Best cities to live in the US for rock climbing

Pretty much any city in the US will be a compromise on your criteria (or in general). You will have to decide which factors are of most importance. I will note that several of the places mentioned would not rank highly on "being a progressive, multicultural city."

Renata Calmon wrote:

I also heard climbing in Vegas is really good... But I am not super excited about living in a big city. Is there a city in Nevada near the climb that is not Vegas?

I am gonna look it up the new places people mentioned here: grass valley, Flagstaff, Reno and the city near the Gunks

Once you get a mile or two away from the strip Vegas doesn't feel like a big city to me.  Google Summerlin and Henderson and check it out. 

New Paltz NY(10m from the Gunks) is definitely a small town but is a wonderful place to live if you don't mind the winter.

As others have said, Boulder probably best fits your list, but pay attention to the downsides some have mentioned as well, and not just the cost of living.

I love the climbing around Vegas, but it's not a place I'd want to raise kids, and the schools there are terrible. My wfe and I came close to moving the family there 13 years ago and are glad we didn't. It's great to visit.

I'd also avoid North Carolina and Tennessee. There are a lot of great things about the cities mentioned, but the states overall are far from multicultural and progressive. If those qualities are high on your list, then you may find yourself very unhappy in those states, especially Tennessee. 

All things considered with your criteria, I'd look at Colorado. And there are plenty of towns there other than Boulder that are close to trad, multi-pitch, and alpine.

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

There also a bazillion other threads on this site that have some semblance of information in them if you want more info

But is there a Brazilian thread?

I think Asheville ticks every single requirement.

After living in Boulder for 10+ years and moving to the outer fringes of the Reno metro area at the beginning of this year...Reno all the way. Doesn't even compare. 

Except gardnerville is 45 minutes from reno 

John Clark wrote:

Except gardnerville is 45 minutes from reno 

My point was that Reno > than Boulder/Denver, I wasn't trying to convince anybody that Gardnerville=Reno. 

Fair nuff. Reno area is amazing then. Wish i lived in gardnerville though for that woodfords/south lake access

Renata Calmon wrote:

Wow! Thank you guys for all the replies. That was really helpful! :)

The only place I've been to that is mentioned here is Boulder and I absolutely love it. Such easy access to world class climbing! I also like how vibrant the city is. We certainly consider living in Boulder. I think maybe the downsides of Boulder are lack of diversity and being very expensive. Someone told me Golden could be an alternative, and I would like to check that out too.

I have never been to Chatanooga but its also on our list for all those amazing reasons mentioned above. I guess the downside is the lack of big routes. I don't know about the culture there either, but want to check it out.

Another place we consider is Asheville, NC, because it has an airport, a really cool culture and many climbing around - although you do have to get your car for an hour to reach places and routes are not very high. 

I also heard climbing in Vegas is really good... But I am not super excited about living in a big city. Is there a city in Nevada near the climb that is not Vegas?

I am gonna look it up the new places people mentioned here: grass valley, Flagstaff, Reno and the city near the Gunks

Finally, someone asked me about weather... And yeah, I am Brazilian and I get cold lol. So although I am starting to enjoy more alpine climbing now I am not a snow person. I guess the possibility of climbing rocks year round is more important to me than having an ice climb season... But I understand this is hard is the US... Many of the places where you have big walls, you end up having either snow or an extremely cold season, and I guess thats ok. At the end of the day there is always one thing you are not gonna like in any city you choose to live, and its important you like all the rest.

Thanks again!

NC has some amazing trad and multipitch! I cant speak exactly for the living situation in Asheville but so much amazing climbing near by  (in my opinion) that is world class

Katie Gordon wrote:

I'm not sure I've ever seen this one brought up, but Beacon, NY might fit the bill. It's a very small city, but it's a bit of an up-and-coming artsy escape from NYC. Puts you ~40 min from the Gunks, which fits for trad/multi-pitch, as well as bouldering. Does not fit if you want sport climbing. Hudson River is right there for kayaking, but if you don't want something so developed, there's water to be found all over the Hudson Valley. It's about 1.5/2 hours by car from the major NYC airports, and NYC is also very easily accessible from Beacon by train. You can explore the trails around Beacon and the Catskills, could pull off weekend trips to the Adirondacks, and definitely find fun activities for kids both in Beacon and the Hudson Valley in general. It's also about as free of natural disasters as it gets. The closest Gunks access option would of course be New Paltz, but I think Beacon fits more of your criteria. 

