Trying to decide between moving to SLC, Rapid City, Grand Junction, Vegas or Tucson. Any advice?

Hey everyone, so I got offered the opportunity to work remotely within the Pacific and Mountain time zones. I currently live near Bend, but have gotten priced out of the area now that a single bedroom costs at least $1,600 + utilities at least, which is most of my monthly pay. So I'm looking into other cities where the cost of living isn't insane.

I was originally leaning towards Vegas, but now I realize they are instituted a fee and reservation system in order to access Calico Basin which is where most of the easy world class climbing is for Vegas. Seems like they are going to just get more restrictive on climbers in the area and I imagine dealing with the reservations is a major PITA. 

So at this point I am leaning way more towards SLC. The only concerns I have are the inversions/air quality and the high property crime. Aside from that, I can't seem to find any major cons for SLC.

If SLC turns out to be a no go for me as well though, I would just go for Tucson since I've lived there already and loved it there. I just wanted to try out a new city while I have the opportunity.

My main criteria are easy access to great climbing, a gym, and not being super expensive. I compiled a list of stuff I've found looking into the towns on the web below. If there's anything you guys would be able to add or correct, please let me know and I'll add it in. Thanks

• Grand junction
  1. Locals are getting priced out, more so than usual.
  2. Great climbing in town and world class climbing nearby.
  3. Crime/Meth/Homelessness
  4. Two climbing gyms for a small town.
  5. Less amenities.
  6. Small town vibe
• SLC
  1. Inversions, bad air quality. Poses serious health risks long term.
  2. Traffic
  3. World class climbing in large amounts near town.
  4. More conservative culture?
  5. Dreary, depressing winters?
  6. Property crime.
  7. Crowds.
  8. Great gym options.
• Las Vegas
  1. City culture isn’t ideal. Gambling, brothels, drugs, etc.
  2. Great gym options.
  3. Traffic
  4. Crime
     • https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/119730540/red-rocks-car-break-in
  5. Year long climbing season.
  6. World class climbing in large amounts nearby.
  7. Transient community? Hard to make friends?
  8. Really hot summers, but have alpine climbing where it’s cool.
  9. Fees being instituted at Calico Basin and Red Rocks in general. Reservation system.   
     1. edit: (entry fees and reservations only apply to the Red Rocks loop and not Calico Basin itself, at least for now.)
  10. Crowds
• Rapid City
  1. Very cold winters. Only Ice Climbing.
  2. Only small bouldering gym.
  3. Cheap housing.
  4. Most undervalued/unknown climbing town in the USA.
  5. Very isolated location outside of local climbing.
  6. Expensive flights out.
• Tucson
  1. Okay bouldering, but great sport and trad climbing.
  2. Crime
  3. Traffic
  4. Very cheap still.
  5. Really hot summers, but have alpine climbing where it’s cool.
  6. Very comfortable winters
  7. Lesser known climbing town with less crowds.
  8. Lots of housing available.

I know there's a bunch of other cool cities that would be perfect like Flagstaff or Lander, but housing is damn near impossible to find in those towns.

Advice: Make up your own mind

To each their own, but on your budget I’d pick Tucson or rapid city.

which do you prefer, a city and college town with a large dispersed climbing community with high turn over.

or a smaller town with lots of ice and a small but close nit climbing community?

GJ has similar inversion and air quality issues to SLC and the local climbing is nowhere near the same quality as SLC. We do have that small town feel, but from a climbing perspective SLC is far superior. 

Ha! saying GJ has the same air quality issues as SLC is a gross overstatement. Sure there is some inversion, but not anywhere near the level of Smog Lake City. If you haven’t been in the smog soup when it’s real bad then you have no idea what you are in for. 

Devin Scheid wrote:

• SLC
  1. Inversions, bad air quality
  2. Traffic
  3. World class climbing in large amounts near town.
  4. More conservative culture?
  5. Dreary, depressing winters?
  6. Property crime.
  7. Crowds.
  8. Great gym options.

I know there's a bunch of other cool cities that would be perfect like Flagstaff or Lander, but housing is damn near impossible to find in those towns.

Is there world-class climbing in large amounts near SLC?

SLC is a good jumping point to access world-class climbing year round (driving 3-6 hours), but the local climbing itself, while abundant, isn't destination worthy for most people.

Are you seriously making less than $25,000 a year?  

You're not gonna find anything much cheaper in SLC

Stay in Bend

Hey Devin, it appears we are on the same western town circuit. I’m currently in Tucson but I think my next move will be to GJ next spring. If you take into account distance to destination worthy climbing (Yose, Zion, Bishop, SW UT sport) Vegas wins hands down. 

• Las Vegas
  1. City culture isn’t ideal. Gambling, brothels, drugs, etc.

Oh my goodness, friend. Have you read any of the tourist brochures?  Vegas has no brothels or drugs (you'd have to go to the next county over for those!). And we prefer "Games of Strategy" to "gambling".

When the air quality gets bad in SLC just get above the inversion line. Or get farther away from the city in Maple or into red rock areas.

FWIW I just moved from Boston to SLC and it’s absolutely amazing. Single/multipitch trad, sport, and boulders all super high quality and quantity, very very close to home

I would just add Crime/Meth/Homelessness to all of your choices listed. 

Move to antarctica. whole bunch of fa waiting to be found. 

If you are already considering Rapid City, it could be cooler to move to Spearfish.

C. Defecto wrote:

I take it that fresh clean drinking water isn’t a concern or you.

The water tastes a bit funny in some of those places, but nothing a Brita filter can't fix. And there's plenty of drinking water to go around. Watering golf courses is a different story...

Russ Keane wrote:

Are you seriously making less than $25,000 a year?  

Could be less than full time. Or like 50% of his income after taxes, which i would definitely consider "most of my monthly income" if it happened to be going to a single basic necessity.

Devin Scheid wrote:

• Rapid City
  1. Very cold winters. Only Ice Climbing.
  2. Most undervalued/unknown climbing town in the USA.
  3. Very isolated location outside of local climbing.
  4. Expensive flights out.

I don't think Rapid City is undervalued. I just don't think it has what it needs to be a considered a climbing town. Personally I don't get as stoked on the Needles as on other stuff. Fwiw, I'm pretty sure you can still get Fairweather winter days and climb in the sun at either spearfish or the needles.

Sounds like you know more than the rest of us. If you figure out a magic formula of where to live let us know. The only one on your list I think is not ideal is rapid city. 

I grew up in GJ. Its okay.

I live in SLC so I will say this: air quality is smog in the winters, and wild fires in the summer. Skiing is too crowded and not worth it anymore. Climbing gyms have been good but recently wtf crowded. Religious culture is lame. Nature of living in SLC can be lame: everything is far af from everything because everyone needs their own little fiefdom. 

Outdoor climbing is good. 

SLC and Las Vegas are head and shoulders above the others. You can’t go wrong with either. 

Klaus theK wrote:

GJ has similar inversion and air quality issues to SLC  

This is not true.