Dallas is getting old. Contemplating a move.

[afrizzledfry]

So, I'm 30 and single. Born in England, but I've called Texas home since 1988 when my dad moved our family here for work. However, the vanity and congestion are beginning to wear me down. I consider myself an avid cyclist (4k+ miles this year), and would love to live somewhere with easy access to safe roads for great riding. I'm a relatively fast club rider who races cross for fun. Skiing in the winter would be great- I've never had easy access to it and would welcome that change.

So, what's holding me back?

-The local economy is fantastic and I am enjoying the new job I started this January. I'm an orthopedic physician assistant working in total joint replacement 2 1/2 years out of school. Only debt is a loan on my Outback I bought 3 weeks ago (other car died). No state income tax is also nice.

-My family. My parents and sister are just up the road 25 miles away. I have enjoyed riding on Saturday and heading to my parent's house for grilling and a dip in their pool. I would miss that proximity. Family is important to me.

-Fear. Maybe. I've done it before (USMC Reserve '01-'07. Traveled around a bit for training x1 year), but this is different.

-Lack of a clear destination. Where the hell do I go? Washington? Nor Cal? Utah? I have a buddy in Eugene, and don't think I could do the constant overcast/rain 9 months out of the year. In fact, he can't. He's interviewing for a job in Colorado right now. Could maybe handle WA since lots of snow? I have been to San Jose (2007) and liked it quite a bit- we drove through the mountains to surf in Santa Cruz. Gorgeous. My family medicine preceptor set me up on a date with his cousin (2010), who still lives there. We still chat. Maybe I'll just move there and marry her. She's pretty damn cool. I love Austin, but it's even hotter there (though not nearly as humid). This time of year, I'm back in the apartment and hiding from the heat by noon. Sick of it. It was 108 degrees when I rode on Wednesday at 2pm.

Anyway, I thought the collective wisdom of VS might provide some meaningful insight. Help me Obiwan Kenobi, you're my only hope. And, if this was all terribly boring and too self involved, I apologize.

Thomas

[joosttx]

I grew up mostly in Dallas. If you are thinking about California I would think again. The cost of living here in mind boggling compared to Dallas- at least here in the Bay Area. I would recommend Portland, better yet Vancouver Washingtion.

[robin3mj]

I'll throw one thing out there. Do not underestimate how big a change it'd be to move away from family.
I grew up in NJ and lived in the DC area for 10 years, then moved to Chicago more recently. The difference between being able to sneak home in 4 hours on a weekend to see my folks, attend a cousin's bachelor party, etc, and having to buy a flight, or spend 12 hours in the car, is a massive negative in my book.

That said, once you establish and understand that that reality will change, I would reckon (based solely on about 10 business trips to Dallas and its burbs) that you will see a nice upgrade in your cycling almost anywhere else.

[mjbabcock]

Bellingham, WA.
I grew up in Houston and think doing so made me realize how important location is in quality of life. Money is secondary in my book.

[afrizzledfry]

Bellingham, WA.
I grew up in Houston and think doing so made me realize how important location is in quality of life. Money is secondary in my book.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and the pics you've posted in the last week are amazing. My buddy lives about 30 miles north of Seattle. I've visited him twice to ski. It is lovely up there. WA is def on the list. Are you able to get out on the bike with any sort of regularity in the winter?

[TMB]

Bellingham, WA.
I grew up in Houston and think doing so made me realize how important location is in quality of life. Money is secondary in my book.

Bellingham is a great location. I spent many years on the north side of the 49th right near Bellingham and spent my teenage and college years riding the roads that mjbabcock now posts in his ride reports.

Bellingham has the advantage of not being either Seattle or Vancouver, BC so less busy. quieter, etc.

Nice spot.

[afrizzledfry]

I'll throw one thing out there. Do not underestimate how big a change it'd be to move away from family.
I grew up in NJ and lived in the DC area for 10 years, then moved to Chicago more recently. The difference between being able to sneak home in 4 hours on a weekend to see my folks, attend a cousin's bachelor party, etc, and having to buy a flight, or spend 12 hours in the car, is a massive negative in my book.

That said, once you establish and understand that that reality will change, I would reckon (based solely on about 10 business trips to Dallas and its burbs) that you will see a nice upgrade in your cycling almost anywhere else.

Very good response. Thank you. To be blunt, other than my family (literally 3 people), I don't really have ties to DFW. And I know they would love to visit if I ended up in any of the places I listed- we've had the conversation already. They just want me to be happy and understand my desire to leave. I think it is something I would adjust to with time. But it is certainly a top consideration.

[afrizzledfry]

Bellingham is a great location. I spent many years on the north side of the 49th right near Bellingham and spent my teenage and college years riding the roads that mjbabcock now posts in his ride reports.

Bellingham has the advantage of not being either Seattle or Vancouver, BC so less busy. quieter, etc.

Nice spot.

Thanks. Just curious...nice spot for a 30 year old single male, or more of a suburb/family spot?

[robin3mj]

Thanks. Just curious...nice spot for a 30 year old single male, or more of a suburb/family spot?

