Better to live East or West of Cascades?

[ITri4VT]

Hi,

 

I'm planning a move to the west coast, and as long as I can find work as an RN in a hospital, I can live anywhere! I see that a lot of climbers live in Seattle and Portland, but I'm wondering if it's better to live in the central part of the states (Wenatchee, Ellensburg, Redmond, Bend) for better year-round climbing weather and still good access to skiing in the winter.

 

Are the central cities not as close to climbing? Or is climbing around Portland/Seattle just better than on the east side of the Cascades?

 

Thanks!

 

[summitchaserCJB]

both. If you're young west. IMO living in or near Seattle works out cause you can travel almost anywhere in 2 hours (not really but you get the idea). Good luck job hunting. I hear the RN markets not so hot right now but if you have experience it is better.

[sws]

No doubt as far as fun outside stuff to do and quality of life east of the mountains

[dennyt]

East side if you like dry weather & having republicans for neighbors; Wet side if you don't mind driving to the mountains.

[rob]

Oh, and if you like climbing, forget about those notions of living in Portland/Bend. Have you SEEN the bullshit they climb down there?

[genepires]

there is a new hospital being built in everett that is due to be finished next summer. It is a 10 story building so they are going to need lots of RN's for that. try contacting the providence medical center HR.

 

Everett, while being a less than desirable town when compared to seattle, is a much better climbing town IMO. It is closer to the climbing areas north of seattle and you don't have to drive through lots of BS to get out of town. It has a decent rock gym too. Stevens pass is about 1 hr drive from everett for skiing.

 

Maybe you should invest in a collection of guidebooks, find what interests you and then pick for home base.

 

just my opinion, but if job wasn't an issue, I would live in leavenworth even with the crazy bavarian attitude.

Edited August 24, 2010 by genepires

[Lisa_D]

hard call.. I'd stick with Washington. Bellingham is my personal favorite and has a huge hospital, but is likely saturated job-wise. Great skiing 1 hr from town, great mtn biking and local foothills to hike and run on 5 minutes from downtown, 2 hours to the North Cascades, nice waterfront, good roads for cycling. Downside is that it's 2.5 hours to the nearest major crags (squamish: world class but across the canadian border; leavenworth: also pretty good but a little harder to navigate; Index: excellent but hard).

 

Seattle is a great city to live in if you like cities. Traffic is pretty bad, especially with the upcoming closure of the 520 bridge. The UW is a great medical community. Lots of good parks in neighborhoods. 45 minutes minimum to get to decent mountain biking and hiking trails (which are crowded). Road cycling scene here is big and a great way to stay fit and meet people.

 

I know a lot of people who are from Wenatchee and love it, and they are neither conservatives nor rednecks. I've heard mixed things about Ellensburg and Leavenworth, but there are probably good people everywhere. It depends on whether you want 300 days of sunshine per year, or 300 days of clouds/drizzle, which isn't actually that horrible, but maybe I don't mind because I grew up here and see rainy weather as a good opportunity to get work done. It also depends on whether you are really into cragging, want to be close to a ski area, or want to be in the mountains so you can get to the alpine quickly.

 

Good luck!

[summitchaserCJB]

Might want to check into jobs at Leavenworth/Wenatchee. The climbing out there is top notch.

[kevino]

I can give a very bias answer...I live in ellensburg and work in yakima at one of the hospitals. Ellensburg is awesome. The access to climbing is probably among the best around. I can be to four different crags in less sixty minutes. I can be to alpental in 50 minutes, stevens, mission and white all in about 90ish minutes.

 

I don't know what kind of nurse you are but I can give you some feedback about the hospitals in the area as well. Shoot me a pm and I can answer any questions you have.

[Spore]

if your a city boy, then Seattle

if you want to enjoy life, Leavenworth or Wenatchee area

[stevetimetravlr]

E-burg, one of the best towns on the planet.

[ITri4VT]

Awesome, thanks for the replies! You guys are really helpful.

 

I'm definitely not a city person - I live in the suburbs of DC and in a year I've gone downtown for fun three or four times. And when I lived in tiny Brevard NC, I ventured into Asheville maybe twice, but only when people were visiting from out of town. Also, when I lived in Brevard, there were plenty of good old southern rednecks that didn't bother me.

