Where Should I Move? Seattle vs. Boulder

[Lindahl]

I disagree in that I would prefer to be the extra 10 minutes from WR/Apex but still be able to ride Betasso, Super Walker, and soon Heil and Hall when they complete the connector, all from town with a car. Not to mention the flat trails or Rez and Marshall for quick after work laps with no driving. Also only 30 minutes from the Ned trails which are some of the best in the area. Boulder is far better in my mind for mtn biking than Denver.

Just my opinion.

No shame in enjoying the mediocre trails. Riding Walker or Heil/Hall from town is just a sufferfest though.

[TahoeJ]

my advice - keep looking

Sometimes the first response is the best one.

However, if I was young and single and those were my only two options, I'd probably pick Boulder.

[HappyCamper]

Both!

Start with whatever town has the highest paying job.

Play the field - if one place doesn't quite float your boat after 2 years - move.

Hell - add a 3rd place to the list.

Looking back, I wish I had spent a couple years in a few cities/towns.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Srsly.

That's the shit that I'll begrudgingly do in between sweet sections of singletrack... but ONLY if I have to.

LOL. I was 100% with you until mellow gravel rides were all I could do as part of PT for a broken hip. So I got a "gravel bike" to motivate myself to get out. To my disbelief and dismay I found hauling ass on deserted backroads to be kind of...not shitty. Even fun. Then I got some spandex. Now I'm considering adding a power meter and doing the Dirty Kanza. Fuck me. It's a dark path and a 10 year younger version of me would kick me right in the nuts for this shit.

[skaredshtles]

LOL. I was 100% with you until mellow gravel rides were all I could do as part of PT for a broken hip. So I got a "gravel bike" to motivate myself to get out. To my disbelief and dismay I found hauling ass on deserted backroads to be kind of...not shitty. Even fun. Then I got some spandex. Now I'm considering adding a power meter and doing the Dirty Kanza. Fuck me. It's a dark path and a 10 year younger version of me would kick me right in the nuts for this shit.

[GeezerSteve]

You can make a good life in either place.

I also like the idea of being able to ski volcanoes and getting really into alpinism.

Cascades/Olympics FTW on this issue. WA has more remote mountaineering opportunities, plenty o' excellent and adventurous glacier routes of various levels and bigger expanses of remote wilderness if that's your thing.

Most of the comments on this thread re respective ski touring opportunities appear to be (a) snark or (b) the product of homerism bias. You can make either place work. Here's my bias: Rocky Mountain persistent weak layer is a thing, and touring season in the WA Cascades is longer. Indeed, much of our best touring and ski mountaineering is in May, June and into July.

Good luck to ya, wherever you land. If you choose Seattle and want to explore some remote terrain, shoot me a PM for some ideas.

[Yonder_River]

I'm around Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford all the time. It's definitely bustling out there, but it ain't that bad. It's a city for sure, but you can escape it easy enough. Lots of gravel biking and better mountain biking within 35 minutes of downtown (imo) than in Denver/Boulder although I remember Buffalo Creek being decent.

I did three years in Denver and saw a fair amount of the front range. I thought we'd probably return, but we opted not to. The I70 traffic was mind numbing then (2003ish) and it appears worse now. That killed all my enthusiasm...along with the 9 months of brown. Here, I generally know I can get to Alpental in an hour on the weekends. If you are going up mid-week early morning, maybe add 30 minutes to that. Getting to the other ski areas (or touring opportunities) is still, in general, way easier and more predictable than the FR. Also, if you want to pick up WW kayaking, it's some of the best in the U.S. and within an hour from town.

There may be a bit of a freeze here meeting people? I don't know as I had a friend group intact already here. Seems like you may have to put yourself out there a bit to keep connected. I'd be hesitant to live outside of the Seattle neighborhoods if you are young and looking to keep it convenient to meet and connect with people. You'll live closer to work (most likely), closer to food and drink and socialization and it will just add on 30 minutes of drive time for when you do recreate. You'll also be further away from miserable folks like Gladmaster who made the wrong choice to move to NB when still young.

Living here ain't for everyone as some people's moods are heavily tied to how sunny it is. For example, it's been way to sunny here the past month and it's effecting my mood. We need more snow damnit!

[smmokan]

No shame in enjoying the mediocre trails. Riding Walker or Heil/Hall from town is just a sufferfest though.

