Where would you relocate??

clarksonxc wrote:

Where did you visit in Upstate NY?  From what I've seen, the "gravel" up here is very diverse.  It ranges from all weather maintained roads to old ROW's that were abandoned and have become virtually singletrack.  And everything along the spectrum in between!  Similar to what I've seen in Vermont, minus the high peaks.  It's surprising to me that the Adirondack region doesn't have more gravel events.

\n \nThe Wilmington Whiteface area. Lots of good gravel roads up there with substantial climbing. Great place for 3 seasons for sure. Definitely more Winter than I want for a full time residence.

velogeorgia wrote: Thanks for very well thought out reply. I've spent quite a bit of time in Colorado and everything you said is spot on. I actually love parts of Colorado but I prefer more of the rural areas. I prefer south central and south west Colorado I definitely prefer the rural feel versus the city or suburbs. I like to go to a major city about ever blue moon 😉

As a Colorado native (I think there's about 5 or 6 of us left), I would for sure avoid the Denver/Boulder area. I grew up in the south central part of the state, and now live up in the urban metropolis of Boulder, and there are too many people in and around the area these days. I've been hit by cars two (maybe three, ended up in a ditch and don't recall a whole lot) times in the 17 years that I've been in the metro area, all car hits were in the last 7 years. Gravel is somewhat difficult to get to unless you live in Boulder proper, otherwise you're driving to ride, or you add a couple hours to your ride, which isn't always bad. When I head back to visit my family, in the south central part, its extremely easy to find loads of gravel, which seems to go for days and days. Plus, if you move the the "banana belt", they rarely get extreme weather like we do in the metro, it is rare here as well, and more so these days with climate change. Durango would be pretty rad, but some longer bits of white stuff on the ground. I'm not saying don't come to Colorado, but I would for sure avoid the front range if you want quality of live, plus the housing market is approaching that of the bay area... Good luck!

Cheers,
Greg

velogeorgia wrote: Yep, I'm in northeast Georgia. I've visited some of the suggested areas before like Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming. I'm not opposed to having a little more Winter than I currently experience. I spend 12 weeks on a smart trainer now doing sweet spot base each year anyway. For me, probably south central and south west Colorado would be the front runner at this point.

I'm on Hilton Head Island SC, about an hour north of Savannah. I'm heading north to NH this weekend though. For next winter, how far are you from Hilton Head? Any good dirt roads in your area?

bobknh wrote:
I'm on Hilton Head Island SC, about an hour north of Savannah. I'm heading north to NH this weekend though. For next winter, how far are you from Hilton Head? Any good dirt roads in your area?

\n \nJust over 5 hours. We have some good dirt/gravel roads near by. Most are located in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Some of the events are Southern Cross, Assault on Currahee, and Georgia Grinduro. Most of riding here involves climbing and descending. Come over this November and do the Georgia Grinduro. First Saturday in November.

mr_slow wrote:

As a Colorado native (I think there's about 5 or 6 of us left), I would for sure avoid the Denver/Boulder area. I grew up in the south central part of the state, and now live up in the urban metropolis of Boulder, and there are too many people in and around the area these days. I've been hit by cars two (maybe three, ended up in a ditch and don't recall a whole lot) times in the 17 years that I've been in the metro area, all car hits were in the last 7 years. Gravel is somewhat difficult to get to unless you live in Boulder proper, otherwise you're driving to ride, or you add a couple hours to your ride, which isn't always bad. When I head back to visit my family, in the south central part, its extremely easy to find loads of gravel, which seems to go for days and days. Plus, if you move the the "banana belt", they rarely get extreme weather like we do in the metro, it is rare here as well, and more so these days with climate change. Durango would be pretty rad, but some longer bits of white stuff on the ground. I'm not saying don't come to Colorado, but I would for sure avoid the front range if you want quality of live, plus the housing market is approaching that of the bay area... Good luck!

Cheers,
Greg

\n \nThanks Greg. Trust me, the front range is no place for me.

I would look at the places that have the fewest days below freezing, and also the fewest days above 90 degrees.  Ideally with abundant sunshine, very low relative humidity, scant rainfall and relatively mild winters.

Here are a few:

San Diego, CA
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=21

Oklahoma City
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=16

Modesto, CA
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=9

Greenville, SC
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=7

Little Rock, Arkansas
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=5

Erik_A wrote:I would look at the places that have the fewest days below freezing, and also the fewest days above 90 degrees.  Ideally with abundant sunshine, very low relative humidity, scant rainfall and relatively mild winters.

