Yet another “Where do I move?!?!?” Thread (solved)

I should mention, since it's come up a few times now, that I don't boulder.

Dan Booklesswrote:

Have you considered Bend, Oregon (you are aware that it's high desert and not rainy in the slightest)

.........

"BEND DOESN'T SUCK AND YOU SHOULD MOVE HERE"

I hadn't actually considered bend. It does tick a lot of what I'm looking for except that I'm not so interested in Smith Rock (I'm sure I'll make the trip there someday, and maybe it'll change my mind).

It's also a bit removed from most of the climbing I'm really interested in, unfortunately.

Ben F wrote:

Also, and I mean this in all respect, but I glanced at your ticklist. IMO the best way to escape the weekend gumby hordes is to get a bit stronger. Even if you can just bump up to cruising 5.11 and working on low 5.12 (a very reasonable goal for average young climbers), the possibilities open up a lot more to escape the overrun places

I also perused your ticklist.  Not to be a jerk, but Ben is absolutely right, its way easier to avoid crowds when your projecting 5.12 and up, or climbing 5.11- trad instead of 5.8/5.9

That's the hope. Right now, living in FL I'm lucky to get a couple days of outdoors every month or so. It's just not enough to see rapid improvement to 5.11. Once I can get out more consistently I'm hoping to see improvement.

Mary Beckwith  wrote:

I know you said nothing east of the MS but Brevard, NC area checks all of your boxes! come to NC, the sport and trad climbing are phenomenal 

Sorry, I've just yet to live in or visit an eastern city that I've liked. I'm a mountains guy, not a small-cliffs guy

Anyway, it sounds like my best options are (in no particular order) the sac area, the front range (which somehow is simultaneously universally crowded but also has plenty of solitude to be found but also doesn't), Durango, Vegas (not sure how I feel about that one; I'm visiting the city in a few weeks so we'll see if it captures me), or Tucson (which somehow simultaneously has amazing crags but is also a total chosspile). Of those, I think Durango is the one that sounds most attractive to me, so maybe I should just pick somewhere I can live with until I can visit and a job opens up over there.

J Ewrote:

It's also a bit removed from most of the climbing I'm really interested in, unfortunately.

What is the climbing you are most interested in? You've been fairly vague on this so far (just "trad and sport"), but this is important. For instance, Bend is cool if you are into vert-crimp sport climbing, and single pitch columnar cracks. But it would be pretty limiting for someone with alpine multipitch ambitions, or who likes super-overhung sport climbing.  Being more specific about your climbing interests - including grade ranges - could allow for better suggestions. If you know what/where you want to climb, that's a big part of where to live.

Also, I'm pretty skeptical of any climber who, blanket statement, says "I don't boulder." Missing out on a huge piece of the climbing experience there.

J Ewrote:

Sorry, I've just yet to live in or visit an eastern city that I've liked. I'm a mountains guy, not a small-cliffs guy

Oh sorry, I didn't know we were talking to a badass. I'll see myself out.

J Ewrote:

Sorry, I've just yet to live in or visit an eastern city that I've liked. I'm a mountains guy, not a small-cliffs guy

It is obviously up to you where you choose to live and what sort of climbing you most like to do. Still you are being pretty dismissive of many areas without having experienced them. For, example, your above quote concerning North Carolina suggests that you are not very familiar with the area. While not alpine, many of the formations in the Brevard and Cashiers areas, for example are not exactly “small cliffs” some are around 1000’ and quite a few top 500’, with much shorter approaches than most similar size walls in the Front Range and far fewer crowds. And, I’m not a local—a Yankee, even.

Ruling out east of the Mississippi but you don't want crowds... good luck! 

@alan

alpine is a significant part of the appeal to me. The Rockies dwarfs anything east of the sippy

@nertovk

I hate the climate east of the sippy.

Dan Booklesswrote:

- low to average cost of living..NOPE (but honestly deciding where to live based on cost of living is lame, live where you want to live and pay the cost of admission, there's plenty of undesirable yet affordable place to live if you want to miserable)

So instead be miserable accruing debt by living in a place you can’t afford?   Tell us you’re upper middle class without telling us you’re upper middle class. Let me guess, if we can’t afford to live there we should just get more money right? Heard that one before lol

Fehim Hasecicwrote:

What this guy said, Front Range + weekend = crowds. No way around it

Even the secret crags get crowded too…can’t imagine why either….

J Ewrote:

 except that I'm not so interested in Smith Rock

(does anyone else feel like their competing on the bachelor to win Jared's heart?)

Yeah Smith Rock is very much an acquired taste.  But, once it's your local crag and you learn the style it's damn fun.  The climbing is also super varied, it's not all just slab and nubs. 

Trout Creek is world class and super under appreciated.  The Lower Gorge is also incredible basalt face and crack climbing (on par with oak creek in AZ).  Bend is also about 6-9 hours to the N. Cascades and The Sierra (so you can get your alpine granite on in the summers)

Dan Booklesswrote:

(does anyone else feel like their competing on the bachelor to win Jared's heart?)

