Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

I will never, ever, ever again live east of the 100th meridian as long as I'm in the U.S. Where should I move to as soon as I have some experience under my belt?

Defend and specify your choice in the comments.

California. Reason: I'm biased.

It depends on where in Utah. Some places are much better than others. The access to the mountains and the great weather are really the best things going for it.
I don't know much about CO, so I guess it's not totally fair that I voted against it.
California is really nice. However, the cost of living just isn't worth it.
Washington is my home state, so I'm biased. But if you can handle the rain, it's the best place ever. We have cities and lots of nature. People are really nice. No income tax is also great. I'm from Vancouver and I love it here. We've got a single's ward and several across the river in Portland, so it's a really great place socially. Rumor is, we have been approved to create a mid-singles activity group. Basically, we've got a lot of members in the area. The Oregon coast is only a couple hours away and so are the mountains. Lots of camping, hiking, cities, whatever. If you live up north, the Puget Sound and Canada both become reasonable day trips. Pretty much, Washington rocks.

Squirrel wrote:California. Reason: I'm biased.

Vote.

SmurfBlueSnuggie wrote:It depends on where in Utah. Some places are much better than others. The access to the mountains and the great weather are really the best things going for it.
I don't know much about CO, so I guess it's not totally fair that I voted against it.
California is really nice. However, the cost of living just isn't worth it.
Washington is my home state, so I'm biased. But if you can handle the rain, it's the best place ever. We have cities and lots of nature. People are really nice. No income tax is also great. I'm from Vancouver and I love it here. We've got a single's ward and several across the river in Portland, so it's a really great place socially. Rumor is, we have been approved to create a mid-singles activity group. Basically, we've got a lot of members in the area. The Oregon coast is only a couple hours away and so are the mountains. Lots of camping, hiking, cities, whatever. If you live up north, the Puget Sound and Canada both become reasonable day trips. Pretty much, Washington rocks.

My ex is from Vancouver. Not my scene at all. I've noticed people share your enthusiasm, though, which is cool. I had a hard, hard time socially in WA. Do you have any non-LDS social networks?

Despite that, I'd consider Seattle-ish again. They have a lot of companies in my industry.

Portia wrote: My ex is from Vancouver. Not my scene at all. I've noticed people share your enthusiasm, though, which is cool. I had a hard, hard time socially in WA. Do you have any non-LDS social networks?

Despite that, I'd consider Seattle-ish again. They have a lot of companies in my industry.

Ah.... Yes, that changes things somewhat. I'm trying to get into some non-LDS groups. I like hiking and outdoorsy stuff, so I'm trying to get enough courage to join some hiking clubs. Unfortunately, I'm terrified of joining new groups and introducing myself to new people, so I can't actually comment on the other social scenes. My non-LDS friends seem to like their social prospects around here though. I'm pretty sure you could find several different groups in Portland. I know there's a big dance scene: swing, blues, salsa, whatever. Hiking, running, and biking all have big followings and most people I know who are into each of those have groups they join.

And Seattle would be pretty great. I'm considering UW for grad school and think I'd really enjoy it up there. Sadly, I don't know much more about it. I'll hopefully have more experience up north in a couple of years.

SmurfBlueSnuggie wrote:

Portia wrote: My ex is from Vancouver. Not my scene at all. I've noticed people share your enthusiasm, though, which is cool. I had a hard, hard time socially in WA. Do you have any non-LDS social networks?

Despite that, I'd consider Seattle-ish again. They have a lot of companies in my industry.

Ah.... Yes, that changes things somewhat. I'm trying to get into some non-LDS groups. I like hiking and outdoorsy stuff, so I'm trying to get enough courage to join some hiking clubs. Unfortunately, I'm terrified of joining new groups and introducing myself to new people, so I can't actually comment on the other social scenes. My non-LDS friends seem to like their social prospects around here though. I'm pretty sure you could find several different groups in Portland. I know there's a big dance scene: swing, blues, salsa, whatever. Hiking, running, and biking all have big followings and most people I know who are into each of those have groups they join.

And Seattle would be pretty great. I'm considering UW for grad school and think I'd really enjoy it up there. Sadly, I don't know much more about it. I'll hopefully have more experience up north in a couple of years.

I liked Seattle better than Vancouver. Vancouver just seems like Draper without the sun to me.

Vancouver is not the best place in the state. It's just what I know best. If someone were moving here, I would suggest Seattle as a first choice anyways. My love of the state comes from my experiences growing up here, so I still share them fondly.

I'll put in another vote for Washington. I'm from the Tacoma area and I loved it so much. The scenery is beautiful and the people are great. Just don't live in Tacoma itself, that place is sketch.

To be frank, people in Washington seem extremely introverted and standoffish to an extroverted Utah girl. Science has my back on this! So yeah, the (upper middle-class white, anyway) people seem generally smart but rude and unfriendly.