I'll chime in again, because your comment on your buddy moving to Colorado reminded me of something...I have some buddies who did the dirtbag/rafting/skiing thing for a while after college, and know a couple other folks who rotated through Denver in corporate jobs. Some of these outdoorsy mountain towns...the dude to dudette ratio is tough, if that matters...
One buddy who moved to Denver- ex swimmer, keen MTB'er, good job, etc. Came back to visit and mentioned that everyone in his hood was super jacked, could kick your ass on a bike, then do the same on a climb, ski slope, ad nauseum. Better to bring a girl with you and fight to hang onto her than try and jump in the dating pool that's 2/3 dudes? I know he was prone to hyperbole, but maybe there's some truth in there. Maybe someone like xjoex etc. could chime in on that front.

[zachateseverything]

If you can deal with the horrible weather (it's pretty close to living in Belgium) for half the year and no sustained climbing, Cleveland/NE Ohio is not bad area at all for cycling. You have easy access to singletrack, a national park/lots of rural roads, velodrome, indoor mtb park, awesome CX scene, and can try your luck racing against former national champions on the road. The medical field is booming around here too.

There's always Asheville, NC too.

[bigbill]

I was going to mention Asheville, NC too. I also like the Greenville/Spartanburg area of SC. Great cycling and culture with good shops and cycling clubs. Velodrome up the highway at Rock Hill.

I just retired from the Navy last year after 27 years. I did three tours of duty in the PNW on the Kitsap Peninsula which is west of Seattle. About 7 months out of the year it's cycling heaven, the other five months are wet and more wet. It never gets bitter cold, it just stays in the 40's with a near constant overcast. I kind of liked it. You get a house with a big bay window and a woodstove and look out at the bad weather from your lounge chair. The skiing is good if you avoid Chrystal Mountain.

I also lived in Charleston, SC and did some great riding there but it's not cycling friendly. San Diego is the greatest place in the US to ride a bike IMO, but holy shit it's expensive. It's nice to visit. I hear great things about Bend, OR.

I'm in Paris, TX. I moved here from the PNW for a job. I didn't want to stay were I was in Poulsbo, WA since I'd have to work in a shipyard and still have crappy weather 5 months out of the year. Paris isn't bad, it's hot for a month or so and then it's good again. When the boy graduates from HS in five years and heads off to college, we'll reevaluate where to live. Maybe stay here another few years and then move into a 55+ community and tell people to get off my lawn.

[PJN]

The mountains in Colorado are already full of Texans- so you should fit right in.

Note to self: don't move to the mountains in Colorado.

[zetroc]

The SF bay area is great - I grew up here and love it - but it's incredibly expensive right now. There are some top notch roads and a lot of great shops, and the bike eye candy is second to none, but I was just at an open house for a 3 bedroom 2 bath house that needed some work. The asking price was 800k and there were people trying to hand offers to the realtor on the spot. It's cutthroat.

Nice to visit for sure, though.

[Jawn P]

If you can deal with the horrible weather (it's pretty close to living in Belgium) for half the year and no sustained climbing, Cleveland/NE Ohio is not bad area at all for cycling. You have easy access to singletrack, a national park/lots of rural roads, velodrome, indoor mtb park, awesome CX scene, and can try your luck racing against former national champions on the road. The medical field is booming around here too.

There's always Asheville, NC too.

I like you!

[afrizzledfry]

The mountains in Colorado are already full of Texans- so you should fit right in.

Note to self: don't move to the mountains in Colorado.

Aren't you just a ray of sunshine!

[bcm119]

If you don't think you could handle Eugene weather I'm not sure you'd be much happier anywhere in Washington west of the mountains. However if you could handle the gray winters the PNW is second to none in terms of cycling imho. Well, I like upstate NY and New England too, but only for a few months out of the year. The Eugene-Corvallis area in Oregon is a great place for cycling, I lived there for several years and still miss the quiet roads and deep forests. The SF Bay Area can be nice if you don't mind the hustle bustle and make enough money to live here, but it is far less relaxing than living somewhere smaller. There are awesome roads here too but you usually have to share them with a lot of other folks.

[metanoize]

I know, it was mentioned earlier: the Bay area is expensive. It's very expensive in SF, but is reasonable if you'd live in Oakland, or Berkley or many parts of Marin or the peninsula. Still very urban with tons of road/mtb riding everywhere for most of the year. A very good dating scene here too :)

[afrizzledfry]

If you don't think you could handle Eugene weather I'm not sure you'd be much happier anywhere in Washington west of the mountains. However if you could handle the gray winters the PNW is second to none in terms of cycling imho. Well, I like upstate NY and New England too, but only for a few months out of the year. The Eugene-Corvallis area in Oregon is a great place for cycling, I lived there for several years and still miss the quiet roads and deep forests. The SF Bay Area can be nice if you don't mind the hustle bustle and make enough money to live here, but it is far less relaxing than living somewhere smaller. There are awesome roads here too but you usually have to share them with a lot of other folks.

You know, if the cyclocross scene is good, and I'm able to ski...the gray wouldn't bother me so much. The rain is what I'm worried about. I guess at the end of the day I'd just have a cross bike for rain riding. Or I'd ride the trainer.

Lots of folks steering me away from Nor Cal secondary to cost of living. I think I seriously underestimated the cost. Looked around on zillow. Kind of terrifying.

[Loki]

Grant's Pass - Roseburg Oregon, much dryer and less populated than up north. Boise Idaho, strong MTB and road populations and sking 17 miles up the mountain.

[Eric Estlund]

When you live here, all your bikes are rain bikes, and you feel ok with it.

Are you looking to continue your job? It might be a good idea to source some leads and contacts in cities that meet your checklist, and start to prioritize based on your particular balance.