Yeah Smith Rock is very much an acquired taste.  But, once it's your local crag and you learn the style it's damn fun.  The climbing is also super varied, it's not all just slab and nubs. 

Trout Creek is world class and super under appreciated.  The Lower Gorge is also incredible basalt face and crack climbing (on par with oak creek in AZ).  Bend is also about 6-9 hours to the N. Cascades and The Sierra (so you can get your alpine granite on in the summers)

Hahaha okay you get a rose

I’ll have to move band up on my climbing trip priority list, I guess it wouldn’t be right to write it off without at least trying

@jcm

My interest is in highly featured, Vert, climbing, multi pitch, Trad. Think of places like Fairview Mountain or new Jack city,, near Los Angeles, or pretty much any crag in Puerto Rico. I am not so interested in bouldering, or areas that are predominantly short single pitch. I enjoy slab more than steep climbing in general, but I can appreciate a good roof. I am not a fan of sustained steep climbing.

I would like to break into Alpine multi pitch, but not so much big wall. My current comfort zone as far as grades is between 5.10a-c. I can eke out some 10d’s but I am yet to break into 11. 5.9’s are fun, anything below that I tend to find fairly boring unless the views are impeccable.

Not Not MP Adminwrote:

So instead be miserable accruing debt by living in a place you can’t afford?   Tell us you’re upper middle class without telling us you’re upper middle class. Let me guess, if we can’t afford to live there we should just get more money right? Heard that one before lol

hahahahhahahhahahhahhahahahha

I'm a nurse. 

Joking aside, lots of the climbers in Central Oregon are making low wages and just live frugal lives and live with roommates; and we all have the best freaking time together, loving where we live!!!

My interest is in highly featured, Vert, climbing, multi pitch, Trad.

Ever look at Tahquitz and Suicide on MP?

You currently live in Florida, it appears?  You could literally move to any of 49 states and find better climbing. i recommend New Mexico. 

j mowrote:

You currently live in Florida, it appears?  You could literally move to any of 49 states and find better climbing. i recommend New Mexico. 

Have you looked at your options in Mississippi or Louisiana? Florida may be the worst, but it's not the worst by that much.

petzl logicwrote:

Oh sorry, I didn't know we were talking to a badass. I'll see myself out.

Cannon and the Daks have left the chat

I made one of these posts a few years ago about moving to Bend to pursue winter sports and climbing and even though most people cautioned me against moving here I did anyways. Here’s my take on Bend after living here for a few years: 

-great for winter activities! The snow season is long (6+ months).

-climbing at Smith is mostly good all year long except the the hottest parts of the summer can be rough and since moving here we’ve had some unbearable heat waves July-August. 

-if you don’t like the climbing style of Smith, the climbing can feel very unvaried. I don’t hate Smith but I don’t love it. I need to spend more time there but the outdoor bouldering is so close to where I live and no one else is out there! Lots of solitude and soooo much bouldering that no one seems to care about.

- the weather here has been a real mixed bag, it is the high desert but the last two fall seasons has seen a good bit of precipitation in town. Usually this doesn’t effect Smith too much though, it usually stays dry there even if it’s dumping snow in Bend. For outdoor bouldering this has not been ideal for me.

- high cost of living that is just getting more and more expensive by the year. Good luck finding a food truck that sells anything under $12-15, on top of the 20% percent gratuity they expect for handing you your food. Unless you make decent money or have a partner it’s really hard to live by yourself, most 1 bedrooms go for $1700+ on the cheaper end. Living in Redmond which is closer to Smith might be cheaper though.

- there is one healthcare system (St. Charles) and I’ve heard a really bad things about working there. I’m sure not everyone hates it but I don’t usually hear positive things about them as employers.

- the Redmond airport has gotten extremely expensive to fly out of in the last year. If you wanna fly to anywhere other than west cost cities, get ready to fork over $400-$1000 for a plane ticket. Not ideal for international travel either. Portland airport is around 3-4 hours away. 

- it’s so true that Bend is where climbers move to become mountain bikers. I think Bend can be  an amazing place to move if you like other activities besides just climbing. There is so much mtn biking, hiking, snow sports, disc golf, paddle boarding and other lake activities, kayaking etc. I couldn’t imagine living here if I was only a climber, but for multi-sport athletes it’s a paradise! 

Any thoughts on living in/around Durango and commuting somewhere like Farmington? Would this be a miserable commute?

J Ewrote:

Any thoughts on living in/around Durango and commuting somewhere like Farmington? Would this be a miserable commute?

Farmington is a miserable place to live or work. I did some legal work there and know people who worked there. The commute would be a pain, but not unreasonable. 

Frank Steinwrote:

Farmington is a miserable place to live or work. I did some legal work there and know people who worked there. The commute would be a pain, but not unreasonable. 

What makes it so bad to work there?

"I'd never live in LA, the traffic is awful"

[5 pages later]

"How about I just sign up for a 1 hour (each way) commute everyday??"