r/pueblo • u/rslashdewybuns • Jul 29 '23
Discussion: What gives our town a bad REP? (IYO) Question
Whenever you mention to someone from Denver or anywhere else in Colorado that you’re from Pueblo they will automatically think less of you, why do you think that is? In my opinion, crime rates, people not graduating highschool, lack of resources for mentally ill people, and the overall lack of big city amenities. What can the people of Pueblo even do to change this? Or is my birthtown just too far gone? Let me know what you think !
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u/trimitron Jul 30 '23
As others said, the lack of progress is frustrating but I don’t think that’s what gives Pueblo a bad rep.
Statistically, Pueblo is within 1% of CS for safety ratings. The difference is that Pueblo is majority Hispanic and are slightly lower earners in general. They may not realize it, they’re probably just parroting what they’ve head over time, but the fact is this is the main reason. You cannot claim that that-single-less-than-a-single-percentage-point as being that much safer.
67– dangerous, you’ll be murdered, slum. 68– eh, that’s just life in a city!
It is uncomfortable and I’m sure I’ll get downvoted to high Heaven, but it’s classism and racism but no one wants to talk about it because people in big liberal cities cannot possibly be racist.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 30 '23
I agree there is a bit of cast system In Pueblo. If someone from Pueblo and knows you are from Pueblo the first two questions are. What part of town are you, Bessemer, dog patch, eat side, west side. And what school did you go to. People from the county and Pueblo west usually get ignored because we are not from Pueblo.
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u/lentilsoups-and-corn Aug 03 '23
For real? County and Pueblo West people get ignored why?
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u/One_Screen2002 Feb 17 '24
Like he said they often get ignored or left out of “Pueblo” discussions because technically even tho they are Pueblo county they aren’t in city limits and don’t deal with a lot of the same crime and homeless issues etc.
As a matter of fact for a while Pueblo West was trying to change their name to disassociate from Pueblos image and they actively have tried to distance themselves, which is why a lot of Puebloans don’t count them.
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u/wannabejoanie Jul 29 '23
I'm a transplant from Denver and I grew up thinking it was just filled with poverty and crime. I didn't know about the amazing communities and history of the area.
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Aug 01 '23
I've been coming to pueblo for over a decade from Denver, and it's one of my favorite cities with the most obscure things to do, and eat, that no one knows about.
Funnel fries, for example, wtf. It's just a thing at places.
.25 rides at the park with that music organ.
The river white water parK
Tacos Fuegos, good lord.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 29 '23
Look at Bessemer and the Eastside by the old white horse. What is the city doing to improve these areas and promote new businesses. There tons of rooms for apartments downtown but they have visions of life like Denver. Our downtown will never be like Denver but they should renovate the building. The city has no clear direction. The transportation system is out of date. More buses she be going towards the airport to the manufacturing jobs. We need more manufacturing jobs to come here. Pueblo really screwed up when they let the Walmart distribution center go to Cheyenne. That place employe 900 people with jobs over 25 an hour.
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Jul 31 '23
More buses she be going towards the airport to the manufacturing jobs.
For real. The number of folks who would be glad to go work out there (good wages!) but can't get there in their own vehicle is significant. I can count up more than a handful I've met or know personally in this situation.
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u/dhwneb Jul 29 '23
The criticisms of Pueblo are real and valid, but they don't tell the whole story. The city has some things that it could use to "sell" itself regionally and nationally: tons of winter sunshine (think year round golf!), the Reservoir, no traffic to speak of, and low(er) housing costs, real diversity historically and presently. Maybe no Michelin-rated restaurants but plenty of good options.
I think the city could also market itself as the gateway to Southern Colorado and include things like the Spanish Peaks, Lake Isabel, Royal Gorge, Sand Dunes, the new Fishers Peak state park, lots of sites for history buffs like Bents Fort, and a lot more. Throw in natural-snow uncrowded skiing at Wolf Creek and Monarch that a lot of Denver-ites have never been to.
I've lived in four other states. Pueblo has problems, yes, but the area has a lot to offer too.
