Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
O.D.
Trad climber
LA LA Land
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 5, 2011 - 03:56pm PT
|
The discussion in another thread
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1628095/Anyone-in-the-structural-civil-engineering-world-OT
prompted me to ask myself this question: Do you live where you WANT to live?
I live in L.A. because I have a great job with a great company, which has provided the means to give our kids a great life (and pay for a helluva lot of college tuition). I can hardly call L.A. a "climbers' Mecca" (no offense to our beloved Stoney Point). With respect to classiness and culture, I feel like a barbarian when I return to L.A. and its grittiness after visiting cities like San Francisco or San Diego. If I could live anywhere I wished...I'd choose...a small town on New Zealand's South Island.
What about you, fellow SuperTopians? Do you live where you WANT to live? For those of you fortunate enough to answer Yes, then why? (and where, if you want to divulge). And for those who answer No: where would rather live, and why?
|
|
Spider Savage
Mountain climber
SoCal
|
|
I grew up in a small town in Idaho... so I will keep LA.
Los Angeles has the best food choices in the world, lots to do and quick access to good mountains.
Plus very few mosquitos.
|
|
donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
|
|
Let's see......Ouray, Co. and Lago General Carrera, Patagonian, Chile- I'm okay with that.
|
|
Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
|
|
sometimes, not right at this moment. Hit it about 50% this year....
|
|
Moof
Big Wall climber
Orygun
|
|
Nope. The reality is that decent paying jobs in this increasingly specialized world force you to be a nomad. You pack up and follow the work to whichever corporation is currently not imploding. Currently I am in Portland Oregon, which was the least bad option. Other options for my line of work were Boston, Texas, Arizona, or LA. I like Portland, it feels like home, but I really miss easy access to Tahoe, and reasonable access to Jtree.
I frequently ponder what options I have to be in a less specialized industry, but those options seem worse than just dealing with the nomad lifestyle.
|
|
bergbryce
Mountain climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
|
|
I'm pretty damn' close.
Great access to excellent craggin' during the summer months, excellent alpine climbing access, if I bouldered that would be great too.... Yosemite, the Eastern Sierra, Red Rocks and many other world class destinations within reasonable driving distance and LOTS of powder in the winter out my back door.
Currently living with the love of my life and as a matter of fact, we looked at a few houses this morning!! So I guess I do like it here.
The only thing I wish it had was more ice climbing, a book store and some better restaurants. But we can bust down to the Bay pretty quickly for most of that stuff. Besides those few minor things, it's damn' near paradise for me.
|
|
apogee
climber
|
|
Yes, I definitely do.
I was just chatting with a friend the other night, and remarked how much I like living in a small town. Sure, there's some restrictions, but I love the fact the compact nature of where everything is located. In particular, I like the fact that it's hard to be an as#@&%e in a small town, if you intend to stick around for any length of time, anyway. Driving aggressively, raging on people, or even just plain living in an insulated bubble...you can do those things in large cities pretty easily. In a small town, you become familiar with just about everyone (at least by their face, anyway), which tends to translate into better accountability for one's actions.
|
|
John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
|
|
I used to live at Mt Cook and I can tell you that the winters are pretty quiet. Right now I live in Littleton, which is on the south west side of Denver. It has great access to Mountain biking and climbing and yet still lets me have a good job in technology that is a 15 minute commute.
By the way we just got back from spending two weeks on the east side and Tuolumne and I would like to move there but finding an interesting job would be tough.
|
|
coastal_climber
Trad climber
British Columbia
|
|
Been living in Squamish the last couple years. I like it, but I always have to either go away for a bit to work, or commute to Vancouver. Both suck. The town council doesn't let any industry in so there's barely any livable paying jobs. They wanna make it into a tourist town, but it won't happen enough to sustain itself through tourism like whistler does.
|
|
Gary
climber
Desolation Row, Calif.
|
|
What Spider said. He could have added "the best climate in the world." And he forgot the beaches. Not to mention the Getty and the Norton Simon. And the LA Phil and more live music, of any kind, than you can shake a stick at.
Unfortunately, for climbing all we have close by is Tahquitz and Joshua Tree. Darn.
|
|
tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
|
|
Yes, we live just outside of Anchorage Alaska. My wife grew up in LA, I grew up in the Bay Area, we moved up here 14 years ago.
I can't imagine a better place to raise kids. They get all the big city cultural and education opportunities, without the same level of competition of a big, big city, and all the outdoor opportunities that are a 30-60 drive away, or just out the front door. How many places can you cross country ski on your high school x-country team, trails at your high school, and drive 30 minutes to perform in a concert hall in a youth symphony?
