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

bend, OR should be on your list.

Why do you want to move out west? What about North, East, or South?

Boise? It's a great city, safe, clean, fun culture. It's relatively close to places such as the Sawtooths and McCall. The foothills north of town offer good trails. Their barren, but fun.

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

Fresno does not belong on that list.

Honestly, I really like the idea of living somewhere with relatively moderate temperatures (eliminate the upper Midwest) and beautiful scenery - mountains, rivers, etc. I've lived in either New England or Pennsylvania my whole life; I like some aspects of the Northeast, but I definitely want a change. The South probably doesn't fit me personality-wise (in addition to being liberal and secular, I am quite introverted), and for better or worse, I've always thought of it as flat and hot.

Have you explored West Philadelphia? Baby steps.

go west young man wrote:

Honestly, I really like the idea of living somewhere with relatively moderate temperatures (eliminate the upper Midwest) and beautiful scenery - mountains, rivers, etc. I've lived in either New England or Pennsylvania my whole life; I like some aspects of the Northeast, but I definitely want a change. The South probably doesn't fit me personality-wise (in addition to being liberal and secular, I am quite introverted), and for better or worse, I've always thought of it as flat and hot.

Western NC and eastern Tennessee are most certainly not flat.

Fresno is one of the most polluted cities in America.

Redding, CA. Tons of trails. Small town but not 2 small (90,000). No traffic. Mild temps year round...60-70 before noon 85+ afternoon during summer...winter 30-40 before noon 40-60 afternoon. Surrounded by mountains. Outdoor and family oriented community, if you go to any of the trails you will see tons of people walking or running. Ryan Hall lived here for a couple of years.

go west young man wrote:

Honestly, I really like the idea of living somewhere with relatively moderate temperatures (eliminate the upper Midwest) and beautiful scenery - mountains, rivers, etc. I've lived in either New England or Pennsylvania my whole life; I like some aspects of the Northeast, but I definitely want a change. The South probably doesn't fit me personality-wise (in addition to being liberal and secular, I am quite introverted), and for better or worse, I've always thought of it as flat and hot.

Allow me to extend my personal invitation to our fair city.

Dude, You are making a big mistake. Out of all these cities, I would suggest SLC. There's a huge population that you would fit right in with and great running groups, too.

However, I say you're making a big mistake wanting to leave. Philly is my hometown, too. There's nothing quite like it. Plus, you have to deal without Tastykakes, Wawa, good soft pretzels, relatively friendly people, good drivers...

My biggest issues since moving out, though, have been the food and drivers. You'll really miss Wawa most of all.

running is better wrote:

bend, OR should be on your list.

No. I live in Oregon. Don't go to Bend. The winter is terrible for training. Unless you love treadmills.

go west young man wrote:

Honestly, I really like the idea of living somewhere with relatively moderate temperatures (eliminate the upper Midwest) and beautiful scenery - mountains, rivers, etc. I've lived in either New England or Pennsylvania my whole life; I like some aspects of the Northeast, but I definitely want a change. The South probably doesn't fit me personality-wise (in addition to being liberal and secular, I am quite introverted), and for better or worse, I've always thought of it as flat and hot.

What grade are you in? Because somewhere along the way, you should have learned that there is a mountain range that goes almost all the way down to Atlanta, Georgia.

There are plenty of liberal and secular people in the southern US. Try a college town like Austin, Charleston, Athens, Asheville, etc. Asheville is in the woody mountains of NC so it's certainly not flat and hot. Plus the east coast beaches are much better than the west coast beaches.

I moved to portland in january. U should move here. Good running scene for wvery type. Joggers, rec runners, club, and pro (obvi). Good young nightlife. Plenty of bars and great food. Cost of living veries greatly depending on what part of town ur in. Downtown and nw is most expensive and se is middle ground and a nice place to be. Its a city feel but with lots of nice neighborhoods and strips. Very hipster. Liberal. Good transit system. Forest park has extremely nice trails.

Dude, I don't want to rip too hard on the Appalacians, certainly more interesting terrain than you'll find in Kansas, and far from flat, but there's really no comparison to the big mountains out west. For somebody who really wants mountains, the big rolling hills of the Appalacians just ain't gonna cut it.

Same thing for the beaches in my opinion, but I'm coming more from the appreciation of rugged natural beauty point of view than the nice place to tan my butt cheeks point of view. Any day I'll take a small, difficult to access beach socked in by 200 foot cliffs, maybe with some spectacular sea stacks breaking the waves, over the flat and featureless beaches out east.

OP, I'd recommend the Seattle area. I live in the Bay Area because that's where I got a job after school (from midwest originally), and I love the coast from Big Sur up to redwood country, and the Sierra Nevada is arguably the finest mountain range in the lower 48. But it's expensive and crowded as hell here, and the Sierra is 4-5 hours away without traffic. In Seattle you still have the spectacular Pacific coast and Olympic mountains not far away, and the northern Cascades are right out the back door. And it's a whole lot cheaper.

NotAustin18 wrote:

running is better wrote:

bend, OR should be on your list.

No. I live in Oregon. Don't go to Bend. The winter is terrible for training. Unless you love treadmills.

i see what you're saying, good point.

oregon sucks, don't come near oregon, stay away.

Move South.

Austin

Asheville, NC

Not Austin. Austin doesn't want you. There's too many people moving into Texas lately. I guess it's our own fault for having a good economy through the recession.