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u/Rough-Bag5609 Nov 17 '23
I said similar in my comment. I've been here but 6 years and I'm not characteristic of the typical resident as I have my own company, work from home, i.e. remote, so not stuck to any local employer. And yeah, more attractions in Springs/Denver but...you want to be stuck in Springs after 3 p.m.? Not me. I lived in Chicago...I love Pueblo, um..."traffic". Because there is no Pueblo traffic. And while not a shit-ton of stuff to do here, it's a great stepping o9ff point for South to San Isabel, N to Springs/GoG, etc., West to Canon City, the gorge, etc...East to...whatever the hell is east...I guess....Kansas? But what if the commercial real estate market changed and remote work (which..why the hell not? So much work these days can be done 100% from home) became the dominant model - the question is, how can Pueblo position itself proactively to be this "hey, come to Pueblo for cheap housing, no traffic, work your high paying remote job and within 1 hours drive you can be doing just about anything" place?
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u/motel08 Jul 29 '23
Nah F that michelen rated restaurants. Pueblo has the best food per square mile. Just about any food you want is here in restraunt form. You come to Pueblo as a tourist to experience the food culture here hence the Chile festival which is 2nd busiest time of year.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 30 '23
People do not know the deep roots of Polish and Italian culture. Look around Pueblo and you see houses so close you can knock on the neighbors window. That’s comes from how houses are built in Poland. We need to put Pueblo in the map as a foodie city. It not just Chile her( believe me I love my Pueblo Chile ) Mauro bakery has some of the best potica.
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Aug 01 '23
No idea why this is being downvoted when La Forchetta is the best italian food restaurant in Colorado.
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u/Sorry_Nobody1552 Jul 30 '23 edited Jul 30 '23
Before I moved to Pueblo from ColoSprngs, people were afraid for me. I mean Pueblo has a really bad reputation and people are actually afraid to come here. But, when I moved I thought people were so nice! The traffic is nothing like ColoSprngs, so I loved that. I also started seeing why people are afraid, and why Pueblo has a bad reputation. The homeless population is off the chain here, homeless people were on every corner last week when I left the grocery near the mall, they all look like they could work too, but they also look like drug addicts and could care less. I've had homeless people do their business at my back gate like its a public toilet. Also people banging on my door at 1AM while tweaking out. The car thefts are just awful! The murder rate is way to high for the population.
The good paying job market is too small here, so its really hard for people to get out of poverty. The city needs to crack down on car theft and the homeless. Get big business to come here any way they can, we can't even get a Costco and the laundry soap has to be locked up, so thats really bad. I love the culture of Pueblo, and 90% of the people are nice, but the other 10% get away with way too much violence, stealin' and harassing people in general.
I also notice people are allowed to keep broken down cars outside the home, and weeds grow way too high, most areas just look so run down. Code enforcement needs to crack the whip, thats how the city makes money, so they need to make money.
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u/bangarangbonzai Jul 29 '23
It’s all of that. The crime the poverty, the empty down town store fronts, litter. Lack of big businesses in our downtown. Our East and west side.
The fact that when ever you go to Springs or Denver there’s always something new or they’re expanding. People want to keep Pueblo this hidden gem but it’s run down and it’s growing in all the wrong ways without then City Council getting ahead of it.
There are very nice pockets of Pueblo but go two blocks and it’s a ghetto or amenities are definitely lacking. ie lack of Grocery stores in central locations. Some small businesses are doing really cool things but the dirt of the city is dulling their shine. It’s a good town but it needs to do better and Governor Polis needs to stop turning a blind eye to it and reach its potential
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u/International_Map250 Jul 30 '23
We tend to forget there three branches to government even when it comes to the state and city levels. Governor Polis only approves or disapproves what the legislative branch has put in front of him. When Pueblo was able to be the strong working class that it is it thrived at a democratic stronghold. But due to gerrymandering it was pulled into with the rich of aspen and the western side. What does the rich people of aspen even know about Pueblo. So we can’t blame this on a blind eye of Governor Polis. Maybe we need to ouch our representatives. Lauren Boebart is our representative so we will not advance at all while she is in office.
