Somewhere Close to Outdoors Activities and Tech Jobs (fit in, rentals)
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I'm looking for a place to live where I can be close to a lot of fun outdoor activities, but also be able to find a job without too much difficulty.
Where I live now in Central NJ has decent job availability (long commute usually), but the outdoors are pretty lacking unless you're willing to drive up north for a while.
I love going kayaking, hiking, biking, snowboarding, and camping. That's pretty much all I do when I have time to relax.
Currently I'm working in web development, but I spent 4 years doing IT (kind of a dying field IMO), so I have a bit of flexibility when it comes to jobs, but I'd prefer web development or some kind of programming because you get the most pay for your time.
I'm very into minimal living, eating healthy, being active, life long learning, self improvement, and all that good stuff.
The top places I've looked into are the Northern New England area (just Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont), Virginia, Colorado, and the Northern West Coast (NorCal, Oregon, Washington)
My top concerns are being able to easily access outdoor recreational activities and having decent job availability so I don't get screwed tying to move there or if I get laid off.
Weather is slightly less important, but frigid cold winters really suck. NJ isn't toooo bad for that, but layering up for cold weather really irks me. I like my skin to feel free haha but no snowboarding without the cold.
I don't care much for shopping, going to bars/clubs, and all that stuff. I do however enjoy going to concerts and restaurants every now and then (I eat plant based though), and walking around small towns with shops.
I've been looking into this for a decent amount of time now and it seems like NYC, Portland, San Francisco, and Denver are the top areas with jobs in my field. So should I base my research on that info?
I've personally visited the mountains in Northern PA, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and the mountains of Southwest Virginia. I even drove all the way across the US to visit Phoenix Arizona, and would have to say that Virginia is the prettiest state I've seen, New Hampshire following closely behind.
Outdoorsy culture + tech industry go nearly hand-in-hand in the metropolitan areas of the West.
I'd recommend these to you (in no particular order):
- Madison
- Salt Lake City
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Austin
- Seattle
- Portland
- Denver
Potentially Boston or Minneapolis as well.
All of them are tech centers, all of them are outdoors oriented both culturally and geographically. As a bonus, all of these places are among the absolute most educated in the United States, all among the healthiest and fittest cities in all of America, all are among the most robust economies in all of America with all having amongst the lowest unemployment rates in America, all are some of the fastest growing and most established tech centers in all of America, all are among the safest with regard to crime, all growing and developing rather quickly, and all offer the essential amenities that you'll need.
The downside is that all of them are also amongst the most overheated housing markets in all of America. For instance, Madison is the most expensive market in all of the Midwest followed by Minneapolis. Boston amongst the most expensive in the Northeast (after New York). Austin the most expensive in all of the South (aside from Miami). And all of the others are just increasingly expensive as it is because they are in the West and the West is the most expensive region for housing in all of America. Oh and yeah, traffic is also an irritation in majority of these cities, try to live in the central core of the city and you'll both enjoy it and be okay with regard to commute times.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 10-14-2017 at 02:13 PM..
I agree plus would include the Provo, Ogden and Logan areas as well.
I personally would not suggest Utah County (i.e. Provo, Orem) for non-LDS people as the ratio of Mormons to non-Mormons is extremely high. That's not so much the case in Salt Lake or Ogden.
I personally would not suggest Utah County (i.e. Provo, Orem) for non-LDS people as the ratio of Mormons to non-Mormons is extremely high. That's not so much the case in Salt Lake or Ogden.
I had thought I had read the tech sector had/was expanding rapidly in the Provo area or are they only LDS-owned and staffed?
I had thought I had read the tech sector had/was expanding rapidly in the Provo area or are they only LDS-owned and staffed?
I think the tech sector is expanding there, and I suppose working there might be different from living there. I still don't think a non-Mormon would fit in particularly well to such an overwhelming majority of Mormons. (I say this as a Mormon myself.) I could be wrong, though. It wouldn't be the first time.
Outdoorsy culture + tech industry go nearly hand-in-hand in the metropolitan areas of the West.
I'd recommend these to you (in no particular order):
- Madison
- Salt Lake City
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Austin
- Seattle
- Portland
- Denver
Potentially Boston or Minneapolis as well.
All of them are tech centers, all of them are outdoors oriented both culturally and geographically. As a bonus, all of these places are among the absolute most educated in the United States, all among the healthiest and fittest cities in all of America, all are among the most robust economies in all of America with all having amongst the lowest unemployment rates in America, all are some of the fastest growing and most established tech centers in all of America, all are among the safest with regard to crime, all growing and developing rather quickly, and all offer the essential amenities that you'll need.
The downside is that all of them are also amongst the most overheated housing markets in all of America. For instance, Madison is the most expensive market in all of the Midwest followed by Minneapolis. Boston amongst the most expensive in the Northeast (after New York). Austin the most expensive in all of the South (aside from Miami). And all of the others are just increasingly expensive as it is because they are in the West and the West is the most expensive region for housing in all of America. Oh and yeah, traffic is also an irritation in majority of these cities, try to live in the central core of the city and you'll both enjoy it and be okay with regard to commute times.
Thank you so much for the info! I'll have to look into those areas some more. It's good to know I'll be able to find a good place with what I'll enjoy most, sucks it's so expensive though.
Rentals homes in cool places like Roanoke, Virginia are super cheap, but there are barely any jobs available there.
Just gotta find somewhere with the best of both worlds.
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