Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Aug 18, 16 9:36

Post #51 of 67 (2423 views)

I lived in the Phoenix area for nine years and in Houston for three. I spent many weekends training up near Austin, especially the State Parks (Bastrop is incredible). Austin is the better culture for hipster living, but much pricier living costs.

Gilbert has a really nice "village" downtown. Like ten great hip restaurants. I LOVE Arizona.

In Arizona I lived in Chandler which is right next to Gilbert. Even from the center of Gilbert, you'd only be a 10 minute city ride with bike lanes to the south edge of town and access to three different 100 mile rides of perfect desert pavement with wide shoulders--FLAT. Twenty minutes in the car gets you to the east entrance of South Mountain Park with its year-round, rolling, desert running trails. Thirty minutes in the car gets you to to the main entrance of South Mountain Park with even better running trails and a very good road bike climb up to those radio towers on superior pavement. Forty minutes in the car gets you to McDowell Mountain Regional Park with its thirty-some miles of rolling, desert trails for great trail running and awesome mountain biking. Multiple freshwater lakes right outside Phoenix for open water swimming less than 45 minutes. Two-and-a-half hours in the car gets you to Tucson. Two-and-a-half hours in the car gets you up to Flagstaff. Three hours in the car gets you to Safford and Mt. Graham with its like 4,000 foot road climb. And only six hours to San Diego. If you are willing to run in the summer very early, then Phoenix is a wonderful place in and of itself and a launching point as well.

BTW, the dry heat thing holds true for road cycling. 20 mph at 115 F is not that big of deal for rides up to 4 hours with adequate hydration. I found Austin's 100 F summer humidity to be much more difficult. As for running in either place in the summer afternoon heat--just say no. But from the Phoenix area you can always drive up to Prescott for a run or a ride (10 degrees cooler), up to the trails near Pine (12 degrees cooler), or just north of Flagstaff to the Nordic Skiing area for great mountain trail running and mountain biking (20 degrees cooler). In Austin there is no retreat from the heat.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [markvoss] [ In reply to ]

Aug 18, 16 9:43

Post #52 of 67 (2421 views)

This was awesome. Thank you so much.

I loved Gilbert. Surprise was great too though, in the few hours I was there. I like that it is up and coming with a lot of potential. I am definitely leaning towards AZ. We may rent in Gilbert/Surprise area and figure out what fits us the best. I've lived in OR my entire life, so I want to test out a warm Winter to see how I like it and this seems like the best fit.

markvoss wrote:

I lived in the Phoenix area for nine years and in Houston for three. I spent many weekends training up near Austin, especially the State Parks (Bastrop is incredible). Austin is the better culture for hipster living, but much pricier living costs.

Gilbert has a really nice "village" downtown. Like ten great hip restaurants. I LOVE Arizona.

In Arizona I lived in Chandler which is right next to Gilbert. Even from the center of Gilbert, you'd only be a 10 minute city ride with bike lanes to the south edge of town and access to three different 100 mile rides of perfect desert pavement with wide shoulders--FLAT. Twenty minutes in the car gets you to the east entrance of South Mountain Park with its year-round, rolling, desert running trails. Thirty minutes in the car gets you to to the main entrance of South Mountain Park with even better running trails and a very good road bike climb up to those radio towers on superior pavement. Forty minutes in the car gets you to McDowell Mountain Regional Park with its thirty-some miles of rolling, desert trails for great trail running and awesome mountain biking. Multiple freshwater lakes right outside Phoenix for open water swimming less than 45 minutes. Two-and-a-half hours in the car gets you to Tucson. Two-and-a-half hours in the car gets you up to Flagstaff. Three hours in the car gets you to Safford and Mt. Graham with its like 4,000 foot road climb. And only six hours to San Diego. If you are willing to run in the summer very early, then Phoenix is a wonderful place in and of itself and a launching point as well.