It is up and coming, and I like it, been there many, many times. But it has a long, long way to go to compare to some of the other cities mentioned here and whether up and coming will ever result in being past up and coming actually getting there (whatever there might be) - who knows. Once you move a few blocks away from the at best mediocre and limited Main Street attractions, you could be in any blah small town, anywhere; cosmopolitan, no. So, culture, artsy; more so than Leominster MA, Wilkes Barre, PA, etc., but pretty low on that 1-10 scale., The pluses that you mention, hiking (especially), the 'Gunks, the Hudson river, close proximity to the 'Dacks and the NYC, true enough, they are quite nice, and the Hudson Valley is charming in ways that the west can never match. Many people I know who could move to the the outdoor utopias of Colorado, Utah and so on stay near the 'Gunks. So, ETTO, Beacon might be what the original poster is looking for.   

Added: Much as I adore/love the 'Gunks, NC has much, much more climbing and a wide variety: traditional, sport, multi- pitch (Up to 10 pitches or so), and easy travel to other areas. 

Renata Calmon wrote:

Hello,

My husband and I are moving to the US next year and we don't know where yet. I saw there was a post previously here with a similar question, but I guess our priorities are a little different, so I decided to post anyway. We are looking for: 1) easy access to trad, multipitch and world class climbing 2) reasonably near main airports (1,5h by car is an ok distance) 3) being a progressive, multicultural city 4) cool place to raise your kids 5) without too many natural disasters like wild fires and floods 6) having cool rivers to kayak would be a bonus. We know it's impossible to find the perfect place, but if you had to pick one based on those criteria, what place would you pick?

 I have raised two girls and have four grandkids today.  My partner and I have lived in Incline Village, NV (near Reno), Canmore, Alberta (near Banff), St. George, UT (near Zion NP) and Santa Fe, NM during the past 30 years.  Where we lived had a lot to do with what our priorities were at any given time in our life.  Those change drastically over time depending on such items as professions, child raising, etc.  Yours will to.  I am nomadic by nature, meaning in the modern sense that I would live on wheels full time if given the choice.  My partner is not.  Our interest in each other has forced compromise of course as I am sure your relationship will constantly evolve via compromise in similar fashion.  As Michelle Obama pointed out in a recent interview, there is no 50-50 in a long term relationship.  That is a myth.  Rather the priorities in a relationship between two adults constantly fluctuates, again, depending on circumstances, children, professional opportunities, etc.

I have climbed thousands of muti-pitch alpine, rock and ice routes throughout North America during the past 30 years.  Those before mentioned places we lived offered amazing opportunities at different styles of rock climbing, the eastern Sierras of California (easily reached from Lake Tahoe), the glacier covered granite routes of the Bugaboos (easily reached from the Canadian Rockies) and the massive sandstone routes of the desert, easily reached from St. George.  With kids, it was important to us that we lived in small mountain towns to avoid pollution and ever ending consumerism (big box stores, traffic, etc).  Incline Village and Canmore delivered that in spades back when we lived there.  We eventually moved away from both due to a lack of diversity in wealth more than skin color.  Those towns today don the very wealthy and the almost homeless who serve their needs.  When we moved to St. George, UT, our kids had grown or we would not have made that move.  That was strictly a decision based on climbing full time.  It's centered proximity to California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Idaho was solely what that decision was based on.  We lived at the entrance to Snow Canyon State Park.  I could simply walk to climbing for daily exercise.  Zion was one hour away, Red Rock two, Joshua Tree, five, Moab towers, five, Black Canyon, City of Rocks, Eastern Sierras, Sedona towers and Cochise Stronghold a bit longer.  St. George did have more of a middle class than the smaller mountain towns we lived in before, but not only lacks wealth diversity as they did, but religious and ethnic diversity as well. My partner could tell countless stories in that it also lacks gender equality in significant ways/opportunities.  Canmore was tiny when we lived there, but I climbed with more eastern Europeans who worked and lived in Canmore than I did Canadians or Americans for example as well as with as many women as men.  I would never dream of raising kids in St. George.  My daughter raises her kids in Rincon, Puerto Rico, almost strictly because of diversity and hiding from N. American consumerism.  My wife and I recently chose Santa Fe as our most recent move due to air quality, diversity and opportunity for her profession since we focused on mine prior.  Bottom line, every body has to work through their own priorities.  Being nomadic, I still maintain a residence in Montana and spend as much time north as I do south.

