I asked this question before but, since I buried it at the end of a boring race report, it didn’t elicit the response I was hoping for so I will try one more time. Our family is looking to relocate out west. Visited and loved Lyons, CO and Missoula, MT didn’t feel the same about Coeur d’Alene** **and Jackson, WY was insane! We spend a lot of time outdoors and like to ski but are not big fans of the long cold New England winters. Since there seem to be many like minded individuals here, does anyone have any thoughts??
I am a respiratory therapist as well!! We have heard good things about Bend but haven’t gotten a chance to get out there and take a look for ourselves, maybe we will have to add it to the list.
I think Missoula is a great town. I haven’t lived there, but visited several times. But it gets damn cold there in the winter, damn cold.
There are lots of nice places in eastern washington, but keep in mind it’s a desert there. Boise is a great place. But I’m from Seattle, and nothing can beat that in my mind.
My wife and I got sick of MI winters. 24 years ago we sold our home and all belongings. Bought two one way tickets to Honolulu. No jobs, knew no one, been here ever since. Train outside year round in shorts. Love every day of it. Life is great.
The one thing Lyons has going for it is it doesn’t get all that cold in the winter, at least that’s what we have been led to believe. Bend doesn’t seem to get all that cold either. I think we going to have to visit this Bend place. But Hawaii…
My wife and I started moving (literally) to Hawaii back in 1997 From Seattle. We started sailing there on our sailboat that we lived on. 400 miles west of California we realized that while living in Hawaii would be great, the job prospects and cost of living meant we probably never earn money to get ahead. That “suddenly” wasn’t very appealing so we gybed and sailed to San Diego instead (the benefit of having everything you own on a boat). Not a decision I regret and well paying jobs were plentiful in SD. The thought of living in Hawaii still sounds great, but not right now.
To the original poster. I grew up in Boise, Idaho and I’ve since lived in Seattle, San Diego, Long Island, San Jose and Norman, OK. Boise is a great place. Not too cold in the winter, a dry heat in the summer. Close to the mountains. Great skiing, mtn. biking and lake activities nearby. Not a megapolis yet either.
Present day though, Norman is my choice. It reminds me of Boise 20 years ago. Small, but still large enough to have all the normal things and real jobs. Boise is a bit too big and congested for my tastes now. I don’t ski or sail anymore so I don’t really miss the mountains or the ocean.
Bend could definitely be a good choice although it is getting expensive fast and the jobs still seem to be pretty limited. Bellingham, WA is another nice place. Not too big, not too cold, not as rainy as Seattle. I would never live in the Seattle metro again, but I could live in Bellingham with the mountains just to the east and the San Juan Islands just to the west…
Couldn’t do without the mountains for now. Jobs aren’t too big a problem for us as we both work in the medical field and probably can find a job in almost any area we would move to. We heard Bellingham was a little on the cloudy side. I am online this morning checking out flights to Portland and will try and get to Bend this summer.
I would only agree to move to El Paso if SAC would take me under his wing.
I second Boise. Lived there for 10 years. Skiing nearby (15 miles for the local spot), but warm enough to train year round. Not San Diego warm, but plenty warm for running and you can bike most of the time. Great, great lifestyle for the outdoor enthusiast.
Bozeman was mentioned - that’s where I grew up - it’s a great town, but I wouldn’t recommend moving there unless you have a lot of cash, or a very good plan. It’s tough to make a living there - high costs, minimal jobs, lots and lots of businesses go under.
I think Bend would be a great spot lifestyle wise, but I’m not sure about jobs/economy there … it’s a place I would definitely check out if you’re into tris and skiing though.
Bend is a great town. However, be aware of Oregon property and state income taxes - some of the highest in the US. Also, property values have become very inflated over the past 10 years due to the influx of newcomers from out of state.
Bellingham is also a great town but too much rain. I do not recall seeing the sun in December when I lived there.
My choices, independent of job/economics, would be Lake Chelan/Wenatchee/Winthrop, WA, Bozeman, MT., San Luis Obispo, CA, Mt. Shasta, CA. not necessarily in that order. All, except San Luis Obispo, offer both downhill and xc skiing close by and great cycling roads and active outdoor communities.
“You know you are getting old when you see your father in the mirror.” anon.
Well, there are many places in CO you can consider including Lyons that will give you tons of sunny days, mild temps and reasonable winters. If you want to be close to Denver then Lyons, Loveland, Boulder are all possibilities depending on what you can afford. You also could consider going south to Colorado Springs area or even further to SW CO like Durango which is very close to epic Mtn biking, skiing, kayaking etc. It really depends on what is most important to you.
How could you pass up Austin “Center of the Triathlon Universe.” Please see other threads about how great this town is for mutisport and other out of door activities. I just got back from a great swim in Barton Springs, a spring fed city pool which is 68 degrees year round. Sure it’s hot as H E L L right now, but it’s 50 to 60 in December.
Lived in Boise for 3 1/2 years and loved it. The town is awesome, lots to do…from where I lived on I could be on the slopes in one hour from my door, mountains right there, mountain bike trails galore, great weather…etc, etc. I am seriously considering going back there when I retire from the military.
Moved to Lyons 2+ years ago, from Miami, and love it. Close enough to Boulder for work, Denver for the occasional big event and the airport, but has a nice small town feel. Real estate is more reasonable than Boulder, but rising. Winters are mild enough to get riding days in year round (and Lyons is in a small belt that misses most of the big snowfalls). Amazing running trails. You can ride east for flat and windy, south to Boulder for rolling hills, or west into the canyons for climbing. 2 hour drive to Summit County skiing and snowboarding in winter. 20 miles to Estes Park and Rocky Mt Natl Park…all this plus the inspiration of seeing most of Team Dubai nearly every time you head out to train.
St. Charles Medical Center is the biggest health industry center in Eastern Oregon, so jobs are no problem for you. We just moved here from Salt Lake, where I lived in Alta for 12 years and in the valley for a too long 8 years. It has been a great change, there is so much going on and it’s not too crowded, yet. A big yet.
Property values have skyrocketed and the rent vs. buy equation is definitely leaning towards rent right now. I’m worried about the growth because I have seen it in SLC. No or very little controls due to too fast of growth, although Oregon’s land use laws mitigate that to some extent. Still, the code inspection crew is woefully understaffed and they are presently putting up 6-7 story buildings in a great 2-story downtown area. I’m not sure how that’s going to work out.
But if you are into doing events and the outdoor lifestyle, it’s awesome. There are multiple things going on all the time, so many that you can’t do them all if you wanted to. Just recently we had the Sunriver Endurance weekend, with 10K, half-marathon, half-Iron tri, and Olympic tri, at the same time as a RAID adventure race, and another event I can’t even remember right now. Duathlon series every Wednesday night 1.5 miles from where I’m sitting. Hard or easy group rides virtually every day. And the Phil’s trail system, with something like 200 miles of made for mountain bike trail starting literally just up the street. The duathlon series S/F is at the entrance. And Mt. Bachelor about 20 miles away for XC or DH skiing, plus a half dozen other XC ski areas on Forest Service land.
I figure if Bend gets too big, then it’s on to the Kelowna Valley in British Columbia, where the Canada Ironman is. But for now it’s really fun. Tomorrow I’m going to go over and watch the hammerheads fight each other up Pilot Butte after 120 miles in the saddle in the first stage of the Cascade Classic.
