Any TGRers spent significant time living away from mountains?

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Long story short I'm considering the move to Chicago. I love the city, the feel, the culture, the people, and have family and friends there and work would be more interesting. The biggest downside would be far away from mountains. In the summer I'm not worried as there's the lake and I enjoy running. The winters without skiing sound tough with no mountains nearby and I don't want depend on eating and drinking all winter for entertainment. My strategy for surviving the winters would be to take 2x weekish long trips to the northwest to ski and see family/friends. So for TGRers that have lived away from the mountains with occasional trips, do you feel the mountain itch satisfied enough and satisfied by city/other offerings or couldn't wait to live near the mountains again? I realize everyone is different but I'm curious to hear some anecdotal experiences.

May I suggest this https://youtu.be/uWsFPtgIFMY


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[dunfree]

Bozeman isn’t much more in the mountains than Portland, but this is assclownville. Now the mountains are different, and so are the opportunities, but gtfo

the biggest thing you might want to think about as the us segregates itself is if you can find people with shared interests wherever you go

[plugboots]

Yer new view?

[Peruvian]

the biggest thing you might want to think about is whether you will regret the move every day that your Bozo friends text you pics of tits deep pow shots.

FIFY.

[SumJongGuy]

Skiing is skiing..

https://www.timeout.com/chicago/spor...g-near-chicago

Hit the big vert when you can.. but short laps are fun when there's nothing bigger available..

You're less than 8 hours from Mt Bohemia. Definitely a bucket list item for every true skier.

Swing by and take some laps with Harry on the way/back

[dunfree]

FIFY.

Aren’t you old? did you never learn there’s always someone looking like they are having more fun?

[Dexter Rutecki]

You're less than 8 hours from Mt Bohemia. Definitely a bucket list item for every true skier.

So, it may be true in some way that Bohemia is a bucket list destination, but I'm reminded of years ago in AK living my dream at a heli-op in the evening hanging with my crew of pretty ripping skiers--including Kristin Ulmer (yeah, I'm going to name drop)--and the lone snowboarder states that given the choice of skiing anywhere in the east or Mt. Bohemia he'd choose Bohemia. I look at Ulmer (a NH girl) whose face shows evident shock (mine probably did too), and she starts stammering out names of ski areas in the east to see if he'll walk it back. I can't remember if I'd known the guy for two days or three days at this point, but I finally decided that I had to call him out on it, and told him that if he was going to say that Bohemia was in any way better than at least a half-dozen lift served eastern areas--to say nothing of the Presidentials--he was high or trolling. He didn't really argue the point, but I truly believe that part of him had convinced himself that Bohemia really was better than every eastern mountain.

That said, I guess it's a fact that if you're in Chicago you should make a point of skiing there when conditions are good.

[singlecross]

Get ready to eat lots of soup. Post pics.

[skinipenem]

Learn to play an instrument. Join a band. Rip it up all winter.

In the summer sail a foil boat and kiteboard too.

Eat great food. See tons of great concerts. Enjoy the intellectual wonders of some of the best: museums, gardens, aquarium, art Institute...

And miss regularly skiing.



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[Peruvian]

Aren’t you old? did you never learn there’s always someone looking like they are having more fun?

Nothing cuts as deep as friends, though.

That’s some aged wisdom for you.

[SumJongGuy]

So, it may be true in some way that Bohemia is a bucket list destination, but I'm reminded of years ago in AK living my dream at a heli-op in the evening hanging with my crew of pretty ripping skiers--including Kristin Ulmer (yeah, I'm going to name drop)--and the lone snowboarder states that given the choice of skiing anywhere in the east or Mt. Bohemia he'd choose Bohemia. I look at Ulmer (a NH girl) whose face shows evident shock (mine probably did too), and she starts stammering out names of ski areas in the east to see if he'll walk it back. I can't remember if I'd known the guy for two days or three days at this point, but I finally decided that I had to call him out on it, and told him that if he was going to say that Bohemia was in any way better than at least a half-dozen lift served eastern areas--to say nothing of the Presidentials--he was high or trolling. He didn't really argue the point, but I truly believe that part of him had convinced himself that Bohemia really was better than every eastern mountain.

That said, I guess it's a fact that if you're in Chicago you should make a point of skiing there when conditions are good.

Ya, Jer used to go on and on about Bohemia. I'd also put Buck Hill MN on the skier's BUCKet list. Pajarito NM .. Lots of places that have a notorious vibe that aren't the absolute best (or even good) terrain/conditions..

[BmillsSkier]

Chicago is a fucking fantastic city.

As ex-pow mentioned, the summers (100 days on a good year) are outstanding.

