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

You know who make me vomit? People who don't have tattoos and piercings. Oh sure I play it off like I'm ok but inside I'm hurling.

Those are the people who make me vomit.

Anna, a nose ring from the mid '80s is well before they went mainstream so I applaud your younger rebel self. I was sporting a mullet and listening to Night Ranger then… boy do I wish I could go back in time and do that over.

Oh I know what you mean Ian! It makes it difficult to leave the house sometimes, it's one of the reason I go out to the woods with the hope I won't see any of them ;)

"I have had my nose ring for well over 30 years and I seem to be doing fine,"

The queen of links has a nose ring. There's a poetic symmetry to that…..

I still think John should check out Boise.

From http://www.boise.org/visitors/OutdoorsRec.aspx:

Picture this. You step outside your hotel room in the center of town and find a 25-mile long riverside Greenbelt path, a Ridge to Rivers trailhead leading into wild and scenic foothills, or one of the expansive, interconnected parks lining the city. And you can be enjoying any one of them in under five minutes. Really.

Boise is no ordinary place. Here, outdoor pursuits exist in perfect sync with city life. In just minutes you can escape to float a river, ski, boat, hike, bike and more. Boise is quickly becoming a hub for sports fans, too. Home to the famous blue turf of the Boise State Broncos, we also have minor league baseball, ice hockey and basketball teams. So come watch a game, even a rodeo, or play on one of the many golf courses and other sporting grounds available in the city.

In Boise, boredom is not an option.

I had a small nose stud in my left nostril for a few years. Gave it up when I had a baby and she would always try and grab it with her little fingers. Missed it for a while. Fine without it now.

Maybe that's when my manners and morals left me ;)

"Maybe that's when my manners and morals left me ;)"

Nah, I like to think that happened when you met me. I have that effect on people….

"You know who make me vomit? People who don't have tattoos and piercings. Oh sure I play it off like I'm ok but inside I'm hurling."

Bring your own barf bag next time you see me, just let it out.

I stick out no because I don't have either. Just about everyone in Humboldt seems to have one or both.

If I was looking to move out of state I think it would be Oregon for me. I've lived in NJ, FL, CO, WA, and CA. OR has that weird no self service gas thing though.

My wife is a product of the 50's. Morals and manners both. No tats, ears pierced. Hates commies.

I'm scared of needles unless attached to a sewing machine.

Okay, after some research, Boise does seem pretty cool and is much larger than what I expected. The median home price is reasonable too. Sawtooth National Forest looks like it would have some fantastic hiking in the summer, but what about the rest of the year? Being a day's drive from the Tetons, Glacier National Park, and multiple areas in Washington and Oregon would also be great.

I have no nose ring, no tattoos, and I haven't met Doug, so I'm guessing my purity must still be intact.

"Probably don't have morals either – the nose rings get in the way…."

OTOH, one might conclude that they are demonstrating a laudably UL understanding of multiple use gear.

"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)."

Welcome to Truman's World, Monte. Speaking as one who grew up in the Barry Lyndon sepia tinged 40's and 50's, you'd have loved it back then, when blacks knew their place, sex was had in the back seats of cars with the ensuing abortions done by mob mediated quacks, the only drugs were alcohol and nicotine, a nasty little war called Korea, people showed up in church on Sundays and returned to their hypocritical lives on Monday, and, oh, I could go on, but I think you get the gist of what I'm saying by now, so I'll let It go at that. People are people, and things don't change all that much. As a very wise old Arab professor once told me, nothing is new under the sun. ;0))

don't feed the troll.

"don't feed the troll."

Show a little charity, Dave. It's New Year's Eve after all. Or, look at it another way: I'm setting him up to lose his cookies when he sees Annapurna's nose ring.

If you want to move to the great white north while giving a shout out to piercings, Prince Albert Saskatchewa definitely has a hockey team.

Re trends of the 60's "…gross materialism,…"

I thought one of the trends of the 60's was one of moving away from over attachment to materialism? Not that it survived very long, except in some long lived communes/intentional communities.

If you ask me, we could use a little more of the 60's in that sense now.

Consider Reno, NV… not California and great access to the entire Sierra driving down scenic Hwy 395… the canyons of SE Utah are about an 8 or 9 hour drive to the east… there are lots of great mountain ranges in Nevada, including Wheeler Peak… and the Sawtooths of Idaho are maybe and 8 hour drive as well as the Wind Rivers.
In addition Mt Shasta is withing driving range.

billy

" OR has that weird no self service gas thing though."

That idea has always bugged me Ken. Pumping your own gas has always been one of man's inalienable rights. Fortunately, every time I've been to Oregon, it's been on a motorcycle, and motorcyclists are exempt from that silly law…or if not truly exempt, it is not enforced for us.

Speaking of motorcycles, if I ever do move to OR or WA, not being able to lane-split is going to be one of the harder things to get used to. Any of my fellow M/C riders on this thread will know what I mean; once you get used to lane-splitting it is incredibly frustrating to sit in traffic in a state that doesn't allow it (which means 49 of them).

You can add Death Valley NP to places within driving distance of Reno…

Billy

Lane splitting should be outlawed in California too ; ).

My adulthood so far has been split between NYC, where I didn't have a car, and Oregon where I can't pump my own gas.

Half the time I'm out-of-state, attempting to pump my own gas I have some mishap. It's embarrassing. I'm sure station attendants in WA see my plates and think: oh yeah, another one…

I've lived in a number of places on your list, and it really depends. Do you have a profession that will allow you to move to a small or mid size town? Or do you need a lot of the amenities available in a larger city with proximity to wilderness?

I lived in Fort Collins (about one-ish hour north of Denver) for 5 years and loved it, but you couldn't pay me enough to live in Denver. The traffic and the sprawl made it pretty low on my list. Fort Collins however, I loved and would go back to in a heart beat if the right opportunity ever presented itself. Good sized city, fairly healthy economy, still affordable (although it is slowly becoming more Boulder-esque), delicious beer and restaurants, and a good jumping off point for lots of wilderness adventures throughout Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

I've lived in both SLC and various spots in Oregon (Portland, Bend). I think they would both fit the bill. The Mormon vibe isn't all that strong in SLC, but outside the city in can be a bit stifling. I really liked Bend (reminded me of Fort Collins). Eugene or Corvallis might also be worth looking into, as they are only 2ish hours from Bend. Visiting Oregon might be a good idea – some people enjoy living West of the cascades (gray winters) and visiting the drier eastern part of the state and vice versa. It is also a great jumping off point for trips into National Parks in Washington state, and if you've got the road trip itch, Idaho, Montana, and Canada.

I moved to Alaska expecting the outdoor experiences to be amazing, and they pretty much have been. But I also found that it has a lot of undesirable characteristics (for me) that no amount of wilderness has been able to trump, so we're heading to Oregon soon. Best of luck on your decision. So many great places to live and visit – don't limit yourself to just one!

Utah is full, all the other places on your list sound great.

"Highest European American birth rates in the US"

Maybe there is some intolerance here, but it doesn't seem to be of the religious type.

Hey guys, could you weigh in with comments about the severity of the smog inversions? I've spent some time reviewing the air quality reports and read much commotion about these inversions. I can't get a handle if its a real problem to be considered, or if its just alarmist people. I've got a couple small kids, 3.5, and 5.5, and considering a move out west. The above comments have been very helpful! Thanks so much!

The smog is a good question. A friend of my family lived in SLC for a few years then moved to Colorado Springs to get away from the smog. Apparently it aggravated some type of lung condition.