Thinking of Places to Move to – Colorado, Utah, Oregon,…?

"Mags: those are some expensive homes! I guess you are paying for the location though"

Location..and more and more people moving here so demand is going up. Rental rates for the Denver metro went up by 10% for example.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_27228290/denver-metro-had-second-highest-rent-increase-nationwide

Another person, esp if they wish to have a career AND access to the outdoors, it could work out well.

Then again, SLC area may work too with less drawbacks IMO. I do not know about being LDS to advance one way or the other, however (Really, I don't!).

I'm lucky enough to have a friend who lives at the base of Snow Bird who offers up a spare bedroom or couch to me whenever I can make it that way. Great skiing but from what I could see of the town, it looks like a slice of strip mall hell. Seems like other locations on your list might have better bang for the buck.

My previously mentioned friend is a left leaning airborne ranger athiest cop and he gets on ok there with the LDS for the most part. We have a high LDS population where I live. Yes some of them are politically hostile to non believers but some of them are also my dear friends. Good and bad apples in every religion has been my experience.

SLC does have a nice Cabelas and hockey though but it's on my "nice place to visit list."

I'm not a Mormon, but visiting Utah is like a breath of fresh air. It's like 1950's America.

When I go into a restaurant or store I see nice pretty girls who aren't all covered in tattoos and nose rings. They actually have morals. They have manners too.

No gambling of any sort in Utah and you have to buy liquor at state run liquor stores. Family is the most important thing. Highest European American birth rates in the US.

Yes the Mormon beliefs might seem a little cultish, but you can say that about any organized religion. The Mormons are thrifty (that's why Campsaver and Backcountry consistently offer the best gear prices) and I'm sure what Greg says about the clannishness is somewhat true, but you wouldn't want to overstate it.

SLC is very clean and the median wage is about $10,000 higher than the national average. And the natural surroundings are as good as it gets. Only 2.9 million people in Utah. If my job wasn't so slow in cold weather I'd move there in a minute.

The SLC valley experiences "valley inversion" meaning cold air masses tend to settle there on a meso scale in winter. However, if you compare daily highs and lows it only varies (Jan average) by 10 degrees. Denver on the other hand has about a 30 degree night/day variation.

Again, thanks BPL for the insight and posts. It's great to see the variety of opinions.

Only 2.9 million people in Utah? That is a remarkably low population given the size of the state.

I'll have to remember to update this thread in a couple years with wherever I end up.

"I peg the PNW hiking season as early April to late October. In the spring, I look towards coastal hikes in ONP, or lower elevation hikes on the east-side of the cascades. You can still hike in some higher elevations late into October, depending on the weather and how far East you go. There are also some good desert hikes, and hikes in the Blue Mountains of South Eastern WA that offer early/late season options. I downhill ski in the winter and have just started winter hiking/nordic skiing, so there is no real off season me. Add sea kayaking into the mix and there is no reason you can't be busy year round. During the summer season, from July-September, I think WA has some of the best hiking there is."

I would agree with just about everything Edward has written in his post. There is something for just about everybody inclined toward outdoor pursuits, including but not mentioned, fishing, clamming, mushrooming, hang gliding, and more. The one downside at this point in time is that a few hundred thousand other outdoor lovers have already figured this out, with many, many more on the way. Seattle is the fastest growing city in the US today, and it is not handling the process well at all.
I have lived here for 30 years, and am watching with a heavy heart as the hapless clowns of the King County and Seattle City governments drive a once beautiful city and surrounding area into the ditch with uncontrolled growth, neglect of infrastructure, sky high housing prices rapidly becoming beyond the reach of all but the well heeled, and gawdawful traffic congestion that will soon grind the city to a halt. So, be aware that the nearly unparalleled recreational opportunities up here come with a price tag, literally and figuratively. If you are among the well heeled and don't mind congestion and chaos, ignore my post. Otherwise, give your other alternatives some serious thought.

"except there are so many more hoardes of people in Seattle, that close by hiking places are busier"

Yes, unfortunately, and trashier as well, I'm sorry to say. You have to get back in a ways these days to escape the crowds and their slovenly ways. Even some of the gnarly classics are succumbing, Mailbox, Teneriffe, to name a couple. Help is on the way, though. The Suiattle River Road is finally reopening this spring, and there are some really awesome hikes it offers access to. The trails will be a mess for a while, but for the solitude seeker that is a price worth paying.

"It's like 1950's America. When I go into a restaurant or store I see nice pretty girls who aren't all covered in tattoos and nose rings. They actually have morals. They have manners too."

Because, you know, girls with tats and nose rings aren't nice and pretty. Probably don't have morals either – the nose rings get in the way….

I was thinking I like Utah because of the canyon country and easy access to wonderful mountains..not so much lack of tattoos.

1950s America also had polio scares, McCarthy hearings, segregation and a real threat of war with another superpower.

All in all, I'll take the tatoos and nose rings over the above. :)

"When I go into a restaurant or store I see nice pretty girls who aren't all covered in tattoos and nose rings. They actually have morals. They have manners too."

Hell… That ain't livin'. I owe thanks for some of the best days of my life to a inked up pierced veteran therapist lady. She may throw the occasional dog biscuit at me when I sass her but it's rarely boring. Eff that Stepford wives crap.

