Where To Live??

[kswitch]

Every person is different and every location offers different advantages. I'm very happy here in Yakima... A fairly major city (about 90K in the city limits) and only 1 hour to be unloaded in the snow park to a wide variety of good riding. Riding varies from wide meadows to tight trees, to baby hills, to climbs you can't make in 2-1/2 ft of fresh with generally very very low slide risk. I've got a ton of riding vids on Youtube you can check out to get an idea of what Central Washington is all about. We're 425 miles/10 hours to Revelstoke. Revy is good fun, bigger hills, more alpine, but we still have lots of fun here.....

What's the riding like in northern WA? Obviously Baker is up there but I know there's quite a bit of wilderness. If a guy wanted to live north of Seattle, and closer to BC, could he find better riding up there than the southern part of the state?

 

[94fordguy]

What's the riding like in northern WA? Obviously Baker is up there but I know there's quite a bit of wilderness. If a guy wanted to live north of Seattle, and closer to BC, could he find better riding up there than the southern part of the state?

I haven't done any riding to the north. I know people say Mt. Baker is a lot of fun, there's also talk of riding around the Blewitt Pass area which isn't too far from Wenatchee if I'm not mistaken. Sorry I can't say much more than that, I just don't travel around the state much when my back yard is as fun as it is, lol.

 

[kswitch]

What's your weather like in Yakima? Significantly different than life on the western side of the Cascades?

 

[mmsports]

SE Idaho

I ride all over and if I have it my way I would go no farther than my back yard. Best riding by far. Good snow trees steep all conditions . To the trail head in less than 15 min in fact I live with in 2 miles of trail head and National Forest land in back yard.

Down side the economy in my small town is bad. SLC is 120 miles I have been working in Elko NV in the summers and work on sleds in winter. I hate ELko no offense intended. If i could sell my house I would move to Alaska good jobs and good schedules. They work like a week on week off cant beat that. economy is great. Housing is pricy but not to bad.


Been trying to sell my house for couple years and its to much money for local economy .

 

[RobertTrivanovic]

Being close to BC is a big draw for me. Does anyone have any comments on how realistic/easy/difficult it is to want to be taking frequent trips over the border to ride all season?

Depends where you are going to live in wa. I live in BC (kootenays) ad I race dirtbikes in the states and probly cross the border 30 times in the summer just for this alone and have no issue and it is quick and easy. It is also very realistic since, well, it only takes about 5 extra minutes to cross a border, the rest is just depending in how far you want to drive. BC also has a big sledding community so it's easy to find people to ride with.

 

[mmsports]

i ride revy about once a year

Went to Canada twice last year no issues just do not like paying 20 to use there trail every time i go up. I ride 4-5 times a week and pay 32.50 a year for trail maintenance.

 

[94fordguy]

What's your weather like in Yakima? Significantly different than life on the western side of the Cascades?

Yakima (and most of eastern Wa) is a desert climate with little rainfall throughout most of an average year. We usually 'suffer' from high pressure and temps from the 90s-100s in the summer. Winter in town isn't what it used to be... maybe 12" of snow on the ground at any given time for about 4-6 weeks or so is about all the worse it gets with temps averaging 20-35* typically. Low humidity is nice, which is different from the west side. Typical annual rainfall is 7-10" here and 30-50" on the wet side.

Here's some good reading.....

Yakima - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakima

Seattle - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle

Getting back more to your original criteria for a moment though, Seattle and the west side are going to have far more career opportunities in the technical field... Yakima and eastern Washington are more agriculturally driven.

 

[Twostroke]

Your main concern if your considering living in WA west of the mtns on the I-5 corridor should be traffic and rain. I could never live there, it is grey, damp and dreary. Humid summers. It can rain for 30 days straight but that rain does equal snow though. Living on the east side of the mtns you see maybe 30% of the rain the west side of the mtns do.

I also do not understand the fixation with BC? Why not just move to BC then? I have been there to ride a few times and while it's good riding, it's not something I'd base where I live off of. The prestige of it will wear off. For me a short drive to the nearest snopark is more of a selling point. I would ride a lot less if I had to drive over an hour to ride.

 

[kswitch]

Your main concern if your considering living in WA west of the mtns on the I-5 corridor should be traffic and rain. I could never live there, it is grey, damp and dreary. Humid summers. It can rain for 30 days straight but that rain does equal snow though. Living on the east side of the mtns you see maybe 30% of the rain the west side of the mtns do.

I also do not understand the fixation with BC? Why not just move to BC then? I have been there to ride a few times and while it's good riding, it's not something I'd base where I live off of. The prestige of it will wear off. For me a short drive to the nearest snopark is more of a selling point. I would ride a lot less if I had to drive over an hour to ride.

Thanks for the input. I've heard traffic near Seattle is fairly unpleasant. BC stands out to me because it seems like they tend to have more snow for longer than a lot of other places. Over 600" a year with pretty stable snow conditions is definitely intriguing. I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I'm big into mountain biking during the off season too. BC also has a lot to offer in that department as well. I've done a little research on moving to BC and it doesn't really seem very feasible. However, I am definitely basing where I live off of riding. I currently have no strings attached to tie me down so I'm going to take advantage of that while it lasts. I want to do as much as I can to get myself in the best location possible for riding while still maintaining access to a place where I can find a good job.
This thread has been great so far. Its awesome to hear first hand what people have to say about different locations. This is exactly the kind of input I was looking for! More and more I'm realizing the value in finding great riding right out the back door.

 

[Un-registered]

Stay in Houghton....

 

[tdbaugha]

Stay in Houghton....

Who is this? haha

Houghton has been great to me, but there's no way I could ever live there. We had an epic winter last year but that only happens once every 5-10 years. The terrain is limiting and there are no jobs. Time to move on...

