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Have a chance to move to LA. How's the climbing?
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Hello, I recently got an opportunity to take a job in Los Angeles. I am coming from Tucson, AZ and there's a big climbing community here with adopt-a-crag events, bolt and anchor teams, and plenty of climbing. I have a few questions for folks local to the area before I make a decision: What is it like in Los Angeles? What is the climbing community there like? Is it open and friendly? How far do you have to drive to get to a crag and/or how long does it take you to get there? I would have to live near San Fernando/Granada Hills. Is it worth it? Living in the area, do you wish you lived somewhere else that had climbing opportunities but lower cost of living? Does nature feel far away? I am a bit worried about the cost of living and traffic. Here in Tucson the cost of living is rock bottom and I have a house here so it would be a big move and commitment to get out there. A big reason I moved to Tucson from Oklahoma were the climbing opportunities. Thanks. Sorry if it's been asked before. I saw a few threads in the past, but they didn't answer everything I was thinking about. |
Taylor Neff wrote: LA is OK as far as climbing opportunities go. We have lots locally, shorter sport climbing. If you drive about 5 hours you can be at Yosemite, Mammoth/Bishop, Mt Whitney/Alabama Hills. We also have tons of climbing in the Southern Sierra. But if you’re not making a ton of $$$ by moving to LA I’d pass - Tuscon is a fine place. |
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The good climbing is minimum an hour drive and then an hour hike. Stoney point Chatsworth in Valley is a dump. The good climbing is three hour drive and half hour to hour hike. The traffic and prices are horrible |
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What about moving from So Cal to AZ? Can you climb all summer long? |
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@Not My Name, you can, if you live in Tucson or Flagstaff. Phoenix I don't think so but I've never lived there. Here in Tucson you can climb the base of the mountain or some tufa nearby during the winter and during the summer you can climb at the top of the mountain. There's probably a few days where everything is too hot and you either have to hunt for shade or start at dawn and leave by noon. |
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Lemmon has crags from 2500’ to 9000’ - almost always decent conditions at some elevation and sun/wind aspect. That is, unless the mountain is on fire again. That with the excellent winter desert options make Tucson one of the US cities with most climbable days annually. |
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I used to enjoy visiting LA quite a bit. Whether nature feels accessible or not completely depends on the neighborhood you are in. There are more people in LA county than more than a few states and it takes up a lot of land space too, so one neighborhood can be not at all like another. Have you ever visited before? I could see it being a bit of culture shock no matter where you are coming out from, so definitely take the opportunity to get there to look around at the options beforehand. eta: i am sorry that this doesn't explore the topic of climbing directly, there is rock around but i feel like the experience of the city overwhelms the climbing experience. |
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SoCal traffic is way worse than Tucson. bad traffic here stays clogged up for much longer parts of the day, and sometimes outright soul crushing waste-of-life gridlocked awful if unaware and blunder onto freeway messes at the worst times. living close to work helps tremendously for everyday sanity. SFV/GH can get really hot in summer. nicer mild temps (and cleaner air) if within 30 mins drive from the coast. maybe you can find a nice place at the fringe of both that suits you SFV/GH area is west of the 405, so you can often drive to the west side crags thru relatively light traffic most times of day. Stoney Point will be right where you are, if into bouldering, with limited roped climbing as well. decent sport at Malibu Creek, Echo Cliffs, etc. more stuff at Santa Barbara and Ojai normally, but due to recent severe storm damage to mtn roads, would be a yr or more before many of those areas come back into play if you're more into JTree, Idyllwild, and Big Bear, limited windows of not-too-bad traffic do exist to make trips out that way manageable. but know that you'll be farther away than most others from LA proper. longer drive and lower chance of say scoring campsite at JTree, bec you'll be an hr or two behind a whole lot of other people to head that same way. no disadvantage tho heading north to Yosemite or Sierra Eastside if you have some wkdays off to climb, that works much better than being restricted to wknds only. wknds at most popular SoCal areas have long become raucous zoos, including JTree, Idy, Holcomb SFV/GH has lots of rocky hillsides and trails just to adjacent north, that qualifies as dry nature, like Tucson but without the big cacti. greener further west or east. ocean not that long a drive away to the south either overall, i second the sentiment of moving to SoCal over Tucson only if job pays much more and greatly benefits career |
