juniorcat

I live in the Silicon Valley region of northern California. While I love the cycling (Santa Cruz mountains, Mt. Tamalpais), I am not happy with the cost of living, the crowded conditions, and the "faster-is-better" culture.

I have heard ad nauseum the "joke" around here that yes, you would be able to afford much more in Texas, but the problem is that you would be living in Texas. I recently visited Texas, and actually loved it. I don't think CA is as great as it thinks it is

So, I am looking to move out of CA in the near future. Of course, there must be good road cycling nearby - i.e., combo of good climbs and decent scenery, good rollers, decent road quality, enough roads lacking in heavy car traffic. Not worried about seasonal weather.

Looking at Utah, Oregon, Texas - any suggestions on good communities in those states, or in other states?

beatlebee 

I'm biased...Tucson.

Carbon Unit

Where in Texas are you considering? I moved from So Cal to Austin, Texas. There are good hills, nice scenery and a healthy cycling community. The summers are hot and winters are mild. The economy is healthy if you need money to pay for your cycling addiction.

Carbon Unit

If you want hills and considering Texas, then Austin is the place. Dallas, San Antonio and Houston are mostly flat. Austin has lots of huge hills. The area where I live is called the Hill Country.

surgeonstone

North Carolina- the Piedmont area, get into the Appalachians, stay in rollers, go to the coast, temperate climate. Good Job opportunities and no real snow bound winter.

Terex

Asheville, NC area is really nice, although humid. I've come to despise humidity. Also consider Bend, OR. Boulder, CO has all the pros living there, but it's pretty expensive and kind of like living in NJ in the middle of CO. I guess it's all the people who moved there from NJ…

I live in NJ and Taos, NM. Riding is great in NW NJ. Riding is crap in NM. Another out of the way place is Durango, CO. Great outdoors stuff, but bring your job with you.

juniorcat

Carbon Unit - that is excellent news! Austin is where I visited last December. The weather was fantastic, and I saw lots of cyclists - even paid a visit to Mellow Johnny's. And all the BBQ would be great post-ride meals! OK, well then ... all I need to do is drop the boyfriend (shouldn't be too tough) and then I am going to start hunting for apartments there. I am not really a "house" person. How is the job market? I am a lawyer here in CA, but itching to stop lawyering. Seriously, I would rather collect garbage without protective clothing than continue down this career path. I don't need a lot of $$ - no loans to pay off, thank goodness - so what are the main industries there?

Machka 

There are lots of places around the world with good cycling ... but if you have to stay in the US ...

You might look at Washington ... the Seattle Randonneurs are quite an active club.
Seattle International Randonneurs

rekon

Have you looked into moving down to southern CA? There are some very nice areas (e.g., Ventura County, San Gabriel Valley etc.) depends what your life style is and what you want. Texas is a lot cheaper but there is nothing like Los Angeles!

rms13

I'm kind of in the same boat as OP except I live in SoCal. Taxes suck here, cost of living sucks, crime, pollution, people etc. If I want to buy a house, it will mean commuting by car (yikes!). I've thought about relocating to Austin, Colorado or Pacific Northwest. I've spent a lot of time in Austin and it is awesome. I believe the biggest industry is government since it's the state capital. I think it's work for government, be a musician or a tattoo artist and that's about your options.

I'm a MA transplant that's been in CA for 8 years. Even though there is a lot I don't like, the fact that I have lots of great riding and mountains (not hills) to climb and the fact that I can basically do it 365 days a year without rain is pretty hard to beat. I've asked the question on this forum of where to move that would have great cycling and it seemed to come back to SoCal again and again. And NorCal is usually a close second in recommenations

Carbon Unit

Austin has one of the best job markets in the US. High tech is big here. All of the silicon valley players are here, Apple has a campus here as does AMD, Intel, IBM, HP, etc. etc. I will send you a private message with some links to some Austin stuff.

Carbon Unit

Actually, according to Forbes, it has the best job market in the US. All of the big tech companies are here. Apple has a campus and will be building the Mac Pro here. IBM, Intel, HP, AMD, CISCO, Ebay, Google, Sun, etc. etc have large operations here. This place is called Silicon Hills.

