I've finally landed a position where I will be able to work remotely. It's a given that I want to spend a month+ every summer on the E Side, but as much as I love Bishop I'm not ready to make the leap to living in a small town year-round. I realize this question has been asked repeatedly but adding a few addn'l criteria:

- Easy access to multi-pitch trad & preferably alpine routes. Tired of driving 2-5 hours each way every weekend to climb.
- Year-round access to single track for running (care less about MTB access)
- Good selection of hilly road bike routes
- Largish Asian market within 1 hour
- Theater that shows indie films within 1 hour
- </=4 h drive or </= 3 hour flight back to LAX/BUR (have to visit the main office monthly)
- High % of athletic, outdoorsy types

Leaning toward moving back to Boulder. Any other places I should consider?

thanks

Actually Vegas was on the list, but after talking with a bunch of the local climbers I don't think I could hack living there.

Canmore.

or

LA

You have a great Job if they let ya have that much freedom.

If you think about mountains with big(er) cities close, then CO, UT or the Pacific Northwest are your best bets. You need to be able to deal with crappy weather in the latter though.

Boulder should do it. You could also consider Salt Lake but Utah is a little 'weird'.

thanks

Guyzo wrote:Canmore.

or

LA

You have a great Job if they let ya have that much freedom.

Yeah, I feel lucky about the flexibility. I pretty much live in LA now. Dow mentioned Canmore as well.

Luciano136 wrote:If you think about mountains with big(er) cities close, then CO, UT or the Pacific Northwest are your best bets. You need to be able to deal with crappy weather in the latter though.

Boulder should do it. You could also consider Salt Lake but Utah is a little 'weird'.

SLC is not a terrible choice. Should probably add that I prefer drier climates; I grew up in the Pac NW.

fossana wrote:SLC is not a terrible choice. Should probably add that I prefer drier climates; I grew up in the Pac NW.

We have friends that live in Salt Lake (they are from MN originally). They are VERY outdoorsy and love it. The religion thing is a bit weird but they say you don't notice it too much as long as you don't have kids.

fossana wrote:Actually Vegas was on the list, but after talking with a bunch of the local climbers I don't think I could hack living there.

We'll miss you!

I wasn't going to be chauvinistic enough to suggest Vegas. To appreciate the outdoors near Vegas (and there is a LOT to do) you have to put on blinders and ignore the rest of the city, maybe live on the west side just a few miles from Red Rock (as I do ). I hit The Strip fewer than two times a year, if I can help it.

How about Saint George or Hurricane? Pretend you are one of the lost tribes!

In my case, I would keep my house here in HB but rent a small apartment in Lone Pine orso. That way, you can go and come back as you please.

MoapaPk wrote:

fossana wrote:Actually Vegas was on the list, but after talking with a bunch of the local climbers I don't think I could hack living there.

We'll miss you!

I wasn't going to be chauvinistic enough to suggest Vegas. To appreciate the outdoors near Vegas (and there is a LOT to do) you have to put on blinders and ignore the rest of the city, maybe live on the west side just a few miles from Red Rock (as I do ). I hit The Strip fewer than two times a year, if I can help it.

How about Saint George or Hurricane? Pretend you are one of the lost tribes!

I didn't know you lived in Vegas, MoapaPk. I've spent enough time there to discover some of the decent Asian restaurants and the climbing is top notch, but I feel like I'd be some kind of climbing hermit. I've heard good things about St George from Dow also.

dynamokiev98 wrote:I live in San Francisco and kind of like our location. We have Tahoe, Yosemite, Lassen Park, Shasta, S. CA peaks around Lone Pine etc all within 3-5hour driving range. Have lots of hills around the Bay Area and have several beautiful outdoor rock climbing spots around the Bay Area.
I think living in Lone Pine would be kind of fun for several years..

I lived in Oakland/Berkeley for ~15 years, but as with LA it's a haul to climb on good rock (sorry Pinnacles & coastal sandstone aficionados). From a tech standpoint though it's the place to be.

Guyzo wrote:Canmore.

or

LA

You have a great Job if they let ya have that much freedom.

I spent a day in Canmore last year. Didn't see a largish Asian market and I would've noticed. Did anyone mention Vancouver?

Are your income taxes going to be determined by where you live or your main office location? If by where you live I sure as hell wouldn't pick CA, given the option to go remote. Awesome state but the most incompetently configured gov't and state constitution out there, and isn't going to get any better in the next 10-20 years.

All those places sound great to live. Vancouver's not a bad thought either...

mrchad9 wrote:Are your income taxes going to be determined by where you live or your main office location? If by where you live I sure as hell wouldn't pick CA, given the option to go remote. Awesome state but the most incompetently configured gov't and state constitution out there, and isn't going to get any better in the next 10-20 years.

I'm with you on that one. It's by state of residence. I've worked in CO before for a company with their corp HQ in CA and paid only CO state taxes. Along those lines if I built a house on my property in Lyons, CO my property taxes would actually drop. Another thing to consider.

Right here in good ole quiet Hilton Creek.

I'm convinced that no major city in the US beats SLC in terms of access to real mountains. My buddy lives in Cottonwood Heights and he is literally <10 minutes to downtown, <5 minutes to good rock climbing, <20 minutes to the ski resorts, etc. Personally, i think the Wasatch are a bit dreary, but the Uintahs are pretty close by. Plus, there's Moab, St. George, etc... not to mention the Wind Rivers. But the local stuff really is incredibly close... definitely more accessible to mountain stuff than downtown Denver, maybe even better than Boulder.

Bozeman, MT is pretty sweet, I'm not sure if that counts as a big city for you, good organic food but Asian markets may be limited, good stuff nearby, super mellow vibe.

Reno is not a bad option, personally I like it better than Vegas or any major city in California... and it's still reasonably close to the High Sierra.

The Chief wrote:Right here in good ole quiet Hilton Creek.

Chief, build me an Asian grocery store and find me a pool of single male climbers aged 35-45 and I'm there.