[MartinK]

Got laid off last week - time to think about where we want to live? Likes: Dayhikes in reasonable driving distance, mountains, some amount of water sports, moderate to warm climate, less rain, either IT or Finance employers. On the list so far Stay here (Bellevue) Rent cabin in Sequim. Drive to eastern WA more often. Hard to beat this job market. Denver area (+Boulder) weather pop 650k/2.7mil Wikipedia Salt Lake City area weather pop 190k/1.14mil (SLT metro area)/2.4mil (SLC/Provo/Orem) Wikipedia Reno NV weather pop 224/473k Wikipedia Albuquerque NM weather pop 555/902k Wikipedia Asheville NC weather pop 84/425k Wikipedia Job market questionable (likely more suitable for retirement) Boise, ID weather pop 214k Wikipedia Bend, OR weather Wikipedia pop 78/162k Missoula, MT weather Wikipedia pop 69/111k Bozeman, MT weather Wikipedia pop 40k Also exploring Montana, Northern NM, California? Comments/Ideas very welcome Thanks Martin

[Backpacker Joe]

Im partial to the west coast but id say the best place to live and work is where you live and work.

[coldrain108]

Reno NV ABQ or Santa Fe NM Flagstaff AZ Redding CA

[MtnGoat]

Where is 'here' now, Martin?

[MartinK]

I updated my location Keep 'em coming!

[boot up]

You can join everyone else and move to Bend Or. Job is the big challenge there. Most likely candidate for IT skills is the very large hospital complex there. Population is skyrocketing. That could be good or bad.

[touron]

p.p.s Portland, Petaluma, Seattle If I could make a living...

[kyle d]

Lots of good suggestions so far (and you live in a great place already). I would say I find Redding to be too hot. And it's not that close to the Trinity Alps (not like Weaverville). The Trinity Alps are nice though, and you have quick access to the Lassen area on the other side. I moved to Ogden Utah in June (about 40 minutes north of Salt Lake), and so this is a perfect opportunity for a photo dump, that may incidentally provide some information about what it is like to live on the Wasatch Front in Northern Utah:) Summer was nice. Lots of places to explore, and a lot of varied terrain, which was surprising to me.

Rock Gardens high in Bues Canyon, Ogden, Utah.

Ben Lomond Utah

Stansbury Mountains

Below Deseret Peak

Overlooking the Dry Fork meadows

Mount Nebo and Paintbrush

Examining all the "old Junipers" on the way up

Autumn has been even better. Lots of color:

Bigtooth Maples along the trail

Aspens

Aspens

Aspens and clouds

Walking the old road

Morning hike in the North Fork

North Fork Ogden River

North Fork Ogden

Autumn in Ogden valley

Smiling

The best thing is the very (very!) close proximity to the mountains. It's really easy to get out and enjoy them, even with a 1 year old.

Ogden and North Ogden from the trail to Ben Lomond, Utah

Wasatch Front North of Malans peak

Fall color and conifers

Malans Peak (left) from 29th

Weehooing the canal road, Ogden

Spinning around at the park

Another bench with mama

Our regular evening walk

Maples and Ogden

Ben Lomond with some Fall color

I don't know much about watersports, but there are lots of people out on the local reservoirs (Pineview for us) and some people kayak the rivers. That may be the weak link here. The summers are too hot for my taste (very similar to Wenatchee, WA), but not as bad a Redding (we are a few degrees cooler than Salt Lake, Logan is a few degrees cooler than us, if you're interested). We are 4ish hours from lots of really great stuff (that's about my range for an extended weekend): Southern Utah, Wind River Range, WY, Central Idaho Ranges. And of course there is abundant powder snow in the winter.

[MartinK]

Great pics! I spent a week hiking last fall around SLC and I was pretty impressed. I did Frary Peak, Lake Blanche, Emigration Canyon, a crazy high elevation trail I got Altitude sickness at and a shorter hike. It was really impressive.

[MartinK]

Updated the first post with some research

[Daryl]

Having been a lot of places and lived in a few, it's hard to beat here weather and outdoor opportunity wise. We don't get too cold or too hot often, snow is rare. Sure it rains a lot, but we have clothes for that. job market wise it's hard to beat too. PS, if anyone out of state is reading this, I'm just kidding, it totally blows here. Don't even consider it. Now, if work and money were not an issue I'd summer in Montana near Glacier Nat park and winter in southern utah (like right on the AZ border southern). but I'd still come back here to visit, and find a month in spring or fall to spend on the OR coast.

[Stefan]

Park City

[Stefan]

Zermatt

[Malachai Constant]

Park Avenue West

[FailsToMeetExpectations]

Don't know which corner of IT/Software you are in to; however the market is red hot worldwide, and it is relatively easy to get visas as a result. Might want to add Vancouver, most anywhere in Europe & UK, Auckland, Wellington, Melbourne, and Sydney. There are many more locations, of course; however those are the hot ones in the English speaking world.