Salt Lake City vs Bend, OR, vs Ashland, OR vs. NorCal/Washington/Colorado/Idaho/Montana

I must be one of few that wants less progressive towns...

DeanTanner wrote:

I love Bellingham, but know they are even more selective than Bend for jobs, so I think it would be unlikely. Being that close to Squamish would be incredible...

I will definitely look into Wenatchee more. Though I would prefer a smaller town/city, we are prioritizing a relatively large and busy hospital to keep our skills up, which means population >50-70k more or less. Durango, Gunnison, and Glenwood Springs all look like awesome towns (and may be destinations in the future), but probably a bit small for what we're after.

Bellingham and Wenatchee are the only two places I've lived, and currently live in Bellingham. Let me know if you have any questions!

Ryan Bowen wrote:

I must be one of few that wants less progressive towns...

When I was in Boulder, I wanted a less progressive town, now in Grand Junction want more.  Somewhere in the middle would be nice.  

Anyone have thoughts of places in Northern Cal? Close to Yosemite but also local crag? Fresno any good?

I'm [more or less] originally from colorado springs and now I live in fort collins. 

The front range of colorado has amazing A+ climbing, biking and skiing BUT the problem is access and how busy it is. Moderate sport and trad climbs are packed on the weekends but usually awkwardly quiet on the weekdays. Driving to skiing on I70 is a nightmare but if you live in colorado springs there is a back road that avoids all the traffic and is just as fast. Fort collins has cameron pass, a backcountry skiing area 1hr30 away that is great and has no traffic. Same with backcountry at RMNP. Mountain biking in fort collins is lacking and is much better in colorado springs but still pretty decent. Fort collins has better sport climbing up the poudre valley but colorado springs has shelf road (look it up, all the sport climbing you can dream of). 

It sounds like your work is very important to you and honestly if you're trying to get ahead in work you might have to settle for a larger city ie somewhere on the front range. The obvious trade off would be busyness of the outdoors for a better job. What you don't lose though would be the quality of your climbing, skiing and biking. Just my opinion...

Nate - Thanks for responding! Looking for places with quick access to Yosemite but also have some local crags. Would help to have a railway to SF... 

Nate, That's tremendous help dude! I will have a vehicle and can drive to the BART. I really like the looks of Folsom! The HWY 50 corridor looks like fun climbing...

I'm just gonna throw a vote for Ashland, because there is always a need for doctors in southern Oregon . There are several crags around, and just so much potential in the siskiyous. And housing is super affordable. 

Just sayin, don't just brush Ashland off.