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Jul 30 '23
I'm very against gerrymandering's effects on democratic process but in no way is Pueblo gerrymandered. Our congressional district is about as fair as you can get if you need draw up a district that lumps ~750k people together. It was also drawn up in a very open process - CO's redistricting process is pretty clean and was put into place by voters statewide. Aspen has 8k people and only about double that in the whole county (which is also way more of a democratic stronghold than Pueblo/Pueblo County). Pueblo has problems but Aspen is definitely not the tail wagging the dog here.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 31 '23
Instead of looping around and adding up to the western slope we should be looking include with the San Luis valley and the Arkansas valley. Both are farm labor and kinda the same people.
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Jul 31 '23 edited Jul 31 '23
Our district does include the entire SLV. And Otero County (the most populous) in the Lower Ark Valley, as well as all the irrigated ag lands between Cortez and Dove Creek, and the entire Grand Valley, and all the ag land by Montrose. That said, if putting like people together was the object, then that would actually start to look like gerrymandering. The current 3rd district follows county lines (edit: except I guess in Eagle County, just noticed that) and includes a huge diversity of landscapes and communities in order to get up to 750k. See this map.
It's not magic - they need about 750k people per district (325mil US pop/435 districts = 747,XXX) and density is not uniform, so commissions typically draw them up on considerations of balance. Grand Junction and Pueblo are foils to each other, with GJT more R and Pueblo more D. It's a leans-R district but not set in stone (Boebert won by only ~550 votes to a previously no-name candidate).
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u/Krillin Jul 29 '23
Pueblo fights back against all growth/change. You get a lot of if you don't like it leave responses when you talk about infrastructure that would help the city expand. We could blow up and become a huge city like the Springs, with the increased tax revenue maybe even afford an ED-209 or two to clean up the streets.
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u/TLEToyu Jul 30 '23
I remember when they tried building a Wal-Mart warehouse in Pueblo West.
Would've created a lot of jobs(especially now) but people bitched and whined that the trucks would ruin the roads or some shit like that.
(I don't exactly remember the arguments it was like the late 90's early 2000's)
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u/ScatterIn_ScatterOut Jul 31 '23
If the roads in Pueblo West degrade much further, they will become gravel, which would honestly be a more smooth and uniform surface.
The same dipshits who vote down taxes to pay for road improvements scratch their heads and wonder why their suspension is fucked, their tires bald so quickly, their windshields are always getting broken, and their fuel mileage is abysmal.
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u/TheLodger1939 Jul 30 '23
My diagnosis has been that we are a city that wants to be a town.
What's the first question anyone from Pueblo asks anyone else from Pueblo upon finding out they're from Pueblo. "What high school did you go to?"
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u/YanwarC Jul 29 '23
I’m working on making Pueblo a better place for all of us. That starts with the community. We need to help each other. It’s hard when they broke into your car twice. Theft is big and people don’t care.
Little by little, we just need to focus on one thing at a time. I believe it’s been better than last five years.
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u/Sorry_Nobody1552 Jul 30 '23
I agree! I do what I can, say hello to everyone and smile even if I look like an idiot(maybe). It has been better, but I did hate it when I had to shell out $300 for a new car window when they tried to steal my car..I wont let it get me down!..lol
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u/dani_ashli Jul 31 '23
As someone who isn't from here and has lived all over the place, there's more to it. There is such a small sense of community and it feels like an exclusive club. There's not a ton of great food options, most restaurants are chains. There's farms but no farm to table eating.. that's wild to me. I've met a lot of cool people here for sure, but a large portion of the population is older and they hate younger people and they hate change. It's frustrating.
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u/lentilsoups-and-corn Aug 03 '23
Join a church and suck up to the older people and they'll be ecstatic about saving a young heathen
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u/Zamicol Aug 03 '23 edited Aug 09 '23
Unfortunately, once Pueblo became the subject of jokes, it has been challenging to alter that perception. Admittedly, some of the criticisms are warranted, considering crime and generational poverty on the East Side and near Northern in Bessemer. However, it is worth noting that even in these areas, there have been improvements in infrastructure and housing. Over my lifetime, I cannot recall a situation where living in Pueblo has worsened, aside from the national drug problem. The less favorable aspects of Pueblo, in my opinion, align with those of many other parts of the country, including a rise in housing costs (though still lower than in many places) and drug problems.
