I want to move out west... suggestions?

[TastesLikeChicken]

I'll just leave this here

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=swampass+florida

Those with pre-existing conditions should not move to FL. If you are prone to swampass, Florida is not for you. Everyone else is...not welcome either.

Stay away. Sucks here. You might actually sweat every once in a while. Freeze your nuts off instead. It's a far superior choice.

 

[Paladin]

Have you looked at Flagstaff, AZ? It has everything on your list. Northern Arizona is awesome, you're 1.5 hrs from the Grand Canyon, half hour from Sedona (tons of hiking, beautiful), and close enough to Phoenix if you need something from a big city.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

Draw a box from San Diego to San Fransisco to Denver to Albuquerque. Stay in the high desert or along the ocean, and you won't find better weather anywhere else in the country. The scenery is amazing pretty anywhere within that box.

 

[zinfamous]

Have you looked at Flagstaff, AZ? It has everything on your list. Northern Arizona is awesome, you're 1.5 hrs from the Grand Canyon, half hour from Sedona (tons of hiking, beautiful), and close enough to Phoenix if you need something from a big city.

I recently drove through Flagstaff and it's definitely somewhere I want to return and visit for a few days--proximity to Sedona, grand canyon, bigass crater and Indian ruins and such.

Cool and weird thing about driving down I40 in early dawn hours: tuning to the AM station that plays the meteor crater advertisement on a constant loop. The spot is straight out of the 50s, and added to that landscape with that kind of early morning light, it feels like wandering The Wasteland listening to the same old ad on your Pipboy.

 

[soulcougher73]

Id probably check out Oregon if it were me. Maybe Bend, OR. Somewhere not Portland expensive lol. Boise, ID might be nice also.

 

[bbhaag]

Have you looked at Flagstaff, AZ? It has everything on your list. Northern Arizona is awesome, you're 1.5 hrs from the Grand Canyon, half hour from Sedona (tons of hiking, beautiful), and close enough to Phoenix if you need something from a big city.

I'll second this suggestion. My brother went to NAU and lived in Flagstaff for around 7 years. It's a very nice place to live but can be expensive especially housing. If you're an outdoors type of person it's hard to beat the Flagstaff area.

 

[Kaido]

Can you handle heat? Arizona is surprisingly awesome & the housing prices can be really excellent, plus if you like day trips to Mexico there's tons of (legal) stuff to do & buy across the border.

SLC is cool if you don't mind the traffic and light smog (if you're asmatic ; tons of great restaurants to eat at and if you're into ski culture, tons of mountains. Park City is booming too if you want something a little higher-end.

I'm from San Diego & love it, but the traffic & housing prices are ridiculous. And everything is wall to wall unless you have a ton of bucks for a nice place with some land. But the weather is awesome 24/7.

 

[KeithP]

As someone who has lived in California since 1974 (Sacramento, Torrance and Huntington Beach areas) and now splits my time between Seattle and Sacramento, I would say in all seriousness, cross California off your list.

-KeithP

 

[vi edit]

Instead of Flagstaff, look a little west to Prescott Valley. A lot less snow and tourists. Prescott Valley is definitely in my "would retire to" list.

 

[CraKaJaX]

As someone who has lived in California since 1974 (Sacramento, Torrance and Huntington Beach areas) and now splits my time between Seattle and Sacramento, I would say in all seriousness, cross California off your list.

-KeithP

It's funny hearing this from a Californian. The percentage of people I know who went out to California for school or work and have not come back is 100%. A girl I know who does consulting is out there for a few months now for a project (working in LA, living in West Hollywood). She is considering accepting a full time job there because she loves it so much. This has happened to literally every single person I knew who went out there. Coming from NY, it seems like heaven I suppose. I really don't see how you can go wrong out there. You can argue traffic, but believe it or not we have that here too. The hiking is awesome, the beaches are awesome, tons of things to do/see, you're within driving distance to Vegas or Oregon for great skiing/outdoor stuff (depending where you're at in Cali), wine country, etc etc. Of course California will be an island in the future but.... That's another thread

 

[OCNewbie]

Was in SLC back in July for a wedding...

Thanks for the awesome pics and post!

