Boulder, CO climber moving to East Coast

Hey guys, I got offered a new position in my company (boulder based) to be a remote employee on the east coast. The only requirement is that I live near a major airport preferably between Baltimore and Boston.

I wanted to get some input on where you think the best place on the east coast is to move? I am moving from Boulder, so I understand that I won't find anywhere that has as much climbing as readily available. Seeing as I have never lived outside of an hour radius of Boulder, this would also be a major change for me. I also love trail running, so being near trails would be a major + for me.

I was thinking NYC maybe? Try and live near a park for trail running and hopefully get to the gunks on the weekend? Are there better east coast cities similar to Denver (20 minute drive to great climbing/trails) that I am not thinking about?

Any thoughts?

My vote would be central Connecticut, good local climbing, 2 hours to the Gunks and a reasonable weekend trip to Adirondacks, Vermont and New Hampshire. There is a pretty active locale climbing group (ct climbers and mountaineers) that can get you up and running. On the down side if you want to do something different and want access to the coast Connecticut stinks they all go to Rhode Island.

If your priories are the outdoors, then yes, central CT is a good location. You'll be closer to Rumney, Ragged Mt and all that New England has to offer ( Dack's , Greens, Whites etc.) while being just as close to the Gunk's.

Hartford is a fair place and will feel more "like" Boulder than NYC. Don't expect too much diversity or depth.

I guess it depends on how near is "near" with regard to an airport. How frequently do you need to access the airport, and could you get away with being 1-2 hours from the airport in order to be closer to climbing/trails/etc? If so, then New Paltz could be an ideal spot for you. It is a great climbing town, with the Gunks in its backyard. Good trail running too. It would also just be a nice place to live, with a lot going on despite being a small/medium size town. Coming from Boulder, the general vibe of the town (outdoors/alternative) will feel pretty familiar to you. In terms of airport access, it is 1:20 from the Albany airport and a bit under 2 hours to NYC airports (depending on traffic and time of day).

Moving from Boulder to NYC would be brutal if access to climbing and the outdoors is important to you. There are a lot of better options.

The "other NYC airport" is Stewart in Newburgh. It's 30 min from there to the Gunks (not that you'd live at the airport) just to give you a point of reference. The Hudson Valley has a lot to offer without being a big city. Ice climbing is an hour from Poughkeepsie (where I live), and New Paltz is a cool little town with an eclectic mix of eco-awareness, academic rigor, and throwback 60s hippie-ism.

The other regional airport is in Albany, about 75 minutes from New Paltz.

If you can be an hour or two away from a major airport, asheville NC could be an option. All of Western NC has a similar amount of climbing as the boulder area so it would be the same quantity within a larger driving radius. You might also look at cities/towns close to RRG or NRG, or obviously some place like New Paltz near the gunks or a place in NH close to rumney, Cathedral Ledge, etc.

If you can get away with New Paltz. Yes. It's rad and more like Boulder than any East coast town other than maybe North Conway.

Wow, CT wins so far, I even agree. BDL is 15 minutes away and trail running galore all around the traprock cliffs so you would even get to know where all the rock is. If the pay is the same where ever you move CT wins hands down for what you want.

wow. thank you to everyone who has replied! the insight is very much appreciated. I probably won't respond to every comment, but I will for sure read everything!

I would ideally live within an hour or less of a major airport. I would be travelling up to 65% of my time to east coast cities (Boston, DC, philly, etc. I would also want to be able to travel internationally easily for my job (Europe, Qatar, China, etc. )

CT sounds pretty cool, are there major international airports there? I would get relocation and cost of living adjustment based on the city I choose.

any city dwellers here? is living in a city fun enough to not live with immediate access to the outdoors? I love living within a 3 minute run from the trails/mountains, but could sacrifice it for a couple years if the city life is fun.

I really don't know yet, but love the different opinions!

trice Rice wrote:wow. thank you to everyone who has replied! the insight is very much appreciated. I probably won't respond to every comment, but I will for sure read everything! I would ideally live within an hour or less of a major airport. I would be travelling up to 65% of my time to east coast cities (Boston, DC, philly, etc. I would also want to be able to travel internationally easily for my job (Europe, Qatar, China, etc. ) CT sounds pretty cool, are there major international airports there? I would get relocation and cost of living adjustment based on the city I choose. any city dwellers here? is living in a city fun enough to not live with immediate access to the outdoors? I love living within a 3 minute run from the trails/mountains, but could sacrifice it for a couple years if the city life is fun. I really don't know yet, but love the different opinions!

Honestly, you want greater Boston if you're doing that kind of travel (I also do that kind of travel). Airport is super convenient. Outdoors and climbing community is great, good food, etc. The negative is that there's about a 2-3 hour hole in all directions to get to good climbing (or much closer if you're into bouldering), but the climbing is pretty great. Trail running is available, but it's not gonna be as convenient or good as you're used to.

Greater Boston - southern NH. I traveled international for 30 years. I'm an hour to Boston Logan for travel to Europe and Middle East. Flew Manchester to Detroit and then to Far East. Climbing wise - a couple hours gets you plenty of rock from Rumney to Cannon to N. Conway. Longer drives and you can do Gunks in a day. Ice basically the same thing. Oh, no state sales or income tax in NH!

I agree with the general theme in this thread i.e. somewhere north of NYC/Boston, as far as you can stretch it with regard to your job. Hudson Valley or NH. Don't live in a big city on the East coast if you love outdoors.

If you can make 90min work that's New Paltz>>LaGuardia. This would be best IMO. It's a cool little town.