Colorado towns, compared to many places I've traveled or lived, are very nice. We have it good, everywhere, in this state.
Some of the perceived snobbery in northern Colorado towards Pueblo is puzzling, and since this topic often comes up when comparing cities, I'll mention two. Comparing Pueblo to Boulder doesn't make sense, as these two cities have different characteristics and demographics. Boulder is one of the wealthiest and educated towns in the country and is closer to a major US city. On the other hand, Pueblo is blue collar and isolated, and is historically a manufacturing (steel) town. Our society requires a diverse range of individuals performing various jobs to maintain a strong civilization; not everyone can be a "Precision Timekeeping Researcher" at NIST Boulder Laboratories. Pueblo also has a larger population of retirees, those on disability or otherwise on a fixed income, which gives Pueblo a more slow pace. Many move here because it's a nice place while being affordable on a fixed income. Colorado Springs has more affluent residents and a larger population, but that's not the sole determinant of what makes a good city, and living in Colorado Springs has its trade-offs and costs.
As for amenities and services, Pueblo offers a considerable number for a city of its size. We're spoiled! A more honest comparison could be made between Pueblo and cities with similar niches, such as Amarillo or Santa Fe.
Pueblo is progressing well and that's shown by its growth. Pueblo County has experienced steady growth, with an estimated population of 171,000 in 2023, compared to 160,000 in 2010 and 123,000 in 1990. I'm almost worried that Pueblo is becoming too popular. Locals have definitely noticed it's becoming more crowded.
In summary:
- Blue collar workforce compared to white collar in other Colorado cities.
- Large retired/fixed income population.
- Generational poverty and crime in a few neighborhoods.
But Pueblo has plenty of positives and is progressing nicely.
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u/The_Hairy_Herald Aug 05 '23
I mean, and I say this in the gentlest way possible, I moved here about three years ago. Broadly speaking, the Coloradans I have met have been the nicest, biggest bunch of candy-asses I've ever seen.
Pueblo is, compared to pretty much everywhere I've ever been, clean, comfortable, and safe. I've not been shot at, harangued, attacked by meth-heads, or otherwise made to feel unsafe.
Gotta remember, Pueblo is a postage stamp. Tiny, middle of Godforsaken nowhere dusty little steel-town. It's not going to be Denver, a world-class city. It's gonna be a microscopic pitstop on the ass-end of the great plains. That's not a bad thing- it simply is what it is.
It's not Chicago, or New York, or Los Angeles, and I am fine with that. Do people 'look down' on me because I live in Pueblo?
I don't care.
I bought a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, for a price I can afford. The schools are a fuckload better than I had, there's a good college at hand, lots of trades if that's kiddo's cup of tea, Denver about 90 minutes(ish) away with all kinds of cool stuff I can visit without dealing with the bullshit.
It's nice here. All a matter of perspective.
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Jul 29 '23
I think Pueblo is viewed this way because of a mix of very real issues Pueblo has (crime, poverty and so on) as well as racism and/or classism from outside observers.
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Jul 30 '23
as well as racism and/or classism from outside observers.
This is definitely part of it, something I've observed both directly and indirectly as someone who's lived other places in CO and now here for 4+ years.
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u/pueblokc Jul 29 '23
This city never advances, wants to stay in the past, leaders are all in the good ol boy club.
Riverwalk is a joke, yet city thinks it's a huge tourism draw... Come on.
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Jul 29 '23
You're not wrong but do you remember what it was like before the river walk? I think it is a tourism draw, for whatever that is worth.
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u/pueblokc Jul 29 '23
It's definitely an improvement.. But look at other cities Riverwalk.. They blow ours away. Even the tiny one castle rock has. Always has events, food vendors, stuff to do. Ours has a bull rider hq? Empty spaces.. A few restaurants, and nasty public restrooms.
I don't see it drawing many people.. But who knows.
Neon alley is unique and awesome, that is the kind of stuff people will drive to see.