Have you looked at Flagstaff, AZ? It has everything on your list. Northern Arizona is awesome, you're 1.5 hrs from the Grand Canyon, half hour from Sedona (tons of hiking, beautiful), and close enough to Phoenix if you need something from a big city.

Flagstaff is definitely on my radar now! These are the kind of suggestions I'm hoping to hear about, places I hadn't even thought about before.

 

[NoTine42]

It's funny hearing this from a Californian. The percentage of people I know who went out to California for school or work and have not come back is 100%. A girl I know who does consulting is out there for a few months now for a project (working in LA, living in West Hollywood). She is considering accepting a full time job there because she loves it so much. This has happened to literally every single person I knew who went out there. Coming from NY, it seems like heaven I suppose. I really don't see how you can go wrong out there. You can argue traffic, but believe it or not we have that here too. The hiking is awesome, the beaches are awesome, tons of things to do/see, you're within driving distance to Vegas or Oregon for great skiing/outdoor stuff (depending where you're at in Cali), wine country, etc etc. Of course California will be an island in the future but.... That's another thread

I suppose NY (at least around NYC) would have similiar traffic and real estate price problems to Cali ... But at least Cali has more pleasant weather and fewer Jets fans.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I spent a lot of time in Salt Lake for work over the past 15 years, but usually only a week at a time. I really liked it there, but summers are cookin' in the valley. I remember flying in one weekend and being faced with 108 degree heat, but low humidity. It made evenings nice after the sun went down, but afternoons could be brutal. One of my summer trips there was rough because there were wildfires outside of town causing smoke everywhere.

I've not seen a lot of smog in SLC, but wouldn't doubt it if the conditions were right. I really like the ski resorts there. My favorite time of year there was definitely January-April when the slopes were loaded with fresh powder. It's only about 45 minutes from downtown to the slopes and not much longer to get to Park City. So definitely take up skiing if you live there...if you like to hike, many of the ski areas have summer bike/hiking trails with some restaurants and resorts in the area that have good rates in the summer months.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Anyone considering Salt Lake City may also wish to give some analysis to Boise.

Climate is supposed to be a bit milder than Salt Lake City
You dont have so many LDS kooks running around all over the place

But still frequently goes over 90 deg f in summer .. (dry, but still frickin hot)

 

[IronWing]

Arizona outside of Phoenix tends to be a pretty low wage state. Check the job market before you start daydreaming about a particular location. Flagstaff is really nice if you can land a decent job. Prescott is nice but expensive.

Low copper prices are rippling out into the Arizona economy which will hammer the trades and many of the small towns.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I spent a lot of time in Salt Lake for work over the past 15 years, but usually only a week at a time. I really liked it there, but summers are cookin' in the valley. I remember flying in one weekend and being faced with 108 degree heat, but low humidity. It made evenings nice after the sun went down, but afternoons could be brutal. One of my summer trips there was rough because there were wildfires outside of town causing smoke everywhere.

When I landed in SLC it was 96 degrees at the airport. We got in the Alta shuttle to take us up to the resort, and the driver saw how we were dressed (shorts, sandals, tshirt) ... he said something along the lines of "where y'all comin' from? hope you brought some long sleeves... " My GF and I looked at each other like, wtf? After a 45 min drive or so, we stepped out of the shuttle up at the lodge and the temp had dropped a good 20 degrees. This was about 3-4 in the afternoon. By that night, it was in the 40's/50's. Was the first time I really experienced that significant of a drop. Luckily, we did bring light jackets

 

[dtgoodwin]

I spent a lot of time in Salt Lake for work over the past 15 years, but usually only a week at a time. I really liked it there, but summers are cookin' in the valley. I remember flying in one weekend and being faced with 108 degree heat, but low humidity. It made evenings nice after the sun went down, but afternoons could be brutal. One of my summer trips there was rough because there were wildfires outside of town causing smoke everywhere.

I live in the valley south of SLC. We get smog during the winter when there are inversions - cold air trapped in the valleys by air that's warmer aloft. Some years it lingers, but then a storm will come through and stir up the air. This kind of smog can be escaped by heading 20-25 minutes into the mountains and you are above it and in gorgeous weather.

There is so much diversity in Utah - snow capped mountains in the north, dry, desert red rock in the south. It does get hot in the summer, but with low humidity it's not as penetrating as in other areas. The same is true in winter. It gets cold, and there is quite a bit of snow some years, but it's not Buffalo, nor is it Minnesota.