BTW, the dry heat thing holds true for road cycling. 20 mph at 115 F is not that big of deal for rides up to 4 hours with adequate hydration. I found Austin's 100 F summer humidity to be much more difficult. As for running in either place in the summer afternoon heat--just say no. But from the Phoenix area you can always drive up to Prescott for a run or a ride (10 degrees cooler), up to the trails near Pine (12 degrees cooler), or just north of Flagstaff to the Nordic Skiing area for great mountain trail running and mountain biking (20 degrees cooler). In Austin there is no retreat from the heat.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [Troy B] [ In reply to ]

Aug 18, 16 9:51

Post #53 of 67 (2417 views)

Troy B wrote:

My sister just moved to Oregon from Tuscon. Went there to go to school and stayed there for a few years after. She and her husband thought it was okay at best. Hot, way hot.

Tucson is hot but no one has mentioned the punishing heat and humidity in Austin. Tucson is ~5F hotter than Austin in the summer but humidity is much lower. I'd prefer Tucson no contest, but really both are too hot for me.

Tucson also has is a much lower COL, but incomes aren't so great either. It's good or bad depending on what you do.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Aug 18, 16 10:11

Post #54 of 67 (2409 views)

ironmuffin wrote:

I loved Gilbert. Surprise was great too though, in the few hours I was there. I like that it is up and coming with a lot of potential. I am definitely leaning towards AZ. We may rent in Gilbert/Surprise area and figure out what fits us the best. I've lived in OR my entire life, so I want to test out a warm Winter to see how I like it and this seems like the best fit.

You don't need to experience a "warm winter", but rather the crushing heat of summer. If you haven't already... have you?

I lived in Phoenix for 3 years, and I sure as hell wouldn't be doing 4 hour rides in 115F unless I wanted to commit suicide. People have different levels of heat tolerance. It isn't that dry in summer (compared to Las Vegas for instance). They are affected by "monsoons" plus there is a lot of irrigation in the area. There were long periods where the coldest it got was a humid 85F at night.

If you've lived your whole life in OR, I'm guessing that what you are primarily bothered by is a lack of sun in the winter. You don't need to move to the hottest city in the country to fix that. If you've experienced Phoenix summer heat and you are cool with it though, then great.

One other thing, Gilbert and Surprise appear to have bad air pollution (AQI > 250). That is a good thing to check wherever you are thinking of moving.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [jpk_phx] [ In reply to ]

Scooter Pickles

Aug 18, 16 11:38

Post #55 of 67 (2383 views)

jpk_phx wrote:

ironmuffin wrote:

Also fell in love with Gilbert and Surpise Arizona.

I am a fairly competitive triathlete and want to make sure where I move there are still good options to swim and bike/run.

You would be much better off in Gilbert. Better access to pools, good running spots, and decent cycling routes.

I have lived here my entire life and have never heard of someone who enjoys living in Surprise.

Same here, but there has been a lot of development just inside and outside the 303 lately. And if the OP is identifying places like Vistancia as Surprise, that's a nice area too. Gilbert, I don't get at all. Flat, endless cookie-cutter suburban homes, and smells like manure (a bit like the entire West Valley, really). There's access to the Usery Pass route and Tortilla Flat, but otherwise the riding is flat and boring out there. I live in Uptown Phoenix and almost always find myself riding in PV and North Scottsdale. OP if you have the means, those are some great areas with easy access to cycling routes, running paths and trails, and public pools.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Aug 18, 16 12:03

Post #56 of 67 (2370 views)

Lived in Austin (78704) for 6 years before we moved to Peoria, AZ last March.

I've never lived in the burbs before and to be honest, I love it. I can roll out my door and be riding uninterrupted within 2 minutes. In Austin, yeah... not so much.

Plenty of decent pools in the area and most of the roads around here are runnable. There are trails/foothills everywhere if you like trail running.

Cost of living is night and day. Our property taxes in Austin were almost 5x more.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

Toro Performance

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Aug 18, 16 12:50

Post #57 of 67 (2361 views)

ironmuffin wrote:

This was awesome. Thank you so much.

I loved Gilbert. Surprise was great too though, in the few hours I was there. I like that it is up and coming with a lot of potential. I am definitely leaning towards AZ. We may rent in Gilbert/Surprise area and figure out what fits us the best. I've lived in OR my entire life, so I want to test out a warm Winter to see how I like it and this seems like the best fit.

markvoss wrote:

I lived in the Phoenix area for nine years and in Houston for three. I spent many weekends training up near Austin, especially the State Parks (Bastrop is incredible). Austin is the better culture for hipster living, but much pricier living costs.

