Moving to Boulder or El Segundo, Crazy to go LA?

Nick Votto wrote: 

LA population- 4,000,000+.....and hours from really good climbing

"Experience the Hard Rock Culture
Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood on Hollywood Boulevard showcases new and unique interactive experiences for guests, including an 18’ x 4’ Rock Wall™"

#notTheOnion

I lived in Colorado for five years and have lived in Los Angeles for much longer than that. You have to work significantly harder to get into the mountains living in Los Angeles. Joshua Tree and Tahquitz/Suicide aren't that far away, but you will still be driving 2-3 hours to get there. There will be some bouldering and sport climbing around that will not require as much of a commute. Realistically it will take you 4-6 hours to get to the Sierra. Boulder, on the other hand has thousands of routes that can be accessed by bicycle. Tons of possibilities for weekend trips within the state, in Utah or Wyoming. Personally, since moving to Los Angeles from Boulder I have spent a lot less time outside than I did while living in Boulder.

Take the job you like better.  It isn't like you are deciding between a mountain town and Kansas.  Yes, LA is a huge, sprawling city, but there are ample opportunities to get out and hike without a crazy drive.  The local mountains (1 - 2 hour drive) will let you do day trips that keep you in shape between the weekends in the Sierras.

But the job is the thing you need to deal with nearly every day.  Pick the better opportunity.

Matt Himmelstein wrote: Take the job you like better.  It isn't like you are deciding between a mountain town and Kansas.  Yes, LA is a huge, sprawling city, but there are ample opportunities to get out and hike without a crazy drive.  The local mountains (1 - 2 hour drive) will let you do day trips that keep you in shape between the weekends in the Sierras.

But the job is the thing you need to deal with nearly every day.  Pick the better opportunity.

Matt, the millennials value their hobbies over their jobs. Duh.

As they should!

Dirk, you are surrounded by the Santa Monica Mts., San Gabriel Mts. & the San
Bernardino Mts. give them a good look.

Alex Davis wrote:

Didn't know CO used to have reciprocity with CA.  Which firm were you with?  I'm at Mayer Brown.

I was leaving the firm and starting fresh.  It wasn't strict reciprocity.  Rather, you had to do well enough on the multistate portion of the exam to see if you could waive into another bar.  DC would let you waive in automatically, but CO required a certain mulitstate score or higher, which you only learned if you contacted the CA bar and asked them to send your results to the CO bar.  It's been so long since I've taken the bar, I have no idea whether they still permit that.  

Interesting thread with lots fo interesting POVs.  For me, I realized that I would be moving to Boulder only for the climbing but that climbing, by itself, wasnt' enough to leave other things that I valued as much.  However, I was leaving what I considered 'home'.  I wasn't choosing between two new places.  

bruno-cx wrote:

I welcome the scooters, at least it is possible to steal one and hack it for your own personal use.  

We used to actually be able to walk around here. This is not how sidewalks are supposed to be used.

Mark Frumkin wrote: As they should!

Dirk, you are surrounded by the Santa Monica Mts., San Gabriel Mts. & the San
Bernardino Mts. give them a good look.

Mark, 

I am not saying that there aren't some local gems. Echo Cliffs, Malibu Creek and Riverside Quarry are really impressive areas. Although with the exception of Tahquitz/Suicide, I don't think the local LA climbing spots are comparable to what the Front Range has to offer.

Fanny Pack wrote: Kick them over!  I’m assuming you mean the scooters of course and not the homeless people. 

I usually hurl them into a pile in the alley. Next to the trash. Where they belong. (The scooters, not the homeless people).

Haven't been following this thread and you possibly already made your decision but a few comments stood out when I scanned the 3 pages:

-If in LA, go to the mountains early in the morning and try and surf the evening glass off. That kept me from heavy traffic issues.

-The dude that commented how great it is in LA because he moved there from out of state is right. To a soCal noob it's an amazing place. But give it time...as the sound of waves, views of bikinis wear off and you realize what a shit hole LA is. Not to mention.....you out of staters are the ones that filled up our state so much so, I left....not mad at you but it should be recognized. -I just did it to the peeps in central O so just as guilty.

-Coming from the bay area, LA must look hella cheap? Move a little further outside of ES and it may be even cheaper for you...but then there's that pesky traffic.

-Agreed that Boulder is not what it once was. We looked at it 20 plus years ago and then figured we'd move there last year instead of Oregon. Thankfully we found out the details prior to our decision.

-If you have never had the joy of living in soCal, go for it. But I'd suggest planning on short term like maybe 5 years.

-With California's extremely liberal laws for its citizens and businesses, I could not even entertain the idea of moving to northern CA or along the eastern Sierra. Although those areas are amazing and uncrowded, they are still subject to CA's laws and policies which don't jive with me.

-Last but not least....learn to speak Spanish. It'll make your life a little easier.

Well lots of rambling so I will log out,

!Buena Suerte Amigo!

