I’ll try and make a long story short. I grew up in Contra Costa County (Pleasant Hill/Martinez) and when I was 13, my Dad’s job relocated us to the “great” Pacific Northwest. I’ve been here 22 years and am strongly contemplating getting the flock out. This place is a cold, damp, moldy UV-less hell-hole. However, I see new transplants from California moving up here in droves. When I mention my longing to move back, they all tell me that Cali is a hot (yes!), expensive, crime-ridden hell-hole. I guess Sacramento is a waste-land, Bay Area is expensive beyond belief. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Tool and various other artists make a fortune writing songs bashing So. Cal.
It may be hell, but it’s the best hell we’ve got. Lived in Seattle from 90-97. San Diego from 97-2000. Back to Seattle 2000-2003 and now I’m on Long Island. As soon as we finish grad school we’re back to So. Cal. Santa Barbara would be the first choice, then San Diego.
I hear Bend, OR is nice. Warmer, drier, smaller, plenty of tri related activities.
Yeah, expensive, but salaries are higher. Crowded, maybe. A totally thriving and vibrant tri scene. Yeah.
In an ideal world where I had piles of money, I’d split time between here (SF), Sonoma County, north county San Diego and New Zealand (in our winter/their summer). Move back to the Midwest? No way. Anywhere else in the US? No way. (OK, maybe Austin.)
I am a transplanted New Yorker. I’ve lived in So. Cal for over 30 years (with a brief hiatus in the Bay Area for grad school). While you can’t beat the weather and it’s a wonderful place for tri-related activities, living here just gets tougher and tougher. Don’t get me wrong. There is no way I would ever go back to the Big Apple. But if any of you are paying attention to the disaster of what’s going on in Sacramento with the state budget, you have to be thinking about another place to live. I guess if you’re a student it’s not too bad. But if you want to buy a house, or you’re trying to figure out how to get a decent eduction for your kids w/o selling a body part, or driving on the freeways, or trying to stay employed, on top of more taxes on EVERYTHING… Sorry, I was losing control. Austin huh?
How about New Mexico? Warm winter with lots of sun. Biggest down side is that the schools suck unless you go the private route. Tri scene is small but dedicated and close knit. A lot of great races in the area with a whole lot of other outdoor stuff to do. You can train year 'round. You can race pretty much year 'round too.
Taxes are pretty low. Land can be cheap depending on where you want it. Traffic is not a big factor yet. Look at this link below for a Fantasy write up of Albuquerque.
just wait until Joe (Gray) Davis announces that he is going to triple our car tax, likely this week, hard to believe that the fifth largest enconomy in the world has Howdy Doody at the helm.
Washington State isn’t a whole lot better. Boeing will be GONE in 10 to 15 years (relocated to a more biz friendly state). Our state government doesn’t seem to understand you can’t tax the shit out of businesses and expect them to stay around. The only thing keeping our economy afloat is migration into the state which has been keeping real estate inflating. This inturn gives people equity with which to get more loans on so they can buy monolithic SUV’s and chrome toilets (Harley-Davidsons). If home values begin to soften, look out. Back in the Seventies, there were billboards up saying “Will the last person to leave Seattle please turn out the lights.” It could be time to get those billboards out again.
Oh yeah, guess what? It’s raining outside as I type this
No traffic, cheaper house, cheaper education and great outdoor…
Oh yeah, there’s winter but x-country skiing is great.
Are you kidding? Montreal’s traffic is not light by any means. The food is awsome in Montreal. The women are top-shelf and come complete with French accents–YUM!
I was watching a fight once when a hockey game broke out…
just wait until Joe (Gray) Davis announces that he is going to triple our car tax, likely this week, hard to believe that the fifth largest enconomy in the world has Howdy Doody at the helm
Weird. I thought Howdy Doody was in charge of the LARGEST economy in the world. Or is it Mr. Ed?
