Where are you?

[whorider]

I have been thinking of relocating in the next year or two. I want to know where you guys live,why, pros and cons as you see it. I live in Santa Cruz, CA. The weather is mild, 70's in the summer and down to 40's in the winter. It is foggy in the morning during the summer months. The reason I want to move is lack of pristine places with few other people. Hollister Hills OHV is one hour away. Two and a half plus hours gets you to Clear Creek OHV. The pros of Santa Cruz are the availabilty of good fruit and produce, a mild climate(I love the snow, hate the heat!), the beach(but I only look at it anymore), some nice twisties ? , and family is here. The cons are I have to drive a least 2 hours to get somewhere that I can really enjoy, traffic ? , high real estate prices($750,000 median home price ? ), SO many people, no snow? , and NO TRAILS that I can just ride my DRZ to another town or a lake or a creek. So, I have lived in Sisters, OR (near Bend, OR). It is very nice! But, three hours to a big city is inconvienent for me.?

Any info from any of you like minded DRZ owners would be helpfull. Thanks.

P.S. If you are near me we should ride! ?

[kawidual]

East of Sacramento near Auburn/Foresthill maybe? Good trails, plenty of close twisties.

About 45 mins or less from Sacramento, close to the ski slopes & North Lake Tahoe.

Just below the snow line is a good compramise. Longer drive to the ocean though.

[Hundlewerx Motovision]

The cons are I have to drive a least 2 hours to get somewhere that I can really enjoy, traffic , high real estate prices($750,000 median home price )

Pretty much the same here in San Diego....but it's paradise compared to most other places, that is depending on what you would call paradise.

Good Luck where ever you land ?

[DJCDRZ]

Hey Whorider,

I live in Bend. When did you live in Sisters? We're not exactly huge but Bend is now over 70,000. We've had a lot of good stuff roll in over the years. The desire to travel to a bigger city to find stuff Bend doesn't have is diminishing. All Portland has that Bend doesn't is more filth. What does Bend have that others don't...over 500 miles of trails 1/2 hour east on desolate US Highway 20!

Dan

[2wheels-drz]

ahhhh, did you think about over sea's???

[DRZ400SK4]

How about Newfoundland?

Warm summers,without being too hot, lots of snow in the winter for skiing and snowmobiles, no earthquakes, no tornados, no hurricanes.

It's a huge east-coast Canadian province, bigger than most US states, with only a half million people living here. Endless trails, including an old railway bed which stretches all the way from the East to West side of the province. And the ability to dualsport any dirtbike that you like.

That's where I live. Works for me.

Click here to see what the riding is like...

Trail Riding In Newfoundland

[drzrobbcanuck]

and new foundland is near the ocean and the weather is similar 30's in the summer and 40s in the winter-one of those is a negative number and both are in celcius!!!

In New brunswick the setting is similar but province is smaller-only about the size of korea or England with pop of 300,000

[HotCorner]

East Tennessee is inexpensive, riding abounds (Windrock, Tellico, etc.), terrain is hilly, we have seasons (very little snow) and we have the Dragon. A 30-minute commute is a LONG commute.

[GarryOwen]

Colorado Springs is really nice, great summers, relatively mild winters, affordable housing (3-4 br for 200k), great trails/back country to explore and Burned is only 60 miles away. On the downside, its far from the ocean.

[drjack]

Reno is where I'd go, if it weren't so far from the rest of my family. I was out there for 6 months last winter. Beautiful, reasonable housing prices, minimal traffic and LOTS of open places to ride. Desert riding, mountain riding, skiing. Plus no state income tax!

[OSITECH]

Colorado Springs is really nice, great summers, relatively mild winters, affordable housing (3-4 br for 200k), great trails/back country to explore and Burned is only 60 miles away. On the downside, its far from the ocean.

I'll second that! I absolutely love it here... there is more to do than you can choose from... I'm permanantly sore lately from staying so active! Andrew

[whorider]

Hey DJCDRZ,

I lived in Sisters from 93 to 97. Bend was rapidly growing with the parkway nearing completed. So how is it up there now? Any local racing? The more I think about it, the more I wish I had a dualsport when I was up there. It is a great area for them. Is employment scarce? It was when I left. ?

Rip that DRZ in the snow for me.

[whorider]

Colorado Springs I have heard is really nice. I think I need a road trip. Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Washington, and Oregon. Except I hate to drive.

I'm not sure about out of country(Family). Wow the pictures are unreal!

[DJCDRZ]

Yeah Whorider, it's dualsport country up here! From what I hear, the do MX quite often in Madras and there are a 1/2 dozen cross-country/poker run/IDSE's a year (mostly in the East Fort Rock area). As far as employment goes, there are tons of expanding and new business. The medical center is HUGE, Lancair has become huge (now at the Bend airport from Redmond), Home Depot, Lowes, REI, GAP, Banana Republic, a 16 screen theater, Target, Sportsmans Warehouse, Costco and Wal Mart are just a small sample of "big city"-type stores in Bend alone. Let's not forget the INSANE construction/realty biz, Mt. Bachelor and other recreational stuff! Hey, even Muzzy's is on the north side! I guess it depends on what you are looking at for work. It's a great place to live!

I'll shut up now? ,

Dan

P.S. I'm proud to announce my 400th post! ??

[Zorn]

I would consider British Columbia also. Great skiing/riding, beautiful country, wide open spaces. Not sure about the economy and cost of living. Long cold winters, but not a problem if you like the snow. Definetely worth checking out if you haven't been there. Oregon and Washington would also be on my list of places to explore for a new home/life.

I also live in Santa Cruz and have a hard time imagining a nicer place to live.

The weather is incredible but the place is getting crowded. I'm starting to think about alternatives too but it's hard to come up with anything better when you live in paradise.

[Mal_B]

Canberra - Capital of Australia:

15 minutes to the city, 15 minutes to 1000kms of trails and 1.5 hours to the coast.

Oh and ALL our DRZ's are E models and come with road rego.

[drzmike1]

A lot of people laugh, but I think Arkansas is a riding paradise, both on and off road. Cost of living is probably low, but I'm sure there is limited employment.

[r_benner]

For me, it would be a balance between economic opportunities and all the outdoor stuff I do. I've been fed up with Atlanta for the last 3-4 yrs but everytime I dream of wide open spaces, reality sets in and I remember.... I make a good living off of this place. I can only ride now because business is good and I'll check out for a day or two and go to Durhamtown or one of my secret "along the river spots" Just intrigued by your post..... good topic.

r

[oldmanb777]

I live in Colorado, it has gotten so crowded that you can't do anything. Gridlock everywhere! The smog will choke you! If you want to ski, try bumper to bumper 15 mph for 3 hours each direction. Roads are in really poor shape, so new ball joints regularly. We get the worst gas in the states, so we do more valve jobs than any other place on the continent. The other day i went ridding, on my way home I came over a hill where I used to be able to see the skyscrapers of downtown. It is only 15 miles or so, but the smog was so bad I couldn't see Downtown. The smog is so bad in Aspen, that the FAA puts out bullitins about using all available landing lights for see and avoid purposes. I-25 runs from Colorado Springs to Pueblo. As you go south on any morning the smoke hangs in there over the valley. As for realestate, quality places are real expensive, but if in the smog areas, prices are going down, so much for investment.

[aspencop129]

The smog is so bad in Aspen, that the FAA puts out bullitins about using all available landing lights for see and avoid purposes.

?

But the median home price here is 3 MILLION! ?