Living in America... or anywhere else for that matter.

[devlin]

OK, way OT for this board. My wife and I are entertaining living and working abroad with our four kids for a few years. I work as a designer in the power industry and my wife is an executive PA at the moment. Kids all under 10. Sooo, my question is where is a good place to live, work, ride in the U.S.? I found a job in Denver and really like the idea of living at the foot of the mountains there. What is Denver like? Are there better places? Obviously job opportunities for me are a priority and will dictate to some level. I know it's a big broad general question with answers that will be swayed by personal preferences and bias. This will do for now. I am sure I will have other questions. Europe is also on the radar but language will be an issue there.

[roseyscot]

while denver is close to the mountains, it is not in the mountains. it's a decent length drive to ski, hike, or ride in the mountains. not horrible, but don't mislead yourself into thinking you'll climb 4000 ft passes out your back door.

northern california is nice, though jobs may be harder to come by. i'm a huge fan of montana, but jobs are going to be even harder to come by there (but if you find some, let me know!).

if you're not opposed to the strong presence of religion, salt lake city has a lot to offer and is much more in the mountains than denver. some find the large mormon population to be a turn off though.

[dhoff]

If you can manage Boulder, that is a great small city. I like it here in Woodstock, NY and we have no shortage of steep stuff, if riding toward the sky is your game, Burlington Vt. id a great place to live. I like the area around Basel Switzerland, with quick access to France and Germany, and there is some beautiful country around London, Its expensive there, more so than NYC. I have been thinking that I want to spend some more time in Greece, but outside the cities Language is a huge barrier there. I am planning a trip to Turkey and have enough business over there I could consider settling in, but I am not quite ready. Lots of people speak english there and those who dont welcome you anyway. Plenty of english education available in Turkey as well. It seems the most hospitable country I know.

[devlin]

Boulder I think would be my first choice. Without really knowing what it's like. The place has always sounded like a cool place to live and I risk being disappointed by having possibly to high an expectation. We are not religous so would probably find SLC a little bit too much, having said that I have read and heard some great things about the lifestyle in SLC. Denver not being quite in the mountains is probably a good thing in some respects, how far is the drive to the ski fields and the mtb riding in the mountains? I also like the beach so maybe somewhere closer to the west coast might be better. Lots of research to do. Personally I am jump in both feet kind of person but I have a wife and the four kids to consider as well. They are all bike nuts so where ever we end up will have to be a great place for riding as well.

Truthlly I'd love to ditch the heavy industrial design work and apprentice for a frame builder. Zancis super busy these days, nudge nudge wink wink. Wouldn't we all who aren't builders already. I will certainly take a couple of frame building courses if we do end up in the U.S. just so I get a couple fo different ways of doing it.

South east France is appealing as well. Close to some rock climbing meccas for me that I would love to visit as well as summiting numerous col's on the bike.

Lot's of research to be done, especially green card and visa side of things.

[sailor]

If you can handle grey and rainy for 8 months a year, Seattle has closer mountains than Denver, cool riding both on and off road, great skiing especially in the backcountry, world class mountaineering, good if cold sailing and a solid technical job market. It is cheaper than a place like NYC but more then Denver and is absolutely beautiful when the sun comes out.

[devlin]

Seattle did pique my interest a little. My old man who was a Hercules Flight Engineer in the RAAF spent sometime there and says it's not to bad, but then he isn't looking at it from a riders perspective. I love colder weather rather than hot, but having said that I live in South East Queensland and the winters here are mild compared to the USA. Not sure about the rain that Seattle is supposed to get each year. Cold is great, rain is fun but cold rain is another level of suffering that I am not sure I would appreciate.
What about racing in the States? Road, XC and I would like to do CX. I'll be 40 next month and here I am looking at geeting into equivalent to your Cat 1 Masters on the road by the end of the year (returning from fused ankle op.), we call it Masters A. Actually the level is probaby lower than your Cat 1 but it's the top level Masters racing here. Same for mtb XC and enduro racing.

Any comments welcome.......

[TMB]

Take a look at Calgary, ALberta. Southern Alberta, in the foothills of the eastern slope of the Rockies. An hours drive puts you in Banff, and the high mountains.

Great city.

Western Canada has been largely unaffected by the economic downturn being felt most other places.

[alexstar]

San Francisco is excellent, although a little pricey depending on what you're looking for. Great riding.

[cody.wms]

Lot's of research to be done, especially green card and visa side of things.

Before you get too deep in this - check on Visa stuff first. I don't know very much, but I think it is very expensive to sponsor an employee's work visa in the US. EDIT: 2-4K depending on company size and timeline.

[devlin]

Cheers. My first port of call was the US Embassy here in Australia. Not rushing out to do it straight away. Next couple of weeks will do.