If I were raising kids today in the lower 48 of the United States, I would choose the town of Salida, CO.  You are close to the extensive shorter routes, but diverse in nature, of the South Platte, yet only 2.5 hrs to the long and challenging routes of the Black Canyon, a bit further to Moab or Rocky Mountain National Park.  You mentioned paddling.  I am taking my grand kids to Salida (actually camping in the town of Crestone, CO, which has a significant Buddhist population and commuting to Salida) next summer for paddling, both kayak training and rafting.  Salida has clean air, a blocked off pedestrian downtown featuring a Natural Grocers at its center.  Reasonably priced locally owned 2nd hand stores litter their main street.  Outdoor music all summer, by the river.  Climbing, skiing and paddling, the items I was focused on teaching my kids, are quite readily available. Buena Vista and Leadville to the north are both other considerations, but Leadville offers colder winters.  Buena Vista has a bit more consumerism in general.  Salida is off of smaller roads, attracts somewhat less big box stores than Buena Vista and is a lot warmer than Leadville.  In fact, just to the south is Great Sandunes National Park near Crestone and the New Mexico high desert further south yet. Plenty of sunny winter days. Tons of 14ers in the area offer a lot of camping and hiking venues.  CO and NM are the only politically progressive states among their neighbors, so diversity is better than AZ, UT, ID, NV or WY.  Goes without saying, water conservation and air pollution in Salida (a huge thing for me raising my kids, assessing the air they breath as well as the water they drank during formative years of growth) trumps most in the west or southwest.  Boulder is a large town now.  Very large, with pollution, crime, expensive housing (lack of wealth diversity).  It is no longer the Boulder many of us remember in our youth.  You drive from Denver to Boulder to Fort Collins without much space in between as there was several decades ago.  You could not pay me to live on the east side of Denver.  Keep in mind, not everyone's priorities are truly for the benefit of their kids health (thus the popularity of Boulder, Salt Lake and Vegas), but I don't care nor judge.  I am a libertarian at heart.  But if you need the big city experience for airport, etc, Denver is only 2.5 hrs from Salida.

Good luck with your decision, will be an exciting time for the whole family to figure it all out.  

Dow Williams wrote:

 I have raised two girls and have four grandkids today.  My partner and I have lived in Incline Village, NV (near Reno), Canmore, Alberta (near Banff), St. George, UT (near Zion NP) and Santa Fe, NM during the past 30 years.  Where we lived had a lot to do with what our priorities were at any given time in our life.  Those change drastically over time depending on such items as professions, child raising, etc.  Yours will to.  I am nomadic by nature, meaning in the modern sense that I would live on wheels full time if given the choice.  My partner is not.  Our interest in each other has forced compromise of course as I am sure your relationship will constantly evolve via compromise in similar fashion.  As Michell Obama pointed out in a recent interview, there is no 50-50 in a long term relationship.  That is a myth.  Rather the priories in a relationship between two adults constantly fluctuates, again, depending on circumstances, children, professional opportunities, etc.

