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I am curious...what are the best cities (300,000+ or larger) for getting around on a bike. My criteria includes:
--Distance from residential areas (including suburbs) to commercial districts
--Bike Lanes in roads
--Motorist attitude towards bikers
--Availability of rental bikes
--Trails, parks and other scenic routes
--Large variety of locations to dock a bike
--Low instances of theft
I just tried to list as many dimensions that I could come up with off the top of my head, any cities that meet at least half of these are worth a look for me. Thanks!
I think Minneapolis fits the bill, except for the suburb-to-city commute. There are a lot of far-flung places which aren't very bike/pedestrian friendly, but that isn't the entire case.
-Downtown Minneapolis has downtown bike lanes.
-Rental bikes available in Minneapolis... except for the winter... https://www.niceridemn.org/
-You can put a bike a lot of places.
-Not sure about theft. If you put a lock on it, I doubt people will steal it.
--I am currently a computer science undergrad so I am more likely to live in the city over the suburbs, somewhere that is relatively cheap out of college is desirable. Employment focus in the tech sector is a plus but I feel like I am stacking on a bunch of extra requirements. Just some additional background there.
--I am currently a computer science undergrad so I am more likely to live in the city over the suburbs, somewhere that is relatively cheap out of college is desirable. Employment focus in the tech sector is a plus but I feel like I am stacking on a bunch of extra requirements. Just some additional background there.
Thanks in advance.
How does your major have to do with where you live, plenty of IT jobs are in burbs... often more so than other fields.
I'm not sure about Minneapolis. It might be bike friendly in theory, but in reality a cycler is gonna freeze his ass off half the year.
You would be surprised at how many people bike in Minneapolis and St. Paul during the winter months. I moved here from having lived in warmer climates so I was shocked by this. I still think it's insane, actually pretty stupid, but oh well.
Portland is a major biking city that is well known for being bike friendly and very pro-bike. I think Denver may be starting to as well but it met some resistance from locals I think once. I also think NYC would also be good as it is getting bike lanes, now has rent a bikes, and even has a website dedicated to finding bike racks in NYC. Chicago has bike lanes now too but I am not sure if it has rental bikes or many public bike racks.
I'm not sure about Minneapolis. It might be bike friendly in theory, but in reality a cycler is gonna freeze his ass off half the year.
That's what I worried about :P I was hoping for mild winters but I guess I can't get everything I want.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grapico
Madison, Denver, Portland
How does your major have to do with where you live, plenty of IT jobs are in burbs... often more so than other fields.
Thanks for your suggestions. I made my implication of living in the city based on the trend that suburbs tend to be pretty expensive, especially for a single man just out of college. I could be way off but the only city I am really familiar with is Chicago and most suburbs there are pretty expensive.
Meanwhile the trend for leading IT companies tends to be more west, I wasn't really thinking of rust belt cities, for example.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKFire108
Portland is a major biking city that is well known for being bike friendly and very pro-bike. I think Denver may be starting to as well but it met some resistance from locals I think once. I also think NYC would also be good as it is getting bike lanes, now has rent a bikes, and even has a website dedicated to finding bike racks in NYC. Chicago has bike lanes now too but I am not sure if it has rental bikes or many public bike racks.
Portland is a good option that I am highly considering, I like the climate there too...at least a ton more than the midwest. I don't know much about Denver, really. I hear Boulder has a decent biking program but I don't know if it offers what I am seeking in terms of jobs. NYC is way out of my price range. Not sure about Chicago but its probably out of my price range too.
Minneapolis has been ranked as the best biking city in the country by Bicycling Magazine, as well as the #2 bicycling city in the nation by the US Census Bureau. The city has 46 miles of streets with dedicated bicycle lanes and 84 miles of off-street bicycle paths.
BTW, your chances of finding a job in the MPLS. - STPL. area are much better than Portland. For example, there are about 30 Fortune 1,000 companies in the area so there are plenty of companies to choose from.
Any city is a good city for bicycling, some more than others.
Denver was already mentioned and I'll throw Tempe and Albuquerque in there as well.
My ideal biking city would be one where the wind isn't consistently blowing on a cold day.
I am willing to deal with the blast furnace-effect though,. a'la Vegas, Phoenix and such.
As far as motorists attitude towards bicycles go, I've got a 140dB airhorn and am pretty quick on the street reflex.
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I don't know much about Denver, really. I hear Boulder has a decent biking program but I don't know if it offers what I am seeking in terms of jobs. NYC is way out of my price range. Not sure about Chicago but its probably out of my price range too.
