Where should we move?

Me and fam are moving but we’re having trouble deciding where. Here are the criteria:

1. Western US…not California
2. Forested
3. Near body of water (lake, river, ocean)
4. Great climbing (obviously)

I was originally excluding the Pacific NW and thinking more in the Rocky Mountains region but I just don’t know these areas well enough to decide. I would love to have a variety of climbing options between cragging and multi. I’m currently in San Diego and spoiled with year round climbing and a lot of options within a two or three hour drive. What do you think MP?

California sounds perfect 

If you don't mind going somewhere small you might check out Granby, CO.  It has a lake, plenty of woods, and only a couple hours from RMNP!

idaho

Marlin Thormanwrote:

If you don't mind going somewhere small you might check out Granby, CO.  It has a lake, plenty of woods, and only a couple hours from RMNP!

Definitely don’t mind small towns. How are the local crags?

@Maybe: Anywhere in ID in particular?

Yoda 

If you must have water and trees McCall, couerdlane, and sandpoint fit the bill.

You better have over $800k cash for McCall….

Don’t move here if you think you may ever need an abortion…

I used to think it wouldn’t  be possible to leave Utah and go somewhere with more wacky politicians, at least Utah has the church to tamp things down

The latest crises is our state rep is running for Secretary of State because she is worried about Canadians coming to vote illegally, the other is trying to make it easier for an out of town developer to develop the woods you speak of

Utah literally has billboards welcoming Californians.

Austin Texas - So many Californians there it'll feel like home. The Greenbelt has trails, tons of limestone crags, plus Riemers Ranch is good. Enchanted Rock has cool trad and is close. Tons of river, creek, lake activities. Gulf of Mexico is a weekend trip. Pretty forested. Thunderstorms are awesome. Folks thought it was the West once...

Laramie Wyoming - checks all your boxes, gets you out of the insanity of the Front Range. Between RMNP and The Winds, the Voo is your home crag. Plus Wyoming is packed full of goodness you don't hear about. A bit windy, gets cold but winter sports or drive an hour to Ft Collins and climb at one of those fancy gyms. Politics are bad everywhere now right? Again, Ft Collins is so close you can kinda go between the two and its not bad. (For climbing, shopping, liberalness). 

oldfattradguuy kkwrote:

You better have over $800k cash for McCall….

Don’t move here if you think you may ever need an abortion…

I used to think it wouldn’t  be possible to leave Utah and go somewhere with more wacky politicians, at least Utah has the church to tamp things down

The latest crises is our state rep is running for Secretary of State because she is worried about Canadians coming to vote illegally, the other is trying to make it easier for an out of town developer to develop the woods you speak of

And the state legislature is going after core curriculum in schools for wildly liberal ideas like critical race theory. Ditto libraries, for "pornography". 

Anti funding for daycare. Cuz women should stay home with kids, not be working. 

Ammon Bundy. 

Housing continues to skyrocket. So, the legislators also had the brilliant idea to eliminate property taxes entirely, shift that burden onto sales tax, becoming the highest in the country if local option taxes aren't factored in. Sales tax is on everything, including groceries, which means shifting funding off the haves onto the have nots. Surprise surprise.

No caps allowed on rents.

Oh, and those local option taxes?

They won't allow that either.

Boise voted in local option, for a decent transportation system, years ago. Legislature had a fit.

And yes, they have an antiabortion bill signed and waiting for the Supreme Court decision.

Yes, it is embarrassing.

Even Republicans are getting tired of it.

Best, Helen

Yeah, that post was a rant. But sheesh....

What sort of climate are you okay with? Actual climate, not politics, lol! Lotsa places with forest also have winter. "PNW" is code for western WA and OR, and it is known for gloominess. Eastern WA, OR, and (sometimes) Idaho get lumped in there, but they are much drier and sunnier. Still have actual winters, though.

And about those winters?

There is not a lot of snowfall in the west, lately. 

You might change your mind about where to live, after you've been through a fire season. And yeah, you have plenty there in SoCal too, but Boise is the smoke path for a heckuva lot of fires. Smoke settles in those lovely mountain valleys, so does cold air and crummy air in winter. 

That said, yeah, we have rivers, reservoirs, lakes, mountains, and climbing. Not a mecca for multipitch, though. Everything here is a little smaller scale than elsewhere.....but also far less known, still, and more diverse than people realize.

Best, Helen

EDIT to reply to Ezra, below (effing post limits):

We don't have long multipitch here. Or glaciated alpine. Or bigass crack climbing. Or places to pitch a portaledge. Or an ocean.....

Just sayin. OP is in CA, after all.

I'm a native Oregonian, The Dalles, so the eastern/western jokes are part of my dna. Idaho since 1980. 

Bet almost no one on MP knows LRR. Or that Idaho has canyonlands.

Unfortunately, a great many people have tumbled to the fact that we have like, 10 million less people than those places to the west of us.

Stay away from Idaho.  It sucks.  Go to Colorado.

Helen,

I have to disagree,

Elephants perch and finger of fate, along with chimney rock; and the longer stuff at the city of rocks and castle rocks are great multi pitch.

Also super slab near red fish lake.

tons of stuff on the selkerk crest is stellar, but certainly adventurous, but that’s my jam!

sadly I never made it to jug handle mountain near McCall.