Others have pointed out the laundry list of other benefits the city brings.

Look, everything is situational so you’ll know if you should go or not, or if your beloved outdoor pursuit is enough to keep you home.

As Hugh points out, one day we will all stop being exceptional and your skiing just won’t need to be as rad as it was. For that stage of your life (and really, for those even before it), is it so bad to have the big metal bird take you to the doorstep of wherever you want to ski?

Just remember. In Chicago you’d be close enough to ski Bohemia with Jer and boil steaks with DigitalDrew.

Think about it.

[gaijin]

Always being a small town/mountain boy I was pretty scared at moving to Tokyo 3 years ago. And only accepted it as it was going to be temporary before moving to Nagano.

I say that as a precursor to how surprised I was at how much I liked Tokyo. I discovered that in those seas of millions of people are sub-routines. Everybody has a routine and from those routines develop villages, neighbors, regulars on the train. It became quite comfortable in no time. And then I understood why so many people choose to live there. Good jobs, easy commute, nice parks, nice gyms, easy train rides to the mountains.

But coming back to the mountains (which are medium in Yamagata) felt like coming home after that Tokyo stint.

Move. Try it. Move to another place a year later. Life is huge.

[El Chupacabra]

What if you're a small town girl, born and raised in South Detroit?

[BmillsSkier]

What if you're a small town girl, born and raised in South Detroit?

Then just take the midnight train going anywhere.

[tgapp]

I work in Chicago and I'm there every 6 weeks or so. I agree with other comments that it is an extremely livable city - amazing food, great parks, very pedestrian/public transit friendly. I love everything about it.

For me & my lifestyle, spending time in the mountains isn't just a weekend thing, or a "few big trips a year" thing - I need it on a regular basis, multiple times a week. For that reason, Chicago isn't a good fit for me; the closest outdoor recreation is "weekend+" trip distance, which is a stark contrast to where I live now.

It is an absolutely amazing city, though.

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[warthog]

Everybody should live in a city for a period I think. I lived in London for a bit. I absolutely loved it.

Never really lived IN the mountains. I went to college 20 minutes from Holiday Valley in NY, and then lived in Boulder for a while.
I love skiing so much, but I never felt I could live in those towns for more than 1 season.
Then I moved to Florida.
Our home mountain is Alta. Just a plane ride away, and a free place to stay is all that is required.
I do miss getting 80+ days on snow though, won't lie.

Edit- TLDR- Basically the opposite of what tgapp just said.

[irul&ublo]

What if you're a small town girl, born and raised in South Detroit?

Detroit is not a small town

[snowaddict91]

Everybody should live in a city for a period I think. I lived in London for a bit. I absolutely loved it.

Edit- TLDR- Basically the opposite of what tgapp just said.

If I never live somewhere bigger than SLC in my life, that is fine with me. I can appreciate cities in small doses, but I am just not a city person.

[yeahman]

Biggest mistake I ever made was moving away from Montana, even though I liked where we moved to. It was only through extremely fortunate circumstances that I was able to move back. It's not a given. Life can lock you down pretty easily. Good luck with your decision.

[tgapp]

Everybody should live in a city for a period I think. I lived in London for a bit. I absolutely loved it.

Never really lived IN the mountains. I went to college 20 minutes from Holiday Valley in NY, and then lived in Boulder for a while.
I love skiing so much, but I never felt I could live in those towns for more than 1 season.
Then I moved to Florida.
Our home mountain is Alta. Just a plane ride away, and a free place to stay is all that is required.
I do miss getting 80+ days on snow though, won't lie.

Edit- TLDR- Basically the opposite of what tgapp just said.

Ha yeah I mean you do you

But I need to see the sun rise or set in the mountains at least 3 times a week, usually more

Sunrise on Michigan avenue just doesn't scratch the same itch for me.

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[Shredhead]

I moved from Aspen to Chicago and survived. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.
My wife and I both had extremely strong family ties in the Chicago area. We made it work, but I literately dreamed of moving back everyday.

With two airports, you can get to almost anywhere and I still skied often. The main reason I joined Powder Mag and Epic ski forums, was to facilitate powder chasing.
I met a lot of good people and skied a lot of places in peak conditions, but it's not easy or cheap.

Chicago used to be a really nice city. Some of my relatives, that used to be hard core downtowners, have moved to the suburbs, because of the crime.
The outdoor recreational opportunities in the winter are limited and the tax burden is really high.

[Core Shot]

Chicago sucks


It used to be fun



Can’t imagine living there now.

[goldenboy]

What if you're a small town girl, born and raised in South Detroit?

Then you're Canadian

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[Danno]

Detroit is not a small town

Don't stop believin.