Home › Forums › Splitboard Talk Forum › If you could move anywhere …
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- January 10, 2008 at 9:01 pm #569518
mergsParticipanthowdy everyone,
being in the middle of the infamous east coast “January thaw” has me once again thinkin about relocating from my current environs. 😀 i do this every year around this time and by buddies have since written me off that I’m full of shyte and will never move. i’ve been threatening to move to VT for years and I’m still here. so consider this is purely hypothetical… you’ll never have to worry about me descending on your town 🙂
so, where oh where to relocate?
the requirements:
-great snowboarding, obviously kick ass bc splitting opps.
-good or great mountain biking, as that’s my summer thang.
-a chill town with soul… it does not need to be super small, could be large town in fact, but it should have a chill vibe and not be full of uptight city-folk with baditudes. i don’t mind a tourist town, per se but i think that most tourist towns would price outside of what i am willing to spend for housing. i’d be trading up a house in NJ for elsewhere so say $300-400K would be my target for a comfy 2-3 br within a short drive of all the goods above.
-good broadband, as I do computer shtuff and I still need to make a livin. 😉
so, where would you relocate?
i think I should also mention that I’d like to stay in the USA, but honestly, there are spots in CA that look darn nice, esp BC, so I’d say leaving the US is not off the table.
January 10, 2008 at 9:18 pm #601685MumblesParticipantBellingham Washington. 45 minutes from Mt. Baker Ski area, pretty much limitless hiking, biking and backcountry area. I live about three hours from there and normally that area gets my attention. I’m actually trying to talk my wife into relocating there too. Bellingham is a college town with Western Washington University, a stone’s thorw from the US/Canada border and a short distance from Seattle. Get to Whistler/Blackcomb in a short day drive, close enough to the airport in Seattle, no issues with web connectivity (Microsoft land) and don’t forget the Puget Sound/San Juan Islands as an alternate recreational source that is accessible from the area.
On second thought, stay in Vermont, the weather is terrible here, the people are rude and it is terribly overcrowded and overpriced. (That is what i tell my family in Mass and New Hampshire anyway).
January 10, 2008 at 9:36 pm #601686OttoParticipantLike Mumbles said, the weather out here in the PNW is terrible. Stay home… 😈
On another note though, most of the western PNW sounds like what you describe as an ideal place to live. I live in Portland, Oregon, and have access to all the goods you describe within an hours or two drive. But I must warn you. You have to like rain, because it’s always raining. You get used to it though.
January 10, 2008 at 9:42 pm #601687HikeforTurnsParticipantI lived in Bham for a season and liked it alot. It rained a bit compared to CO, but everytime it was raining, I knew it was snowing higher up. I couldnt find a decent job, so I moved back. I probably should have stuck it out longer though. The town itself has a few decent bars and a brewery (circa 2000-2001). And the people were pretty nice too. Im not sure what the tech scene is there. Obviously the resort and BC riding are insane. The drive to Baker is easy too, as the road doesnt get snowy until your closer to the area.
During the summer Id imagine you would get rained off afew alpine climbs, but youd get used to it..
If I could go anywhere, it would be BC, no question.
In the US only, NW Washington is pretty hard to beat.
January 10, 2008 at 10:14 pm #601688mergsParticipantMumbles: thanks… Bham is pretty nice. I visited there once, on biz… and liked it. The customer said: so, you like it here? Good. She continued: “You’re ok you can move out, but don’t tell any of them EC’ers how nice it is out here” no worries, I kept that promise 🙂
Otto, thanks. I do plan to visit OR next year. Friends of mine in Bend and others in Hood River have been telling me for a while its my kinda place. But that’s between you and I. 😈 I will visit Portland if for nothing else to drink great beer. Microbreweries are a big plus, but then again if the town I relocate to is san biere, I’ll just open my own place 🙂 << this is what my wife is encouraging me to do.
HikeforTurns: roger that man… I’m heading to Rossland/Nelson end of Feb. and I am so looking forward to it. Getting the shivers just thinkin about it. 8)
Keep up the recommendations everyone! Good stuff. I’d like to hear about ID, WY, MT, etc. too.
January 10, 2008 at 10:49 pm #601689DrKoKoParticipantI’ve lived in SLC for 4.5 years now and i honestly like it.
The first 2 requirements are satisfied. Definitely good mountains for skiing and biking within an hour’s drive. In addition, a ~4+ hour drive brings you to the outdoor playground of southern utah where the biking and climbing gets really incredible (as if the wasatch was in any way insufficient!).
Living in SLC does have its quirks. I miss walking into any old bar and ordering a full strength beer for example. And you have to really keep your eyes out for future reggae shows and plan months in advance. And when you miss a good event, you kinda know that it won’t be back for a while! So a cool town with a chill vibe? well…not always. but its got its upside too. its clean, beautiful, and without a lot of urban crime.
SLC downtown is wired…most coffee shops and the main library have wifi and most of the houses can accomodate DSL or cable.
I am currently in the process of finishing up grad school and my wife and i are always talking about where we should live next, so this is a great thread! The PNW obviously sounds appealing, but we may have to move east, so i’m looking forward to hearing those opinions.
January 10, 2008 at 11:04 pm #601690Unruly BakerParticipantDammit DKK. You want that snake up LCC and BCC to get longer?
Tell the truth, SLC both sucks and blows. No good beer, the LDS folks won’t leave you alone, we rarely get snow (yes, I lied in my other threads and TR’s about it, I’m a filthy rotten liar), and in general it is just a smoggy nasty place to live.
You’ve been warned. Steer clear of SLC and Northern UT in general.
UB
January 11, 2008 at 12:22 am #601691DentalFlossTycoonParticipantNorth of the border with a hot Canadian wife that likes to surf pow.
