SummitPost.org

Yes, get the hell out of California!

Speaking from Santa Cruz: run, don't walk. Yes, the fog will mutate into rain; and yes, there will be longer winter nights...but you will be in a true city, with all the attendant urban perks, & within even easier reach of genuine alpine delights. I'll send you a charred Barbie & a bongo (Rhythm Fusion's shutting down; I can get it cheap) if you'll invite us to house sit while you're off in the wilds.

Vancouver doesn't really rain that much. I lived there for a long time, in fact was born there. You don't really notice the rain, honest. And as for the skiing, alpine, rock ....well not that I'm biased or anything but hey, Vancouver rocks if you have to be in a city.

if you're young do it. but if you're like me, don't do it if you have an aversion to being couped up due to rain, unless they pay you very well.

I vote Cali. Ask yourself: how many climbable days can you have to be flexible with in Cali?

Now ask yourself, how many days will I have to call in sick or take off from work just to get climbable daytime?

It is always great to experience new places and new countries. A friend of mine (not a climber) lives in Vancouver and says it is one of the best cities in the world - lots to do, people are nice etc.

I would go it if it is reasonably easy to come back to California (or elsewhere in the US) in case the environment does not work for you (job, house-wise). It is not that you are escaping a really bad place (like Midwest, haha), you are trading one good place for another and you have invested enough in your career that you probably don't want to risk losing in in case things don't go as expected.

You will be fine either way. Hard decision to make but it is a good problem to have.

I like the last comment. TRY it.

I live in Van parts of the year (about 3/4). I am glad everytime I get out.
Why? I do not have a car. Then the outdoors are awfully far away (this of course depends also on where you live in van, it is a big city). I think it does rain a lot between Nov and April. What is a lot? More than somebody who grew up in one of the driest corners of the Alps can handle (also my office has no windows and the appartments tiny windows - insanity during a dark winter). The public transit system is semi-functional at best (again this depends on where in Van you live). Ice climbing? Let me know if you find any decent (besides Pemberton which is too far for me to go to on a regular base). I hate waking up in the morning and seeing nothing but concrete and streets.

Then again I like to come back for a while too. Why? Love the cities "vibe". People are nice indeed. I like the city´s mix. I like flying through Van on my road bike. Summers can be great. I like Squamish (the climbing, not the town).

So - try it. Make your own reality check. Make sure you have an option to back out. Not everybody loves it (it is a big American city after all, with everything that comes with it). I know people who could not take it and left.
I do not love nor hate it. I think generally the place is over-hyped, but probably the only big city in the world I can live in for a while.

I know that jobs and livestyles dictated place choices too (there is a reason for me I am there, and it is not the outdoors). Van may work for you, and if you have to make a compromise between the infrastructure of a city and reasonable access to the outdoors Van may be as best as it gets.

Sm

JustinG - I love your comments about Roasted Barbies, bongos, and patchouli oil. I, however, would have done in a Ken doll. You know - "Ken's nuts roasting on an open fire....."

Okay, somebody had to say it.

What I most like about Colorado, aside from fewer people everywhere I turn, is the rhythm of the weather and the seasons. I grew up in Vermont where that was what we lived by. On the CA coastline I could tell it was a different season usually by the fact that the coastal and Thule fogs were thicker or the grass was either green or brown. Not much to go by and I think you kind of get into a disconnect with your surroundings, or at least the reality of it. When you have to plan your outdoor time based on weather and mountain conditions, i.e., avoiding t-storms, winds, avalanche, it's humbling. Makes one realize we're not in control and that's a good thing.

So you'd probably appreciate Vancouver for that reason. Besides, when it's raining in the city it's SNOWING in the hills.

And from a distance it seems Vancouver's got it together. Lively, upbeat, up-to-date, intelligent. My beef still with CO is that it's about 50 years behind the times and oftentimes lacks a whole of smarts. That's why we have all those mountains to escape into.

justing wrote:A quick Santa Cruz anecdote. Last night I was at a New Years Eve party, and we were sitting out enjoying the beautiful evening. Right on cue some keith moon wannabe at the party whips out a bongo drum and pollutes the air for a bit. Anyhow, about that time, someone in a neighboring yard sets off what must have been a stick of dynamite, based on the concussion and the fact that my ears are still ringing. Apparently propelled by the explosion, a dismembered and charred Barbie leg comes sailing over the fence line end over end. Ritual barbie killings...only in Santa Cruz. I can't decide if I would miss that kind of crap or not.

Buy ticket to Burning Man, problem solved for the entire year

Dude... you'll probably only miss one thing from Santa Cruz:



Taqueria Vallartas, my friend. That is truly something special about Santa Cruz.

Gusto

mungeclimber wrote:Now ask yourself, how many days will I have to call in sick or take off from work just to get climbable daytime?

That's exactly what bugged me the most about rain. You would be looking forward to doing something on the weekend and pretty much every time you get screwed and need to change plans. Out here, I hardly ever have to change plans; I love it!!

IMO, the crappiest weather is rain! Snow, cold, wind... all good. Rain = SUCKS! Anyway, just my opinion

Luciano136 wrote:

mungeclimber wrote:Now ask yourself, how many days will I have to call in sick or take off from work just to get climbable daytime?

That's exactly what bugged me the most about rain. You would be looking forward to doing something on the weekend and pretty much every time you get screwed and need to change plans. Out here, I hardly ever have to change plans; I love it!!

IMO, the crappiest weather is rain! Snow, cold, wind... all good. Rain = SUCKS! Anyway, just my opinion

Another damned California fair-weather climber.

As The Chief has said before, get some cojones...and grow some hair on 'em.

Hiking, biking, and paddling are all good options in the rain. In winter, rain in the city means snow in the mtns which is good for skiing, snowshoeing, camping etc... You can pretty much do anything you want any day of the week within a 30 min drive of your home or office all year round. If you have your heart set on rock climbing (which, granted, is not much fun in the rain) there are plenty of good gyms around for a quick fix while it's raining outside.
Bottom line.... Vancouver is an awesome city to live in!!!!! ...even if it rains.

MCGusto wrote:Dude... you'll probably only miss one thing from Santa Cruz:

Is that a burrito or a 1/2 pound of Santa Cruz weed?

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:

MCGusto wrote:Dude... you'll probably only miss one thing from Santa Cruz:

Is that a burrito or a 1/2 pound of Santa Cruz weed?

What the hell kind of dipping sauce do YOU use with purple bud?

MarthaP wrote:

Luciano136 wrote:

mungeclimber wrote:Now ask yourself, how many days will I have to call in sick or take off from work just to get climbable daytime?

That's exactly what bugged me the most about rain. You would be looking forward to doing something on the weekend and pretty much every time you get screwed and need to change plans. Out here, I hardly ever have to change plans; I love it!!

IMO, the crappiest weather is rain! Snow, cold, wind... all good. Rain = SUCKS! Anyway, just my opinion

Another damned California fair-weather climber.

As The Chief has said before, get some cojones...and grow some hair on 'em.

I don't care if the weather is cold or bad; I'm just pretty light sensitive. I get demotivated when it's gray and dark. Like I said, it depends on the person. I would MUCH rather live in CO; it's one of the sunniest states.

Where I grew up, it can rain for weeks! There can be months where you see the sun maybe a few days a month and it's dark till 8:30am and starts getting dark at 4:30pm. I don't see how anyone would want to do that to themselves LOL Of course, it is possible that Belgium is quite a bit more gray but people always seem to compare it to the PNW.