 

[JulesMaximus]

105-110 F is pretty common in tuscon in the summer

low humidity, but still, your gonna bake

Compared to Orlando, FL in the summer? I'd take Tucson any day.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It's funny hearing this from a Californian. The percentage of people I know who went out to California for school or work and have not come back is 100%. A girl I know who does consulting is out there for a few months now for a project (working in LA, living in West Hollywood). She is considering accepting a full time job there because she loves it so much. This has happened to literally every single person I knew who went out there. Coming from NY, it seems like heaven I suppose. I really don't see how you can go wrong out there. You can argue traffic, but believe it or not we have that here too. The hiking is awesome, the beaches are awesome, tons of things to do/see, you're within driving distance to Vegas or Oregon for great skiing/outdoor stuff (depending where you're at in Cali), wine country, etc etc. Of course California will be an island in the future but.... That's another thread

Shit, you don't have to go to Oregon for great skiing. Just go to Mammoth Mtn.

As someone who has lived in California since 1974 (Sacramento, Torrance and Huntington Beach areas) and now splits my time between Seattle and Sacramento, I would say in all seriousness, cross California off your list.

-KeithP

Hehe, my wife grew up in Torrance. She was born and raised in the South Bay. I've been here for 25 years now, more than half my life. I'll never leave.

 

[Drako]

There is only one logical choice - Reno NV.

 

[SketchMaster]

Colorado Springs.

Pros:
-Garden of the Gods
-Pikes Peak
-Less than an hour from Denver, less than two from Boulder
-Decent cost of living
-"plant life"
-Snow parks
-3/4 of the year the weather is awesome: https://weatherspark.com/averages/29585/Colorado-Springs-United-States
-CU and UCCS are not too shabby as for as schools go
-All the perks of Utah, but without the Mormon aftertaste (or the Salt Lake smell)

Cons:
-Army Bros
-Moody Winters
-Cadets
-Spotty job market for tech (best jobs are in Denver, which has an insane cost of living)
-Bros
-Everyone will hate you for not knowing how to drive in the snow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJFMywIKzSI
-Public Transportation is a joke
-I-35 is the only major highway connecting COS to Denver, so it turns into a parking lot if someone sneezes too hard during rush hour.
-Dating in COS can be a bit of a challenge if you're over the age of 25 (but I hear it's getting a lot better with the new growth)

 

[SearchMaster]

I have only visited for skiing but I really liked CO and UT. SLC is amazing for skiing, something like a dozen resorts within a 45 minute drive.

I've spent a good amount of time in COS as well, a friend used to live there. I enjoyed visiting some parks in the area. I also spent over a week in Leadville - it was kind of a meh little town (with neat old bars though) and the extremely high altitude made it cold and hard to breathe.

 

[John Connor]

The main negative I've heard about Salt Lake, is that the smog there sucks, and I'm just not sure how annoying that would be to deal with.

I lived close to SLC and I don't recall any smog. Maybe there was, but definitely not as bad as Cali. and I lived there. Maybe they're referring to the refineries and the nasty smelling Salt lake? LOL

I live in northern CO near the foothills. And about an hour or less from the Rockie Mountains. I'd recommend Fort Collins, but I think the people there are more rude. But it's nothing like Riverside CA. And there's CSU too.

 

[John Connor]

Oregon sounds like a decent fit. Portland would put you close the Mt. Hood National Forest. Mild climate. Low cost of living if you're living outside Portland. Oregon/Oregon State are both decent schools.

Or Seattle. Seattle itself is expensive, but Tacoma/Olympia is not to far and pretty cheap.

There are cheap places in California as well. LOL. California is a LOT bigger than just Los Angeles and San Francisco. Though the climate in California can be very hot and very dry in those cheaper areas. Sacramento and Fresno are the two biggest cheap cities in California. Though there are a lot of smaller coastal towns with better weather if you can find a job there. I mean, if your requirement is a grocery store less than an hour away and decent internet, places like San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Monterey, Santa Cruz, or Santa Barbara would work fine.

Seattle is wet. In fact there are more suicides there in part due to the shity weather. If I were to ever move back to California it be up north in wine country.

 

[Anubis]

Reno