A move to Colorado Springs

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nucmedbabe

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Are there any parents out there that have considered moving out to Colorado Springs while their son/daughter is attending USAFA? I have read that the cadets will get an off base pass up to twice a month. Just weighing the option of moving out to Colorado Springs so if our son wants to come home on those weekends, he can. I would love it if parents who live in Colorado Springs would for sure weigh in. Any USAFA, Colorado Springs parents out there?
 
nucmedbabe said:
Are there any parents out there that have considered moving out to Colorado Springs while their son/daughter is attending USAFA? I have read that the cadets will get an off base pass up to twice a month. Just weighing the option of moving out to Colorado Springs so if our son wants to come home on those weekends, he can. I would love it if parents who live in Colorado Springs would for sure weigh in. Any USAFA, Colorado Springs parents out there?
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No, I would never consider doing that. They will only be there for 4 years and this is the time in a young person's life for them to learn to cope without the comforts of home / parents.
 
He will have fun plans to do with his college buddies using those off-base passes instead! Sounds like there will be plenty of stuff to do out there with the new people he will meet during his first year.
 
nucmedbabe said:
Are there any parents out there that have considered moving out to Colorado Springs while their son/daughter is attending USAFA? I have read that the cadets will get an off base pass up to twice a month. Just weighing the option of moving out to Colorado Springs so if our son wants to come home on those weekends, he can. I would love it if parents who live in Colorado Springs would for sure weigh in. Any USAFA, Colorado Springs parents out there?
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Good enough for MacArthur's mom - so why not? I can think of a million reasons. An occasional visit upon invitation might be sufficient.
 
Would cost sooo much less to just get an Airbnb for those times IF they even wanted to spend with you and not friends.
 
One thing I tell our new parents, is that it’s super important for the parent to tell their new young adults that it’s OK to not want to hang with mom and dad. Not a commentary on this but rather a reminder bc many kids will often feel obligated to please their parents.

I tell new parents to think back to their own college days. Would they want to hang out with mom and dad? I certainly may be the case, but make sure they know it complete ok to NOTE T hang with them.
 
Generally, I'd say no. Let them come home at Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. It's nice to actually "come home" to the place you have friends from childhood vs go across town to a new house.
Now, if you want to move to C-springs for reasons outside your son/daughter's academy time, that's different.
 
As a military BRAT, military spouse, and soon to be military mom… I have a little insight. I beg you NOT to do this. It is vital that each person that goes into the military chooses it themselves. Because there will be big challenges, enormous stressful situations, and vital trainings where the military member cannot be distracted with the expectations of others. Your DS/DD needs to navigate this journey into the military and adulthood themselves. Yes they can still see you on visits… but they will need to initiate when and if it is a good time for them. The reality is once you are in the military your time… is not your own. There will be last minute changes to their schedule their entire career… and releasing them from expectations on when to visit you is HUGE! It is a different culture and ther will be many amazing opportunities to see them thrive in what they love doing… but let them initiate the timing of those visits. *We were stationed at the USAFA and worked directly with cadets. The stories we would hear and the phone calls leadership would get from parents trying to “help” or “get involved” was relentless and did NOT in any way benefit their cadet.
 
On the evening of our son's graduation from USAFA, we told him we had fallen in love with Colorado Springs during the 4 years we had been visiting him & had decided to move... but we purposefully chose to move here AFTER he graduated! We didn't feel it would be in his best interest to be hanging out in mom & dad's basement every weekend. Cadets need to learn to be independent from their parents & need to learn how to live/solve daily problems on their own. On weekends they need to spend time participating in activities where they can bond with their classmates. We chose to move here because we love Colorado Springs and NOT because we wanted to provide a place for our son to come home on weekends. There are sponsor families available (we are one of those families) who volunteer to provide a "home away from home" if a cadet wants to get away from USAFA & go to a home environment over a weekend.
 
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They are also assigned a sponsor family (or they can choose one if they know one). They can go to their home and be a part of their family as a home away from home!
 
bethf said:
No, I would never consider doing that. They will only be there for 4 years and this is the time in a young person's life for them to learn to cope without the comforts of home / parents.
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THIS!!!

Yes, I cannot say how angry our kids would have been had we done this. We're out in CO and one child is 1800 miles from home and the other will be east coast as well. We have great relationships w/ them both but they want to spread their wings (which we fully encourage). Of course, as part of this experience, one has learned how much they do love being at home, but needed the time away to figure that out.
 
dddad said:
Good enough for MacArthur's mom - so why not? I can think of a million reasons. An occasional visit upon invitation might be sufficient.
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I see your Douglas MacArthur and raise you Gen. Vernon Walters. He never staged a Photo Op.


Walters lived alone, with his sister or his mother, who died in 1964. These days he lives in the ambassador's suite at the Waldorf-Astoria.

P.S. I think the op is a chain yanker.
 
Dammit...just spit coffee out my nose when I read this!

My son(s) went to boarding school at 13 years old, before going to the academy. Boarding school parents know a little secret that I will share...you actually get closer to your kids the more space (or distance) you give them to grow.

Stay where you are, spend time with your own friends (and make new ones), spend time with your similar aged family and elderly parents, spend time doing your own hobbies (and explore new ones).
 
I agree with what everyone said above. I do know some parents that loved Colorado Springs so much that they moved here AFTER their son graduated and they became sponsor parents. Cadets do have a chance to participate in the sponsor parent program. We are lucky to live in COS and have participated in this program, so they always have a chance to get away on the weekend for a home cooked meal and some time to relax.
 
I'm seeing a lot of posts here in the absolutely no column. As if we have any knowledge about the family situation, where they currently live, and personality of the future cadet. My DS C4C has a close cadet friend who's parents moved to CS and retired there right when he started last year. They seem to be doing great hiking and skiing everywhere and enjoying life. There are many worse places to live in the country. It isn't like their son needs or even wants to come home every pass weekend.

I live in Maryland near Annapolis. My DS C4C has some great USNA Mid friends whose parents live within walking distance of USNA. Somehow they are surviving OK with their parents so close. Millions of live on campus college students live within a short driving distance of their parents home and somehow still grow up.

Me, my company actually has a satellite office in CS and I jokingly asked my DS C4C if I should move to CS and work there (As if I could leave being so close to the beach). I got a hard NO. It all just depends on the family and cadet.
 
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I knew a gent...he was a nationally ranked swimmer, as in: D1 "Top five" select. He had offers from all the big D1 schools. However, he wanted to fly AF airplanes! He was heavily recruited by USAFA and USMA and USNA. He was from Albuquerque.

He said he worked out a deal with West Point, and got it in writing, that he would attend USMA (Class of 1976) and upon graduation be allowed to cross commission into the USAF. They agreed and he went to USMA and on to glory. Later he flew in the USAF and the ANG and retired as a Brigadier General.

I asked why USMA? He said it was too far for his parents to travel on weekends. He said they'd have come up every weekend for his meets, and to just "sit together" and he wanted a chance to "branch out."
 
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