starla

Okay, so I'm considering making a big move within the next year or so. I want to find a new job and am really considering relocating to almost any area of the country, but would prefer somewhere with a more pleasant climate than Texas. I'd also like to move somewhere more bike friendly. I'd basically like input from people all over the country about where you live and how you like it. Right now, I have a really strong pull to the Portland, OR area, but I wonder about cost of living there.

Any opinions would be greatly welcomed!

divtag

I was through Oregon for the first time last year. Portland is definitely bike friendly and 100x better climate. It was just too congested for me. All those crowded bridges and people coming in from the outskirts to work.

I preferred Eugene. Eugene was awesome, but probably not a lot of jobs. Oregon has high unemployment, which can make the transition tough. And Texas is dirt cheap compared to Portland. Then again Portland is cheap compared to where I am at, so it is all relative. If you can find a job it probably pays more.

Santaria

Oddly, I find myself in the unique position of saying, I know EXACTLY why you want out of Temple.

For starters, I worked at the Telegram for 10 years.

I graduated from UMHB. When my bike broke down, I literally ran from Temple to Belton WITH my backpack and books because we didn't have a car that worked at that point.

The bike shop available to you is great, the owner, Ross, is a ****wit. Tell him Dean said hi, he'll just sneer with that I hate you look.

The cost of living there is crap. Built around a military community that doesn't expand that far, the retailers, landlords and grocery stores all cater to a continual 6% yearly increase in income that doesn't correlate with the actual locals - but rather with Fort Hood's cost of living allowances/housing adjustments.

I'd suggest moving to Austin until you can find a way out of Central Texas.

Temple is, by no stretch of the imagination, the single worst bicycle hating community I ever did live in. Roads were designed for cars, period. 90% of roads do not have a sidewalk even, let alone the needed space for a bicycle and motor vehicle to travel together.

PM me if you want suggestions. I moved to Brownsville to escape, and my wife and I have talked about Colorado Springs after I finish my MA/PhD here.

My in-laws live in Cove, it isn't any better there - but at least when I was there I could sorta ride in the safety of working on Fort Hood and only having to ride on military backroads risking being shot by a M1A1. In comparison, I would do that every day over the bull**** experience of living in Temple.

Aeneas

Do not consider Long Island NY.

wunderkind

I was just reading a Bicycling magazine about best city in US for cycling. The top is Washington DC. Portland and Seattle are in there too. I forgot where else however. Climate wise, northwest of the continent is hard to beat.

cc700

if you're worried about the cost of living in portland i think you should reconsider moving just yet. no place is going to have a higher quality of life vs. cost of living ratio as portland.

forget about eugene unless you can find a job there.

cod.peace

How about the other Portland? The one in Maine - low cost of living (at least compared to Massachusetts), seaside living, interesting climate, and Red Sox Nation. I've been told the biking is nice there, and there are studded tires for winter riding.

al-wagner

Stay out of Vermont...

ThinLine

Langhorne Pennsylvania. 15 miles north of Philadelphia.
Lots of cyclist and decent roads.

lil brown bat

I'd avoid anywhere in the north except for maybe the west coast. The winters will do you in.

shubonker

Florida is like... all flat. And cost of living is... cheap. Also you can buy a house in Detroit for $100, if you're into the whole car manufacturing career thing.

Stay away from cities like new york, as the cost of living and job competition is very high. But bike commuting in NYC is fair and more lanes are being added.

modernjess

Man up and move to Minneapolis. Great bike city and bike community here. The cost of living is reasonable. The weather is not, but that's what makes it fun! Riding year round here = major life change.

starla

Woman up, actually. But MN has always been a place I'd considered. Granted, I've never lived where it snowed twice in a year, so a northern winter is intimidating to me. But places like FL are out because they are worse weather wise (IMHO) than where I live.

starla

I guess having lived here all my life, I don't have much room for comparison as far as bike friendliness goes. I haven't encountered but one incident of overt hostility (an ******* honked at me from behind for apparently not going fast enough for him on a short merging lane with no shoulder--yes I took the lane), but then I work in BFE and my commute is fairly traffic free. I've also encountered less than 10 other riders the whole time I've been riding here. I do wish there was more of a cycling community. The one club is clearly geared toward male roadies.

And I've bought 3 out of 4 bikes at the shop here. My next purchase is a better mountain bike hopefully this fall. But I'll be getting it at Bicycle Sport Shop in Austin. I helped a friend by a mtb there and was really impressed with their helpfulness.

Anyway, I've considered Austin, but it's really congested too, and I think I want more of a change than a 70 mile move. The only place in Texas I'm considering is Ft. Worth. Not a major location change, but maybe a baby step, plus my sister lives there. I'm also not looking for anywhere too trendy, which is another point against Austin and even Portland, OR. If it's congested like Austin, then I'll have to count it out.

I am really enjoying the suggestions so far and am definitely checking them out for jobs in my field. I'm looking for a position as a senior graphic designer or art director. The economy is probably not quite right for a move any time soon, but I'm going to keep looking anyway. You never know!

pmseattle

Seattle is fairly bike friendly. The cost of living, especially housing, is extremely high. Unemployment is a serious problem. The climate is dreary but not harsh.

aley

Albuquerque is great - I could find a job just about anywhere in the country, but I stay here because it suits me well.

