Ideal Place to Live?

Haven’t explored that area just yet. It’s on the list to check out but not sure live as far as proximity to cities and work.

 

Whether you ignore politics or not a lot of places you mentioned will hate you and treat you like crap just for the fact you’re from California and Oakland and they will judge you based solely on that and nothing else

lots of mountain towns are still very small town minded and weary of outsiders you need to go to a huge gentrified liberal city like Austin where Oakland is perfectly accepted

 

Yes, the explosion of side by sides and Razors and the like have really ruined the four-wheeling experience for me, just like the downhill skiing on the front range. Moab is an out of control zoo now too. I only do the Alpine Loop now on a motorcycle after Labor Day weekend and even then only during the week and not on a weekend. Ah the good old days when we were doing roads like Corkscrew Gulch, California Gulch, Cinnamon and Engineer and others in our very capable 1989 Isuzu Trooper - those were the days!

 

I wish I went that route. I went the same career as you.

 

I was there in July. Drove in from Utah. It was 122 on the highway. 117 in the city. Insane.

 

Nah, National Park Rangers spend way too much time dealing with miscreants and idiots. Mrs. backpacker has been an NPS volunteer for almost 25 year, which is more fun, although the pay is terrible.

 

Googler says just June thru Aug. Make sure your A/C is working. On the other hand, short sleeves January thru March.



Would you prefer to sit in salt for three months each year?

 

I lived all over Alberta and parts of BC, including Banff for 6 months, and I’m not sure Calgary has any decent off-roading nearby. The Rockies near Calgary are all NP, and I personally never saw anywhere that would fit the bill. Another thing to keep in mind is that Canada is insanely difficult to emigrate to (don’t believe the expat YouTube channels). They are incredibly strict on both work and student visa policies, and they have no retirement visa. You can stay there 180 days per year, and they are happy to sell property to foreigners, but all of that is only if you maintain proof of a primary residence in the US, which sort of defeats the purpose.

I agree that there are cities in WA that could fit the bill. I live in a small town there and have a literal 5 minute drive to hit great trails. In a city you’d obviously be looking at a bit more travel time, but not as much as many places.

 

Northwest NV in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Lake Tahoe, Rubicon…etc…5K elevation is not hot like LV and with 4 seasons, humidity in the teens, sometimes single digits. No income tax and close to trails in CA and NV, midday 80s-90s and 40s and 50s at night during the summer, 40-50 degree swings not uncommon/natural AC……..shhh, keep it to yourself.
Edit: Carson City and Reno are expanding with all the California businesses moving out.


Pinenut Mountain/BLM trails in my backyard. I never have to trailer my SxS.

Fallen Leaf Lake near Tahoe/Sierra Nevada mtns.

6”-8” snow storm, about as big as they get. Mostly 1-2” that melt off the next day. Pinenut Mountains in the background..

 

Looks more like May through Sep to me (those are average highs, right?) Everywhere is getting hotter, so you need to take that into consideration if you're concerned about weather.

I'm also looking at moving, more weather driven (I'm in NC now), but also looking to be closer to some better hiking and stuff like that (will settle for an hour-ish drive for some real trails, though).

I'm looking out west, and I'm pretty sure I'll be trading humidity for wildfires.

 

This site is pretty handy for comparing places to live:
https://firststreet.org/

Good for house buying too, particularly looking at flood data.

 

If you need to be in a big city then the front range would be your best bet. If I had the money, then I would be moving to the Gunnison/Crested Butte area or at least Buena Vista/Salida area 2nd choice.

 

I used to live in Golden (2001-2013), feel free to ask me anything.

 

When I google "front range", Ford Ranger comes up. Is front range close to the Ford Ranger plant in Michigan?

 

I considered moving to Vancouver BC at one point many years ago but a woman I worked with from there also told me how difficult it was. I wonder if policies there will change with the ageing Canadian population.

 

Don’t know much about New Mexico but I met some folks from Albuquerque during my CO trip. They loved how central they were to the cluster of national parks around UT, AZ, NM and CO. Not sure how climate change will impact things there though.

 

Yeah, I frequent the Downieville area in the Tahoe National Forest and have competed in Downieville’s MTB races several times. Definitely pretty out there with a growing network of well built MTB trails. Only 3 hrs away from me.

 

Try Googling Front Range Colorado.

 

@trlhiker Looks like the Colorado is also a mid-size pickup, direct competitor to the Ford Ranger. Nice truck.

 

We lived in the East Bay 8yrs ago…