Where should we move so we can bike more???

[BarbaraAlys]

Houston isn't the only large city in Texas, you know! And Fort Worth is not at all humid. I've been out in 104 degrees and since it is dry you make a nice cooling breeze while you ride....okay, don't think cool, but cooling....

Dallas and Fort Worth are pretty close together, and I have lived in both, but I prefer Fort Worth. Traffic is lighter, there is a great trail system (40 miles of paves trail for cycling, running, etc).

You have many club options here so finding a group that works for you should not be a problem and there are dozens of organized rides held around here every year. We are only a few hours from the famous Hotter Than Hell, as well as some really pretty rides to the south of us. Fort Worth is hillier than Dallas (hillier than people think of North Central Texas being), but not hilly by many people's standards.

Dallas/Fort Worth seems to be fairing better economically than some of the nation, and the cost of living is still really reasonable. No state income tax, but a fairly high property tax. You will not be offered the same kind of salary that you will see in the North East, but as a transplant I will say that the cost of living is in your favor here; I can live better here than I could in Mass.

Dallas/Fort Worth is a very dynamic area, maybe not as cool as Austin, but no matter what your interests are you can find them here. We are in the Bible belt; often the first or second question you will receive on meeting someone is "what church do you go to", but there are quite a few diverse communities as well. I had lunch at a Buddhist Monastery yesterday.

This is a very red state, so if you are a republican you will feel right at home and if you are a democrat we need you!...lol

Barbara Alys

[Blueberry]

If you're in tech, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is a great place to be. We do get cold weather, but it's bike-able all year, really. We haven't had any ice in ~3 winters if I recall correctly (and when we get it, it doesn't stick around long). The downside is that we have very few bike lanes, and our drivers are not accustomed to cyclists (and can be downright hostile).

When we went to San Diego for a visit, we fell in love. Cyclists paradise based on what I saw. Flat rides if you want them, climbing if you want them, bike lanes everywhere. The problem is that the cost of living is probably 2x what it is in Raleigh-Durham. I think I like cold weather too much to move there, but the other major west coast cities are on our radar for long term places to live.

CA

[jobob]

For what it's worth, home prices have fallen considerably in the SF Bay area as well as the rest of California in the past year.

As for cycling in the SF Bay area, we can do it pretty much year round.

We've entered the rainy season now , and around here, when it rains, it pours! We don't so much get the steady drizzle that our friends in western OR and WA experience. Luckily for us (but, not necessarily for the water supply), the rains diminish come March and are pretty much over come April, and then they don't start up again until December. Roughly speaking of course.

Sometimes, like right now, temperatures in the SF Bay area can drop into the 30's but that's somewhat unusual. The farther inland you go they experience more winter-like weather, then of course a few hours east of us you have the ski areas.

Our summers don't get particularly hot, especially if you're right near the coast (where it can be downright chilly thanks to the fog blowing in from the ocean) although temperatures can get into the 100's the further inland you go. "But it's a dry heat".

And the cycling around here is great - you've probably seen some of our ride reports in the Northern CA forum.

Good luck in your search.

[knapplaura]

If you want to ride in 0-20 degree weather, sure, come to Denver!

It was a high of 27 for my ride of 90 minutes yesterday, and right now it is a whopping 12 degrees at 10 a.m. as I try to decide what to do today.

Don't believe that year-round riding is possible here!

I moved here from Montgomery, AL....great place for biking, low cost of living, and nice medium-size city. Tons of great routes in the countryside and hills. There I was doing centuries in JAN & FEB.

Sure, it was hot in the summer but so are lots of places. Check it out!
Laura

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Cobalt,
do you need to actually live in a city in order to work?
Do you intend to bike to work, or use mass transit to commute?
Are you going to retire soon, or not for many years yet?
Do you intend to drive out of the city in order to go on bike rides, or are you wanting to ride from home?
These questions and more will have a big bearing on your decision.
You might want to consider factors like mass transit and gas prices/availability when thinking about all this. Right now, suburbs are rapidly going down in value because people no longer want to drive a lot to get back and forth to work, plus they can no longer afford a large house and high mortgage. Smaller urban dwellings are now becoming more sought after.
Just a few things to think about.

[solobiker]

If you want to ride in 0-20 degree weather, sure, come to Denver!

It was a high of 27 for my ride of 90 minutes yesterday, and right now it is a whopping 12 degrees at 10 a.m. as I try to decide what to do today.

Don't believe that year-round riding is possible here!