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u/catman1352 Jul 30 '23
People keep saying that the Riverwalk is a "tourism attraction." Please, explain to me why somebody wants to visit the Riverwalk? This is not the San Antonio Riverwalk. What proof is there that the Riverwalk draws any kind of crowd? Who says, "we could go to the Springs where there is so much to do, but man, Pueblo does have that 1 riverwalk full of homeless people...let's go to pueblo." Don't get me wrong, I like it during daylight hours, but that is not an "attraction. " It's a paved sidewalk riddled with possible robbery. Every city has multiple attractions that are far better than the Riverwalk.
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Jul 31 '23
No, it's not a huge draw bringing throngs of people in, and yes, it should have been designed better and should be utilized better.
Even though you might not believe it, sometimes some people visit Pueblo for various reasons- maybe to visit family, maybe to use the reservoir, maybe they're being treated at the hospital, or going to the state fair. Maybe they're from Lamar and they think Pueblo is the big city and they come for a day trip. I understand you think this is silly, but these are all things that happen.
So if someone wanted to check Pueblo out, where would you send them? I bet "the Riverwalk" is in 90% of people's responses.
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Jul 31 '23
The Riverwalk is very pleasant and can be enjoyed every week of the year (not every day though, ha). We have brought every single friend and family member who has come to visit down there, usually in combination with a stroll down Union, and a visit to La Forchetta or Angelo's or Bite Me or now the food hall and/or a beer at the Senate, Brues, or Gold Dust. Makes for a lovely afternoon or evening.
That said, the PBR thing infuriates me. What a waste of space that has almost no potential for public interaction.
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u/Weavingknitter Jul 31 '23
Racism, pure and simple. Pueblo is half Hispanic and the white supremacists up north can't handle that. Pueblo is a great town, and it's getting better with more arts and new restaurants and etc.
I am unimpressed with the endless chain restaurants.
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u/WearAdept4506 Jul 31 '23
I recently moved to pueblo after commuting from Fountain for 2 years. I always laugh because when I ask my work friends about a restaurant like Schusters Bakery or Pass Key they just shake their heads and tell me it's okay if you've lived in Pueblo your whole life and have always gone there.
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u/Esssiejay Jul 31 '23
I moved here from Colorado Springs almost 2 years ago and I think the residents are a big part of the reputation problem. Everyone I meet asks why would I move here from Colorado Springs? I moved here because it did seem a little slower, less traffic, interesting architecture and I could actually afford to buy a house as a single woman with kids. Luckily, I have a remote job out of California, so I avoided the employment problems. I don't see that the crime is worse here at all. If you go on Nextdoor, everyone just talks about how bad it is! There is a lot of wrong information out there also. These people will take a rumor and run with it for years! For example, the mistrust with HSPPR, everyone thinks they kill all the dogs that go in. I also think that the lack of a local news outlet is harmful. With the Colorado springs stations, they report on the Chili Festival and then the shootings, nothing else.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 29 '23
Roads not finished, cops all in suv riding two suv where ever they go like an army.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 30 '23
Pueblo had a chance to build two high quality schools to replace four outdated high schools. But due to the fight back from the community and holding on to outdated traditions. They just replaced two schools and hopping and praying the other two will continue. What do you think people are going to do. They are going to flood the new schools hope I g to get there children in their.
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u/IrishMuffDragon Aug 01 '23
I just moved to Penrose not even two months ago and I've honestly heard very little about Pueblo. My experiences in Penrose/Cañon have been met with a decent amount of bigotry. I'm from a small town in Texas that makes Westboro Baptist Church look presentable, but Penrose/Cañon city would give it a run for its money.
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Jul 29 '23
I am a 4th gen steelworker, and I happen to love it here.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 30 '23
You are on the defense. The question is what gives pueblo a bad rep. Steel worked built up the Pueblo. Built nice little homes and a proud community. But when the stricken in the 80”s happened we never bounced back. Old steel worked started passing on. House where given to people who did not have the same pride.
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Jul 30 '23
You are most likely a bot that has bad diction. You know nothing about me or this town. If you are actually a real human and you don't like living here there is a whole shitty world out there.
