I’m looking down the road and as many of you have posted, I need to stick with where I am but need to look towards the future. After a good conversation with my girlfriend last night we’ve decided that we mutually want to continue moving forward and in 3 years want to be getting married and moving out of the state. She’s pursuing a PHD in behavioral psychology (focus on recycling and sustainability), andI’m a project manager currently working in Detroit. I’d like to get into health systems and find value in helping people through my work.
Enough background, we’re a couple with 2 dogs and are fairly engrained in our local community,(local running group, rotary (young person version), and festival work). She’s a marathon runner/ duathlete, and I do anything from sprint to Ironman. We love the mountains and are looking for a change of scenery. We want a place that’s less built up and has some history. We’d like to live in a place like Grand Rapids, MI vs. Detroit or Chicago. I like bieng able to leave my house and get to the good roads in 5-10 minutes. We’d like to find a community with a food co-op and lots of good organic/ fresh food markets. We need a place that’s hip and bike friendly. I’d also liek to have a good local tri/ running community and if possible local races!
We’re trying to plan a future together and I’d like to see where you guys live, and what you love/ hate abotu where you’re living. I’d love to hear some places you’ve fallen in love with. We’d like to find a place with a budding economy that will allow us to find jobs and work pretty easily.
Louisville, CO. Voted top small town to live in (this year I think). You are within an hour of the Rocky Mountain National Park, 30 minutes of Denver and 15 minutes of Boulder. Plus the weather is great for training. 65 and sunny here today.
I’m originally from Michigan and if I went back it would be to Ann Arbor or to Traverse City. Outside of those places I love Sante Fe NM and Truckey CA are also great to look at.
Echo votes for Madison WI and Cambridge MA (or somewhere in the Boston burbs), if they’re not too built up for you.
Grew up and went to undergrad in Madison. Great people, has some great road biking options on offer. Mountains are hard to come by though.
Lived for 7 yrs in Cambridge, miss it a lot. There is great biking to be had within a half hr’s drive; riding a bike through Cambridge to get to the good stuff can be harrowing though, due to aggressive driving patterns and a combative driver/biker dynamic that can be remarkably hostile at times. Green and White mountains and the splendors of Maine are all within striking distance. Cost of living can be brutal.
Both are organic food inclined and hip (or at least think they are) and have tri communities. Both have robust biotech, IT and healthcare sectors (Cambridge more than MSN, but the density and quality of companies in Kendall Square in Cambridge is a tough act for any town to try to follow).
Check into Seattle and the surrounding burbs. You would have a lot of opportunities for work. Meets everything you need once you get outside downtown. The “city” is really a collection of neighborhoods with no high rises. The burbs, no more than 15 minutes outside the city, are really nice small town feel. Lots of local athletes, very into organic and sustainable food and stuff, and great riding and running just a few minutes away.
Edit to add: If it wasn’t for the rainy winters I’d stay here forever. I am, however, a heat and sun worshiper so I’m outta here in a few more years.
Lots of western Virginia and western North Carolina sound exactly like what you describe. Have you looked into those areas. Places like the Shenandoah Valley (Winchester and Harrisonburg, VA, etc.) and Blue Ridge Mountains (Asheville, NC, etc.) might be right up your alley. The Shenandoah Valley is on the outer edge of the DC metro bedroom community area. You could live closer in to DC, but your quality of life will go down linearly (some may argue exponentially!) with your proximity to the Northern Virginia/DC area. I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley. Western North Carolina doesn’t have quite the economy that the Shenandoah Valley does as it’s a little more quaint. However, there are places like Charlotte (kind of big) and Piedmont Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point) that are close to the Blue Ridge Mountains but offer more job opportunities. All of the places I’ve mentioned have great history, plenty of good country training roads, and have a variety of farmer’s markets.
Bonus option: Lewisburg, WV–an absolute gem! It was named Budget Travel Magazine’s America’s Coolest Small Town of 2011. It’s a very small place at only a few thousand people, but has a very high percentage of professionals (doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc.). The only downside is that because it’s so small it may be hard for you to find jobs and it’s not particularly close to any cities of substantial size that would offer more options.
Louisville, CO. Voted top small town to live in (this year I think). You are within an hour of the Rocky Mountain National Park, 30 minutes of Denver and 15 minutes of Boulder. Plus the weather is great for training. 65 and sunny here today.
Nope … sorry … Colorado is full and the winter is terrible …
Texas actually has mountains. The Franklin mountains, the Guadalupe mountains. Both peak at close to 8000ft. I have a 10km climb just 10min ride from my
house. Top of the pass is 5300ft. Top of the mountain is around 7500ft.
I live in Louisville. deathb4DNF, if you swim (or coach) at the Louisville Rec Center I might know you
I would agree that Louisville is great UNLESS you use it as a bedroom community and commute to Denver, which I do. On beautiful days, like today, it’s an hour door to door. On snow days I’ve just stopped going into the office …
Louisville has some good employers but opportunities are limited. Boulder is better for jobs but competition is crazy - every professional in town took a 50% pay cut just to live in Boulder, and they all graduated cum laude from Ivy League schools. I’m only slightly kidding - it’s consistently ranked as the most educated city in the US. Housing prices in Boulder County are high unless you are coming from Cali or NY.
For training, riding is amazing - big shoulders on most roads, and great mountain rides without having to drive. Running - tons of paved and gravel trails. Swimming - between Louisville and Boulder there are many pools, and a few masters groups to choose from.
