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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Aug 13, 2018 - 09:11am PT
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Fresno.
Great mountains nearby. Killer schools in Clovis. Cheap homes. Halfway between the monstrosities of LA and SFO, both of which are nice to visit but you couldn't pay me to live in. I can fish before work and ski half days before work in the winter. A lifetime of rock within 2 hrs in each direction. I grew up here and have always said I don't trust air I cant see or water I can't smell.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Aug 13, 2018 - 10:17am PT
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Fatdad I'm glad you were disturbed by the whiteness of Colorado. I just moved from there to DC and it's nice to be able to be friends with African Americans again. I would not want to be a black person in Colorado. Anyone unable to see this is the White Man whether they know it or not. But the mountains and variety of rock are hard to beat. I'm not sure if disturbed is the right word. It's really hard to describe. I'm 1/4 white and 3/4ths Latino but pretty much pass as white. However, I get an uncomfortable feeling with environments that appear to be happily self selected. I live in LA and get the same vibe about the Southbay cities (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, etc.). Really heavily white, despite a LOT of surrounding diversity, and seemingly though perhaps not consciously happy with that set up. To me, I wonder why people who know that the world is a diverse place don't realize that where they live is not diverse and don't wonder why that it or, worse, are completely fine with that. I guess you could just eat the lotus and roll with it. Maybe the best way to describe it is that when I see diversity, I also have the belief that it's diverse because everyone is welcome. When I don't see that diversity, I wonder if the opposite is true.
I got to tell you though, I still ponder about just how much rock there is and how convenient. That part is a strong sell. Sorry for the thread drift Thomas.
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Aug 13, 2018 - 11:48am PT
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What do people think about the Grand Junction, CO region? I've stopped in Grand Junction twice now, and spent a few days each time, and liked the town.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Aug 13, 2018 - 12:17pm PT
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Criteria are:
-Great school system (2 kids 14/12)
-Good access to climbing, skiing, MTB, paragliding, kitesurfing, etc (don't need all of them but as close as possible)
-'reasonable' cost of living - need to be able to get a place for 400-500k (I understand that is not exactly reasonable)
-Dont want full suburbia but also not looking to start a farm
-Manageable traffic
Education, Quality of school Systems?
It was the 1st, modifying issue mentioned.
I have sat out the discussion, waiting to hear others views of the educational options.
given the lack of mention to that one issue I have to ask;
Where do you want your children to go to school?
This says some of what I'm aiming at Thank-you JBaker;
jbaker
Trad climber, Redwood City, CA, Aug 13, 2018 - 04:04pm PT
Given the kids' ages and the focus on good schools, you may also want to think about what Universities you'd want to have an in-state tuition option for in a few years.
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10b4me
Social climber
Lida Junction
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Aug 13, 2018 - 01:51pm PT
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What do people think about the Grand Junction, CO region? Have been there 3x,but the last time was seven years ago, so I don't know what change has occured. Other than Ouray, and Telluride, that part of Colorado doesn't attract me. I like the Durango area.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Aug 13, 2018 - 02:34pm PT
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Fruita, CO (near Grand Junction) has killer mountain biking and really soft rock climbing in CNM only 3 miles away.
Fort Collins is pretty nice when you don't smell Greeley.
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Aug 13, 2018 - 02:41pm PT
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Weighing in on Colorado options here. Colorado Springs is a lovely town with some wonderful people, but it most assuredly trends in the wack job direction of conservatism. Please note that I am not saying conservatism is wacky, but it does have its goofy extremes and some of them live in C. Springs. It has good schools, though, great rock climbing, but is a bit of a drive from the best Colorado has to offer for skiing, paddle sports, and alpinism. Denver is closer to many of these things but is just too big, has aweful traffic (Denver drivers are aggressively, dangerously rude). Grand Junction is a nice town, but in the recent past has had an economy a bit too cyclic because of an over dependence on extractive industries. It does get warm in the summer too. I think Montrose has a nicer climate and is closer to some truly outstanding geography for outdoor sports (all of them you listed). The southern San Luis Valley is a beautiful place close to climbing, skiing, mtn biking, and paddle sports. I don't really know that much about the school system, but there are some lovely little towns down there, and the Hispanic culture gives it a wonderful cultural flavor. Some of those southern counties, however, are among the poorest in the state, which negatively affects the school systems. There is a small college in Alamosa, but they have been suffering falling student registration for a number of years, which puts that school in potential trouble. One other thing, real estate all along the Front Range urban corridor is pretty outrageously priced, but maybe not by California standards.
I hope you find a plot of ground that really pleases you/
cheers
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hailman
Trad climber
Ventura, CA
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Aug 13, 2018 - 02:48pm PT
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These threads do end up being really fun to read for everyone!