Oh, tripled car tax! Wahh!!! Washington already had that one for many years. It was repealed/changed a few years ago and became similar to CA’s. Only problem was that mass transit was cut, road repairs were cut, road improvements were cut. All the rich people saved $50 a year, but now you can’t get from place in Seattle to another. Such a deal. I’ll take SD’s roads & traffic over Seattle’s any day.
Went to Montreal on vacation with my wife… awesome city, great food, tons to do, good people watching, inexpensive (strong US dollar) and firendly people
Coming from the Great Lakes area in the Great White North I couldn’t get used to the monotony of the desert while living in the southern part of the state. Missed the big lakes, forests and change of season. If I lived there again it probably would be easier for me in the mountains of the northern part of the state.
<Oh, tripled car tax! Wahh!!! Washington already had that one for many years. It was repealed/changed a few years ago and became similar to CA’s. Only problem was that mass transit was cut, road repairs were cut, road improvements were cut. All the rich people saved $50 a year, but now you can’t get from place in Seattle to another. Such a deal. I’ll take SD’s roads & traffic over Seattle’s any day. >
Beleive me, Seattle’s traffic problems existed long before the license tab inititive. While there are certainly a lot of grey ponytail ex-hippies in the Puget Sound area, you will not get them out of their Volvos and onto some mass transit system.
Yeah…what everyone else said. It sucks here. Stay away
Coming from a transplanted Chicagoan, if the 10 million people don’t annoy you, the worst air in the country, the worst places to drive (L.A./Orange County), a tanked economy, a political system that ranks about the lowest on the scale you could get (note: coming from the “Land of Politics” in Chicago, we could probably put a kindergarten teacher on the ballot, get them elected, and have them do better than these boneheads), education which ranks in the bottom 5 of the country, crime that is approaching the highest in the country, english will soon be a 2nd language, and worst of all…
The races are so expensive we can’t even afford to race…
With that said, it’s 65 (cold for THEM here)…so maybe I’ll try and suffer through this miserable life on my bike for a few hours
Timberwolf, I agree with you on Mtl traffic (like dr. Dre said, there’s alway’s the metro) but when I think of paradise, I think more of Quebec city. Montreal is also great but still not Quebec even if some people find qc city to small.
It’s funny, I’ve alway’s thought about going to Seatle or Portland for a while…great outdoor close by. But reading the comments in this thread I’m not so sure it’s a good idea after all.
Anyway, the grass is always greener somewhere else but only when you move you see it’s not that green!
<Timberwolf, I agree with you on Mtl traffic (like dr. Dre said, there’s alway’s the metro) but when I think of paradise, I think more of Quebec city. Montreal is also great but still not Quebec even if some people find qc city to small. >
I never made it out of Montreal when I visited. Frankly, I was happy right in downtown. I never saw so many fine women per kilometer, ate so much quality food and enjoyed the nightlife quite like I did in Montreal. It was right before the vote to separate or not and I found the people were incredibly friendly towards this All-American redneck.
<It’s funny, I’ve alway’s thought about going to Seatle or Portland for a while…great outdoor close by. But reading the comments in this thread I’m not so sure it’s a good idea after all.>
Don’t let my whining discourage you. In reality, the Pacific NW is a beautiful area. What makes it beautiful is the rain, it keeps everything green (it’s really a coating of moss on everything). When the Sun does come out for the two or three weeks in August/September, it is very dramatic. I’ve lived here for 20+ years and am tired of the rain and very short Summers. To an outsider, there is a lot to enjoy about the Northwest.
Some people have to contend with heat related emergencies during a race. I have to worry about hypothermia. A race for me typically involves comming out of a 60 degree F lake, jumping on my bike and hitting 20+ mph in 55 to 60 degree air. I would be much faster on the bike if I wasn’t shivering so hard I can’t keep a straight line. I would love to draft, not for the speed advantage but to warm up. I can’t wait for the run, that is when I finally thaw out.
