johnstewart Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 So I love my little town (Madison, WI), but my girlfriend would really like to move away for a year or two... anywhere. I'm willing, but if I move, I want to move someplace where there is a killer place to snowboard. I've been carving for a year or so, and love it, but I also love freeriding if there is some interesting terrain. This year I'm on my carve board 90% of the time, but as an example the last time I was out (on Monday), we'd had a couple of inches of snow, so I was riding the freestyle board in the chunky stuff... through the trees... a little halfpipe (when it's slow and soft is when I like it). I'm a computer geek by trade, and ideally I'd like to find a nice hill next to a city where I can get a decent job. I've got a good resume, so I should have pretty good options. However, I'm thinking a ski town out in the middle of nowhere (Jackson Hole, for example) wouldn't have much in the way of computer geek jobs. Also, we'd prefer to not be in a sucky place socially and politically. I could deal with it, but my girlfriend is a die hard bleeding heart liberal, and would probably not want to live in the middle of Wyoming or Montana (though I don't know - how is Bozeman?) I've never even been there, but Portland is probably #1 on our list right now. Mt. Hood is right nearby, as I understand. So does anyone have any recommendations? thanks! johnS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleaman Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Thats an easy one, Move to CANADA! We rock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnstewart Posted January 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 I would; I loved BC (although the snow did kinda suck at Whistler when we were there this January). However, it's my understanding that it's a real pain in the butt for an American to get a job there (i.e. a computer geek job instead of working as a liftie)... so I pretty much wrote off anything north of Seattle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dragonfly jones Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Your within 1-2 hours of umm lets see - Vail Beaver Creek, Copper, Keystone, A-Basin Loveland Winter Park, Eldora, Breckenridge. Go three to four hours - Steamboat, Aspen, Snowmass, Buttermilk, Sunlight and Crested Butte. A liitle further afield 6-8 hours Telluride, Durango, Jackson Hole, Park City to name just a few. Boulder is a weird town, Denver is cool - the mayor is a brew pub owner and computer jobs are available - seagate, maxtor, storage tec, qwest, a host of companies. So it is settled your coming to colorado. (the home of Bomber) DragonFly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Computer geeks + snowboarding sounds like Tahoe or Mt Hood to me. I'm in the SF Bay area myself and go to Tahoe every weekend. Mt Hood is probably a shorter drive from places you'd live compared to Tahoe (Bay Area->North Lake Tahoe = ~2:30 to 3:00). I love Tahoe riding - lots of different resorts so you don't get tired of it, and good carving + good freeriding all around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dragonfly jones Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 My boys from Squaw love it as do I, the views are breath taking seeing the lake from Alpine meadows is sick then driving to the south shore and seeing it from Heavenly is out of this world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason_watkins Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Portland local here. I've not been to enough mountains to really rate Hood, but for being the local hill, I think it's just fine. Mike T could probibly give you a more balanced view, but I'd be willing ot bet it's better than what you may have in WI. The long season here might make up for terrain you might miss comparing Hood to Baker, Tahoe, etc. We also have variety. There's some good surfing on the coast if you can brave the water temperature, and one of the windsurfing wonders of the world is just north of Hood in the Columbia Gorge. Tons of backpacking and that sort. If you live smack downtown in Portland like I do, it's about 2 hours from my corner to parked in the lot and walking to a lift at Mt Hood Meadows. The farther you live east in Portland, the better it is. You can cut it down to about 1 hour drive and still live in something that resembles a city instead of a rest stop. Unforetunately, the job market in Portland has been poor since the bubble burst. Depending on your resume, it may not be a problem for you, but I'd definately hit up monster et all, make some applications, and see what response you get before you think much about moving here. Bend, OR might be worth considering. Mt Bachelor is a fantastic place, and from what I understand, there is a larger tech industry than you might expect from the size of the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orser506 Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Ok , so now that you settled the US deal what about Canada? My wife wants to move also. I'm not a computer geek because I love being outside. I am a commercial diver and weldor by trade,own and run a big game hunting camp, so i could work as a guide, I tap around 10,000 maple trees , but I don't want to move to Quebec..no offence ...even though they want to separate. Wife is a RN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Actually I don't think it's an issue for