A 60 minute drive will get you rock climbing, ice climbing, x-country skiing, alping skiing, back country skiing, wind surfing, kite boarding, canoing, kayaking, rafting, mountain biking and I'm sure a few actvities I've forgotten. LA has us beat on surfing and laying out on the beach.
Salaries are some of the highest in the nation, no state income tax, no sales tax, housing costs aren't too bad all things considered.
|
|
KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
|
|
After my majorly self indulgent post - I would say so. Although it was a real struggle with the idea of committing career suicide to make the move.
Let's face it - it doesn't look like I'll be designing a high rise anytime soon.
On the other side of the ledger: 2 mules on the property, with Inyo NF across the street; miles of single track likewise - I can ride to the 'Milks. 10 minutes to The Gorge. Laps off the Top on lunch hours, alternating w/ 15km @ Tamarack. About 2 hours to Kings Cyn NP via Bishop Pass...when I used to actually hike trails in canyons which had names.
About an hour to the start of Humphreys East Arete, out the door.
But! And here's a question for enquiring minds. It's gawdawful expensive to live here. A loaf of bread - 5 bucks! In fact, everything starts @ $5! What do you metros pay for your weekly groceries? We are getting so ripped that just today my wife and I discussed earnestly about driving up to like Carson, to buy a month's vittles.
|
|
Gary
climber
Desolation Row, Calif.
|
|
Get a big old chest freezer, that way you can make the trip to Reno count.
|
|
Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
|
|
No complaints from me. In fact I guess we must really love Seattle, cuz we just bought a house here...
The only other place Ive thought of as really really good was Golden. (The real one, in BC, not the fake one in CO). Surrounded by the most amazing skiing and climbing imaginable, and a great town to live in.
I also spent a lot of years in Vancouver (BC), and while it's okay, I vastly prefer Seattle.
|
|
JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
|
|
Yes. I grew up here, so I knew about the lifestyle in the San Joaquin Valley, and I also knew how to thrive away from the larger metropolitan areas. I also spent four years in Berkeley,and nine in the LA area so I know first-hand about living and working in those areas. Both LA and the Bay Area have an abundance of first-rate, if deluded, minds, and I can't say the same for Fresno/Clovis. Then again, the internet brings interaction with others much closer, and alleviates, to some extent, the need to live amongst them.
While I enjoyed my nine years in the Southland, I think one may enjoy most of what LA has to offer by visiting. I can't quite say the same about the Bay Area, though, because of its outstanding climate and general lack of smog. If the mountains were closer, I'd probably prefer living there still, but the mountains aren't closer, and the congestion of getting over Altamont Pass, for example, is much worse than the late 1960's and early 1970's when I last lived there.
From Fresno, I can be climbing on a 600 foot granite cliff at Tollhouse in much less time than it took me to go from Redondo Beach or Pasadena to Stoney Point. It takes me less time to get to Courtright or the Valley from my house than it took me to get to Tahquitz/Suicide when I lived in LA County. Mind you, JT is very good and great fun, and I still have very fond memories of Indian Rock and East Bay bouldering, but the proximity to the mountains -- coupled with the employment opportunities and, or course, the location of my family -- make it an easy choice. I only wish the East Side were a bit closer. Weekend mountaineering trips are as much of a chore as they were from Berkeley and, seemingly, more than they were from Pasadena.
John
The advantages of living in a Central Valley town
|
|
Gary
climber
Desolation Row, Calif.
|
|
What makes a small town livable is the presence of a good university. So Fresno is a possibility. McFarland, not so much!
|
|
Bowser
Trad climber
Red River NM
|
|
Pretty damn close! Just moved up near Durango Mountain Resort. This was taken this morning.
|
|
August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
|
|
I live near Sacramento and like where I am at. Yosemite is 3.5 hours, Tahoe and SF bay are each 1.5 hours. I like the particular neighborhood I live in and I like the 9 months of sunshine and the summer heat doesn't bother me.
I like the Norcal culture. Traffic can be a drag, but having a very flexible schedule means I can usually avoid the worst.
Could I imagine someplace more perfect, sure. But's that true of most things (at least if you have much of an imagination...)
|
|
KabalaArch
Trad climber
Starlite, California
|
|
Thanks guys.
You know, a recent letter to the Editor of our local suggested that Vons needs competition.
But, obviously, the comp will charge the same as the Vons. I think that's called "business."
Thing of it is, Bishop is not at the end of some cul de sac - it's a through route north.
To make any savings from a road trip means renting a semi!
Of course, I could always move back to Berkeley, and shop at the Co-op, I suppose...
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!