My girlfriend and I are moving this fall, here is our list of places we are considering.

1. Coeur d Alene, Id / Spokane, Wa
2. Bend, Or
3. SLC, Ut
4. Ft. Collins, Co
5. Missoula, Mt
6. Boise, Id

We have only been to and climbed in two of these cities. What would be your order of best to worst? Any of these cities just suck to live in? Any thoughts?

While I haven't been to about half of these, I'd think that one of your primary considerations would have to be your personal preference for city size. While some people would find a big city like SLC to be stiflingly large and overwhelming, other people might be bored in a smaller town. It's hard to recommend one of these cities without knowing what your size preference is, considering the pretty large variation in the list you've provided.

Just curious, why would you consider Fort Collins and not Boulder?

Is being employed a consideration? If so, wouldn't you look for the job first? If not, congratulations!

I live in Fort Collins, but have not been to the other places so this may not be of much use. That being said, Fort Collins is a great place to live with climbing easily accessed, although a bit farther than if you were in Boulder. I have been to Boulder many times, and it is not for me. I know many people who love it, but I just cant hop on that train. The Fort is really easy going and has treated me outstandingly well for the couple years I have lived here. Just my 2 cents.

Moved from LA to Boise about 7 months ago. Loving it so far! Got any more specific questions?

I've spent time in each of these places, and my personal preference would be as follows:

1. SLC
2. Spokane
3. Bend
4. Missoula
5. Boise
6. Ft. Collins

Here's some plus's for each of the cities I've been to, great list though.....

1. SLC- world class skiing and climbing right next door and much more within few hours drive, not sure about the party scene but I don't generally like the "rules" in Utah
2. Bend- Great smaller city, good beers and good food...from what I understand its expanding somewhat rapidly....amazing backpacking and hiking in the area but I can't speak for the climbing
3. Missoula- my favorite area of my favorite state, amazing scenery, backpacking, fly fishing, skiing, etc.....from what I understand there's some climbing too, I did some great granite bouldering in the area and saw lots of route potential .....less people and NOT many jobs at all
4. Coeur d Alene- not much in the surrounding areas but lots if you drive a bit, can't speak for the climbing or the scene
5. Boise- heard its a great city, I've climbed at City of Rocks and skied in the Sawtooth backcountry and both were absolutely amazing...
6.Ft Collins- no comments

Each of the above cities shine in their own set of attributes (with the exception of Spokane), as highlighted above by Nick. I've been through all, and recently spent two years climbing and going to school in SLC - And LOVED it!

From diversity of climbing to jobs to social and cultural amenities to a cheap cost of living, Salt Lake is tough to beat. LCC, BCC, Uintas, American Fork, Maple, Joes, Indian Creek, City of Rocks all lie within a reasonable drive. And I've never before appreciated easy airport access until living in Salt Lake.

The primary downside, I found, was the Winter smog inversion that blanketed the valley. Additionally, the traffic sucked. The LDS influence to my social life was surprisingly minimal.

Before you go and locate, you might want to consider a road-trip.
It is far easier to find a job in the town you love than build a town you love around a location you have selected.

PS - Fort Collins isn't bad. I don't like Boulder Proper so much, so I live in Erie... 20 minutes away from Boulder, 30 minutes from Bocan, Eldo, The Flat Irons, the St Vrain... 45 min from Table Mountain (as if I liked it... but some do), an hour from Lumpy, RMNP, The Big Thompson Canyon, Clear Creek Canyon, Castlewood Canyon (repeat Table Mountain comment), and the fantasic climbing around Empire (Ra, Halidome). Tack on another 20-40 minutes and I'm anywhere in the South Platte.

Point being, you don't have to live in any "city proper" that you don't like. Any of your other destinations has alternatives as well. I'd have considered Vegas if it were not so damn hot there in the summer.

SLC is a great place to live, Incredible climbing which ever direction you choose to turn. Like stated, the inversion is terrible and ugly. Cost of living is unbelievable, and the majority of people living in SLC are not LDS (to find that you need to travel to the suburbs, I.E., West valley, West and South Jordan, ect...); city life is suprisingly liberal, and the art scene, if you know where to look, is wonderful. SLC would be a great choice.

