Perfect city rehash

Las Vegas meets your criteria. I live on the western edge near Red Rock and it feels nothing like the Vegas you would imagine. I climb after work in the summer and fall, and most weekends year-round. And it's a 3-4 hour drive to many other climbing destinations.

Reno, NV - little to no traffic, low cost of living (when compared to our amenities) international airport for climbing/trips further from home, 360 degree mountain views, excellent ski/snowboarding within an hour and:

River Rock
Big Chief
Pig Rock
Donner Summit
Lover's Leap
Bowman Lake
Tahoe Bouldering (Amazing!!!)
Bishop (pretty close, only 3 1/2 hours or so, could do a long day trip)
Yosemite and the High Sierra (both totally doable for weekend trips)

Need I list more? Some people seem to hate Reno or have some misconception. This place is awesome.

Asheville??

Just to add to that it fits this stuff:

Not much traffic
Great culture, beer, music scene
Not sure about the whitebread part
Not super expensive
Close to some great climbing

Of course if you like skiing cross it off the list

john strand wrote: As for a job in the medical field ??? Rather limited i think

For sure it might be tough. I'm just thinking if nh was the place someone would want to be, northern nh is an outdoor paradise.

PNW dark horse: Bellingham. You are a little far from the good cragging, but avoid the challenges of living in Seattle (high cost of living, traffic).

Also, if you've grown accustomed to the mountains accessed from the Front Range, it'd be hard to put anything back east on the table (IMHO).

Back when I was into bike racing, people used to say: light, strong, durable - pick two. I feel the "where do I live" thing is similar. "Cool culture, reasonable cost of living, access to good outdoor stuff" - pick two.

jaredj wrote: Back when I was into bike racing, people used to say: light, strong, durable - pick two. I feel the "where do I live" thing is similar. "Cool culture, reasonable cost of living, access to good outdoor stuff" - pick two.

Worth repeating. Haven't thought of it like that but absolutely true. IF there were a perfect place, then everyone would be there, and it would no longer be perfect.

I've been living in Seattle for about 2.5 years now. I think it meets several of your criteria, but with some caveats. If you live and work in the eastside suburbs, you can avoid most of the heinous (truly awful) traffic associated with the city itself. You also have good access to weekday climbing (30 min to 1 hour) and great options within weekend distance. Culture here rocks - tons of concerts, awesome food, very diverse local population. The cost of living is high, but manageable if you stay out of the city and don't feel the need to live in a 4000 sq ft house. Something else to note - weather really is a factor here. Winter days are super short and weeks of rainy weather definitely blow. It's not a total deal breaker, but something you need to be aware of if you're used to Colorado weather.

The other one I can chime in on is SLC. I was born and raised there, lived there for 25 years. Your biggest concern there is well founded, the suburbs of SLC and especially Utah County are pretty whitebread. Downtown itself is cool, as are some of the older parts of town, like Sugarhouse. Access to mountains is unparalleled, both in summer and winter. The air quality does suck, and traffic is definitely getting worse. Overall it's a pretty cool place, and I'd consider living there again.

Tobin Story wrote: Seattle... most of the heinous (truly awful) traffic associated with the city itself.

I've been there 15 years ago & the traffic indeed sucked. But hearing from current residences visiting Denver, it appears downtown Denver to tech center traffic have eclipsed Seattle traffic, sad...

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:Another "tell me where to live" thread.

A van.
Down by the river.

Washington is pretty cool. I live in Spokane, which has a very cheap cost of living with decent local rock cragging, bike trails, etc. Being willing to drive 6 hours opens up some world-class climbing: Hyalite, Canmore, the Cascades... all within very reasonable driving distance.

People like to rag on Spokane but I think it is finally starting to "grow up" - might just become the next hip place to live someday.