I did Bellingham from 91-98 but def. didn’t find it to be the “If I could live anywhere” spot – I loved it and miss it dearly but I think my alt utopia is somewhere else.
January 11, 2008 at 12:22 am #601692mergsParticipantright on UB… been to SLC many times and indeed it does suckity suck. lousy snow too 😉 you guys ever run into a crazy sob who goes by the name of wasatch walt ? (he’s a skier and mtb’er)
the east has its ups and downs. i really dig vt but “the thaw” tries a man’s soul sometimes.
January 11, 2008 at 12:24 am #601693mergsParticipantdft: not out of the question at all.
anyone relocate from the us to ca? i tell you, southeast bc sure has some spots Id consider. just wondering how a yank goes about relocating to bc, should said yank decide to pull the trigger. hypothetically and all.
edit: dft: stop being so cryptic, just pm me your secret valhalla, i’ll paypal you a beverage 😉
January 11, 2008 at 1:40 am #601694jackParticipantyeah the mtn biking in Bellingham is really awesome, lots of great spots near by too, and day trips to Whistler are do-able. legend has it Seattle folks drive all the way up here to get some killer mtb-ing.
sounds like you pretty much described B’ham in your post, unfortunately i will be moving at the end of the winter because i can’t find a good enough job in my field in B-town….that and i have lived here a little too long…
January 11, 2008 at 2:07 am #601695MumblesParticipantMy wife and her family are from Nashua NH. She wants to relocate near there, but it is ridiculously expensive. She also wants to move to a small town with character. I’m hopeful that there are such places in VT, NH or Maine. Work is not that critical, I would do just about anything. I should get a teaching job in a small town high school and just enjoy my work and not worry about the terrible pay. The problem I have is that I want to live somewhere within easy reach of snow without having to constantly shovel my driveway (like I did when I grew up in the midwest). That is why the PNW is ideal for me. Shoreline, skyline, mountains, trails, snow (but only a few times a year in my driveway) it has all that I need.
January 11, 2008 at 3:04 am #601696LachanceParticipantNelson,BC is probably my first pick … There’s lots of nice town in the BC Interrior … lots of them are getting expensive … But Nelson is a pretty cool place with some unique character … Plus there’s lots of BC you can access using sleds … Fernie would be my second place … they have a kick ass ski resort on the edge of town, and some excellent back country terrain … Ahhh … Revelstoke & Golden for some of the best canadian snow … I could go on … I never lived in any of those city, but been there more than once … hopefully I’ll be able to find some contracts that will allow me to move from Cowtown one day 😀 and be closer to the mountains!
January 11, 2008 at 4:45 am #601697DentalFlossTycoonParticipantedit: dft: stop being so cryptic, just pm me your secret valhalla, i’ll paypal you a beverage
Cryptic? if your disguising yourself as a hot chick from Kanadar that wants to shack up, let’s get it on! F the paypal, I’ll install the kegerator 😉
January 11, 2008 at 12:54 pm #601698mergsParticipantMumbles: there are spots like that in Northern VT. Anything north of Stowe up towards Jay Peak is still very affordable, still chill. Its just too far for the average knuckleheads from NY/NJ or g-forbid MA 😉 to drive to. You will have to shovel however 😉 Vut you can do what I did: train your wife how to use the snowblower. I leave really early to catch the snow sometimes and she has no choice. 😆 I can give you some town names if you’re ever interested. I am not really familiar with NH, but I do know Nashua is teets-high in B-towners and as you know real estate has gone to a premium there. but I’d think there must be stuff north of Conway that is still under radar and the Whites are great. great e/c bc scene.
Dental Floss: you are one funny sob. you must be a boatload of laughs on the ascent. i ain’t giving you a reacharound but i still want to hear your thoughts on your alt heaven, should you wish to share.
Lachance: rolled through Cowtown a couple of years back on my way to Kickin Horse. first, you are right… I thought Calgary was TX (didn’t expect that), and second, Kickin Horse… wow. 😈
January 11, 2008 at 2:19 pm #601699purcelljayParticipantKimbelrey B.C. It’s awesome here, I snowmobile for 20 min from my house to amazing bc boarding, there’s tons of yo-yoing here. The mountain biking is amazing, climbing, canoeing, hiking. The weather in the summer is very warm and dry and in winter lots of snow that’s dry and deep. Still somewhat affordable and only 5000 people with a village like town, but close to Spokane (3hrs) Calgary (4hrs)[/list]
January 11, 2008 at 5:34 pm #601700mergsParticipantthanks Jay, never even considered Kimberley. nice place!
Kimberley, Rossland, Nelson, etc… these places are not too far from the US border. 8) perhaps I should consider Northern ID or nw MT? anyone live or know of the areas? (I’ve been to Kalispell and Whitefish but that’s all.)
January 11, 2008 at 5:59 pm #601701dude_reinoParticipantThe last remaining spot in Colorado that hasn’t been overly-commercialized is the Ouray-Silverton-Durango area. Great backcountry, great biking, and Durango is so chill you can hitchike home if you’ve had too much to drink.
January 11, 2008 at 10:39 pm #601702fustercluckParticipantI’d recommend a road trip. Check out several spots. Many spots have what you’re looking for, but it would be real ballsy going to some random place you’ve never even visited. Could be one hell of an adventure though!
January 11, 2008 at 11:28 pm #601703Unruly BakerParticipant@luca_brasi wrote:
The last remaining spot in Colorado that hasn’t been overly-commercialized is the Ouray-Silverton-Durango area. Great backcountry, great biking, and Durango is so chill you can hitchike home if you’ve had too much to drink.
I agree and disagree. Try buying land there. Not cheap. 5-10 years ago was the time. Now it is $$. Killer area though.
UB
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