FWIW, White Ranch from Boulder is about 20-25 minutes. Same as Denver. I live in Niwot and I can get there in less than 35 minutes, even while hitting all the damn red lights going through Boulder.

Plus, living in Boulder gives you much closer access to more fun trails like Hall Ranch, Left Hand OHV, the stuff in Nederland, and the stuff to the north in Loveland and FtC. And I agree with you, Heil Ranch sucks. But let's remember, we're arguing over two pretty awesome places to live in the grand scheme of things.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

No way. There can be only one winner. This is the internet and what we decide here stays true forever.

[dunfree]

As long as there’s been ski lifestyle arguments on the internet Boulder has “won” them by sheer volume of homers.

the ski season is long enough (if you tour it’s easily November to July in a decent year) in Seattle it takes more effort to be a multi sport dilettante

[fastfred]

this discussion is silly
if I had a chance to do it all over again i'd just do what I did all over again

over thinking shit is dumb if recreation is your main concern then drop eveything and lead a life that has that in the center of it
if you want a real job sucess and money then move to any shit hole city urban area and make that your concern and if you have time to play go play but that will all ways be secondary to your family life and job and material successes

I had a dream this morning that I woke up and had to goto work
meanwhile the beater next to me in bed got up threw on her ski grear and did a sunrise dawn patrol leaving me to deal with real life
pick one

[Larix]

Western CO or Eastern WA. Stay out of the cities.


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[Mofro261]

Living here ain't for everyone as some people's moods are heavily tied to how sunny it is. For example, it's been way to sunny here the past month and it's effecting my mood. We need more snow damnit!

4th driest Nov since 1945, apparently.



Oh god, I need a drink of cool, cool rain.

[Mofro261]

just for fair and balanced coverage:

[Danno]

Missed the boat. If you like riding good trails, Denver has closer riding (not more). Living in five points (killer nightlife, beats the piss outta Boulder) was about 20-25 min from Apex. But is about 30-35 min from Boulder. White Ranch is closer from Denver too. Those times are from Table Mesa. Much longer if you don’t live on the south end. Walker and Hall are fun, but I wouldn’t put them above Apex and WR. And Dakota Ridge is great, too, if you’re on a time crunch.

And yeah, Marshall Mesa and Betasso... no thanks. I’ll leave those for the dirt roadies.

I preferred living in Denver, purely from a mountain biking perspective.

Is this similar to those posts from people who claim they can drive from Denver to Durango in 5 hours? Because google maps shows 26 minutes to White Ranch from a random location in 5 points, and 27 minutes from my house (which is 5-10 minutes from Table Mesa). Apex is a 10 minute difference, but again, I am not at Table Mesa; it's pretty even if I was. Regardless, they're pretty much equal (could be faster or slower in each town depending on where exactly you are, like I said before). I know that most people prefer Apex/White Ranch to "Boulder trails", even Walker and Hall, but the point I was making wasn't that Boulder had better mt biking locally (I think I was pretty clear that it wasn't). But the drive times are pretty similar for the trails you mentioned, PLUS Boulder has other trails much closer that are ok for a quick workout ("dirt roadies" aren't my thing but the fact that you can hop on a bike, hit some bike path for a few minutes, do a 60-90 minutes of non-technical singletrack at Betasso, and cruise back, in under 2 hours, isn't something Denver has), and some trails that are a drive but can be fun (Hall or Walker or West Mag, eg) that are much further if you live in Denver.

Again, there's lots of things to shit on Boulder about, but arguing that Denver proper is much better for mt biking is, quite frankly, really weird.

[Cono Este]

I qualify for parole next August, after 14 yrs of hard labor.

I must be inside of 1hr, from door, to top of lift. Midweek, random, lonely, pow shots. What else is life for?

Denver might as well be a plane ride away. Same for San Fran, LA, or Seattle.

I can only think of one place.


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[Wapow]

Another interesting (at least to me) data point: I know of many climbers who have moved from Seattle to Boulder (and SLC) but I know of no skiers who have moved away from Seattle seeking "whiter pastures". I'm pretty much exclusively a snomo access touring guy nowadays, and I'm almost never skunked for pow. You sometimes have to drive for it, but it's there and it's great. I go to Moab every fall to climb and ride and meet a lot of UT and CO folks and have taken to asking them about the prospects for snomo accessed touring where they live. Seems like it's pretty much nonexistent in those areas, either because of avy concerns or access restrictions. I know many 20 somethings buying sleds nowadays here in Pugetopolis/Salishcisco for the same reason. It's cheap enough if skiing untracked pow on sick lines with nobody else around is truly your jam.