OP: Do you and/or spouse need to be in a hospital setting for work?

climbing friend,

let us not be fooling our selve. the bread of grand junction and SLC is extraordinarily white, most unbelievable. There are no other colors in this bread, and it is quite bland and flavorless. You may also need be on high alert for predatory rednecks and nutjobs of conservatism, for example grand junction resident who make seemingly racist halloween display in lawn of president obama aspentimes.com/article/2008…

Tobin Story wrote: Seattle...traffic...cost of living...rainy weather

If the OP finds the traffic, cost of living, and general crowdedness of the Front Range to be objectionable, Seattle is unlikely to be a good choice for him. Each of those things is at least as bad (if not significantly worse) here as compared to Denver. And the rain is a major consideration if year-round climbing is important to you. It is a great city that also has adequate climbing access, but an ideal climbing town it is not.

As to the earlier Bellingham suggestion: Bellingham is a pleasant size that provides good culture and amenities without the pain-in-the-arse aspects of living in Seattle. It is in a really beautiful area and has a lot of outdoor activities available…but climbing access would be a big step down from Colorado or Utah. There are a few local crags, but it is a 2 hour drive to any of the good stuff (Squamish, Index, Newhalem), and weather is a limiting factor for a substantial portion of the year. It would be a nice place to live, but only if climbing access is a secondary consideration for you.

Regarding Spokane: any place where someone promotes it as a climbing town by citing locations 6 hours away should be summarilly dismissed. 'Nuff said. There is some decent local climbing available, and it is very cheap to live there, but considering that the OP has the flexibility to live anywhere, Spokane should be very very far down the list. Plus, it is a dumpy town. Think GJ, but without anywhere close to the quality of climbing access.

In the PNW, the only spot I would remotely consider reccomending, given the OP's criteria, would be Bend (and surrounding, less expensive towns). This really is the only "climbing town" in the PNW. Unless you can get a Canadian work visa and move to Squamish.

JCM wrote:In the PNW, the only spot I would remotely consider reccomending, given the OP's criteria, would be Bend (and surrounding, less expensive towns). This really is the only "climbing town" in the PNW. Unless you can get a Canadian work visa and move to Squamish.

Or Penticton, Kelowna, or Canmore.

For SLC:

// Acceptable traffic, some is OK. Denver for example is too much.

The only people who complain about traffic in Salt Lake are people who have never lived somewhere that actually has traffic.

// Decent local (afternoon trip) rock, good (4hrs) weekend rock

There are few better options anywhere than SLC. Great and varied local climbing, near endless weekend options.

// Culture, art, music, activities. Monoculture, whitebread gets old

Salt Lake City proper and Park City are pretty good for this - lots of good concerts, lots of arts and community events and festivals. Not that great for nightlife, but good restaurants and some decent bars. Salt Lake has some strange dynamics and the suburbs/Utah county are bland dystopian hellscapes, but overall I enjoy the scene here.

// Cool people

The outdoor athletic community here is great - lots of strong motivated people, and very welcoming. You do have to be pretty careful about where you live, but that is easy enough to figure out.

// Proximity to mountains, within driving distance

11,000+ peaks a mile or two from the city limits. Nice to not have the endless foothills to get to the actual mountains like you have on the front range. Makes before work ski touring reasonable.

// Non oppressive cost of living.

Utah is inexpensive, and you could make it really cheap by living in Ogden.

The downside is the bad air quality in the winter, but it seems to be getting better - we haven't had a real soul crushing weeks long inversion for a few years. It isn't the end of the world in any case though - just go to the gym or go skiing 15 minutes up one of the canyons to get out of it.

The best medical job in SLC might be respritory therapist.

"Some people seem to hate Reno or have some misconception. This place is awesome."

+10000000000000000000000000000

I feel like the people who talk shit about Reno have only driven through it at night. It's one of the best cities in the West for a climber who wants no traffic, cool culture, cool people, a good climate, and epic climbing nearby.

Kilby Court is the spiritual center for music in SLC...

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