Ha!! Fair point. I really don't think any place else in the US can compare to NYC. I love it there, but it ain't in the cards right now. Of the "starter cities" I put D.C. at the top of the list.

Okay, I've lived on Long Island, San Diego, Seattle, Boulder, and Boise, Idaho.

My next place as soon as get the hell out of the friggin' hell called Long Island would be:

Santa Barbara/San Luis Obisbo area: Weather, check. Terrain, check. Tri-scene, check. Population density, check. Jobs, check. Cost of living, ... not so great, but not the worst.

Bend, OR: Weather, mostly check (lots of sun, but can be cold in the winter), especially if you x-country ski. Terrain, check. Altitude of Bend is about 2500 ft I believe, but lots of higher stuff around. Tri-scene, check, Population density, big check. Jobs/university, no check (OR has 2nd highest unemployment in the country right now and no university). Cost of living, ... better than CA or mid-Atlantic.

Boise, ID: Weather, mostly check (lots of sun, but can be cold in the winter). Terrain, check. Altitude, check. tri-scene, mostly check (small, but growing). Population density, fair. It's small, but the traffic sucks for such a small city. Jobs/university, check. Cost of living, check, but getting worse fast.

Fort Collins, CO: Weather, mostly check (same as above). Terrain, check. Altitude, no check. It's at 5000'. tri-scene, check. Population density, check. Jobs/university check. Cost of living, check, but getting worse fast.

Bellingham, WA: Weather, big check if you like rain! :) Not too cold though, if you can train in the rain, you can train outdoors year round. Everything else is the bomb, although WA has the highest unemployment in the nation right now.

Having spent a week recently training near Asheville, NC I can attest to the weather and terrain being great. But the rednecks. You can either handle them or you can't. Great place to visit, but I don't think I could live there.

Burlington, Vermont makes my list also. The weather sucks part of the year, but is great part of the year. All else is good.

I'd also keep Victoria, BC in mind.

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Justin in Austin, get it? :)

Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T

You PREFER Houston weather???? I live in Chicago, so I'm aware of the glass house, but I find Houstone weather beyond unbearable from June 15 to September 15! 100 degrees and 100% humidity makes for a crawl for me instead of a run!

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Most people don't recognize opportunity because it wears bib overalls and looks like work.
~Teddy Roosevelt

I'm from Switzerland originally but now I'm in Boulder since four years.
I didn't find a better place in the US so far. In fact, Boulder is the only place (that I know of) in the US I could stay. It's not just about training and the weather. It's because there is a very versatile community, really international .
CU has a pretty good Math department;-)
If you like real applied Math you can help the geophysicist at CSM.
In Fort-Collins they have a pretty good Statistics group.

Let me know if you want more non-tri infos.

I wouldnt recommend it as a best place to train but if your job brings you here, NYC is not so bad for training especially if you live in Westchester county (north of Manhattan): many pools, very good biking routes and group rides, Long Island Sound for open water swims and several running trails. Winter is tough thou...

Lived in Boulder, lived in San Diego, lived in Aspen ... best place? Ventura County, CA.

1. Santa Monica Mountains 10 1000+-foot road climbs at your disposal, 100's of miles of trails, the PCH, farm roads, great variety of terrain (except pancake flat roads.

2. Lots of athletes. The famed Simi Ride, Thursday Crit Practice in Camarillo, track practice in Agoura, masters swimming in Thousand Oaks with Olympic coach Peter Daland ...

3. Bike lanes everywhere. Courteous (for the most part) drivers.

4. The weather is great. Maybe 20 days of rain per year.

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No sidewindin bushwackin, hornswaglin, cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter!

Well my experiences tells me there are a few "best" places"

Sedona Az

Maui HI

Taos or Sante Fe NM

I live in California. It's a horrible place and we don't need any more people. As a matter of fact I think a new plague is about to break out. Yeah, it's called the Rage Virus. Stay away for at least 28 days... ;)

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

I am pretty new to the multisport scene (converted marathoner) but I really have no complaints about Portland, Oregon. Sure we get our fair amount of rain in the winter and spring but it is never too hot, or too cold to be outdoors. Not many areas can offer quality skiing, windsurfing, surfing, mountain biking, like Portland can. About an hour to the beach or an hour to Mt Hood. Not to mention the tri scene is pretty active with a race within driving distance every weekend from May - September.

Unemployment currently sucks here would be my only downside. I prefer to snowboard over biking during the winter so no complaints on the rain in the valley that keeps my off my bike. Oh I forgot to mention. No sales tac in Oregon so you save quite a bit on all your tri gear!

Hey Richard, I'm coming down to Westchester County next weekend for a wedding and bringing my bike. Any suggestions where to ride?

Hey Pooks,

Don't fall for all that Starter City jazz. DC is great and close to many opportunities. I live across the Bay in EagleMan country. I know it's flat, but you can ride for 75 miles and only be passed by 10 cars. Also have the Chesapeake and Ocean for open water fun.

Pick the right county and taxes are cheap. YMCA rivals many large city healthclubs, without the large city healthclub fees and attitudes.

I love all those other places mentioned, too, and love to visit which I do frequently. But I can take the train to NYC. How many folks live within 60 minutes of 4 major airports - 3 international? And I can fly anywhere on Southwest for less than $200 - with my bike.

When you get settled, come across the Bay every once and a while. And bring your bike.

Steve

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Steve. I actually grew up in No VA, so this will be a bit of a homecoming for me. The thing I still can't believe is that I'm going to try to actually try to live IN D.C.. Yikes! As of right now, I have two tris that I definitely want to do next year, Wildflower and Eagleman. I'm really looking forward to Eagleman. I've only done one tri on the East Coast and I really enjoyed it. But one thing's for sure, living here in SD I've become soft. I need to toughen up in the land of heat, humidity, and bugs!!

I'm with you on this one. I think Portland is one of the most underrated cities around. It's far from a crazy hotspot, but it's a really great, active city with a fantastic vibe. The weather kinda sucks, but when it's nice it's unbeatable. Tons of stuff to do from Mt. Hood to Mtn biking to cycling to running to... Back in my consulting days when I first started working up in the Portland area (Nike up in Beaverton) I was pretty down on it. Then I got a weekday apt in PDX and absolutely loved it. I never needed a reservation anywhere and always had a great time when I went out. It felt like a big small town, or a small big town depending on my mood. The worst part about the entire Pac Northwest is that you people need to learn that driving the speed limit (or, gasp!!, faster) on the highways is not a bad thing.

I second the Los Angeles coastal regions.. tons of access to great cycling all up and down the coast. Great tri and cycling clubs.. year round training.

Things that suck about living in LA.. commuting, you have to drive everywhere, sucks hard. Expensive, especially along the coast, if you're thinking about buying something, stay away. People, they sorta suck in LA.. everybody seems to be full of themselves.. on the other hand, the tri-athelete and cycling types are a super friendly bunch. Oh ya.. forgot to mention, MTBing.. you wouldn't believe the trail network in the Santa Monica Mountains.

mike