Roots wrote:
-With California's extremely liberal laws for its citizens and businesses, I could not even entertain the idea of moving to northern CA or along the eastern Sierra. Although those areas are amazing and uncrowded, they are still subject to CA's laws and policies which don't jive with me.

Just out of curiosity (and to the extent you're comfortable sharing) what do you do where the laws negatively impact you?

Fat Dad wrote:

Just out of curiosity (and to the extent you're comfortable sharing) what do you do where the laws negatively impact you?

A few that come to mind are own guns, own property, or make money.  Those are either heavily restricted or heavily taxed.  

Eric Carlos wrote:

A few that come to mind are own guns, own property, or make money.  Those are either heavily restricted or heavily taxed.  

Tax burden in OR is heavier than CA overall. Particularly if you own property. Owning guns in CA isn't an issue unless you want a concealed carry permit and/or feel the need to own military grade tactical weapons. In which case AZ and NV are right over there -->

Señor Arroz wrote:

Tax burden in OR is heavier than CA overall. Particularly if you own property. Owning guns in CA isn't an issue unless you want a concealed carry permit and/or feel the need to own military grade tactical weapons. In which case AZ and NV are right over there -->

CA gun restrictions are far more than you are stating.  Besides, military grade tactical weapons are equally restricted all over the nation.   You must have a FFL.

Mark Frumkin wrote: Dirk, you are surrounded by the Santa Monica Mts., San Gabriel Mts. & the San
Bernardino Mts. give them a good look.

Don't forget the San Jacinto mountains. The best of the bunch in terms of climbing quality.

Eric Carlos wrote:

CA gun restrictions are far more than you are stating.  Besides, military grade tactical weapons are equally restricted all over the nation.   You must have a FFL.

Sincere question: What are the severe restrictions? I know there's a waiting period. And some limits on large clips and "assault rifles" (what I meant by "tactical" maybe not the right term?). But there's a gun shop right down the street from me where I can walk in and buy just about anything I'd need for sport and/or home defense without much trouble. 

Señor Arroz wrote:

Sincere question: What are the severe restrictions? I know there's a waiting period. And some limits on large clips and "assault rifles" (what I meant by "tactical" maybe not the right term?). But there's a gun shop right down the street from me where I can walk in and buy just about anything I'd need for sport and/or home defense without much trouble. 

Capacity limit of 10 round, which is not even standard capacity for full sized hand gun.  This means guns that are perfectly fine in other states have to be modified to fit CA rules.  They are a "may issue" conceal carry, so even legal citizens can be turned down, and many areas are "no issue" areas.   10 day waiting period, plus up to 30 days to have your application approved to just purchase a firearm.   If you bring in a firearm from another state, you have to have it transferred through an FFL dealer, adding to the cost and time.  You even have to have a background check to purchase ammo, adding to cost and time.  

As to your assault rifle comment, the AR-15 is the most common gun in the US, and gets the most recognition for shootings, yet from a percent of them out to the number of deaths they cause, it is one of the lowest.  It is just the one demonized by the media, because it "looks" like a military gun.   In reality, AR-15 owners are statistically the least likely to commit a crime with their gun.  

Eric Carlos wrote:

Capacity limit of 10 round, which is not even standard capacity for full sized hand gun.  This means guns that are perfectly fine in other states have to be modified to fit CA rules.  They are a "may issue" conceal carry, so even legal citizens can be turned down, and many areas are "no issue" areas.   10 day waiting period, plus up to 30 days to have your application approved to just purchase a firearm.   If you bring in a firearm from another state, you have to have it transferred through an FFL dealer, adding to the cost and time.  You even have to have a background check to purchase ammo, adding to cost and time.  

As to your assault rifle comment, the AR-15 is the most common gun in the US, and gets the most recognition for shootings, yet from a percent of them out to the number of deaths they cause, it is one of the lowest.  It is just the one demonized by the media, because it "looks" like a military gun.   In reality, AR-15 owners are statistically the least likely to commit a crime with their gun.  

Thanks for this explanation. 

There is climbing in all of them, but i was thinking more of exploring. Dirk said he spends much less time out doors then in Co. All four are gems in them selfs.

Not all of what Eric Carlos said is right. I buy ammo all the time, never had a back ground check done on me for ammo. You do have to write you name down for 30-06 & 308. You don't have to modify, you just use a smaller clip. Also if the weapon is older than the law you don't have to do anything.

Back to the original question: Looking back from my perspective as an old geezer I realize that young people should make their decision about where to move not just based on the job they're moving for but also, the presumed job after that, and the job after that one, and the lucrative consulting gig after that. I don't know what the aerospace job situation is in Boulder but I can safely say there's probably no better place on earth to be an aerospace engineer or other related employee than Southern CA. My gym actually had a special "Lost and Found" just for all the SpaceX gear people were losing. You've got Boeing, Raytheon, the US Air Force Base, SpaceX, Tesla (not aerospace but, still...), Northrop Grumman, and those are just the big ones.