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Yeah, I agree about Portland and Seattle. They have good access to water recreation and the mountains with hiking and skiing are literally right outside the city. But do not discount the California cities also, they have good access also, plus they have nice weather. IMHO, the 4 West Coast cities are probably the top cities in the OP's list.
I think Denver is one of the better choices for hiking, camping and skiing/winter sports. But she is not as attractive when it comes to water based activities which seem limited when compared to many of the other cities on the list. Because of this, Denver while still pretty good, is below the West Coast and Northeast cities like Boston and Albany IMHO.
I am not sure if anyone mentioned it, but what about the warmer weather and the North Carolina and Texas cities?
Totally on board with the California cities. California is an outdoors paradise.
The weather in the northeast makes it not as friendly to be outside summer or winter.
As for Denver and the water question, it all depends on what kind of water recreation you’re after. Denver wins against others on the list for fly fishing. Our whitewater is world class although there is some very good whitewater in the northeast too. California creeks are amazing as well.
One thing I would ask though is which location sees more people moving there because of the outdoors?
There is some whitewater opportunities north of Albany and on the Black and Moose Rivers in the North Country west of the Adirondacks and near Watertown, among other places: New York Whitewater Rafting Trips
Given the criteria, Albany might actually be one of the best choices. Weather is it’s biggest deterrent and even that depends on the type of activities/weather you like. It is close to multiple mountain options, has multiple lake options, the ocean isn’t too far away, it is relatively affordable, multiple camping options, multiple urban options, multiple quaint town options, it also has multiple suburban options with good schools(if necessary) and it’s close proximity to Boston and NYC doesn’t hurt either.
Also, given the type of employment you’ve been looking for in the past, it is a good fit in that regard as well.
No where on the east coast should be an option really, you have Seattle and southern California for beaches and mountains and Denver for pure mountains. East coast mountains are lacking compared to the Rockies and Cascades.
Oh, c'mon! That 105 day we had in June was very hot. There's a thread on the Denver forum about how to cope w/o air conditioning in this heat.
New York is ~50,000 square miles and Colorado is ~100,000 square miles. Twice the size but we have over 4x the preserved land.
Your mountains are hills. Your highest ‘mountain’, Mount Marcy at 5,343 and 4919 feet of prominence, is nothing compared to Mount Elbert at 14,400 feet and 9,093 feet of prominence.
More importantly, in my trips to upstate New York, I have never seen anything remotely resembling the outdoor culture that exists in the west.
What'd you do, pass through the state on the Thruway?
What'd you do, pass through the state on the Thruway?
Ummm no. I was working in the Schenectady area and did a bit of exploring while there. I also have family I’ve visited in Ithaca. I’ve explored the area a bit. It’s not even close from an outdoors culture or offerings. Sorry. It’s just not.
The "prominence" figure is all that matters view-wise. Colorado has mountains but they're not very large.
A mountain that's 14,400' viewed from sea-level will be multiples of the mass.
Notice I mentioned prominence in my earlier post. Also, we have plenty of tall mountains. The West has nearly all of them. The East doesn’t.
Quote:
Of these 200 most prominent summits of the United States, 84 are located in Alaska, 17 in California, 17 in Nevada, 14 in Washington, 12 in Montana, 11 in Utah, eight in Colorado, seven in Hawaiʻi, seven in Arizona, six in Oregon, four in Wyoming, four in Idaho, three in New Mexico, two in North Carolina, and one each in New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, and Maine. Four of these peaks lie on the international border between Alaska and British Columbia, four lie on the international border between Alaska and Yukon, and one lies on the state border between Tennessee and North Carolina.
Ummm no. I was working in the Schenectady area and did a bit of exploring while there. I also have family I’ve visited in Ithaca. I’ve explored the area a bit. It’s not even close from an outdoors culture or offerings. Sorry. It’s just not.
Ithaca doesn’t have mountains, but has plenty of waterfalls/gorges, Cayuga Lake and creeks. It very hilly and has nice state parks as well. https://parks.ny.gov/parks/135/
Schenectady is in the Albany area and is in close proximity to the things mentioned earlier. It is just south of the Adirondacks and north of the Catskills, within the Mohawk Valley. You even have a place like this nearby: Howe Caverns Home - Howe Caverns Inc.
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