"The laid-back ease of the city infuses its downtown," reads the story. "People don’t walk, they amble; they don’t talk, they ramble. The slow pace in the Springs contrasts with the energy of the people — they’re not in a hurry to get anyplace, but they’re always going somewhere."
And, according to the article, a large number of people are going there. Colorado Springs’ population has grown by 10.5 percent since 2000, to its current swell of 600,444 people.