Here are a few:

San Diego, CA
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=21

Oklahoma City
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=16

Modesto, CA
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=9

Greenville, SC
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=7

Little Rock, Arkansas
https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/the-20-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-the-weather?slide=5

\n \nI'm about 1 1/2 hours from Greenville, SC now. Not very much gravel over there and heat/humidity in the Summer can be stifling. Greenville is much more of a roadie scene. You can go north into NC and get into some good gravel in Pisgah National Forest. Thanks for the reply!

bnystrom wrote:Although I live in New Hampshire, I have to admit that the best gravel riding I've seen in New England is in Vermont, where dirt roads are the main way to get around in most rural areas. The terrain is very challenging and the views are beautiful. There are several really good organized rides each year that are reasonably priced and well supported, but if you lived there, you could ride it all for free any time you want! You may want a fat bike with studded tires for the winter, but anything that gives you an excuse to own another bike is a good thing, right?

Sorry southerners, but I'll take winter snow and ice over miserable, oppressive summer heat, any day.

\n \nI've certainly kicked around the idea of living up that way for 3 seasons and coming back south for the Winter months. It's not too bad in northeast Georgia in the Summer especially if you can get up above 2500 feet. Thanks for the reply.

Missouri, and towns within 50 miles of its borders, has a balanced blend of gravel roads & trails, brief winters, moderate summers and numerous gravel events. Most of the gravel events are in central and southern Missouri. \n\nI relocated from northern Illinois to a collage town near St. Louis 4 years ago and have discovered a vibrant cycling scene. Madison county in Illinois has plenty of local cycling and dozens of gravel events within a 200 mile radius. \n\nI wouldn't relocate here from states that have mountainous regions, but short winters and thousands of miles of scenic gravel roads can be very satisfying.

I live on the Mass/Vermont border, in a small, slightly decrepit but infinitely funky old manufacturing town in Franklin County. 

Come for the riding... stay for the cheap (for the north east) exceptionally high quality of life....

Riding??? 

• Endless dirt roads
• Even more endless class 4, jeep track, snow machine trails, lost roads, trails, etc...
• Very little to no (and I mean zero) traffic
• Topography (a typical, civilized ride will be 100ft per mile of climbing, more adventurous riding averages 150-200ft/mi)
• Beautiful, quaint rural New England scenery
• No gravel (except in mud season)... we just have dirt/clay (and trails)
• Great, low key riding community (multiple current and former national champion cyclists, serious randos, and others of all abilities) 

The only thing we really don't have is instant access to alpine or high-mountain climbs (>2500' climbs). I do miss those from when I lived in Colorado Springs and Deckers, but... the riding, dirt, roads, and car/people situation here is just so much better.   

But... the main reason I love this place is that it's all accessible out my door. I can easily open my door, be on backcountry roads within 1 to 5miles and just bliss out.  And when I get back... I can walk to a Coop or a locally owned grocery store, great beer, diverse restaurants, and plenty of music. Additionally, we have a thriving local, heirloom-food movement (cheese, bread, meat, veggies, dairy... so many small farms!).  I work in NYC and can easily walk to the train station, and be in the city in 4hrs (thankfully I only go a couple days a month).  I get in my car maybe once a week... (largely to meet people at mountain bike areas). 

If I were to move/not find winter so lovely... I'd likely go to Ojai, California. While a lot more expensive, it has a lot of the same funk/vibe, really great riding, tight little community.  And you can exist without a car without missing out on life. Screw cars.

10 Best US Mountain Bike Towns with the Lowest Cost of Living:

Article:  https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-trails/10-best-us-mountain-bike-towns-lowest-cost-living/

Podcast: https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-podcast/listen-affordable-towns-great-mtb-trails-dissected/

My top choices would from this list would be 

Knoxville, Tennessee:
https://weatherspark.com/y/16310/Average-Weather-in-Knoxville-Tennessee-United-States-Year-Round

Roanoke, Virginia:
https://weatherspark.com/y/19622/Average-Weather-in-Roanoke-Virginia-United-States-Year-Round

olapiquena wrote:I live on the Mass/Vermont border, in a small, slightly decrepit but infinitely funky old manufacturing town in Franklin County. 

