[a.d.85]

I will be graduating from college in August and plan on moving somewhere in the mountain west. I am an avid skiier/mt biker/outdoor enthusiast and I was wanting everyone's opinion on the best towns/cities to live. My critieria for evaluation revolves around:
1. Access to Skiing/Biking/Outdoor Recreation
2. Good Music Scene/Nightlife
3. Job Market (i am graduating with a studio art degree and want to find a graphic design job)
4. And overall coolness factor
I have visited the SLC area many times for the snow and have heard good things about the city, however I am weary about the mormons and my debacherous ways. Does anybody have any experience living in SLC or suggestions for some cool places to move. Some other places I am considering are Boulder, Denver, Bend, Portland.

 

[narlus]

portland is great. bend is a bit too off the beaten path i'd say, esp for music. denver's a good bet. boulder would be kinda pricey, i am guessing.

 

[ito]

portland is great. bend is a bit too off the beaten path i'd say, esp for music. denver's a good bet. boulder would be kinda pricey, i am guessing.

Boulder isn't really big enough for a decent graphic design job. Same with Bend, though both would be awesome places to live.

Seattle and Portland have awesome job markets. I was applying for jobs on the West Coast last year and every resume I sent to Seattle or Portland got answered in less than 24 hours with enthusiastic responses and requests for interviews. I was looking at advertising and marketing positions, I imagine graphic design might be a bit more competition, but similar job opportunities.

SLC is a pretty sweet city from what I have seen. I only spent a few days there, but the night life seemed decent and the outdoor scene is pretty awesome. No idea about the job market. I am not sure about living with Mormons, lot of counter culture type folks at the bars and clubs I visited, so that might say something. All depends on your style.

The Ito

P.S. San Francisco shouldn't be ruled out. Decently close to Tahoe and tons of trails in the south and north bay. Music and art scene is pretty damn awesome and it is a kick ass city to live in. Expensive though.

 

[jimmydean]

You know my vote.

(see "location")

 

[Kntr]

Missoula Montana

 

[loco-gringo]

blue lives in SLC. That is reason enough to move to Burlington, VT.

 

[loco-gringo]

Missoula Montana

Missoula is like a bad ass little sized Austin. Awesome vibe, not so huge feel.

 

[blue]

Portland and SLC are very similar, with SLC having closer skiing and Portland having more pleasant weather/ocean close. Denver is more akin to Kansas City than a mountain town, Boulder is pricey. Your pick...

As long as you're not ex-Mormon and you're living in Salt Lake City itself (avoid the 'burbs and anywhere outside Salt Lake County), the Momos probably won't get under your skin. The economy here is red hot, you shouldn't have trouble finding work. If you like the outdoors, SLC is one of the very few large cities to be where stuff is readily accessible (and there's a sh!t ton of it).

 

[dfinn]

Portland and SLC are very similar

really? I've never been to portland but I've been to SLC a few times. From the way I've heard people talk about portland it usually sounds very different from SLC.

 

[Toshi]

really? I've never been to portland but I've been to SLC a few times. From the way I've heard people talk about portland it usually sounds very different from SLC.

i've been to both, and indeed lived and worked in portland for 7 months. i don't think they're all that similar: slc is spread out, the drivers are crazy, and i didn't get a community feel. portland has all manner of little dives, skaters, bikers, businessmen, a useful trolley system provided you live near its route as i did , and a feel much smaller than its size would imply.

each neighborhood had its own character. sure, that character may be bums-pissing-on-the-sidewalk, but there were some nice places for sure.

 

[Bicyclist]

Boise? Cheap, riding/outdoors, cheap. It was rated in the top ten outdoor-friendly cities by some magazine like Outdoor. Bogus Basin's skiing/snowboarding isn't bad and they've got DH stuff. There's rafting and other stuff up north.

 

[Toshi]

Boise? Cheap, riding/outdoors, cheap. It was rated in the top ten outdoor-friendly cities by some magazine like Outdoor. Bogus Basin's skiing/snowboarding isn't bad and they've got DH stuff. There's rafting and other stuff up north.

i would not live in boise. i spent 6 weeks out there and found the social scene limited, and the locals overwhelmingly white and conservative (outside the 5 block radius of downtown). on the other hand your points about bogus basin and outdoors activities are true... but not enough to sway me.

