alicia_h

Okay, so I'd have good after work access to Exit 32--that could be okay then... Do you happen to know whether I-90 going in that direction will be reasonably driveable at rush hour? (if I do move to Seattle, I will owe lots of you on this forum a beer for all the time you've spent answering my questions! thanks!)

When I lived in Minnesota I got to ski to work a few times:) Mmm, I do miss the snow a bit!

I think you're undoubtedly right about NY, Chicago etc, but the thing is, I wouldn't consider living in any of those places no matter how good the job was! So even if Seattle has them all beat, that wouldn't be a factor in my decision. Seattle does sound like an absolutely beautiful place to live. I used to live in Minnesota, which is probably similar to Seattle in that it has lots of wilderness and forests to explore. But I moved on because it was time to focus on climbing, so what I'm really looking for in a city now is easy access to good quality rock. At the moment I've got an enormous amount of world-class climbing 15 minutes from my house! I'd sacrifice *some* of that for a job opportunity as good as the one I've seen in Seattle, but I wouldn't sacrifice a *lot* of that. Thanks for all your input people, keep the thoughts coming!

I think it is downtown--the office is near the Qwest Field, is that any good for getting out of the city fast? Thanks for the other info as well!

Thanks for your thoughts, Nate, that's really useful. I suspect that I might be a little too rock-focused to be happy in Seattle then; as much as I'd like to be a more well-rounded person and go kayaking/skiing/etc when the weather is bad, I don't think I could manage it! I'll wait and see exactly how great the job sounds, and if I even get offered it, but it sounds like it would probably have to be a particularly amazing job for it to be worth it.

Yeah, I think I would be more or less tied to working 9-5 type hours:( Not good!

I would love to move to Salt Lake City; if I could find a job there it'd be first choice!

I like the sound of steep hard sport climbing for after work:) Index is sounding pretty good as well; I think someone on mountainproject said it works for after work climbing if you take the afternoon off?

I'd be coming from Sheffield, northern England, which is pretty much climbing heaven, so that's part of the dilemna. I've found a job opportunity in Seattle which looks absolutely great (if I were to get offered it, that is!) but it would be hard to leave here for somewhere with a big drop in the quality of climbing. I guess I could live with mediocre after-work climbing as long as there is good weekend climbing, although the thought of having to take two or three months off in the winter is not so good! Hmmmmmmmmm...

Hmmmm. So basically there is okay, but not great, after work sport climbing? Are there any after work bouldering options? I'll be sure to bring my skis if I do end up out there:)

I'm considering applying for a job...(I posted the message below on Mountainproject.com but then found this website, so I'll try here as well!) What is living in Seattle like as a climber? What are the nearest and best crags? How easy is it to get out of the city? Is there anywhere close enough to climb after work? (I've heard of Exit 38, is this the nearest? and is it any good?) What's the rock like on the local crags? Is there rock that stays climbable in the winter? Also, are there a lot of climbers? Is it easy to meet people/find partners? A bit of background info--I do about equal amounts of trad and sport climbing, plus some bouldering, though I'm not particularly into ice. I'd be wanting to climb every weekend and, if possible, some weekdays. Thanks for any info!