Where should I move?

[maillotpois]

I love where we live: Marin County, CA.

We are 15 minutes to San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge and 3 - 4 hours to Tahoe. And we're smack dab in the middle of cycling nirvana: farms, cows, ocean views, hills, dirt trails for the MTB'ers. We live on the side of Mt. Tamalpais, which is a beautiful small mountain overlooking the sea and SF Bay.

In spite of being so close to a wonderful big city, much of Marin is very small-towny. My 11 year old daughter can walk around town by herself without a worry. And a huge percentage of the county is designated as either open space land trust or agricultural use.

Oh - and BJ Hunicutt from MASH lived in my town! You know, with Peg and the kids.

Of course the cost of living is tough. It took us 7 years living in DH's parents' house to finally be able to afford to move out on our own. But there are areas in the northern part of the county, or next door Sonoma County which Trek referred to, where it's not so expensive as Southern Marin.

[mountainchick]

I grew up in Fort Collins, CO...stones throw away from Estes Park, Denver, Wyoming, etc.

I wish I could go back now, I miss CO so much. I'd vote for CO (just not Denver or Co Springs)...

Tahoe/Truckee is good too!

And BTW...CO has just as many sunny days as San Diego San Diego is nice (lived there too) but it doesn't beat CO.

[mountainchick]

So I did that spot, and my first match was Wisconsin...I never would imagine myself there! Only mountains for me baby!

[spazzdog]

Austin Texas - The hill country. Colorado River runs through the middle of town. Lake country to the north. The very roads Sir Lance trains on.

Not to mention great music, great food and its a college town, techno center so supposedly lots of jobs.

I lived there in the 80's and get back there on occasion. Love the place!

spazz

[Aggie_Ama]

Austin Texas - The hill country. Colorado River runs through the middle of town. Lake country to the north. The very roads Sir Lance trains on.

Not to mention great music, great food and its a college town, techno center so supposedly lots of jobs.

I lived there in the 80's and get back there on occasion. Love the place!

spazz

A shout out to my hometown! I was born and raised in Austin, left for college and then ran home.

The climate is exceptional all year round. Okay the summers are dang hot, but we can ride all winter. Snow is just a freak event and the town shuts down.

The hill country is challenging and quiet road riding. I live on the cusp of the hill country and we can ride out our door and 15 minutes later be out on country roads with little traffic.

Although we do have several colleges here, the colleges don't rule the town. You really have to get downtown to be immersed in the college kids- thank god! I left my college town because I was done with college life. Job market is good but competitive because the people who move here for school seem to stay.

Oh and the food- YUM! Who can't love Chuy's? Lance does!

[teigyr]

I agree with Smilingcat --- San Diego County has some beautiful riding. I am from California and while I don't miss some aspects of it, I used to go down there to ride all the time. I know that Torrey Pines hill well

San Luis Obispo area is really pretty as is Paso Robles. I've done a lot of great riding up there, also.

I like the Santa Barbara area. There are some fantastic coastal or inland cities with moderate temperature, rolling hills, and wineries to boot! (Of course Sonoma is great too.)

That is so exciting that you have this opportunity! I kind of did it when I moved to Seattle and while I don't regret it, I miss the California weather.

[CyclaSutra]

Lots of reasons to move to Wyoming:

• No state income tax
• Our open container law doesn't kick in until July 1, so until then, you can enjoy a beer on the way back from the ride if you're the passenger (partial ha-has, but seriously, the get-the-heck-outa-our-life-you-governmental-types attitude is prevalent)
• Lots of sun, all year long, hardly ever any fog, a few rainy days
• Skiing in the winter, biking in the summer. We have a lot of summer tourist traffic, but there are back roads to avoid it.
• Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone... in the spring and fall, they close some roads to cars and let bikes rule!
• New Center for the Arts has a theater, dance company, art association... lots of culture here
• D-R-Y ... when I moved here I had oily skin. No more!

Check out our chamber of commerce: www.jhchamber.com
or my place of employment: www.jhnewsandguide.com

It's spendy, but worth it, I think! Good luck, starfish...

[Thorn]

So I did that spot, and my first match was Wisconsin...I never would imagine myself there! Only mountains for me baby!

Hrrrmmppphhhh....no dairy cows for you?! Contrary to stereotypes, there is actually some great cycling in the southwest corner of the state. The area has a lot steep rolling hills. No multi-mile long inclines, but plenty of steep killers (much harder, I thought, than the hill country of Texas). It is very similar in terrain to areas in northern England. The rest of the state? Pleasant, but flat...

That said, I also used the website and it kept saying Oregon. While I like the idea of transferring to a temperate climate, I want sunshine!

[spokewench]

Durango Colorado or Flagstaff Arizona. Both are very similar, Durango has more water than Flag. Flag looks like piney mountain forests, but does not have any rivers, or permanent lakes. Durango has a river that runs through it. Great road riding, better mountain biking - both towns are college towns. Both are beautiful. check them out