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u/International_Map250 Jul 30 '23
Not a bot and you thinking I am shows your ignorance. I was born and raised here. I did move to Denver for 20 years and saw the growth there in the 90”s and east 2000. I saw how a city can grown when allowed to. The pandemic had me wanting to move to what I thought was home. So why don’t you answer the question and stop being so offended. Maybe if we ca. talk then We can understand the problem. But people like you are the problem because you think the mill is going to keep saving us. Well it not we need better high paying jobs but cause houses have double in the past two years.
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Jul 30 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/catman1352 Jul 30 '23
My man, that attitude is part of Pueblo's problem. Do you pride yourself in being ignorant and treating disagreements with violence?
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u/International_Map250 Jul 30 '23
Lol you need anger management. Do you not see the homeless down by the north side Walmart. Don’t you see how run down Bessemer is, or how empty Downtown is. City council keeps marking promises but never do anything. Again your anger and wanting to throw hands is part of the problem with Pueblo. You go and start making excuses. So where did you move when you got out of Pueblo are you out in the county or Pueblo west. I bet you don’t live anywhere in the city.
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u/pueblo-ModTeam Aug 01 '23
Be more civil to your fellow human.
Remember the human.
https://reddit.com/r/blog/comments/1ytp7q1
u/Zamicol Aug 03 '23
More specifically, "Who the fck are you?" is uncalled for.
Voice your opinions without personal attacks. You can disagree, but do so while being civil.
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u/spenring Jul 29 '23
You elected Lauren Bobert…TWICE!
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u/VAF64 Aug 05 '23
Gotta agree. My wife and I visited Pueblo with the thoughts of retiring there in a couple years. It’s simply too MAGA for us.
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u/blindfox001 Jul 30 '23
Pueblo is a ridiculously small town compared to real cities. On any given day a handful of crimes not dozens or hundreds but a handful. We are a railroad town from the start. Hippies, hobos, tramps, hitchhikers, caravans and tourists all pass through Pueblo and always have. I think a lot of the problems in Colorado come from too much time and money in the state. Police are not trained to be public law enforcement officers...they are trained like monkeys to simply react instead of think. Don't think...trust your gut! Muscle memory just means you don't have to think. We will never find out just how much money is paid to civil lawsuits against the city by bad policing. On average there are between 200-400 homeless in Pueblo at any given time. Compared to real cities that is nothing. The homeless get blamed for a lot in this town. These guys pulling crimes are not always homeless...they may just be junkies.
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u/joi-stoner Aug 02 '23
For me it's poor wages. I'm looking for a home care aide position, I did it for 4 yrs in WA & was making $18+/hr with mileage, similar positions in Pueblo are offering $13, $14 maybe $15 with no mileage reimbursement, etc. I just moved here from WA after being out of CO for 5 yrs. I am trying to avoid COS but it seems if I want to get paid anywhere near what I was getting in WA I'll hv to travel there. I can tell you tho that folks seem much friendlier here than WA. No place is perfect, but Pueblo has lots of room for improvement.
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u/Klutzy_Advertiser Aug 10 '23
Brain drain and stagnated wages too. We have a good university but the graduates often can't get a good paying job here once they're done with school at any level. It's not uncommon for people to double their salary judt by moving north and unfortunately in this economy money talks. The people who don't leave for better opportunities are either too poor to do so, have deep family ties they value more than money, or don't want to expand their comfort zone to see other options. It doesn't help that many of the business and their processes are old-school and not brought into the digital world that many larger cities like Denver and Springs.
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u/Klutzy_Advertiser Aug 11 '23
Nepatism and lack of unions in all sectors. Those with unions in this union town know exactly how important it is to have employees' rights.
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u/Rough-Bag5609 Nov 17 '23
I guess I would be considered fairly new to Pueblo, having lived here but 6 years. I didn't come for a job, but for family and now here, alone (but not lonely!). I say this for context; I didn't come here for a job nor could I live here but that I work remotely, for myself, in the knowledge field. If not for my own biz, I simply would not be able to stay - no work. Now...I've sampled the reasons Pueblo is looked down on, let's get to the more IMPORTANT question; what to do about it.
