Where should I move?

[smilingcat]

Leucadia Ca.
Cardiff by the Sea, Ca.
Encinitas, Ca.
Carlsbad, Ca.

All in San Diego County. I luv Leucadia cause its bit funky old sorta like Santa Cruz minus all the Marijuna farms

Coastal route is really beautiful with long straightaways without lights. some rollers and at Torry Pine, there is a good climb. People are all friendly. Can't remember a time when someone didn't wave a hand or say something to you. Number of pro tri-athletes call the area home and cyclist there tend to be really good. Lots of clubs, cycling and other kinds too. Belly up tavern in Solona Beach, Croche's in gas light district of SD... About an hour away is Julien known for apples and apple pies. They even have a year round Christmas store. Last I heard, they managed to keep McDonald from setting up shop in downtown area.

Even the drivers are nice toward cyclist. Mostly sunny, occasional rain (others might call it misting). If you want to train on a hill you could do the Palomar Mountain ride. Oh Julien has a mtn bike event and a road event. Pretty hard core though... Lots to do besides the Zoo, Wild Animal park, sea world. They even have a Shakespearian playhouse. And its really good located in Bolboa Park. Lovely place.

And I've lived in lots of places. Overland Park, Ks; NY, NY; SLC, Ut; Carlsbad, Oceanside, Tustin, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and my current home Hermosa Beach Ca. I think SD is the best place... although we want to move to Oak Harbor or Coupville on Whidby Island Wa. My housemate owned her first home in Oak Harbor.

Oh you wanted dry. So far this rain season (starts in Oct. or there abouts.) we have had a total of 2 to 3 inches of rain. And the rain season will be over about now. No rain till next October.

Too much of good thing gets to be bland sunny today with high of 80. tomorrow sunny with high of 80. day in day out... well right now its bone chilly 65.

Shawn

[Trek420]

Pooks, thanks!

Trek420, I LOVED the visits I have done to Sonoma. Are there mountains visible from there? It has been awhile since I've been...

Depends on what you mean by mountains, hills really but here's a typical photo from Santa Rosa Cycling Club.

I grew up here, and actually like the rain. But my nearest-and-dearest isn't a rainy kind of critter. So I've a feeling I'll be living somewhere drier someday. but I'll manage.

Hey it rains here ;-) Rained today, even.

[roadie gal]

Truckee, Ca, near Lake Tahoe. Beautiful scenery, great road and world class mountain biking. Close to Sacramento, Sonoma, San Fransisco, but not nearly as hot (80 as opposed to over 100 degrees). Skiing in the winter... Who could ask for more?

[Trekhawk]

Truckee, Ca, near Lake Tahoe. Beautiful scenery, great road and world class mountain biking. Close to Sacramento, Sonoma, San Fransisco, but not nearly as hot (80 as opposed to over 100 degrees). Skiing in the winter... Who could ask for more?

Ooooh Truckee. Check out the link below for a couple of shots of a ride I did from Truckee to Tahoe and back. Its sooooo pretty. Have to have your shovel handy in winter though.
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=11132

[anakiwa]

Consider Vermont- I think we've got everything you were looking for. (And er um plenty of snow in April as well.) If you need a really big city, you wouldn't like it here, but if you're into small cities Burlington and Montpelier have a lot going for them. I'm within 1-2 miles of a really neat downtown- and I go running/biking on endless dirt road networks without having to drive to get there.

[MINIskirt]

have you tried to Find Your Spot?

http://www.findyourspot.com/


It's a quiz that matches you to places that meet your criteria. You might want to give it a shot!

[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

[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

[GLC1968]

Greensboro, NC

It's all rolling hills with mountains 2 hours west and the beach 3 hours east. Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte are each only 1 hour to 90 minutes away. The climate is temperate. Light snow in the winter, but we can definitely ride year round. Nice mountain biking, even better road biking, not too much traffic... We have multiple awesome bike shops and quite a decent-sized biking community. The Blue Ridge Parkway (recently written up as the best biking highway in the US) is less than an hour away.

Plus, it's WAY cheaper than anything you'll find in CA.