[GeezerSteve]

I know of many climbers who have moved from Seattle to Boulder (and SLC). . . .

Rock climbers, right? IME, the movement of alpinists goes the other direction, i.e., leave CO for WA.

[Ted Striker]

Look at Denver or SLC. More opportunity, more going on, great access to outdoor rec. You're an engineer, you're smart. Smarter than 99% of the mouth breathers complaining that it's too difficult or "sucks" to live in either of those places.

Half of the mouth breathers in this thread are smart engineers.












I see what you did there.

[liv2ski]

I qualify for parole next August, after 14 yrs of hard labor.

I must be inside of 1hr, from door, to top of lift. Midweek, random, lonely, pow shots. What else is life for?

Denver might as well be a plane ride away. Same for San Fran, LA, or Seattle.

I can only think of one place.


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I wonder if we are thinking of the same place? So far this season, Mammoth has had way more pow though. OP, as others have said, you're young, so go where the best opportunities are for your career and don't be afraid to move on to greener pastures every few years. You have plenty of time to settle in somewhere. Make hay now.

[ACH]

I'm pretty much exclusively a snomo access touring guy nowadays, and I'm almost never skunked for pow.

It's cheap enough if skiing untracked pow on sick lines with nobody else around is truly your jam.

As someone who grew up with sleds and has chased sled/tracked ski access for 2 decades, I'm going to dispute your last point,
It's not cheap.

[Buster Highmen]

Again, arguing is, quite frankly, really weird.

fify.

I've never lived on the Front Range, so my 45 years in the PNW is meaningless.
That said, Durango and Ogden.

[skaredshtles]

I wonder if we are thinking of the same place? So far this season, Mammoth has had way more pow though. OP, as others have said, you're young, so go where the best opportunities are for having a good time and don't be afraid to move on to greener pastures every few years. You have plenty of time to settle in somewhere. Make hay now.

Fixed that.

[Danno]

fify.

I've never lived on the Front Range, so my 45 years in the PNW is meaningless.
That said, Durango and Ogden.

I've lived in the PNW and Durango, so the answer is clearly Ogden.

[jacob_dbu]

I'm around Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford all the time. It's definitely bustling out there, but it ain't that bad. It's a city for sure, but you can escape it easy enough. Lots of gravel biking and better mountain biking within 35 minutes of downtown (imo) than in Denver/Boulder although I remember Buffalo Creek being decent.

I did three years in Denver and saw a fair amount of the front range. I thought we'd probably return, but we opted not to. The I70 traffic was mind numbing then (2003ish) and it appears worse now. That killed all my enthusiasm...along with the 9 months of brown. Here, I generally know I can get to Alpental in an hour on the weekends. If you are going up mid-week early morning, maybe add 30 minutes to that. Getting to the other ski areas (or touring opportunities) is still, in general, way easier and more predictable than the FR. Also, if you want to pick up WW kayaking, it's some of the best in the U.S. and within an hour from town.

There may be a bit of a freeze here meeting people? I don't know as I had a friend group intact already here. Seems like you may have to put yourself out there a bit to keep connected. I'd be hesitant to live outside of the Seattle neighborhoods if you are young and looking to keep it convenient to meet and connect with people. You'll live closer to work (most likely), closer to food and drink and socialization and it will just add on 30 minutes of drive time for when you do recreate. You'll also be further away from miserable folks like Gladmaster who made the wrong choice to move to NB when still young.

Living here ain't for everyone as some people's moods are heavily tied to how sunny it is. For example, it's been way to sunny here the past month and it's effecting my mood. We need more snow damnit!

From the Ballard / Freemont area is there any riding right out the door for an after work hour-ish where you can escape a bit?

Also, is Alpental pretty much a go-to for sidecountry stuff?

WW kayaking sounds super fun.

I have a friend group in Seattle already so that's really nice, but none of them are into my kind of outdoors so I can't leverage them for advice. I know I'm not going to be getting out and skiing / riding every weekend. More of an every-other weekend thing. But being able to access it when I do want it is important to me and being able to go on some quick jaunts when I don't have time to get out of the city is also important (obviously for biking not skiing).