 

[kswitch]

Who is this? haha

Houghton has been great to me, but there's no way I could ever live there. We had an epic winter last year but that only happens once every 5-10 years. The terrain is limiting and there are no jobs. Time to move on...

About that 5-10 years thing... I talked with the snow gods and they're going to do one more year of 300+ for me. I'm with tdbaugha though, there are a lot more opportunities out west.

 

[Un-registered]

Where are your families located?

Tech / Houghton is super chill to the rat race the occurs out in the mountains with snowmobilers.... Limited ability to own personal property or nice size homes to raise a family can be an issue.

This is with respect to the Seattle area....

 

[Jaynelson]

Where are your families located?

Tech / Houghton is super chill to the rat race the occurs out in the mountains with snowmobilers.... Limited ability to own personal property or nice size homes to raise a family can be an issue.

Huh?

 

[94fordguy]

Thanks for the input. I've heard traffic near Seattle is fairly unpleasant. BC stands out to me because it seems like they tend to have more snow for longer than a lot of other places. Over 600" a year with pretty stable snow conditions is definitely intriguing. I mentioned at the beginning of the post, I'm big into mountain biking during the off season too. BC also has a lot to offer in that department as well. I've done a little research on moving to BC and it doesn't really seem very feasible. However, I am definitely basing where I live off of riding. I currently have no strings attached to tie me down so I'm going to take advantage of that while it lasts. I want to do as much as I can to get myself in the best location possible for riding while still maintaining access to a place where I can find a good job.
This thread has been great so far. Its awesome to hear first hand what people have to say about different locations. This is exactly the kind of input I was looking for! More and more I'm realizing the value in finding great riding right out the back door.

We typically ride from mid November until June when the last of the snow is just about gone. Typical snow depth on the peaks from 6500-7000ft elevation is 10-15ft. This year was the 'crappiest' snow year I have seen in the 7 years I've been sledding... we only had 9 ft max and the snow line was higher than normal, but most of the good riding doesn't start until about 5K ft anyway. Most snow parks are around 3K ft +/-.

Your main concern if your considering living in WA west of the mtns on the I-5 corridor should be traffic and rain. I could never live there, it is grey, damp and dreary. Humid summers. It can rain for 30 days straight but that rain does equal snow though. Living on the east side of the mtns you see maybe 30% of the rain the west side of the mtns do.

I also do not understand the fixation with BC? Why not just move to BC then? I have been there to ride a few times and while it's good riding, it's not something I'd base where I live off of. The prestige of it will wear off. For me a short drive to the nearest snopark is more of a selling point. I would ride a lot less if I had to drive over an hour to ride.

I'll second this.... Having all the conveniences of a fairly major city is nice, and then the ability to be in a COMPLETELY different environment in only 1 hour is a big plus!

I've only been to Seattle (or elsewhere on the west side) a handful of times, but I KNOW I could never deal with that kind of traffic on a regular basis

 

[tdbaugha]

Where are your families located?

Tech / Houghton is super chill to the rat race the occurs out in the mountains with snowmobilers.... Limited ability to own personal property or nice size homes to raise a family can be an issue.

This is with respect to the Seattle area....

My family is from lower Michigan in an area where challenging engineering jobs don't exist. The closest I could live to home while pursuing a half way decent career would be 4 hours away and in the Detroit area. That, for me, is NOT going to happen. No way, no how. I'd rather live in a place that excites me and vacation back home to spend quality time with family.

It is very chill and peaceful there... I honestly see myself retiring in the UP because of that reason. But I'm 23 years old, I just spent 5 years there, and now all my friends have moved on...

 

[Zone28M7]

All I'm gonna say is that two of the biggest names in mountain riding live Colorado for a reason



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Un-registered]

That, for me, is NOT going to happen. No way, no how. I'd rather live in a place that excites me and vacation back home to spend quality time with family.

Something to think about, when you have kids and a family, the ability to take vacations back to family can be difficult, especially if half way across the country. It is something that I am currently dealing with.

It is very chill and peaceful there... I honestly see myself retiring in the UP because of that reason. But I'm 23 years old, I just spent 5 years there, and now all my friends have moved on...

Yep, I loved it there. I lived in Hancock by the co-op. I was 2 houses from the snowmobile trail, and could put my snowboard boots on at home and drive to Mt. Riply! It was great! Not to mention the fact that my dad helped move me from there in a truck that was worth 5k more then the house I was living in..

Its a give and take world, just trying to help you think about the possible life situation in the future and how it could effect your decisions about where to live. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Berg570FE]

Cle Elum Washington. Very central, plenty of excellent riding and snow, and, you can commute to Seattle in 90 minutes and make double what can be earned in eastern wa. For example, in my industry we earn $45-$52 an hour in the Seattle/Puget Sound area, yet Spokane, Yakima, Tr-Cities, Boise, ect may earn around $25 an hour, at most.

Cle Elum is your best bet! More snow, better weather, more riding, and WAY better pay if your willing to commute.

 

[tdbaugha]

Something to think about, when you have kids and a family, the ability to take vacations back to family can be difficult, especially if half way across the country. It is something that I am currently dealing with.

Yep, I loved it there. I lived in Hancock by the co-op. I was 2 houses from the snowmobile trail, and could put my snowboard boots on at home and drive to Mt. Riply! It was great! Not to mention the fact that my dad helped move me from there in a truck that was worth 5k more then the house I was living in..

Its a give and take world, just trying to help you think about the possible life situation in the future and how it could effect your decisions about where to live. Good luck with your decision!

I appreciate the wisdom. These life decisions have been on my mind for 3-4 years. Before I found mountain snowmobiling, leaving Michigan wasn't appealing it all. Now things have changed a bit..