I’m a native to eastern Washington and lived in Idaho for many years btw

Yoda Jedi Knightwrote:

Here are the criteria:

1. Western US…not California
2. Forested
3. Near body of water (lake, river, ocean)
4. Great climbing (obviously)

These criteria are so broad and easy to meet that they don't narrow down the list much. Basically anywhere with some trees, a river, and some rocks would meet this list. Dozens of reasonable options exist. A few questions to consider that would narrow it down:

Size of town: Big city vs small city vs small town?

Jobs: You are presumably searching for work in the new location? So (practically speaking) do you need a larger town to find work, or are you in a field (or a remote worker) that allows you to live anywhere?

Cost of Living: Looking for somewhere more affordable, or have the $$$ to move wherever you like?

Culture/Politics: Without getting too deep into this - Seeking somewhere that still has CA-esque culture/politics, or seeking to get away from the CA culture/politics? Or does this not matter to you?

Climate: Warm vs cold? Wet vs dry? OK with snowy winters?

Climbing: More detail on preferred kind of climbing?

Other sports: Skiing? Paddling? etc.

Answers to these questions should narrow things down a lot, and allow more targeted suggestions.

---

Lacking any other info, I'll off the suggestion of Leavenworth/Wenatchee area (WA). Western US - check; Forest - check; Water - check (various rivers big and small, and not too far to Lake Chelan); Cragging - Check;  Mulitpitch - Checks;  Long climbing season - Check

I left California for Bend a few years ago. Best choice I ever made. Smith Rock is pretty meh, but can’t beat having good climbing so close. Incredible granite isn’t too far away. I was more drawn to Bend for the variety of activities. Killer whitewater boating, mountain biking, trail running, and people that actually give a shit about the environment. Only problem is that the median home price jumped from like $550k to $750k in the last 2 years. 

M Mwrote:

Utah literally has billboards welcoming Californians.

Literally? Where? I sure don’t recall seeing any - and I do live here. 

Las Vegas 

Basically any city in Montana.  Helena, Missoula, Bozeman, Kalispell, Butte.  Great state, great people. 

Switzerland

JCMwrote:

These criteria are so broad and easy to meet that they don't narrow down the list much. Basically anywhere with some trees, a river, and some rocks would meet this list. Dozens of reasonable options exist. A few questions to consider that would narrow it down:

1. Size of town: Big city vs small city vs small town?

2. Jobs: You are presumably searching for work in the new location? So (practically speaking) do you need a larger town to find work, or are you in a field (or a remote worker) that allows you to live anywhere?

3. Cost of Living: Looking for somewhere more affordable, or have the $$$ to move wherever you like?

4. Culture/Politics: Without getting too deep into this - Seeking somewhere that still has CA-esque culture/politics, or seeking to get away from the CA culture/politics? Or does this not matter to you?

5. Climate: Warm vs cold? Wet vs dry? OK with snowy winters?

6. Climbing: More detail on preferred kind of climbing?

7. Other sports: Skiing? Paddling? etc.

Answers to these questions should narrow things down a lot, and allow more targeted suggestions.

---

Lacking any other info, I'll off the suggestion of Leavenworth/Wenatchee area (WA). Western US - check; Forest - check; Water - check (various rivers big and small, and not too far to Lake Chelan); Cragging - Check;  Mulitpitch - Checks;  Long climbing season - Check

Thanks for the suggestion. To help narrow it down, here are my answers:

1. Size doesn't matter ;]
2. Can live anywhere (if I get the job, fingers crossed)
3. More affordable than CA
4. Would like to leave CA politics behind, although I like the more chill aspects of the culture
5. I'm from the east coast and miss having seasons. Would like to have snow again.
6. I'd like to have a local crag that I can hit up in the morning or after work even without having to drive or hike for an hour. That said, I'll gladly make a day/weekend trip for bigger and better destinations. I'm a route climbing. I learned in CA so I love my cracks and slabs. But I know my steep climbing needs work so I'd welcome that change.
7. I play disc golf, ski (not in a while though), and would like to learn about other water or snow sports.

Yoda Jedi Knightwrote:

Thanks for the suggestion. To help narrow it down, here are my answers:

1. Size doesn't matter ;]
2. Can live anywhere (if I get the job, fingers crossed)
3. More affordable than CA
4. Would like to leave CA politics behind, although I like the more chill aspects of the culture
5. I'm from the east coast and miss having seasons. Would like to have snow again.
6. I'd like to have a local crag that I can hit up in the morning or after work even without having to drive or hike for an hour. That said, I'll gladly make a day/weekend trip for bigger and better destinations. I'm a route climbing. I learned in CA so I love my cracks and slabs. But I know my steep climbing needs work so I'd welcome that change.
7. I play disc golf, ski (not in a while though), and would like to learn about other water or snow sports.

Sounds like the east side of the Cascades (Leavenworth/Wenatchee) would be right up you alley. Still pricey for sure, but not San Diego level.

Other notable spots already mentioned include Bend, various towns in Montana.

Some folks above mentioned towns in Idaho, but those don't seem as good a match. Sandpoint got mentioned, for instance, but there really isn't that much climbing nearby to there.