I still stand by my Madison recommendation, especially for the good schools part. And (relative) affordability. You can get some real beauties in the $400k range -- a lot of the homes are a little older (built before assembly line housing in the 1950s) and have a lot of character.
I would be curious to know just how hooked you and/or the kids are on all the usual mountain activities you mentioned.
After rambling the High Sierra for a few years, I have a hard time imagining being back in the flat Midwest. Although might end up back there eventually to be closer to family.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Aug 13, 2018 - 02:52pm PT
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Somehow that wasn't how I imagined Hell would look.
At the least I expected more red paint.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Aug 13, 2018 - 03:44pm PT
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Madison is a cool town. Beautiful area, lakes galore and Univ of Wisc to boot. I spent a lot of time there in the mid 60s when I was at Marquette. Oh and the drinking age back then was 18. Berkeley of the Midwest.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Aug 13, 2018 - 03:46pm PT
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Hey Loyd Price- my brother lives in Roseburg, OR and I'm a bit jealous.
Beautiful wildflowers growing in his back yard, wild blackberries up the street, glorious Umpqua River so close by... my brother's family is not that outdoorsy and it's a bit like pulling teeth to get them to go on river adventures up there when I bring the inflatable kayaks. I'd be out there darn near every day in the summers if I lived there.
And whenever it gets too hot, it is certain to be cool (or not hotter than 70 deg F) one hour away at the coast. I haven't spend any winter time there, but I have been thinking that somewhere around there would be strategically good for being able to grow food and have water and a livable climate after the apocalypse.
BUT: Major downside- the place doesn't strike me as very supportive for ambitious college-bound kids. That's a place where going to college at all is considered ambitious. It's a decent candidate for post-kids living options, or a good place to raise a family if you can provide enough family vision and focus to supplement what the community/peer expectations are.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 13, 2018 - 03:56pm PT
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I-b-gobee, was in Hell last month. We should all be so lucky to live there, although it is kinda
near Trondheim airport. Course it prolly only has 15 flights per day, if that.
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jbaker
Trad climber
Redwood City, CA
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Aug 13, 2018 - 04:04pm PT
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Given the kids' ages and the focus on good schools, you may also want to think about what Universities you'd want to have an in-state tuition option for in a few years.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Aug 13, 2018 - 04:25pm PT
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^^^ +1 for excellent point re: in-state tuition.
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GuapoVino
climber
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Aug 13, 2018 - 05:00pm PT
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What do people think about the Grand Junction, CO region? I've stopped in Grand Junction twice now, and spent a few days each time, and liked the town.
I've spent a few days there and thought it was a cool place. Mountain biking areas, a little paddling, a big para community, skiing and mountains not too far away, Moab nearby. The down town area is nice, lots of shops, a few brew pubs.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Aug 13, 2018 - 05:20pm PT
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A friend of mine moved to Crested Butte, then later to Montrose. Not super close to Telluride but not bad.
Last summer I went to Silverton, CO. I'd really like to check out the skiing there. That's my type of place. Tons of snow. Steep terrain. Very few people.
I really appreciate the balance of where I live now in that I'm 5 minutes to a supermarket, 10 minutes to Target, etc. 30 minutes to a city, 35 minutes to international airport, but our property is rural and everything East of me is also rural. My folks have 100 acres in upstate NY and it's 25 minutes to a super market, 30 minutes to Target. Especially with kids you realize how inconvenient it is when you need something from the super market or you want to go to a restaurant and it takes an hour to get there and back.
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Lassitude 33
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Aug 13, 2018 - 05:28pm PT
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We visited Bozeman a couple years back and kinda liked it. Real estate is not super cheap, but then again, nowhere near So. Cal prices.
Looks like good schools, and being from a state like Montana will give your kids a much better chance at the currently very competitive College admission process, than if they are from Cal., Co or NY. Also, many schools are more willing to offer scholarships if you are from an under-represented state.
In state tuition is a big consideration, but if that were your main concern, just stay in California or move to NY or wherever, that have top flight and expensive schools. But, if you are unfortunate, like my wife and I, your child will only be interested in applying to private universities, and being "in-state" isn't really a factor.
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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Aug 13, 2018 - 06:06pm PT
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I was born in Madison, both sides of my family from there. Gotta be in the water in the summer, lots of skeeters near sundown. Pretty miserable in the winter but fall and spring are wonderful, as are the people year round. With both university and state capitol, it's the midwest version of Austin. (Devils lake will hone your technique on slippery quartzite)
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Aug 13, 2018 - 06:27pm PT
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After Six hardmen routinely get spit off Devils Lake 5.8
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