computer geeks in either the US or Canada to work in either place. Computer geekery is on the list of occupations that you can easily get permission for, its a NAFTA thing I think. The easiest way to do it is to obtain the job offer first. With job offer in hand, the visa is easy. Or at least, it used to be. Commercial diving/welding combined with skiing is a no-brainer, Vancouver would be your choice. It's a 2 hour drive to Whistler which isn't exactly handy but beats the hell out of access where I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 Sure Jason, I can probably give a little more perspective. I've lived between Portland and Mount Hood for 3.5 years now, after having lived in the Bay Area for 4 years. My last year in CA, my wife and I literally spend every weekend and a lot of money going to Tahoe every weekend and said "enough is enough, we're moving closer to a mountain". We wanted some combination of good resorts and a long season. We essentially narrowed our choice to SLC, Tahoe, and Portland/Mt Hood. We chose Mt Hood mostly for non-snow reasons - proximity to family, could affort to live there w/o my wife having to work, decent place to raise a family, etc. Mt Hood Meadows isn't anywhere close to being a Snowbird, Canyons, Squaw, or Kirkwood, but it is a decent place to ride, season passes can be had at reasonable prices, and in the spring, you can get 4500 feet of in-bounds vertical with a snow cat ride or a 50 minute hike. The spring season at Timberline is awesome for carving. If you've ever done a summer camp at Mount Hood, imagine the whole entire mountain from the lodge up, covered, plenty of wide open groomers, and sun, sun, sun. Not to mention the no crowds. Mt Bachelor is about 2.75 hours past Mount Hood as well. Others may call it "Mt Flatular" but it has some very nice varving run and if you like trees, it's even better. There are several places in the US with access to much better resorts, but my wife and I are very happy with our choice to live here. Oh yeah, I'm a work-from-home computer geek (still working at the same company in CA) so commuting isn't an issue. Although I do dread the thought of it if I lose my current job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelP Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 You didn't really say what your girlfriend is into for activities but I'll tell you of my little town. Glenwood Springs, CO is right smack between Aspen and Vail/Beaver Creek, 45 minutes to either resort. I don't ride Vail but I ride Aspen all the time. Freeride heaven (home now of the Xgames) and my favorite...carving nirvana Buttermilk. it's a small town but being between Aspen and Vail and right on the I70 (main higway east west thru CO) it is a bustling little hotbed for tech's that serve the Aspen/Vail valleys. You asked about liberal area...well again Aspen/Vail areas are as liberal as you can get. politics is always a hot issue around here. One warning!!!! most come for a winter but permanently stay because of the summers. if your into outdoor sports then it's all out your backdoor. Glenwood isn't a big city(population 6,000) but Denver is only 2.5 hrs away. For us that is not to far. Any other questions just ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted January 29, 2004 Report Share Posted January 29, 2004 I'll chip in for the Bay Area of California, although Tahoe is a good 3.5 hour drive away. Only three if you live in Berkeley... which would give you the type of political/social neighborhood you and your gf are looking for. Obviously the Bay Area (aka Silicon Valley) is going to be a good place for a computer person to work. These are the reason I moved to the Bay Area 2.5 years ago and I ride every weekend in Tahoe. I actually live in the Peninsula where it's kind of dead (but quiet which I like)... but San Francisco, Berkeley, and Palo Alto are good places if you are looking for more things to do (in that order). I didn't mention San Jose because it is a 4 hour drive to South Lake Tahoe or Kirkwood and that is borderline too long for me (even though I spent the whole weekend). Portland did look nice when I visited it, and you'd be surprised how much a longer season matters to you over time (Tahoe is Dec-April where as Hood is basically year round). Plus that 2 hour driving time become really attractive after 20 trips or so. Not to mention it is pricey to live in the Bay Area. Just giving perspective, given my same choice, I would still choose the Bay Area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted January 30, 2004 Report Share Posted January 30, 2004 Eagle. you got 12 ski resorts within an hour or 2 drive. A-Basin Keystone Breckenridge Copper Ski Cooper Vail Beaver Creek Arrowhead Aspen Aspen Highlands Buttermilk Snowmass That dude of Glennwood Springs' got it right on the nose--hotbed for tech people out here on 1-70. Wanna be a court typists for Kobe Bryant or news media controller? come out here. -grin- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C5 Golfer Posted January 31, 2004 Report Share Posted January 31, 2004 I know of several Computer related openings. Not sure exactly what your field of expertise is But I have a few contacts and networks in many companies. Send me a resume if you want and I can see if I can help. Allen@mindplay.biz will get it to my work - please note the .biz not .com Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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