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Advice I always give people moving to LA. |
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Food is awesome. Diversity is higher. Tons of history. The beaches are awesome in the summer. Rock ranges from sharp-pocket conglomerate to slappy sandstone to bullet granite so every crag has something different. But it takes insider knowledge. If you want the best spots without the crowds, you're gonna have to meet people and make plans. Otherwise you might get trapped in that tickytacky same-old-same-old routine that most people here fall into. Also, start gathering good podcasts or playlists for driving. DM me if you end up moving and wanna climb :) |
Nate Atkinson wrote:  |
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Taylor, have you looked at the median housing price in the two different areas? I think it’s about 3 X more expensive where you are thinking of moving. I hope they are offering you enough for you to be able to afford a mortgage out here! Tucson is hard to beat when it comes to year round climbing access, but from LA you can get to a greater diversity of rock types and climbing environments. Upper Mt Lemmon is nice but the Sierra Nevada is amazing. |
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We Love it!  |
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Everyone else has covered the important housing and work arguments pretty well, so I'll just mention the climbing. I moved back to LA from Flagstaff. What we have here isn't the same high quality, largely abundant rock available in Northern and Southern AZ. But if you know where to look and how to manage the summer heat, there's enough in Southern California to last you a lifetime while never revisiting a route. I'd argue that our summer time alpine rock season is second to none. 30 minites-1hr from many decent sport crags, 2-3 hours from San Diego, Tahquitz, and JTree, 5 hours from Red Rock, Mammoth, and the Western Sierra, 3-4 hours from most of the Eastern Sierra. There's plenty to do out here. |
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Have you ever waited in a line five cars deep for a single climbing gym parking spot? Unless it's one of those "can't pass it up" type career opportunities, I would stay in Tucson, especially if you moved there for climbing in the first place. The best parts of SoCal climbing that other posters have mentioned require at least a few hours to get to the wall racked up, even from somewhere slightly less crowded (but still crowded) like San Diego. This is exacerbated by the LA traffic that makes it pretty difficult to get out of the city on your personal schedule--you will nearly always have to submit to playing around the whims of the LA traffic hive mind. I cannot overstate how bad the congestion can be if you grew up knowing other cities/towns, and how much it can impact quality of living there. You will not have the opportunity to climb outside on weekdays if you work a 9-5 unless you settle for some pretty junky crags/boulders, even by local SoCal standards. Yes, you get used to it, and yes, the city has many really cool things to offer (limitless, if sometimes overhyped, food selection, obviously concerts if that's your thing, etc), but this is a climbing forum, and my answer revolves around that. The only reason I accept the compromises necessary to live in SoCal is because I am a surfer first, and a climber second. If I were only a climber I would probably choose somewhere much lower cost of living with much better quality local climbing access, like Flagstaff. |
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Helps if you have other hobbies that you are passionate about. Mountain biking and trail running opportunities can be excellent. Best if you could telecommute 50% or more, and live on the outskirts (no duh). |
Sprinkle McSparklecams wrote: I'm guessing your gym is Cliffs of Id? Parking there really sucks, though there is that big lot just across the street. Sender One is under parked but if you are willing to walk a couple hundred yards there's always a street spot. Out where the OP is talking about living the gym would be Boulderdash and there isn't a parking issue. |
Sean wrote: What is GH in SFV/GH? |
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How many “Should I move to LA?” threads are we going to have? |
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Living in the San Fernando Valley while hot in the summer makes for quicker get aways and less traffic than living on the westside. As others have said there is tons of good climbing nearby and loads of great climbing just a little further. The high desert offers great day climbing during the winter months and in the summer the Angeles National Forest offers climbing above the smog and heat. There are the widely known areas that offer good climbing and a growing number of under the radar spots that offer away from the crowds climbing. |
Yury wrote: Granada Hills as OP specifically asked about (and San Fernando Valley) |
