A general opinion poll: Where's the best place to live for a bike lover? Background: Kids mostly grown with one or two older teens still at home, married, one income on a teacher's salary.
We're currently living in Asia but will return, maybe summer 2013. We moved here from Houston, and I was raised near there, but have no desire to live in such a large city again. We can basically go anywhere we want upon our return. Considering things like weather, bike infrastructure and culture, cost of living, job market, etc., where's the best place in your opinion?

If I had to choose anywhere in the US, it would be Portland, Oregon without a doubt. Davis, California would be my second choice because the weather is so nice. Minneapolis has great cycling infrastructure but there is winter to worry about for some people. If I was to choose a non-US city, Copenhagen would be my first choice with Amsterdam being my second choice.

Portland is great, so is Seattle but both are cities. Portland is much more bike friendly then Seattle for sure.

If you want a really nice place to ride, Middletown, DE is very nice but not much of a city but a real nice place to ride. PA is very nice too!

Stay away from Cherry Hill and Camden, NJ. Not nice places to ride.

With the exception of a few violent cr0-mags in Rutland, Vermont is probably the most
universally bike friendly place I have ever lived.

Where I live now in Louisville, its pretty friendly. The good thing about KY is, you have the 'major'(?) cities,
but 20 minutes out you are in very rural countryside. Not too much sprawlburban junk to contend with.

FLorida is easy riding, but the people are the meanest Ive ever encountered. The worst,

Pennslvania, hit or miss, nice riding, but the car ragers are frequent in some areas.

I'd look for a college town in a blue/purple state. Places with a progressive political climate are more likely to have good bike infrastructure. I'm sure there are exceptions.

Austin Texas!

Florida was nice

Europe ... gotta love the EuroVelo route for quality and accessibility (28000 miles total):

overall map:



requirements:



even the signage is great:

Minneapolis is quite lovely is you think you would enjoy winter cycling. Generally good job prospects in the city as well.

Portland has good bicycle infrastructure, but the job market is still pretty depressed. I'd definitely make sure you had a job, or several likely prospects, lined up before going there.

San Francisco: good network of bike lanes that is rapidly improving, excellent bicycle culture, excellent year-round snow-free weather, lots of high paying jobs (and more companies trying to move here all the time). And of course San Francisco is the most beautiful city in the USA.

I have only biked in Portland, but it has been a great experience. My commute to work is 17 miles, and probably all but a mile is bike paths or bike-friendly roads or bike lanes.

The Jobs part is the problem.. particularly in Teaching.. Prison Guard may be a better sector.

Insane National Priorities moving to the Right by the Kakistocracy of concentrated wealth..

id suggest the wisconsin area if you dont mind cold winters, any city or town except for the madison/milwaukee area has extensive bike paths and a general population that is respectful and courteous to the bicycle commuters

I was under the impression that Madison was a pretty decent place for cycling.

around the university it is, once you get too far outside the neighborhood paths are falling into disrepair and students around there are...extremely rude to cyclists

From personal experience, the best in Southern California are the Orange County cities of Irvine, Lake Forrest, Laguna Nigel/Mission Viejo. These are fairly new communities that were planned with cycle commuting in mind.

I cannot speak for places I have not ridden in, except for Portland OR, but I have not been there since 1977.

The bay area in California is getting better with time, palo alto is adding more bike lanes as i see.

I only have experience with riding the West Coast. I have visited Midwestern and East Coast cities before, but I've never ridden in them. I'll add in another vote for Portland, Oregon. Also Davis, California if you prefer a smaller city with a "college town" feel.

In Orange County, I like Irvine and the coastal areas (Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, etc.). The cost of living in these areas is also quite pricey, compared to the non-bike friendly parts of OC.

You should look into the Denver area. It's doing okay economically, housing prices are not cheap, but not obscene, either, and it has a very, very good bicycle infrastructure, as well as a pretty tolerant culture. It does officially have snow in winter, but even then it's not always bad -we're not talking Chicago here- and for about nine months a year the weather is reliably warm, sunny and dry. It's never humid, even if it's hot, and there are lots of things to do off the bike.

Somewhere warm & suburban. There are some guys on here who commute year round in Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc, but in reality, winter & snow make it a lot harder to commute. not impossible, but they do add some complexity. Suburban areas are nice for riding, as you are close enough to the city to still have good services & ample shopping/dining/ recreation opportunities and suburbs generally offer more side streets than rural areas where a lot of the riding is on high speed streets. At the same time, you are away from the really nutty rush hour traffic and congestion of the big cities. If I could live anywhere in the US based on where I felt I could ride the most, I think it would be suburban San Diego. Not sure about the teaching job market or cost of living (although CA in general seems to be high), but that is just such a beautiful place all year round.

Someplace rural with nice, scenic, safe rural roads.

Portland is nice, but then again, you're riding in a city. How fun can that really be in the grand scheme of things??

In my opinion, very fun.

Another vote for Minneapolis. It's a very bike friendly city and every year seems to open up new paths and trails. Winter riding is an issue; I generally don't commute after October, but that's as much to do with my work hours and my fear/dislike of riding in the dark as it does the cold.

Washington, DC area is the best by far. Pretty much every type of biking year round.