Bend Oregon is really nice. Mt Bachelor has some nice skiing. Not sure about the hockey.

I dig what you guys are saying, it's not good to categorize people. But then again someone should be able to like (or dislike) what they want. I don't think there's a political correctness police here at BPL (is this getting too chaffy?).

I wasn't even alive in the 50's, but when it comes to respect, manners, and morals.. yea, I'm convinced it was way better back then. Of course it was before all of the bad influences that came along in the 60's (drugs, gross materialism, sex dominating TV/movies/advertising, Vietnam, the welfare state, the never ending guilt trip over race).

"When I go into a restaurant or store I see nice pretty girls who aren't all covered in tattoos and nose rings"

I have a hard time with tatoos and especially nose rings

But the whole purpose is to freak out old people

Let's see, people my age wore long hair or whatever to freak out old people

I wonder what the nose ring wearing people will be freaked out by in 30 years…

"I don't think there's a political correctness police here at BPL"

What is the difference between political correctness and manners?

… length of hair, or skirt, or type jewlery is not what you expect, so it becomes political, and ok to dis?

Bend sounds great. I forgot all about it.

John, I'm not sure how much winter temps matter, but in order of coldest to warmest it would be

1) SLC
2) Denver
3) Seattle
4) Portland

BEND!!!!!

Ian B. beat me to it. It's about as far from a big city as you get but wow!…it sure is on the top of my list if I ever get out of California. I've spent a few days there a couple times over the last year or two. Gorgeous town, gorgeous scenery, with a limitless supply of outdoor activities and near 0% crime rate. You are litertally a stones throw from hiking, backpacking, boating, snowmobiling, x-country skiing, off-roading, etc. You just flip a coin (and drive either east or west), and in 10 minutes you can be in the high desert or the pine-covered mountains, depending on which way you turn. It is an outdoor lover's paradise.

As for crime, it's non-exisetent. I have several cop buddies who live there. One of my fellow deputies just transferred to Bend PD a couple months ago. Gangs? what is a gang? hahaha Yeah, if I didn't have so much seniority and a nice retirment plan I'm working on here, I'd have moved there already.

Of the big cities on the list, Seattle would likely be my choice. I've only ever been there on vacation, but I've done a fair amount of that. What an awesome place! For that matter I've liked almost all of Oregon and Washington that I've seen. I would happily move to either state. Besides, Seattle has a lot of "goth" girls…don't tell my wife, but I find that to be an attractive look. Yep, you heard it here first, a Mormon who likes the goth look. Haha ;-)

"I wasn't even alive in the 50's, but when it comes to respect, manners, and morals.. yea, I'm convinced it was way better back then. Of course it was before all of the bad influences that came along in the 60's (drugs, gross materialism, sex dominating TV/movies/advertising, Vietnam, the welfare state, the never ending guilt trip over race)."

A lot going on here.

Sorry Katharina, thought I was in Chaff there for a minute.

""I wasn't even alive in the 50's, but when it comes to respect, manners, and morals.. yea, I'm convinced it was way better back then. Of course it was before all of the bad influences that came along in the 60's (drugs, gross materialism, sex dominating TV/movies/advertising, Vietnam, the welfare state, the never ending guilt trip over race)."

A lot going on here."

We didn't start the fire. It was always burning, since the world's been turning.

;-)

PS- Kat, it sure is cold and WINDY here in Santa Cruz tonight! :D

"PS- Kat, it sure is cold and WINDY here in Santa Cruz tonight! :D"

Yes it was Doug!

Everything up the coast is so green right now, so vivid, really beautiful.

Q: How can you tell it is springtime in Utah?
A: All the license plates turn green!!!

(Colorado used to have all green plates with white lettering. The color scheme is now reversed as of ~10 yrs ago. Still close enough. Some CO plates still have this older motif. And this Thanksgiving in Utah? ALL the cars in the small campground were Colorado plates. The ranger wanted to know if we all came up together. :) )

My oldest daughter lives in Louisville in a big (4,800 sq. ft.) house that she and her husband are expanding to almost 6,000 sq. ft.!
they are both Yuppies, she an attorney and he a telecom prof and consultant do they can afford to support the economy.

And yeah, as-is, before renovations, it's worth $750,000. So what Mags sez about Lou'Ville's higher prices is very true. It was once a lower middle class coal miner's town but the miners' little shotgun shacks are almost all gone with Yuppies buying up two lots, tearing down the miners' houses and building "MacMansions" on them. "Progress"…

I'm just a country mouse living in a 'Vegas 'burb in a 1,500 sq. ft. house. But, hey, I'm closer to more National Parks, etc. than any other big city in the U.S.

I have had my nose ring for well over 30 years and I seem to be doing fine, by the way I live in Seattle and I agree with Tom on the situation in Seattle.

I'm not saying someone should not have nose ring, but it does make my stomach turn just a bit. Call it prejudice. After I've seen more of them I am accepting them a little more.

^^^ Thank Goodness I was so worried you might not like me or throw up if we ever met ;)

I'de try to like you but the vomit woulde be a distraction : )