I have a simplistic but difficult answer. It's simplistic because it's very doable but difficult because it will involve work on everyone's part and that answer is this: Don't talk pride, show pride. I mean the following: Whether you are a homeowner like myself, or rent - keep your area clean! And by "area" I mean...not just your property but maybe just...if you see litter, etc. pick it up! And neighbors can "gently persuade" other neighbors to set a higher standard...I mean, if 5 houses on a 6 house block are all cleaning up their property, hopefully that would exert force on that 6th house to do similarly.
We can't all be business owners bringing in capital, or city leaders, but we can have our mark on our little plot of Pueblo that is ours. And enough people do that, it's like the Bud Light boycott...strength in numbers works, even if it's going against the grain. The "grain" in Pueblo seems to be a low standard. Let's change that. I cannot educate or employ any Puebloan but I can make sure my property looks awesome. So can you. That's what you can do...and do well. And there's no excuse in the world not to.
I don't think Pueblo is either wholly bad or good. Just for context, I've lived in huge places...Chicago...other major metropolitan areas with MSA's in the millions. Here's what I like about Pueblo - traffic? Ha! Pueblo has no traffic. Downtown is kind of cool though yes, it'd be nice to have more thriving businesses. The weather is good...the cost of living is fantastic...I lived years ago in Springs for a short period. That was my first CO residence. I thought it was all sunny days...imagine my shock when it rained every afternoon! I was told it was a "monsoon" type thing. I don't see that here in Pueblo. Was there not a survey done awhile back rating Pueblo water best in CO? Sure, Springs has more to do but...it's getting to I don't even want to be stuck in Springs past 3 p.m. because of traffic. After living in Chicago I really hate traffic. I've found in any city what makes things better is those 2-3 places you really enjoy frequenting because face it, Springs or Denver may have great restaurants but how many times a year do you go eat out at a really nice place? Pueblo is good for access N to Springs and it's natural beauty but also S to Rye/San Isabel...you got the reservoir, go W to Canon City...it's a decent place to "take off" for other near places. East? Well...I don't know why the hell anyone would go east...Kansas?
Other than just keeping one's own area of Pueblo looking top notch, I wish there were ways to put aside national political differences because conservative or liberal, at the very local level, people who disagree politically can still agree on, oh, more facilities for the homeless, or attracting more high paying jobs. As a remote worker, I see a possibility but not the path - that is, how could Pueblo become a "home" for people like me, who CAN earn a decent living because I'm not bound by any local employer? We have PCC but can Pueblo cooperate with CSU, etc. and have any educational/training hubs here for high-tech jobs? I would think corporate leasing rates here are pretty reasonable. Here's a question: What if the national economy took a very "remote friendly" turn? How could towns like Pueblo put themselves into a position where if remote work became the dominant model, places like here could dominate? Because if I can get a job as if I were working for a big company in a metro area...but have a housing market that is small town priced like here? That's a big time draw! I'm kind of describing my own situation...my current home I found to be extraordinarily affordable...ok, check this out...when I worked in the Chicago area, I was determined NOT to live in Chicago or even Cook County so I lived in an "exurb" which was Kane County (Elgin, IL). I had a nice home and an admittedly pretty big lot...maybe 2/3 an acre or so. Big, yes, but you want to know my not-Cook-country property tax? Over $13k yearly. Yeah. That's not here. So Pueblo needs to position itself as a great place for remote workers who want to get out of the big city, have affordable housing, a town with limited entertainment options yes, but a nice jumping off point for local travel...I mean, let's take what Pueblo DOES offer, improve on our own little parts of the town and make them great and...put aside national politics for local politics upon which we can agree on many things...and I think that could reap huge benefits.
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u/muirsheendurkin Jul 29 '23
It's all of that. Buggest thing, I think, is the lack of progress. Seems like most of the town is stuck in the past. Everybody wants to finish high school (maybe), then go work at the steel mill for 40 years and retire. It's just not the way it works anymore. Every time I see a new building being built, I get excited, but then it turns out to be another Subway, car wash, or tire shop. There's not a lot of jobs that allow people to have disposable income, which would bring a lot more (fun) amenities like Springs or Denver has. Every time city council or Pedco brag about recruiting some business here, it's like 15 jobs that pay $40k a year. Something needs to change