[UK CLIMBER] Where to move in the USA??

Hi,

I'm 24 years old, male and a climber. Also I'm from the United Kingdom. I have recently expanded my business to the states which will give me a good excuse to move over here.

Everything in the states is so far apart that its hard to figure out where to move to without some inside knowledge. So I need your help.

I've been living a pretty strict life for the last couple of years while I started my business but its paying off now. Suffice to say I need a bit of an adventure for the next part of my life.

List of needs/wants/dreams:

- Climbing (I visited yosemite last summer and would love to spend some serious amounts of time there)
- Skiing

I was looking at somewhere between Yosemite-San Francisco-Lake Tahoe but rentals anywhere close to San Francisco are rediculous

Budget $1500-2500

Cheers Guys!

California on the whole is going to be expensive. But there is a ton of climbing. If you want climbing and skiing, also check out Colorado or Utah. You'll get more for your rental money.

Depending on your locale, you can get various kinds of rock within a day's drive. Road trips can be fun too and are kind of a staple of the American West experience.

Without knowing what's really important to YOU, it's hard to make a good recommendation.

My vote would be Reno or Carson City NV. So close to so much amazing stuff.

Look up New Paltz New York, if you know of the Gunks. Its the Local Town on the bottum if the cliffs, and it is beautiful with alot of cool places and things to do. The climbing store and it's annex Rock and Snow are also there!!! I live near Philly in New Jersey, but love it up there in New York and would love to relocate to that area myself! It is also very close to Woodstock!!

Is this a telecommute job, or do you need the conveniences of a city?

Montrose, Colorado. It's a dream destination for me. Black Canyon is just around the corner, good skiing north at powderhorn, south at durango, or southeast at Wolf Creek which sees an average of 450 inches of snow a year. Cost is reasonable, and the climbing and skiing in the area are good as well

Steven Groetken wrote:Is this a telecommute job, or do you need the conveniences of a city?

This is the big question. In addition to the job, what sort of place do you want to live? Do you need the culture, resources, and social/dating opprotunities of a city, or is a quiet small town in the mountains more what you are looking for? San Francisco vs. Bishop, in a sense. To put it in UK terms, are you looking for London or Llanberis? Or maybe something in between like Sheffield?

I will suppose these criteria:

1. Local climbing
2. Within a few hours of Yosemite
3. Skiing

There are tons of good spots ruled out by #2 (i.e. all of Utah, Colorado, Washington, etc). If that one is flexible, there are more options. Within the general Sierra/Yosemite realm, I would reccomend these locations:

Small towns:
Truckee: Ski resort town, lots of local granite climbing, 3-4 hours to Yosemite
Mammoth: Ski resort town, lots of local climbing, When the pass is open (summer/fall) 2.5 hours to Yosemite Valley (only 1.5 hours to T. Meadows). 45 minutes to Bishop. Good High Sierra access.
Bishop: Amazing for climbing and alpine access. 3 hours to Yosemite when the pass is open. Not a ski town (thankfully), but still only 45 minutes from Mammoth. Cheaper to live in than the ski towns.
Sonora/Jamestown/Groveland/ Oak FLat: Small foothills towns. Damn good Yosemite access. Hard sport climbing at Jailhouse. Farther from skiing. Not much else going on.
El Portal: Cut to the chase, live at the Yosemite National Park gate.

"Biggest Little City": Reno
Reno is a mid-size city with excellent mountain access. Very low cost of living. 45 minutes from great skiing and climbing. 3-4 hours gets you to Yosemite, Bishop, and much of the high Sierra. The town kind of sucks, though. I'd rather live up the hill in Truckee, given the option.

Proper big city:
Oakland, Berkeley: All the upsides of living in the San Francisco area, but faster and easier to get out of the city than being in San Francisco. Awesome towns.

Avoid:
The Central Valley (Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, etc etc): Yosemite access is good, but it is a wasteland.
San Francisco: Insanely expensive, hard to get out of the city.
Silicon Valley: Too many software engineers
LA: Hell A
San Diego: too far from the Sierra

Canada..

Start by booking some time with a good immigration attorney who specializes in business cases. US immigration law is somewhat complicated, you will definitely need help

Uh yeah. Sneak across the border, as soon as you leave a paper trail you are screwed. Just promise me you are not a terrorist and that should cover it.