Where Should I Live?

Plymouth or North conway NH would fit that mold. Small town, lots of cheap apartments in plymouth cause of the college. You have the white mountains right there. Rumney, North Conway, Cannon with in an hour. Pawtuckaway, Acadia, and the gunks with in road tripping distance. Some of the best waterfall ice anywhere.......its awesome.

Bend Oregon, Smith Rocks just up the road, Bachelor for skiing basically right in town, on the dry side of the Mountains, small hip town with small college, great backpacking in the Mt Jefferson and Three Sisters area. I'm pushing it and I don't even live there!

Is anyone going to vote for Tucson, AZ?

Climbing-wise, it has Mt. Lemmon and Cochise Stronghold right by the door step; it is fairly close to J-tree (CA), Red Rocks (NV), Hueco Tanks (TX), the Enchanted Tower (NM), Moab (UT), and many many more good climbing locations in AZ itself and all the nearby states...

And, you can't ignore these factors -- friendly climbers, warm sunny weather all year long and relatively inexpensive living....

what else can you ask for in life?

Tom Woods wrote:Custer, SD (near the Needles and Mount Rushmore), Spearfish, SD (near Spearfish Canyon), Hulett, WY (near Devils Tower) or Tensleep, WY (near Tensleep Canyon)?

I would slit my own wrists if I had to live in Hulett. Sure, you've got the Tower, but there is nothing else there. I don't even think they have a bank. If you want Wyoming small towns, Lander, Cody or Laramie are the big three, maybe Casper if you can stand a larger city, but its got problems a go-go.

this will be considered blasphemous by all the west coasters on here but, with your guidelines how about the Adirondacks? Lots of climbs, without lines of yuppies with shiny new gear standing in line, cheap rent or cheap homes to buy- a single bedroom apartment is as cheap as $400 a month, and pretty much most people, inc landlords, like dogs. that's my two cents

You look plenty cute and I talked it over with my Fiance'. We have a space in between us on our futon with your name written all over it. It's gonna be allota dogs tho........gotta' be Pug friendly!

Bayr, unless you don't have to work, you might want to factor in job opportunities. I suspect that many of the small towns that meet your criteria don't offer much in the way of employment.

Wyoming? better like the cold
Prescott? better like the heat

White Salmon? Hey, that's where I live! A typical winter day is skiing in the morning on Hood, then mtn biking along the columbia river. A typical summer day is windsurfing in the morning, then pitches at pete's or A51 or ....

And there are over 250 sport routes within an hour drive, nearly 50 of them are local to White Salmon. Of course Smith is 2 hrs away.

Oh, and the rain generally stops a month earlier than portland, and comes back a month later. But for me, I prefer riding/running in 45 degree drizzle vs 95 degree heat anyways..

Keep us posted where you pick, and good luck!

snowdenroad wrote:Wyoming? better like the cold Prescott? better like the heat White Salmon? Hey, that's where I live! A typical winter day is skiing in the morning on Hood, then mtn biking along the columbia river. A typical summer day is windsurfing in the morning, then pitches at pete's or A51 or .... And there are over 250 sport routes within an hour drive, nearly 50 of them are local to White Salmon. Of course Smith is 2 hrs away. Oh, and the rain generally stops a month earlier than portland, and comes back a month later. But for me, I prefer riding/running in 45 degree drizzle vs 95 degree heat anyways.. Keep us posted where you pick, and good luck!

Actually, Prescott isn't so hot in the summer. Admittedly, I'm from Phoenix and have a warped sense of what is hot. It goes down to the 70s at night in the summer. If you are climbing or riding in the AM it is just great. And Prescott does have a winter, as I've been there when they had 5 inches of snow on the ground. Besides, you can be to the Overlook, Paradise Forks, The Pit, and a host of other climbing venues in about an hour from Prescott, all up near Flag with resonable summer weather. Want to climb in January, well, that can happen easily in AZ. Just drive south for an hour, or climb in the afternoon. Prescott sits at 5200 feet elevation right in the middle of Prescott National Forest. It is one of my favorite towns.

As previously mentioned... Spearfish, SD -- A small, scenic college town, situated well in the Black Hills. Check out last year's Rock and Ice feature about limestone climbing in Spearfish Canyon.

So... Why not split the year between Spearfish and Prescott?

William Dacier wrote: Actually, Prescott isn't so hot in the summer.

Prescott really isn't that hot; it's at over 5,000'. From what I remember, it's not much hotter in the summer than it is here outside Boulder.

William wrote:And Prescott does have a winter

It does snow there, but all is does is slow down traffic; there's no skiing/riding or other snow-sports worth mentioning. There is a ski hill in Flagstaff; it was open for one weekend one particular winter that I lived in AZ. There's definitely no ice climbing. The rock climbing is second to none, though.

--Marc

Wow... thank you so much! I am definitely looking into all the places mentioned and will let you know when I pin something down.

Oh, I am an artist and excellent painter. I've owned my own business here doing just that for years.

Be well and keep 'em coming if you'd like.

Bayr wrote: Oh, I am an artist and excellent painter. I've owned my own business here doing just that for years.

Perfect! Art lovers/buyers from S.F., and elsewhere like to visit, and shop in Sonora, Ca. on the weekends. A great place for an artist to set up shop!

Bayr wrote:Wow... thank you so much! I am definitely looking into all the places mentioned and will let you know when I pin something down. Oh, I am an artist and excellent painter. I've owned my own business here doing just that for years. Be well and keep 'em coming if you'd like.

Have you checked out the Santa Fe area? How about Salida?

If you are an artist and like to climb you should check out Taos, NM. There is a great climbing community as well as the overall town is very nice. Plus if you like winter they have great skiing. If you like rafting there is that as well. Just a great place.

GM:

I've got to strongly disagee with you over the whole "Sonora as a nice place to live" thing... Some of the most-sketchy inhabitants I've ever come across. Not to mention one the highest counties for meth-labs busts in CA. And there is NO sense of community in that town.

I can only conclude that you're being sarcastic?

Dave Pilot wrote: How about Salida?

Salida is a really neat town, and if you are an artist, you will find it to be a welcoming place. It has a very old town feel to it (largest historic district in all of Colorado, actually). Shelf Road, and P. C. nearby, Garden of the Gods, Black Canyon an hour away. Also plenty of skiing, white water opportunities, mountain biking, etc. I usually go there every two years with my wife to bag 14teeners and hang with an old climbing buddy and his family. Check out, even though I've touted Prescott AZ quite a bit here. Salida is a very cool place indeed. I'm heading there next Friday!

Zirkel wrote:GM: I can only conclude that you're being sarcastic?

C'mon O Brother Man Zirkel, Me? Sarcastic? Puhlease.....

Europe is pretty cool! You can come stay with me I live by all the coarses.

I would second Tucson if you like a bigger town with the option of feeling like you're in a small town. You could pick Mammoth, Oracle or San Man for small town outside of Tucson. If the desert isn't your thing I would put in a Prescott vote. The nice thing about Tucson is if you want to escape the desert Mt Lemmon is an hour drive to the top depending on where you live and it'll feel like you've entered a different world. I couldn't live here without that mountain.

If you decide on this area let me know I have some rentals on acres and I'd be willing to help you out.