 

[blue]

I guess I should clarify...where I live right now (directly in Salt Lake) feels much more like Portland than the rest of SLC...We has a trolley! ish...

The city itself is fairly small, the metro is dominated by Mormon suburbs.

I'd love to move to Portland...gf wants to go to med school in SF...mooo...

 

[Bicyclist]

i would not live in boise. i spent 6 weeks out there and found the social scene limited, and the locals overwhelmingly white and conservative (outside the 5 block radius of downtown). on the other hand your points about bogus basin and outdoors activities are true... but not enough to sway me.

I've only been for a week or so at a time, so the downtown has had enough there to entertain me. Hearing another side of the story does make it seem way less appealing, especially after being stuck in the burbs for a while.

 

[blue]

Boise = Hell.

 

[Kntr]

Im telling ya Missoula. College town. Rated in the top 5 outdoor sports towns in Outdoor mag. Ski areas everywhere. Bar town due to the college. Job market is not that bad. Housing is a little pricey but you can find it if you look. Trails EVERYWHERE. Not a big city. Small enough that you see people you know when you are out and about. Friendly hippies everywhere due to the college. Not too hot in the summer and not to cold in the winter. Close enough to Big Sky Resort and Silver Mountain for lift access.

 

[mtbfeed]

First of all, don't worry about mormons, there is nothing wrong with them.... Why be worried about a religion? If you like mountains and the outdoor life, then SLC is the place to be. Besides there are some pretty rad mormons out there.... Oakley founder Jim Janard, Ogio Founder and Pro Snowboarder Jeremy Jones not to mention a bunch of others. SLC is filled with great people

 

[Biscuit]

...gf wants to go to med school in SF...mooo...

mooo? What does SF have to do with cows?
And, FWIW, the greater bay area has much better riding than I anticipated. You have to drive to most of it, but there is a huuuge variety. It's not the same as SLC or Portland, but I think it's better than your imagining.

Im telling ya Missoula. College town. Rated in the top 5 outdoor sports towns in Outdoor mag. Ski areas everywhere. Bar town due to the college. Job market is not that bad. Housing is a little pricey but you can find it if you look. Trails EVERYWHERE. Not a big city. Small enough that you see people you know when you are out and about. Friendly hippies everywhere due to the college. Not too hot in the summer and not to cold in the winter. Close enough to Big Sky Resort and Silver Mountain for lift access.

What are winters like in Missoula? Only time I've been to Montana was at Big Sky. Is there anywhere in Montana that has good winter riding?

 

[rustywoodstone]

Forget SLC unless you think it's Zion.
I don't like Moron's check out Denver or Boulder.

 

[narlus]

First of all, don't worry about mormons, there is nothing wrong with them.... Why be worried about a religion?

i take it you've not frequented the P&WN forum.

 

[jebfour]

Im telling ya Missoula. College town. Rated in the top 5 outdoor sports towns in Outdoor mag. Ski areas everywhere. Bar town due to the college. Job market is not that bad. Housing is a little pricey but you can find it if you look. Trails EVERYWHERE. Not a big city. Small enough that you see people you know when you are out and about. Friendly hippies everywhere due to the college. Not too hot in the summer and not to cold in the winter. Close enough to Big Sky Resort and Silver Mountain for lift access.

I always kinda wondered if Montana was a cool place (never really heard much about it)....

The wife and I were talking the other day about where we would like to move when we leave freakin' So Cal. We don't have many requirements other than a good outdoor "scene" and that it's not in California (due to the expense).

 

[blue]

Forget SLC unless you think it's Zion.
I don't like Moron's check out Denver or Boulder.

Denver sucks. Painfully. Boulder is full of faux-liberal assholes, much like Utah being full of Mormons. Except Mormons are less fake.

Have you ever lived here?