I lived in East Granby CT for a few years when I was back east. It had okay access to traprock, was 5 minutes from Bradley, and about 2 hours from the Gunks. There's good trail running along the metacomet trail. I used to visit that a few times a week. There's Diamond cliff nearby in Granby too for an afternoon hang. I know of some "secret" ice about 25 minutes away, hit me up for a contact. CT was okay overall, but I moved to CO as soon as I could. Winter is cold and dark. Summer is hot, muggy and buggy.

Don't expect anything bolted nearby (although i've heard of some recent development in certain places).

Other than my family the only thing I miss back east is the Gunks. The Gunks are amazing. I also spent a good amount of time in the Adirondacks, VT, and NH mountains, which are great for hiking and offer some backcountry adventure. The Catskills have some decent ice climbing too.

If you are coming from Boulder, I would move to New Paltz from a culture-shock standpoint. You would probably be dead-bored just about anywhere in central CT. The vibe in NP is much less stuffy than anywhere I've spent time in CT.

cheers.
-chris

trice Rice wrote:is living in a city fun enough to not live with immediate access to the outdoors?

Manhattan (or nearby) is an amazing place to live and work. If you can afford it. Actually if you count bouldering and/or top-roping as "climbing", there is lots of it in close driving range (less than an hour) from New York City.

For climbing you'll need a car, so have to juggle cost and hassle of parking versus closeness to or neighborhood-status within the "island at the center of the world".

Keep in mind that both Sasha DiGiulian and Ashima Shirai managed to keep New York City as their base through multiple years of top-level climbing.

Since NYC has _three_ major airports (or is it four?), not just one, there are way more flights to choose to stay connected with Boulder (or to re-book to in case your flight gets cancelled). Also way more flights to Europe (and other international locations) than any other East coast city. Sharon and I used to routinely leave work a little early on Friday afternoon and be up at 10,000 feet on the glaciers around Chamonix Mont Blanc by Saturday lunchtime.
. . (If you want Amtrak trains or driving a car as an alternative way to get to business meetings, then it makes sense to live in the middle of the NorthEast metro coast corridor, not out by one end).

In addition to the social and cultural possibilities - (and making valuable business contacts face-to-face) - there's lots of trail-running opportunities in the many fine parks (the northwest tip of Manhattan has a remarkably "remote" feel - in view of a couple of miles of vertical cliffs) . . . Also good road-bicycling in close range riding across the GWB (hundreds of cyclists out on a nice weekend day). My view is that the road-biking within driving less than two hours to the Mid-Hudson valley or eastern Pennsylvania is easily superior to Colorado - (Why we decided not to move to Boulder).

The Gunks have wonderful long trail runs / scrambles, also scenic double-track mountain biking, and world-class groomed cross-country skiing (with more world-class XC skiing farther north easy driving up the I-87 corridor).

Once in a lifetime opportunity live and work in The City.

Ken

Albany if you need to be near a decent sized airport. You're only an hour from the Gunks and the Adirondacks. MUCH cheaper living than NYC or Boston and faster escape to the woods. Minutes away from biking and skiing as well.

Connecticut has good climbing primarily located in the central part of the state. It's also a short drive to the Gunks, New Hampshire, etc. My two cents would just don't live in Hartford itself. Leave in one of the towns around it. Central Rock in Glastonbury is a great gym but that's an expensive town to live in.

Just say "no" to Baltimore/Maryland. Access to quality crags requires *at least* 3 hours of driving.

@OP, if you want some nice trad, CT is it... if not, Mass. has Farley for some sweet sport (no beta). Also, Rumney is a total win. CT does have some bouldering and a lot of trad, but the quality sport is pretty far and few. The Gunks are pretty sweet too, but again, not sport. Nothing to compare really though, so don't think that there will be that perfect place. If you end up in CT though, let me know!!

Gunkiemike wrote:The "other NYC airport" is Stewart in Newburgh. It's 30 min from there to the Gunks (not that you'd live at the airport) just to give you a point of reference. The Hudson Valley has a lot to offer without being a big city. Ice climbing is an hour from Poughkeepsie (where I live), and New Paltz is a cool little town with an eclectic mix of eco-awareness, academic rigor, and throwback 60s hippie-ism. The other regional airport is in Albany, about 75 minutes from New Paltz.

I think the closet major airport to New Paltz would be Newark Liberty International, a 1.5 hour drive (84 miles). If you are willing to add that extra half-hour to the airport commute, I think New Paltz (or more probably a town south of New Paltz is your best bet, as the gunks put climbing and trail-running at your doorstep.

Wow, so much love for my home state of CT. It should be mentioned, however obvious, that no part of CT is going to have access like Boulder. CT is a very densely populated state with pockets of forests. CT has no National Forest, Wilderness, or National Park. It's also so close to NYC, that it doesn't have too much of an interesting youth culture of it own.

And the Whalers are gone man, they're *gone*.

kenr wrote: Keep in mind that both Sasha DiGiulian and Ashima Shirai managed to keep New York City as their base through multiple years of top-level climbing.

Ana Tine wrote: Pretty crazy isn't it!

Would be crazier if it was actually true...Sasha did everything BEFORE she started at Columbia (she was DC based thru her years of claim-to-fame) and hasn't accomplished anything close to her pre-Columbia days.

As for Ashima, being in NYC has everything to do with what her father did for a living. Maybe we can claim Fayetteville, NC to be a climbing hotbed because Kai Lightner grew up there (for perspective, NYC has ~40x the population of Fayetteville & ~80x the population of Boulder).