Come for the riding... stay for the cheap (for the north east) exceptionally high quality of life....

Riding??? 

• Endless dirt roads
• Even more endless class 4, jeep track, snow machine trails, lost roads, trails, etc...
• Very little to no (and I mean zero) traffic
• Topography (a typical, civilized ride will be 100ft per mile of climbing, more adventurous riding averages 150-200ft/mi)
• Beautiful, quaint rural New England scenery
• No gravel (except in mud season)... we just have dirt/clay (and trails)
• Great, low key riding community (multiple current and former national champion cyclists, serious randos, and others of all abilities) 

The only thing we really don't have is instant access to alpine or high-mountain climbs (>2500' climbs). I do miss those from when I lived in Colorado Springs and Deckers, but... the riding, dirt, roads, and car/people situation here is just so much better.   

But... the main reason I love this place is that it's all accessible out my door. I can easily open my door, be on backcountry roads within 1 to 5miles and just bliss out.  And when I get back... I can walk to a Coop or a locally owned grocery store, great beer, diverse restaurants, and plenty of music. Additionally, we have a thriving local, heirloom-food movement (cheese, bread, meat, veggies, dairy... so many small farms!).  I work in NYC and can easily walk to the train station, and be in the city in 4hrs (thankfully I only go a couple days a month).  I get in my car maybe once a week... (largely to meet people at mountain bike areas). 

If I were to move/not find winter so lovely... I'd likely go to Ojai, California. While a lot more expensive, it has a lot of the same funk/vibe, really great riding, tight little community.  And you can exist without a car without missing out on life. Screw cars.

\n \nSounds like a cool place. How's the property taxes??

olapiquena wrote:I live on the Mass/Vermont border, in a small, slightly decrepit but infinitely funky old manufacturing town in Franklin County.

\nWhat town? Sounds like a nice place.

Erik_A wrote:10 Best US Mountain Bike Towns with the Lowest Cost of Living:

Article:  https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-trails/10-best-us-mountain-bike-towns-lowest-cost-living/

Podcast: https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-podcast/listen-affordable-towns-great-mtb-trails-dissected/

My top choices would from this list would be 

Knoxville, Tennessee:
https://weatherspark.com/y/16310/Average-Weather-in-Knoxville-Tennessee-United-States-Year-Round

Roanoke, Virginia:
https://weatherspark.com/y/19622/Average-Weather-in-Roanoke-Virginia-United-States-Year-Round

\n \nThanks for reply. I'm not that far from Knoxville, TN now. Our weather is virtually identical as you can see. \n \nhttps://weatherspark.com/compare/y/16310~16279/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Knoxville-and-Clarkesville

Taxes: It ain't called Tax'achusetts for nothing... But, we tend to have decent services. 

Town: I'm in Greenfield. The wife and I really like it. But it's weird. There are plenty of smaller, more rural villages/towns near by, but... we'd prefer to be able to walk to everything we need. 

Riding events? We got those to. The following three start close enough to town that a ride over may not even count as a warm up: 
1. The Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (D2R2)... this is the grand-daddy g-road event in the North East. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLItPeYOmwc)
2. The Dirty Heifer- (https://www.strollingoftheheifers.com/tour)
3. The Guilford Gravel Grinder-  (https://www.facebook.com/guilfordgravelgrinder)

I will start of with I didn't read every post. \nI think VT. Not a huge population and I think 80% of the roads are still not paved. Throw in the class 4 roads. Also a ton of micro breweries \nYea the riding season is short and I'm partial to the state since I live here

To point out the obvious, it's hard to "relocate" to a state that you already live in. 

Casting a vote for Iowa City.  Legendary gravel in all directions, great food, lots to do (for Iowa), great neighborhoods.  Only drawbacks: drunken college students, parking/driving on football game days, winter can be brutal.  Otherwise, a wonderful place to live.  I'm addicted to mountains now, but I was very content to stay before I moved for grad school.  Also, many excellent bike shops and two twice-weekly gravel/road group rides that are open to anyone. 

Old thread but I'd figure I'd throw in a suggestion. West Marin County, CA (Pt. Reyes Station, Olema, etc). Lots of gravel roads around (although its hilly), 1 hr drive to SF and the bay area. Amazing year round biking weather (summer can be foggy depending on how close you are to the coast). Cost of living is relatively high compared to many of the more rural suggestions but less than south-east Marin or other bay area cities.