I want to move west...Where should I go?

Also I would argue that Seattle and parts of portland are not that much cheaper than Philly, if at all.

I would recommend Ashland. Better weather than Seattle and Portland cheaper than CA tons of trails access to cool mountains.

I'm very interested in this thread, as I, too, am from Philly and am looking to move west in early 2015. Top contenders are Seattle, Portland, and Boise. The weather thing is a bit concerning, though, as I think the dreary-ness might seriously affect my mood after a long while.

I'm traveling to Boise next weekend for a music festival and to see what it's like... I'll try to post my opinions (as a Philly-native) once I get back.

Boise has great weather. It has a a very small feel.

I have lived SF, various bay area cities, Eugene Portland Seattle and have travelled extensively for work in MT ID WA OR CA NV

I also lived in Baltimore but spent a lot of time working in Philly Pitssburgh Stat College Lancaster etc

You will not miss the food of philly. Both Portland and Seattle have great food. You can find great prezel buns in the west if you are looking for them.

I left the NW because I really cant handle the gloom. For me California is where its at; but it hard to find a balance between cosot of living and job availability.

Albuquerque, NM

Great weather, great people, abundant beautiful running locations, fast runners, Dukes Track Club

I'm really surprised Albuquerque wasn't on your list.

running is better wrote: Bend, OR should be on your list.

I second this. Fantastic trail running scene and good local brews.

I live in MA, and this winter has had me day dreaming about SF and Big Sur...once summer rolls around maybe that'll change a little bit.

Bend seems awesome, and Redding and Boise look really nice as well. These places might be a bit small, but the landscapes are absolutely fantastic. Portland and Seattle are also great, but the gloom could definitely be a factor (I think I'd like a lot of sunshine; this winter really brought me down). I'll have to do more research on Albuquerque, though I like what I've seen thus far, and the same goes for Austin. Any thoughts on Denver or Sacramento? And just how dominant is Mormonism in SLC?

I wouldn't worry about Mormons in Salt Lake City. I've lived in Utah for a while and I've found nearly all of them to be super friendly. They're great neighbors, helpful, kind, and if you have kids, it's very moral and family-based. They're by and large a good group. Sometimes you get self-righteous or eccentric ones, but that's the exception. SLC is the best place I've lived so far.

go west young man wrote:

All of these places out west are relatively cheap in comparison to my native Philadelphia. Which of them have a good trails system/running community and also a diverse and interesting nightlife scene for people under 30? Safety would also be nice.

(ordered alphabetically according to state)

-Flagstaff

-Fresno

-Sacramento

-Denver

-Portland (OR)

-Austin

-Salt Lake City

-Seattle

Although I'm not a "hipster," I don't consider myself "mainstream" either, and I'm not very religious or at all politically conservative. For that reason, I eliminated a few places. I'm not totally sure about Salt Lake.

Still, I haven't done a ton of research yet. Please let me know if there are other places I should consider. I know this board is very fond of El Paso :)

Thanks!

SLC or Sacramento are the best options on that list. Both underrated. Fresno is truly a dump. Avoid.

Flagstaff is cool if you need altitude, but Flagstaff is small, almost like a town. And you must like snow. It snows 100 in a season there. Nightlife is pretty quiet...town is small.

Denver is good, but not that cheap, and is sort of isolated. Feels like you're in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest. SLC has a similar feel, but SLC is significantly cheaper than Denver and the skiing is very close by.

Sac is wonderful. "Portland with palm trees". Definitely has the best climate of the options you listed. A California city without the ridiculous cost. Never snows, ever, yet it's extremely close to Tahoe which gets 500 in a snow a year if you need a cold fix. Excellent running scene and places to run. Sac is a good-sized city. Less nightlife than Portland, Austin, Seattle, but it's definitely not absent. Best food in the country easily, excellent local beer scene, some great bars, a few clubs. Easy to bike anywhere on the beautiful tree-line streets. Best of all, not overrun by hipsters! The regular folks outnumber them! Leans left politically, but not too far left. Aside from a couple ghetto areas, pretty safe. You don't have to look over your shoulder everywhere like in Philly. Very diverse population. In fact, Time mag named it most diverse city in the country in 2002.

Portland/Seattle. Decent enough cities, Seattle being very large, but the awful weather is a deal-breaker in my mind. Dreary cold and drizzle and darkness day after day after day. Culturally these cities are decent, but TONS of hipsters.

Austin. Cool small city anchored by UT. It gets really hot down there...might not be conclusive to best training, but hey, it prolly beats Philly.