 

[geargrrl]

First of all, don't worry about mormons, there is nothing wrong with them.... Why be worried about a religion? If you like mountains and the outdoor life, then SLC is the place to be. Besides there are some pretty rad mormons out there.... Oakley founder Jim Janard, Ogio Founder and Pro Snowboarder Jeremy Jones not to mention a bunch of others. SLC is filled with great people

Aren't we talking about the state that made a 40 year old female virgin the (anti) porn czar?

oops, wrong forum.

 

[Toshi]

after spending two days in jackson, wyoming, i'm fairly in love. the place is beautiful, and the people are active.

 

[blue]

Jackson would be nice if I were loaded. 2-3 hours from SLC, beautiful mountains, awesome skiing and riding...just that $$$ factor

And the hicks. Lotsa hicks once you leave Jackson...

 

[SkaredShtles]

Denver sucks. Painfully. Boulder is full of faux-liberal assholes, much like Utah being full of Mormons. Except Mormons are less fake.

Have you ever lived here?

Have you ever lived in Denver or Boulder?

 

[SkaredShtles]

after spending two days in jackson, wyoming, i'm fairly in love. the place is beautiful, and the people are active.

Ahhhhhh......... Jackson.

 

[blue]

Have you ever lived in Denver or Boulder?

I spent a month at a relatives in Denver and a couple weeks in Boulder.

Boulder is a lot like SLC in its proximity to the mountains, but the people there are jackasses.

Denver is a nasty midwest city clone, like Kansas City and Oklahoma City...Mmmm...Pizza dipping sauce. lthumbsdown:

 

[loco-gringo]

I spent a month at a relatives in Denver and a couple weeks in Boulder.

Boulder is a lot like SLC in its proximity to the mountains, but the people there are jackasses.

Denver is a nasty midwest city clone, like Kansas City and Oklahoma City...Mmmm...Pizza dipping sauce. lthumbsdown:

Bold statement from you there, Chief.

 

[blue]

Bold statement from you there, Chief.

King of zingers, are we?

 

[SkaredShtles]

I spent a month at a relatives in Denver and a couple weeks in Boulder.

So the answer is no, then?

 

[greenchris]

ive never spent much time in denver, really i just drove through it, but aren't the mountains atleast 45 mins away w/out traffic??? What about with traffic?? A lot of assholes from illinois move to denver and say they live in the mountains.. they are all full of it.

 

[SkaredShtles]

ive never spent much time in denver, really i just drove through it, but aren't the mountains atleast 45 mins away w/out traffic??? What about with traffic?? A lot of assholes from illinois move to denver and say they live in the mountains.. they are all full of it.

The might live in the Foothills... which most of the rest of the country would consider "mountains"

The "real" mountains are about 30 minutes from the closest spot in the Denver area. They can easily be and hour + from the further reaches of the eastern suburbs.

Edit: And you're right - there are alot of *ssholes from the Chicago area around here.

 

[blue]

So the answer is no, then?

I'd call a month long enough to judge a place well.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I'd call a month long enough to judge a place well.

I'd say you're full of $hit.

 

[blue]

I'd say you're full of $hit.

After living in Denver for a month, I'd say so. I could take a bite out of the air when I was there - in June.

 

[SkaredShtles]

After living in Denver for a month, I'd say so. I could take a bite out of the air when I was there - in June.

Interesting........ this website says SLC is significantly worse than Denver WRT to air quality: http://lungaction.org/reports/stateoftheair2007.html

 

[blue]

Yeeeh...come here during a two week long inversion in the winter. You might die.

The nice thing is it's only yucky for those short stints in the dead of winter when you're not outside anyway. In Denver it was the middle of summer and it was every damned day. Grody.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Yeeeh...come here during a two week long inversion in the winter. You might die.

The nice thing is it's only yucky for those short stints in the dead of winter when you're not outside anyway. In Denver it was the middle of summer and it was every damned day. Grody.

Why am I talking about this?

You're right. Denver sucks. I'd not recommend anyone move here. I suggest SLC. It rocks. For everything.

 

[skinny mike]

burlington, vt, is probably one of the coolest cities i have ever been to. the only problem might be the smaller job market than that of the larger cities.