help me understand whats so great about the mountains (to live, moving to)

[esya]

neh, it's personal preference.

[Screw Sacramento]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

IMHO it really is different strokes for different folks.
Both landscapes offer opportunities for reflection as well as activity.
Both places offer beauty, fresh air and a rejuvenating experience.

I spent my early formative years on both coasts.
I moved to Colorado as a teen.
I always loved just looking at the mountains. I could see Red Rocks every day.
Still, I was a swimmer, I always preferred the water, while both my brothers, husband, and both my sons skied and snowboarded.

Accessibility matters, as well as cost.
It is not cheap to ski or snowboard.
I-70 can sometimes be like a parking lot. Ownership of a cabin in the woods?
Almost an impossible dream these days, though I have friends who achieved it.
But hiking is free, just as swimming at the beach is, or fishing. The mountains are not going to go away, and development is indeed limited.

Where I live the beach is minutes away, and there are pine forests along the coast.
But no Red Rocks.

Oh wow you live on Fernandina Beach. My family has property there. Really awesome beach, IMO. I've never seen so many shells and sharksteeth, and that was on a normal day. I can't imagine the treasure hunt after a hurricane.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Screw Sacramento

Oh wow you live on Fernandina Beach. My family has property there. Really awesome beach, IMO. I've never seen so many shells and sharksteeth, and that was on a normal day. I can't imagine the treasure hunt after a hurricane.

heehee
From the looks of Ida, I just might find out!
Though it looks like Ida is weakening and will downgrade to a tropical storm by arrival.
IMHO this area is not the prettiest beach in Florida, however this part of the state is still unspoiled. I hope you hang on to that property, it has a future.

One thing I always liked about the mountains:
You always know which way is west!
Bimbos such as myself can always use a bit of help like that.

[Sandpointian]

Originally Posted by thinkin about it

So walking in the mountains is supposed to be where it's at? I did that. Walking=+/-looking at it. I dunno? I tried to participate in them, I just don't know what to do other than...walk, and hope to see a neato animal or something.


I guess there is nothing you can really quantify or pin down either way on these kinds of things. Maybe there is something mystical about the mountains that other people feel that I just don't, and that's all that can really be said?

Perhaps this was kind of a silly question. Sorry if it was.

EDIT: Yes, I went hiking for a few hours. That is what I meant by "looking at" the mountains. I should have clarified that a bit.

I know of no one who has not spent at least several weeks in the mountains. Not a soul.

You present mountains as a comparison for the coast, when in fact their environs are both both sides of the same coin! The richest cat I know has three homes: one near work, one in the mountains on a lake and one on an island. Each is amazing, but I would take the mountain lake home in a heartbeat.

Try the following: one week camping in the mountains, fishing, boating, hiking, running, etc. At night, you can gaze at the stars in a way you cannot anywhere else. There is nothing like BBQ and early morning wake-up in the mountains.

In the winter, it is all snow and mountains majesty. Ski, snowmobile, snowboard, apres ski, etc.

But if all you did was do a 1 mi loop from the vista off of the interstate, then perhaps I can see where you lack of enthusiasm comes from.

Mountains are there to humble you. Have you seen the Tetons rising up from the valley floor. They are a sight to behold. Perhaps you are driving in a place where it is not so obvious to differentiate "mountain" from "road." Drive to see the Sawtooth Mountains. Or Waterton Glacier in Canada.

My guess is that within a few months, you'll switch from skeptic to convert.

S.

P.S. The thumbnails were grabbed from the web. The first (Waterton) is from photographybyrobertburns.com & the second (Redfish Lake, Sawtooth Range)from the Idaho Writer's League Web Site.

[Mt.SNOW]

I was on Colorado quit a few yrs ago, and as many of the other posters said, its majestic abilities are amazing, the wildlife, the lakes, the scenery, the valleys, the rivers, beauty is in the eye of the beholder perhaps, mother nature has surley left nothing out. We are in the process of making a possilbe move to Montana, and are extremely excited, gazing at these majestic beauties on a daily basis gives me butterflys. I however love the ocean and fell alot of the same way about it, but life is really short and hubby has a pretty awsome job offer in Montana, so I figure we move there and in retirement yrs become snow bird, why not have the best of both worlds.
There was a park when visiting, that the squirrls and chipmonks and birds came and ate right out of your hand, an experience I will never forget in Colorado, not sure anyone is supposed to be doing this, but we were pretty young and stupid at the time and knew no better...
I really hope that you find the feeling in your heart that this is mother nature at her best..

[PrinDi59]

I think you're a beach person. I have a sister like that (we have zero in common).

I prefer the mountains. We fish, hike, sightsee. I never get bored of Colorado. i would pay money to be excused from the beach.

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by thinkin about it

For example, the ocean is also stunningly beautiful, but it allows for activities beyond looking at it. Fishing, boating, water skiing, hitting the pier, surfing, etc. Mountains, from what I can tell, you just kinda look at-then, well, I dunno? I guess you can walk through them and take pictures?

Ever hear of Mtn. Biking, Trail Running, Whitewater Boating, Jeeping, Hunting, Mountaineering, Paragliding, Snow Boarding, Downhill Skiing, Apline Skiing or Canoeing? These are some of the many activities that people do in the mountains, besides just looking at them from a car or on an easy nature trail

Originally Posted by thinkin about it

What am I missing? What do the mountains do for you? Thanks for sharing.

To me, being in the Mountains is more about solitude than anything else. I am the type of person who NEEDS some quality time to meditate and get away from people and the overall pressures of life. The best way I've found to do that is to go hiking and/or running through the nearby hills here. I would not trade that in for anything in this world. If you're the type of person who prefers con stant stimulation, then perhaps a crowded beach area is better suited for you.

[55Spud]

Mountains are like a big comfortable blanket. They wrap around and envelope you. They hide you, they protect you, they offer an eagle's eye view when you want to peek out from underneath. Until you've spent the night listening to the thunder bounce off the canyon walls or smelled the sage after a rain, you've been missing something truly special, and being at 14,000 feet without an airplane? Well, that's something that's too hard to describe. It really has to be experienced. I've been to the oceans and listened to the boringness (Hey! My own word!) of the surf and I've been places where, I swear, you could see the whole state from one spot - I was even told that was God's country - and I can't imagine being without my blanket.

[PrinDi59]

Originally Posted by treedonkey

To me, being in the Mountains is more about solitude than anything else. I am the type of person who NEEDS some quality time to meditate and get away from people and the overall pressures of life. The best way I've found to do that is to go hiking and/or running through the nearby hills here. I would not trade that in for anything in this world. If you're the type of person who prefers con stant stimulation, then perhaps a crowded beach area is better suited for you.

I think you've hit it on the head treedonkey. The mountains are definitely the place I go (or dream about going) when everyday life is making me crazy. Solitude and wide open places are healing to body and soul for people like me whereas parties, crowds, traffic and noise wear me out. Of course, some people are just the opposite.

[WyoNewk]

I can't add much that hasn't already been said. I like the ocean, but I NEED the mountains. I was raised in the midwest, then spent a couple years in Alaska, hiking, fly fishing, camping, snowmobiling, hunting, etc. We'd also spend weekends on the beach clamming and fishing, or sometimes go boating and camping on inland bay islands, but after we left, it was the mountains that I couldn't live without. I moved to Wyoming nearly 40 years ago. Problem solved.

I can understand why you'd feel the way you do if you go to them just to look. Try some of the activities suggested. If you still "don't get it", you might never. Personally, it's hard for me to imagine anyone not loving the mountains, but that's just me. We're all different.