I'll just put in a plug for Colorado. I've lived there for a year now and feel like it is pretty nice. The weather is quite similar to that in Utah. The social atmosphere is generally more liberal (obviously Boulder is extremely liberal, but I personally like it). There are a lot of Mormons around, if that is something you are interested, but there are also a lot of other types of people. What part of the state would you be looking at?

mic0 wrote:I'll just put in a plug for Colorado. I've lived there for a year now and feel like it is pretty nice. The weather is quite similar to that in Utah. The social atmosphere is generally more liberal (obviously Boulder is extremely liberal, but I personally like it). There are a lot of Mormons around, if that is something you are interested, but there are also a lot of other types of people. What part of the state would you be looking at?

Dude, this sounds perfect. I've researched a lot, and I would say that Denver has the advantage on industry, but Fort Collins seems like my dream town.

I thought of you when making this poll.

Portia wrote:
I thought of you when making this poll.

Haha, yaay! I don't really know much at all about Fort Collins, though I've heard it is in a very pretty part of the state. Denver always has interesting things going on for sure. Do you have prospects in all of these states or are you thinking of where to move regardless? Maybe I'll make a poll like this when I graduate It's fun hearing everyone's opinions.

mic0 wrote:

Portia wrote:
I thought of you when making this poll.

Haha, yaay! I don't really know much at all about Fort Collins, though I've heard it is in a very pretty part of the state. Denver always has interesting things going on for sure. Do you have prospects in all of these states or are you thinking of where to move regardless? Maybe I'll make a poll like this when I graduate :D It's fun hearing everyone's opinions.

Do make a poll!

Yes, I'm torn between Fort Collins reminding me a bit of the more beer-loving, outdoorsy parts of Salt Lake, where it's laid-back and politically moderate, and Boulder's excellent hiking and proximity to Denver but hordes of trust-fundees and East Coasters and people who are a little too kombucha/save-the-whales even for my yoga-going self.

I took this quiz and Denver was #1! :D Portland, Seattle, ProvOrem, and Ogden all scored high, as well.

Denver just seems to have it all ... I hope I'm not idealizing too much, but it has that mile-high air, the people I met at BYU were great, it's close to small mountain towns, decent transit from what I understand, literally PERFECT weather for me, fit/active people, it's a city-city (huge airport), not so far from family ...

Weirdly enough, I feel like where I go with my career (and where my boyfriend goes with his, but in my humble opinion, you can write middle-grade fantasy adventure novels anywhere) could really dictate this choice for me. Want to work in the research side of things? Orem it is. Business school? Provo's is excellent. Arts? Salt Lake wins for its arts:pop ratio. Technology/software? Seattle. Good mix of all of these? Denver, though only Ft. Collins (75 min. away) do I have an idea where I might work for.

I just can't stop looking at photos of the Rockies, and a part of me wonders what I'll do if my boyfriend-probably-soon-ish-to-be-fiance actually MOVES here. The climate is soooooo terrible. And my job is pretty high-stress. That's what I miss the most about the West. You could get by with a lot fewer working hours. That and the hiking! (Maybe I should go work as a freelancer somewhere wayyyy out of the way, like Aspen or Park City or Mt. Rainier. Yay!)

He seems pretty gung-ho about school out here, though. I hope he applies to UWash as a backup. There summer was the best time of year, and I could probably get something at Amazon or Microsoft. (Maybe.) There's also a part-time program in his field that has satellites in the various mountain state cities I've mentioned.

I know I would never, ever raise a kid here. EVER. It's fine for a "for-now," as long as I spend all my time distracting myself in cinemas and yoga studios and ridiculously long work hours.

Oh, also, maternity leave in this country sucks. So maybe after Denver ... Chamonix? Any thoughts on good cities for babies that aren't as intensely Mormon as BYU (and where stay-at-home dads woudn't be too socially isolated)?

Oh, and my company is having a HUGE installation of our software right at the good ol' U of Utah. Maybe in two years upon my brother's glorious return I can go hiking/biking/skiing with him and will be working as a consultant in my favorite city and have a kid and live in a liberal part of town (northeast side). I totally sorted our work directory today to see who was on the Utah "team" and was soooo jealous of the OOO people there. I really hope they put me on an installation trip out West.

I know I have to stick it out at least a year, if not two or three to look good on a resume. My "team lead," who's pretty cool and younger than me, said to not even think about leaving for 9 months; his friends that did that adjusted better. So I'm treating it a bit like a mission: whether it's 18 months, 2 years, I can do it, even though it's so hard! People are nice, I found a good, safe neighborhood with excellent shopping and recreation (minus the bug infestation: I hope fall is nicer), I make a relative crapload of money.

I still talk to my dad and grandma all the time, too, so yeah, it's not like I'm in the Russian steppes or the Amazon rainforest or something. It's a three-hour direct flight. But I'm really homesick, nonetheless. :-| At least I know now that even if I want to be a writer, I would die before moving to NYC full-time. Humidity=death!