Gilbert has a really nice "village" downtown. Like ten great hip restaurants. I LOVE Arizona.

In Arizona I lived in Chandler which is right next to Gilbert. Even from the center of Gilbert, you'd only be a 10 minute city ride with bike lanes to the south edge of town and access to three different 100 mile rides of perfect desert pavement with wide shoulders--FLAT. Twenty minutes in the car gets you to the east entrance of South Mountain Park with its year-round, rolling, desert running trails. Thirty minutes in the car gets you to to the main entrance of South Mountain Park with even better running trails and a very good road bike climb up to those radio towers on superior pavement. Forty minutes in the car gets you to McDowell Mountain Regional Park with its thirty-some miles of rolling, desert trails for great trail running and awesome mountain biking. Multiple freshwater lakes right outside Phoenix for open water swimming less than 45 minutes. Two-and-a-half hours in the car gets you to Tucson. Two-and-a-half hours in the car gets you up to Flagstaff. Three hours in the car gets you to Safford and Mt. Graham with its like 4,000 foot road climb. And only six hours to San Diego. If you are willing to run in the summer very early, then Phoenix is a wonderful place in and of itself and a launching point as well.

BTW, the dry heat thing holds true for road cycling. 20 mph at 115 F is not that big of deal for rides up to 4 hours with adequate hydration. I found Austin's 100 F summer humidity to be much more difficult. As for running in either place in the summer afternoon heat--just say no. But from the Phoenix area you can always drive up to Prescott for a run or a ride (10 degrees cooler), up to the trails near Pine (12 degrees cooler), or just north of Flagstaff to the Nordic Skiing area for great mountain trail running and mountain biking (20 degrees cooler). In Austin there is no retreat from the heat.

Ha I continue to be greatly amused by the differences in perspective in this thread. I agree the info above is a great write-up and I gather that it is supposed to be an endorsement, but for my personal tastes describing all the great places that you can drive to (from 20 minutes to 6 hours away) is not a strong selling point.

Normally when you talking about desirable places the highlights tend to be about the place itself, not how awesome it is to leave the place and go somewhere better.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Aug 18, 16 15:37

Post #58 of 67 (2330 views)

Even though there are some political similarities between the 2 states --- I keep reading that Texas may soon secede from United States. Keep that in mind. Oregon may look better and better.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Nov 25, 16 18:14

Post #59 of 67 (2140 views)

Just revisiting this post, because I'm bored...real bored....but we ended up in Oro Valley! Tucson isn't great, Oro Valley is newer and nicer and hopefully will have some good opportunities.

Exploring new roads!

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Nov 26, 16 3:13

Post #60 of 67 (2082 views)

ironmuffin wrote:

Just revisiting this post, because I'm bored...real bored....but we ended up in Oro Valley! Tucson isn't great, Oro Valley is newer and nicer and hopefully will have some good opportunities.

Exploring new roads!

Irony. Your first post mentioned Cedar Park. In-law had moved there after living in Oro Valley for about 10 years. Did some riding out there on Thanksgiving/Christmas trips. While I personally prefer the roads near Cedar Park, no doubt My Lemon provides a better backdrop.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [JASpencer] [ In reply to ]

Nov 26, 16 17:08

Post #61 of 67 (1987 views)

Problem with Flagstaff is Dec.-March, road riding can be dicey as it freezes hard at night then melts. It can be insanely COLD in "Flag" and brutally windy. Have you thought about Prescott? It's a mile high, but way milder than Flagstaff and rideable most of the time. Much more affordable.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ In reply to ]

Nov 26, 16 19:53

Post #62 of 67 (1921 views)

With everyone on this thread who wants to try somewhere else, we should arrange a house swap for 3-6 mo.

I'd volunteer my Tucson house in exchange for PNW, CA, UT, Santa Fe maybe some other high(er) desert towns.

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Nov 27, 16 5:13

Post #63 of 67 (1883 views)

Note: I have not read all 60+ posts. Not sure what pays your bills, but give the East Coast a look. I moved from North East to South Carolina (13 yrs ago) and really like it.

Small town feel, well paying jobs for the marketable skill sets (i.e. healthcare, engineering, law, finance). I am really talking about the Carolinas in general from Charlotte NC to Greenville SC. The area in between is growing like crazy, very good cyclists, year round training.