I have climbed thousands of muti-pitch alpine, rock and ice routes throughout North America during the past 30 years.  Those before mentioned places we lived offered amazing opportunities at different styles of rock climbing, the eastern Sierras of California (easily reached from Lake Tahoe), the glacier covered granite routes of the Bugaboos (easily reached from the Canadian Rockies) and the massive sandstone routes of the desert, easily reached from St. George.  With kids, it was important to us that we lived in small mountain towns to avoid pollution and ever ending consumerism (big box stores, traffic, etc).  Incline Village and Canmore delivered that in spades back when we lived there.  We eventually moved away from both due to a lack of diversity in wealth more than skin color.  Those towns today don the very wealthy and the almost homeless who serve their needs.  When we moved to St. George, UT, our kids had grown or we would not have made that move.  That was strictly a decision based on climbing full time.  It's centered proximity to California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Idaho was solely what that decision was based on.  We lived at the entrance to Snow Canyon State Park.  I could simply walk to climbing for daily exercise.  Zion was one hour away, Red Rock two, Joshua Tree, five, Moab towers, five, Black Canyon, City of Rocks, Eastern Sierras, Sedona towers and Cochise Stronghold a bit longer.  St. George did have more of a middle class than the smaller mountain towns we lived in before, but not only lacks wealth diversity as they did, but religious and ethnic diversity as well. My partner could tell countless stories in that it also lacks gender equality in significant ways/opportunities.  Canmore was tiny when we lived there, but I climbed with more eastern Europeans who worked and lived in Canmore than I did Canadians or Americans for example as well as with as many women as men.  I would never dream of raising kids in St. George.  My daughter raises her kids in Rincon, Puerto Rico, almost strictly because of diversity and hiding from N. American consumerism.  My wife and I recently chose Santa Fe as our most recent move due to air quality, diversity and opportunity for her profession since we focused on mine prior.  Bottom line, every body has to work through their own priorities.  Being nomadic, I still maintain a residence in Montana and spend as much time north as I do south.

If I were raising kids today in the lower 48 of the United States, I would choose the town of Salida, CO.  You are close to the extensive shorter routes, but diverse in nature, of the South Platte, yet only 2.5 hrs to the long and challenging routes of the Black Canyon, a bit further to Moab or Rocky Mountain National Park.  You mentioned paddling.  I am taking my grand kids to Salida (actually camping in the town of Crestone, CO, which has a significant Buddhist population and commuting to Salida) next summer for paddling, both kayak training and rafting.  Salida has clean air, a blocked off pedestrian downtown featuring a Natural Grocers at its center.  Reasonably priced locally owned 2nd hand stores litter their main street.  Outdoor music all summer, by the river.  Climbing, skiing and paddling, the items I was focused on teaching my kids, are quite readily available. Buena Vista and Leadville to the north are both other considerations, but Leadville offers colder winters.  Buena Vista has a bit more consumerism in general.  Salida is off of smaller roads, attracts somewhat less big box stores than Buena Vista and is a lot warmer than Leadville.  In fact, just to the south is Great Sandunes National Park near Crestone and the New Mexico high desert further south yet. Plenty of sunny winter days. Tons of 14ers in the area offer a lot of camping and hiking venues.  CO and NM are the only politically progressive states among their neighbors, so diversity is better than AZ, UT, ID, NV or WY.  Goes without saying, water conservation and air pollution in Salida (a huge thing for me raising my kids, assessing the air they breath as well as the water they drank during formative years of growth) trumps most in the west or southwest.  Boulder is a large town now.  Very large, with pollution, crime, expensive housing (lack of wealth diversity).  It is no longer the Boulder many of us remember in our youth.  You drive from Denver to Boulder to Fort Collins without much space in between as there was several decades ago.  You could not pay me to live on the east side of Denver.  Keep in mind, not everyone's priorities are truly for the benefit of their kids health (thus the popularity of Boulder, Salt Lake and Vegas), but I don't care nor judge.  I am a libertarian at heart.  But if you need the big city experience for airport, etc, Denver is only 2.5 hrs from Salida.

Good luck with your decision, will be an exciting time for the whole family to figure it all out.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer so thoughtfully. I really appreciate your advices and experience. It will certainly guide us through this process. Also thank you everyone else! I lived 6 months in the US last year in NC and I found a super welcoming climbing community there... And I am really excited to move to the US next year, explore the amazing climbing there is and meet more nice people.