We get 300 sunny days a year, summer high temps are usually in the 90s (and occasionally top 100), but with very low humidity. Winters are moderate - overnight lows in the 20s and 30s are typical, with a few nights in a typical winter dipping into single digits. We tend to have 30-40 degree temperature swings, though, so a 95 degree day will give way to a 60 degree night, and a 15 degree night can easily turn into a 50 degree winter day. Monsoon rains come in the summer, but they're usually no big deal - if it's raining when you're ready to leave, it'll be done in 15 minutes, since they're very localized thunderstorms.

Cost of living is very close to the national average. The economy is pretty good, even now - I know of several companies that are expanding, and while I know a number of people who've been laid off during the recession (me included), we've all been able to find work within a matter of a few weeks (it helps that most of the people I know are engineers, and engineers are in particular demand now). Housing prices are fairly stable, and foreclosures and short sales are not all that common.

Cycling infrastructure is good, and is headed toward being great. There's been a big push lately for improved public transit as well, which has yielded some significant improvements, including a commuter rail line running from Belen (35 miles south of Albuquerque) to Santa Fe (60 miles north) and several express bus lines. We have a great trail system that run mostly along the arroyos banks (drainage ditches for those of you not from the Southwest), limiting the number of minor street crossings, and many streets have bike lane striping as well.

Downsides? Well, you'd better like climbing - the entire city straddles the Rio Grande, and from the Sandia foothills to the bosque (the forest along the river) is about a thousand foot drop, then about that much climbing to get out to the west mesa. If you live on the westside and commute to the east side, there are a fairly limited number of crossings, although most of them (with the exception of I-40) are quite reasonable to cross on a bike, and several have segregated bike lanes (Paseo del Norte) or separate bridges (Alameda). 98 degrees during the hot part of the day with the sun beating down on you can be brutal - carrying lots of water and slathering yourself liberally with sunscreen are important. We also lack a lot of the cultural opportunities that larger cities have, although we're big enough to do a decent job. Finally, I live here - most people would consider that a major downside. ;-)

JJPistols

what do you mean Austin is congested? I thought you were on a bike



DFW is sprawlOrama - gross



Portland's cool, though -- like a rainy l'il Austin

starla

I do ride but I like alone time, too. I don't always want to ride in traffic. I guess that's why even though I don't like it here, I do like that. Cars can be scary.

CCrew

If DC is the best, I'd hate to see bad. It's alright IMHO, but if it's what we consider "Best" then the rest must just come in above the pathetic scale.

knobster

Portland itself is a nice city. Very interesting place. The climate is a give and take. Summer is awesome. Probably averages about 82 degrees. Spring, Fall and Winter is wet. Lots and lots of rain. It's probably no wonder we took the title of most suicides from Seattle. I personally don't think it's that crowded for a mid sized city. Jobs are hard to come by though.

Cycling is great here and mostly people are quite accepting. Bike lanes just about everywhere.

As long as you can deal with the rain, you'd have no problems with the climate. Basically, you have to ignore that it exists. If it bothers you just a little bit though, you'd probably not make it more than a year or two.

Luddite

Vancouver, BC. There's an idiotic amount of bike-friendly roads, bike lanes on bridges etc. Just sayin'. We're kinda spoiled.

SingingSabre 

Tucson, AZ is really bike friendly. Summers are hot, but after a month or two of the heat, you get monsoon rains to cool you down. Temps in the winter aren't too cold for riding, as well.

dwr1961

Boise, ID... Geographically isolated valley with 600,000 people in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Six hours drive to the nearest major population centers (Reno, Salt Lake City, Portland). At the base of the Rocky Mountains with many excellent places for MTB and road cycling. Very active cycling community.

12 inches of rain avg. per year. / 20 in. of snow. Predominantly sunny and dry with low humidity. Highs in summer high 80's to high 90's - a handful of 100-degree-days. Generally cools to 50'-60's at night. Mid-winter highs usually are above freezing, lows in the teens and rarely single-digits... Basically four moderate seasons.

In Boise, new 3br/2/ba averages about $160K or so - in Nampa/Caldwell about $125K. Cost of living is about average - 6% sales tax on everything. Wages are low compared to larger western metro areas... $20/hr is considered a very good wage. The local economy has hurtled downward in the past two years - unemployment is near 10%. Several large employers have had or are in the midst of layoffs.

Low crime area. People are generally open and friendly. Strong sense of community. Many local radio/tv /print media sources. Decent educational opportunities at Boise State, Northwest Nazarene (in Nampa), College of Idaho (Caldwell) and College of Western Idaho (new community college).

Generally an excellent place for outdoor activities and a good area for cycling. New velodrome / MTB park in Eagle, and there are many bike lanes and trails...

Lived in Southern California (40 yrs) until moving here three years ago. Except for the weather (which isn't bad), this place is a much, much nicer place to live.

Come on up.

Skoal

"Cost of living is very close to the national average. The economy is pretty good, even now - I know of several companies that are expanding, and while I know a number of people who've been laid off during the recession (me included), we've all been able to find work within a matter of a few weeks (it helps that most of the people I know are engineers, and engineers are in particular demand now). "

Had to laugh at Albuquerque having a good economy. Being a engineer puts you in a sweet spot for sure but I like to say Albuquerque and New Mexico has an "endless recession". Besides the economy, and crime Albuquerque is great. Easy to get out of town to enjoy the rest of New Mexico.

kenkayak

Greetings Starla; I like Maine and eastern Canada ;All the cities are nice but the landscape for the outside adventurer is unmatched because of the tidal rivers and climate I will say road cycleing is not the greatest in the city areas but rural cycleing is the best I love to ski the frozen rivers in the winter and rowing/ sailing in the tidal rivers is wonderful year round. Calais/St Steven is a great visit for a biker/Kenneth