Cost of living is crazy low too.

Yes, the summers can be HOT and Sunny. But that really helps when you end up racing the last leg of a tri at high noon with sun.

Just my $0.02

ironmuffin wrote:

Not sure what kind of responses I'll get, but why not ask a bunch of strangers.

I live in OR, am getting married in October and want to move somewhere new...and warm.

We recently drove across the US back to OR.

I loved Austin, TX and really liked Cedar Park.

Also fell in love with Gilbert and Surpise Arizona.

I am a fairly competitive triathlete and want to make sure where I move there are still good options to swim and bike/run.

I love the smaller towns or suburbs of a bigger city.

Does anyone live in one of these places?? OR have any advice on a fun small town??

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Nov 27, 16 6:00

Post #64 of 67 (1864 views)

ironmuffin wrote:

Just revisiting this post, because I'm bored...real bored....but we ended up in Oro Valley! Tucson isn't great, Oro Valley is newer and nicer and hopefully will have some good opportunities.

Exploring new roads!

My girlfriend and I moved here from east coast (me NC, her NYC) back in June to Starr Pass. Our 6mo lease is ending Dec 16th and we were looking around Oro Valley but decided to stay in Starr Pass. OV is definitely nice, but it feels like suburbia. Starr Pass/Central Tucson/East Tucson feels a little more "authentically" Tucson. Where did you land in OV? We have some friends up near Tangerine/Canada that we've ridden with up there and it's good riding, just more cars than down here.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 19 7:05

Post #65 of 67 (1247 views)

Bump to the top. For all of you Austin peeps, I'm wondering if there are any weekday morning group rides in the north Austin area? I'm used to being able to connect with large group rides in the Scottsdale area and may be spending more time in Austin in the near future. Is there anything available?

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [anitan1] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 19 7:45

Post #66 of 67 (1214 views)

We looked at a lot of the same places as you over the last 20 or so years. The Prescott ship sailed about 15 years ago. Was one of the coolest places I have ever visited. Then a bunch of other folks figured it out too. My friend in Flag had 4 feet of snow he had to shovel off his roof this year. It is high and pretty cold there. Most other parts of AZ was way too hot for me. Sequim,WA is an interesting place for pretty nice weather. The blue hole keeps its rainfall like So Cal not Seattle.

Temecula,CA is pretty and checks a lot of boxes. Durango and Fort Collins are moving on up and getting pricy. I always liked the Ashville/Black Mountain areas of NC. As far as Austin... Oh MY, it is way huge these days but there are still some spots out in the Hill Country that are workable, but filling up fast. Don't wait too long to pick a place with the boomers moving to the cool places to live affordability is being lost. Your old Bend City was one of the best places once upon a time ten years ago, now even Sisters is packed in like sardines. Who would have thunk?

Good luck on your new adventure.

Re: Moving advice?? Texas or AZ?? [ironmuffin] [ In reply to ]

Apr 22, 19 9:44

Post #67 of 67 (1179 views)

I live in Kansas now but spent most of my life in Dallas and Houston. I personally think Dallas is a phenomenal training destination if you understand where to live....which can be very hard for an outsider. I have family in Dallas and 4-5 times a year drive down for a weekend and still bike race there quite often. From an economic perspective it is phenomenal, traffic is bad but better than Houston and Austin in my opinion. If you can coordinate work on the peripherals such as Fort Worth, Flower Mound, Frisco, Denton, Rockwall, Plano, Southlake, Justin etc you can have a high quality training/family/work situation. The key is to minimize your commute which can eat up a lot of time and force you to have to drive to good riding locations. I lived for a long time in Flower Mound and though it has expanded significantly over the last 15 years it is still a great location for riding as you can fairly quickly get out of town. Lifetime fitness locally with a great pool, very good running trails, grapevine lake has exceptional running and MTB. Very good public and private school options if kids are in your future. I really miss living there and honestly have considered moving back in the next few years.

The only downside is the heat June-August. If you are doing hard intervals, do them inside or very early in the morning. I used to do my zone 5/6 intervals on the trainer early in the AM and then head out for the rest of my ride. Dallas is pretty dry which makes training somewhat bearable in the summer, Houston adds the humidity which i feel is almost impossible to do effective training.

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