Austin Heads List of Best Cities For Job Growth - Forbes

rms13

I know it does. It's a matter of time before every single private company leaves CA for TX and we're left with nothing but corrupt, bankrupt government and a booming medical marijuana industry

squatchy

I think you should consider the "front range" in Colorado. I live on the west side of Denver and can ride for 100 miles and hardly ever have to stop. I can leave from my house and be climbing mountains in 20 minutes. Or, I can head in the other direction and be riding in the flats for hours. Again with almost no cars to consider. We have great roads, really large shoulders, nice pavement and many wide concrete MUP's.

The economy is pretty good, housing is not a problem. I have many many times gone skiing one day and rode the nest or golf the next. We have everything a person could want here. Unless you need salt water you will not find a better place to live.

rms13

But how's the winter?

Carbon Unit

I know. I lived in So Cal my entire life and moved to Austin last August. There are some great things about CA but the business climate and government policies have driven and will continue to drive business out of the state. I love California but I can't live there anymore.

squatchy

If your in the front range it's not really that bad. I lived in Hawaii for many years. Endles summer blah blah blah. We have more sunnt dyas in CO than in HAwaii. Usually , for the most part the show melts off the nest day,or in a day or two depending on ground temps. The sand they brodcast on the mountain roads during the winter causes me to not do as much hill climbing during the winter.

Unless you just really cant handle the cold it's not that hard to ride most of the winter. Obviuosly you need winter clothes to ride in the winter. Thats not so hard for a guy who fly fishes all year long aw well as ski during the winter and bow hunts in the fall.

We have some of the most beautiful mountain passes in the world to ride. I live at about 5400 ft so we get natural health benifits due to the altitude. Many times a year I climb above tree line. Some realy killer rides like Pikes Peak, Vail Pass, Independace pass, Mount Evans and tons of stuff just right at the beginning of the mountains, (generally called "the front range"). We have tons of "event rides" fondo type stuff in the mountains in the summer. If you watch the USA Pro Challenge you'll see what I mean. Real post card type stuff.

patrickgm60

There's lots more NorCal than the Bay Area, of course. I've lived many places (including Austin), and find that, despite the cost of living, the climate and diversity of outdoor opportunities here is unmatched, and worth it. Take your bike for a weekend in Napa, Sacramento/Davis, or Tahoe, before you pack your bags for another state (and another Bar exam, perhaps.)

rms13

I spent the first 29 years of my life in New England so I am no stranger to cold and brutal winters. But my blood has gotten thinner after 8 years in SoCal. But Colorado is one of the few places that wife I can agree on if we did relocate. She's big hiker and outdoors person and she only likes hiking peaks so we have to live near some decent mountains

squatchy

I was born and raised here but moved to Hawaii for several years and then came back. It took a couple of winters to get acclimated to the cold. I can promise our winters are very mild compared to New England. That is as long as you don't live in the high country. That's a whole different story. Thats solid snow covered ground for several months. I did how ever see a guy climbing a mountain pass one day while I was comming home from a short day on the slopes. He was riding up the pass with solid snow and ice on the rode. He has a bigger package than I for sure.

profjmb

I love Austin but summer there isn't just hot, it's miserable. When I lived there I did ride in the summer, and there are about 3 months no go here in Chicago. So I guess that goes to Austin. But I'd sure rather be in Chicago from May-October. Do not underestimate the heat of Austin summers--was in the top 10 list of most miserable summers in America. (Think it was #5 .)

RobertL

This is a great site for information on just about any city in the US.

City-Data.com - Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, crime, house prices, cost of living, races, home value estimator, recent sales, income, photos, schools, maps, weather, neighborhoods, and more

valygrl

Boulder, CO.

I moved here from CA. Compared to a lot of the country, it's expensive, but compared to CA, it's not. Especially if you don't live in boulder proper, which I don't (I live in unincorporated Longmont, one block from Boulder.)

Winters are manageable, once you get the hang of what to wear, and even good if you like snow sports. Cycling is fantastic - almost as good as the peninsula. Hiking, rock climbing, trail running, kayaking, triathlon..... all great.

Homebrew01

No one has mentioned CT yet !?!? 4 hour rides in the hills with no traffic lights, no cars and a handful of stop signs. Sorry, no mountains either.

surgeonstone

You gotta be kidding. It rains what, about 300 days per year. I would think that would get old fast.