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

[cobalt]

We live in cold and snowy Wisconsin and want to move to a larger city now that our kids are in college. Bigger city, more job stability. While we are at it, we decided to look for a place where we could bike year round or almost year round.

We are northerners so I don't think we'd want a really hot humid summer place. We have moved a lot but we've never lived in a warm climate, might be nice but we know not to go to Houston!

We road bike and love to go on sponsored rides together. I have only gone as far as 50, my husband does centuries. I have to add that I don't think I'd want to live in a super hilly place but maybe I could learn to love hills.

We are looking at the following cities:

Austin, TX
Denver, CO
Louisville, KY
Nashville, TN
Milwaukee, WI
Chicago, IL
Tucson, AZ

Obviously, Milwaukee and Chicago are the safe close to home fall backs but we can't bike like we'd want to in either city.

The thought of leaving all of our friends and our daughters at the same time is a bit sad. Maybe our daughters will follow if they like where we go.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[shootingstar]

Not at all interested in the West Coast of USA?

[cobalt]

I did forget the west coast didn't I?? We actually lived in San Jose for a bit right after we were married.

Portland
San Diego
?

[cobalt]

Shootingstar, if we moved to Canada the kids would follow for sure.

[shootingstar]

Shootingstar, if we moved to Canada the kids would follow for sure.

Interesting. Whatever their perceptions of Canada may be.

I'm curious to hear how San Franscisco fares during the winter for cycling since Seattle and Portland are similar to Vancouver in terms of the rain that we get in winter..but still can sometimes can cycle in between bouts of cold rain. Now if it weren't for the snow right now in our area...which is not typically white Christmas below the mountains here.

For totally biased reasons, and despite the rain, we do enjoy the west coast. Lots of clean snow is not far away ..in the mountains. Most winters we have been able to do decent snowshoeing up there.

But to let cobalt know, I was cycling to my art class on weekends last January. A flat 12 km. round trip. And of course our regular grocery shopping on bike.

And summers where we are on the coast, never get blistering nor soak-drenched humid hot like it did in southern Ontario. This most definitely you would love..

[msincredible]

I'm curious to hear how San Franscisco fares during the winter for cycling since Seattle and Portland are similar to Vancouver in terms of the rain that we get in winter..but still can sometimes can cycle in between bouts of cold rain. Now if it weren't for the snow right now in our area...which is not typically white Christmas below the mountains here.

It's similar...can get cold (30's-40's) and rainy with snow up in the mountains.

[Aggie_Ama]

Even though I really wish people would stop moving to Austin (I am a native and remember when it was sorta small)... It is a perfect city for year round cycling.

Remember though our summers can be the unbearable time and you might hate that. This summer was one for the record books with 20+ days over 100. That is not the norm but it does happen and most of our transplants complain quite a bit! On the flip side it was in the 70's today and our artic front moving through tomorrow is only supposed to drop it to 20 (low), 40 (high).

West Austin will test you on hills but NW and East is just gentle rollers. You can definitely get by being a hill weeny.

[ilima]

Maybe our daughters will follow if they like where we go.

It could happen! When I was in grad school (Athens, GA which is a super cool place and close to a big city), I was roommates with a woman from upstate NY. She moved back and it was cold and miserable. Met and got married to fellow upstater. When his family's business closed, she persuaded him to move down south and they moved to Raleigh, North Carolina.

They are absolutely loving it, and since they moved about 4 years ago her sister's family has moved from Buffalo and her parents retired and moved down to NC, too.

Although there's no 'big' city, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area is big enough to offer a lot of job opportunities.

I'm now living in Hawaii, but if I had the chance I'd move back to Athens, GA in a heartbeat.

[DebTX]

If I had the chance I'd move back to Athens, GA in a heartbeat.

Funny, a few years ago I was looking to leave NYC and like you had my pick of locales. It was while on a biz trip to Athens, GA (one of the great little spots in America!) that I decided to move to Austin. Athens reminded me of everything I had loved about Austin.

I learned to cycle here so I have no basis for comparison - I'll leave that advice to all those far more experienced with cycling across the country. But it was because of the plethora of lycra here that I said, "Wow, what a beautiful sport - I have to learn to do that!"

I'm a complete non-athlete, but was captivated by the beauty of a body moving on a bicycle. One of these days (years), people will look at me grunting my way up a hill and say, "Man, I wanna learn to do what she's doing!"

[tulip]

Asheville, North Carolina. Oh, but there are hills. Great music, food, weather (not muggy in the summer), etc.

I live in Richmond and I love it. Riding all year round, rolling hills, close to the Chesapeake Bay, great river right downtown for kayaking and such--very outdoorsy. The cost of living is extremely reasonable, and you can easily get to Washington DC and NYC/Boston on the train.

What do you do professionally? That would seem to be a big deciding factor.

[lph]

We are northerners so I don't think we'd want a really hot humid summer place.

Oslo? The roads aren't great, but we've got mtb-friendly forests up the wazoo

[Mr. Bloom]

Indianapolis has been very resilient through this downturn. Low cost of housing, diversified employment base, serious riding opportunities, serious riding hills just to the south (Brown County). Indy is a larger Nashville without the summer humidity. Winter has its moments though...

Also, unlike most other major markets, Indy is within a year of swinging into a tight housing supply...which may mean the time to buy is now.

You might give some thought to suburban St. Louis as well.

What are your careers?

[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.