SLC. Everyone worries about the mormon thing, but it's no big deal really if you live in the city proper. Definitely lots of liberal-minded folks around, just maybe not as many as you'd find in Oregon or California. Anyway, climate is pretty good. Some snow, but not a lot. Best winter sports in the USA. Nightlife is nothing special, but there is some. Very safe. All in all a good, livable western city.

Flagstaff is a good bet, consider also Bellingham, Washington.

Don't settle in Salt Lake as others have mentioned or anywhere in Utah. The state is way too conservative. You will never find even something as trivial as a porn shop or a strip club in the entire state. It's a very boring, Mormon, conservative wasteland. It does have some nice national parks so visiting it for that purpose is ok, but if you are single and liberal, you will not be happy there. I lived in Provo for a summer and could not wait to escape.

I'm from Pittsburgh, moved out here to Salt Lake in 1981. I tryed for years to get my best friends and family to get out here to Salt Lake! They wanted to stay in FREAKIN PA! They are all dead long ago, drugs, suicide etc etc. Salt lake is like 30 years behind the times as far as big destroyed cities. Weather is good, great out back, running is way big here. Economy is great jobs and careers everywhere. I got a city job at age 24, eight days after arrived here. I retired exactly 19 years and 2 days later at 44. Been retired for years now and state pension is 90% of last three years. Utilities are nothing compared to what my parents had in the Burg. Man get the hell out of the northeast..get out here! I am just like your description of you! Get out a there now! Zip out here go to like Law School for 34 months at the Uof U. Bang youll be an attorney in a week in the city, same with med fields. My wife got her BA at the Uof U, does 34 months, really all law school is, Law school. Bang in 2 weeks she is working at a firm down town starting at $104,000 a year. My pension is $49,000! I'm not working and we make 153 grand! I'm not bull crapping you one bit! I will give U my freakin contact info and prove it to you. Get out West get out of that scum world.

running is better wrote:

bend, OR should be on your list.

I second, or third or forth or whatever Bend, Oregon. I've lived here 20 years after living in all of the other major Western states and you will NOT find a better community for athletics end of story. Oh and it's a very nice place to live too. My wife who's from Hawaii even says this place is heaven on earth.

Out.

classic reply!!!!! great points. I love Philly too , but like the person who originally posted, I too (from NJ) am thinking about a place with more moderate temps---especially with this past winter (which is still going strong---WTF?).

Yep, please do. Just this week added Boise to my list-o-places-to-maybe-move-to.

Greg wrote:

classic reply!!!!! great points. I love Philly too , but like the person who originally posted, I too (from NJ) am thinking about a place with more moderate temps---especially with this past winter (which is still going strong---WTF?).

Man, I can't believe what it has been doing out there. So crazy.

Move to Vancouver. That is the best city and only slightly north of Seattle. Unless you are set on staying in the US, go to Vancouver.

Sacramento is okay, but every bit of the following is exaggerated at best, and the statement "Best food in the country easily" is downright insane. Plus the weather in Sac in the summer is way too hot.

"Sac is wonderful. "Portland with palm trees". Definitely has the best climate of the options you listed. A California city without the ridiculous cost. Never snows, ever, yet it's extremely close to Tahoe which gets 500 in a snow a year if you need a cold fix. Excellent running scene and places to run. Sac is a good-sized city. Less nightlife than Portland, Austin, Seattle, but it's definitely not absent. Best food in the country easily, excellent local beer scene, some great bars, a few clubs. Easy to bike anywhere on the beautiful tree-line streets. Best of all, not overrun by hipsters! The regular folks outnumber them! Leans left politically, but not too far left. Aside from a couple ghetto areas, pretty safe. You don't have to look over your shoulder everywhere like in Philly. Very diverse population. In fact, Time mag named it most diverse city in the country in 2002."

I'd go to Denver, my uncle lives out there and its a pretty clean and neat city. Either that or Flagstaff, both seem like great places. Between all those on your list, I'm sure you'll be good in most of them. BTW I'm from Philly as well, it'll be hard, but don't lose your faith in Philly sports wherever you decide to go.

que, que what? wrote:

Flagstaff is a good bet, consider also Bellingham, Washington.

Don't settle in Salt Lake as others have mentioned or anywhere in Utah. The state is way too conservative. You will never find even something as trivial as a porn shop or a strip club in the entire state. It's a very boring, Mormon, conservative wasteland. It does have some nice national parks so visiting it for that purpose is ok, but if you are single and liberal, you will not be happy there. I lived in Provo for a summer and could not wait to escape.

false. trails are amazing, winter sports unbelievable, accessibility second to none, and there are indeed strip clubs if that's your sort of thing. you can even head 90 minutes to Wendover on the NV border and gamble. as a runner and skier, i love it here.