Coeur d Alene is an awesome central location to access places like index, lavenworth, and the Si's for a weekend (or long day) trip. as well as close(r) access to several places b/c its right off of I-90


Same kind of goes for bozeman (which i prefer over missoula)and has everything you could want, small crags, 3+ season snow sports (if motivated, I knew people who found places to ski in the middle of august), alpine is only a few hours away in every direction, good water, and awesome fly fishing

For climbing specifically tho, there are much better locations

1. Ft collins
2. squamish
3. Chatanooga
4. Bend
5.estes park

Missoula is a great place to live. The job market may not be the greatest but the outdoor opportunities make up for it.

Missoula is actually right in the hub of some great climbing. There are 15 areas all within an hour of Missoula.

Here are some of the best:

1) Blodgett Canyon: Bigwall, Trad, Sport,Bouldering. Exeptional rock quality.

Blodgett Canyon Wikipedia

2) Lost Horse Canyon: Bouldering, Trad. Best bouldering and cracks in the state.

3)Kootenai Creek: Trad, Sport. The most popular area due to it's proximity to Missoula. Great climbing.

4)Lolo Pass: Trad, Sport, Bouldering. A lifetime of rock climbing exists here. It has largely been forgotten due to the destruction and restoration of road. Insane amount of rock.

5) Mill Creek: Bigwall, Trad, Sport, Ticks. Varied rock quality from excellent to decent. Lots of new developement going in.

6) Rattler and Mulkey Gulch: Limestone sport. Pretty fun areas

Others: (all within an hour)

Bass Creek
Bear Creek
Big Creek
Alberton Rest Stop
Sweathouse Creek
Sheafman Creek
Roaring Lion Creek
Lake Como
Skalkao Pass
Canyon Creek
Kim Williams Trail choss pile
Butte Area Climbing (tons)

Despite the common misconception Missoula is home to some great rock climbing. You just need some local info

Spokane is sweet but way overcrowded at the crags


Mill Creek Blog

This may take a little time but try this:

Get a map of the west (colorado to california, montana to arizona) and pin it to your wall.

Place push pins into each area that there is climbing.

Place a large push pin into each area you are thinking of moving.

Measure out three pieces of string: one that equals 50 miles, one that equals 150 miles, and one that equals 300 miles.

With each area you want to live, make circles (one for each string) around each area, kind of like a bulls eye.

Now, consider this:
The small circle is places you can travel within an hour of where you live. These are places you can get to after work.
The middle circle represents places that can be good day trips.
The outer circle represents places you can get to with a half days drive, and are weekend destinations.
Outside the circles are places that are road trips.

If you want to maxamize your climbing options, this will help you decide.

While not on your list, Grand Junction CO. seems to be the perfect place for the climber, skier, mountaineer, kayaker, and mountain biker.

Europe

There are no jobs in fort Collins so if work is important and you have nothing lined up go elsewhere

Thanks for all the responses already.

Grand Junction...we might have to add that to the list, I had a great spring break there several years ago and I am thinking about doing more ice once we move.

We are primarily concerned about climbing (any style, hopefully a lot of everything!) but access to NPS land is important. Access to other outdoor sports is awesome but climbing is numero uno.

California.

Just FYI, try searching. This topic has got to be one of the top 10 Mountain Project threads of all time and I'm sure you'll find some useful info on some of these places in older threads.
Good luck! I would suggest Bozeman over Missoula if you have the choice too.

Tahoe.

My husband and I moved to Bend, Oregon for about 9 months. The only work we could find was seasonal answering phones at Christmas, okay if you love sitting for 8 hours a day and burning through your savings. Dry climate but weeks with no sun and highs in the -8 range. Beautiful, great beer, fun bars. Climbing at Smith was beautiful but choss pile, much better trad climbing across the river. Just my opinion.

Is there any climbing near Bend other than Smtih Rocks?