I moved here from Montgomery, AL....great place for biking, low cost of living, and nice medium-size city. Tons of great routes in the countryside and hills. There I was doing centuries in JAN & FEB.

Sure, it was hot in the summer but so are lots of places. Check it out!
Laura

The cold temps we have been having here have been a little out of the norm. We have had record cold temps. For the most part you can ride all year with exception to maybe 3-4 weeks. There are quite a few people that commute by bike year round. What is nice about the Denver area is that when is does snow it does not last very long with the sun. The snow is also a dry snow, not a wet snow like the NE. And once March comes the weather is awesome..temps in the 50s with the occ snow storm. The job market out here is still pretty good.

[fidlfreek]

Hey! Look, another Cowtown girl! Hi! I live on the southwest (aka cool!) side of town and agree totally w/ Barbara. FW is economically very very stable, quite attractive, and has great arts/museums and a kick *** trail system. If you live on the west side you have multiple neighborhoods that the trails meander through (mostly on the banks of the trinity river where people fish, there are ducks etc. so not a concrete jungle). I live in a walkable neighborhood and can get on the trail in 1.5 blocks. In the summer it is warm. True. But not humid. Plus, in the summer I get up and bike at 6 am and then am in a great mood for the rest of the day. Fall has been perfect with day after day of breathtakingly awesome riding. Winter is windy but we almost never have ice/cold that lasts more than a few days. There is great country riding just west of the city where you get more big hills than you can shake a stick at. The biking community here is also very active! On beautiful days I will see dozens and dozens of road bikers on the trails.

Did I mention that housing is cheap? You can get a loft in our thriving litte walkable downtown for 300k and up, a beautiful 1920s bungalow in a charming neighborhood for around 250k, and condos all over the city start around 100k.

Don't be scared off by whole red state thing. I know plenty of dems in the city and there are still lots of Obama bumper stickers on cars all around.

Having grown up near Austin I can't say enough how cool it is. However, Austin has terrible traffic, a smaller airport, and sky high property values. Fort Worth is much friendly in every on of those respects. Good luck!

[crazycanuck]

Well, if you'd like a perpetual summer & don't mind travelling...you can always get a work visa for Australia. Darwin, Brisbane, Perth...

Just a thought....

[Misandal]

I have to put in a plug for the Charlotte, NC area. I live about 30 miles north of Charlotte, but this whole area has quite an active bike culture. Even uptown Charlotte is becoming more bike-friendly with designated bike lanes. There are lots of organized events all year long with mutliple distance choices, and no shortage of people to ride with. The climate is absolutely heaven! I'm originally from Michigan, so I know what your winter is like. North Carolina is where I plan to stay!!!

As an added plus, this is one region where the economic downturn hasn't had as much impact as most of the country.

[msincredible]

Well, if you'd like a perpetual summer & don't mind travelling...you can always get a work visa for Australia. Darwin, Brisbane, Perth...

When I was thinking about moving, my ideal was Scandinavia for half the year, and Oz for the other half. I'm sure you can guess which half would be where.

[sundial]

Well, I'm going to make a plug for the southeast region. Our weather is mild pretty much year round. The cost of living is lower and the lifestyle is a little more laid back. The downside is you may not have access to many bike friendly parks or paths, but there are many rural farm roads that make it nice to cycle. Oh, and if you don't mind living in tornado alley, or dealing with the humid, hot summers, then it's for you!

[Norse]

For what it's worth, Portland and Minneapolis consistently rank at the top of various "best places to bike" surveys. Of course though, Minneapolis can be a little on the chilly side come winter! But as they say, if you're dressed for it, no problem. I know many people who bike all year long here.

[cobalt]

Norse, no way! Not because of the cold, we have too many relatives in the twin city area!

We lived in Holland and England for 3 years and would go back if we could. It is too $$. California is too $ for us since our 2,600 sq ft house would sell for $280K. That doesn't buy much but we want to downsize.

I took the test at findyourspot.com, thank you for the suggestion

It listed my top choices as:


Albuqueque
Portland, OR
San Diego
Milwaukee
San Francisco
Chicago

I hope this thread is as much fun for everyone as it is for me. I finally looked at a map and Austin is way down there!! I can't imagine myself anywhere near the humidity of Houston. My husband looked at me today as I was walking around the office in a coat and laughed. We work at the same place and it was cold outside and in as well.


In February we are going to go and visit one city, likely Portland.

Thank you all so much!