 

45 minutes to mountain biking from Seattle is a little too far. I imagine it rains a lot in Everett, no? Is there close mountain biking there?

 

I hadn't thought about Leavenworth. So I can add that to the list, and keep Ellensburg and Wenatchee on it too.

 

Where are the Oregon people to tell me about Redmond or Bend, or even put in a good word for Portland?

 

Thanks again!

[billcoe]

Where are the Oregon people to tell me about Redmond or Bend, or even put in a good word for Portland?

 

Thanks again!

 

Depending on the climbing and skiing you like to do of course but Bend would have you well covered, but if I was picking I'd go Ellensberg or Leavenworth. It's said that Leavenworth has a high cancer rate, especially amongst children, as they spray pesticides etc on the apples (the orchards butt right up against town) pretty heavily and get some drift into town. If I was a pregnant woman I'd want to be elsewhere, but it's real nice town otherwise.

[rob]

Where are the Oregon people to tell me about Redmond or Bend, or even put in a good word for Portland?

 

Thanks again!

It's said that Leavenworth has a high cancer rate, especially amongst children, as they spray pesticides etc on the apples (the orchards butt right up against town) pretty heavily and get some drift into town. If I was a pregnant woman I'd want to be elsewhere, but it's real nice town otherwise.

 

Source?

[jshamster]

Leavenworth for skiing (Stevens Pass), climbing (everywhere), and mtn. biking.

 

Bill, you really need to provide a source for that one. Never heard that before.

 

Oh yeah, no mosquitoes in the city limits of Leavenworth. Ever.

 

Cheers

Jimbo

[boadman]

Awesome, thanks for the replies! You guys are really helpful.

 

I'm definitely not a city person - I live in the suburbs of DC and in a year I've gone downtown for fun three or four times. And when I lived in tiny Brevard NC, I ventured into Asheville maybe twice, but only when people were visiting from out of town. Also, when I lived in Brevard, there were plenty of good old southern rednecks that didn't bother me.

 

45 minutes to mountain biking from Seattle is a little too far. I imagine it rains a lot in Everett, no? Is there close mountain biking there?

 

I hadn't thought about Leavenworth. So I can add that to the list, and keep Ellensburg and Wenatchee on it too.

 

Where are the Oregon people to tell me about Redmond or Bend, or even put in a good word for Portland?

 

Thanks again!

 

Leavenworth has great access to incredible bouldering, and alpine routes, and is only an hour or so from Index. There isn't much good sport climbing that's close, unless you're a fan of Nascent ridge. The climbing season is pretty long, and in the heat of the summer, there are great swimming holes and tubing in the Tumwater and the wenatchee. It's longer to squampton, but probably a little closer to Smith than Seattle. If you can find work there, it's probably a pretty rad place to live.

[rob]

I'd totally live in 11worth, if I could find work.

 

If you do go to Everett, Snohomish is a nice town. Close to Index, and a nicer place to live than Everett, but close enough to commute to the big hospitals in Everett. I like it so much I bought a house there

[stevetimetravlr]

I have never heard that Leavenworth has a high cancer rate either, but there is allot I don't know. I do know that my friend Bill Nigbor who grew up in Leavenworth died at the age of 19 from a rare cancer. He was fine when college got out in June in 1978 and dead 3 months later. I still miss the guy. One of the few non-climbers I knew who had ever been into Coney Lake and one heck of a individual.

Rest in peace old buddy.

[Spore]

billcoe,

with out facts keep you fingers away from the key board, and stay down in pdx where the murder rate is higher.

[ColinB]

If you can move to Seattle/Leavenworth/E-burg/Everett, there's no reason to move to Portland. Much better climbing up north and better access. The secret to good Portland climbing is that the drive to Washington isn't that bad. Even Beacon is in Washington...

[froodish]

Portland resident here...

 

I grew up in and started climbing in SoCal (> 2 hours to JT and Idyllwild), been in PDX for 16 years now. PDX actually has good climbing closer (although much smaller crags) than where I lived in SoCal, but weather is most definitely a factor. Winter in PDX often means driving to the East side for rock climbing (~3 hours to Smith.) That limits it mostly to weekends for me. Mountaineering is a different story that I know little about - not into the cold. All in all, I'm very happy with the climbing ops in stumptown. I can be to Broughton's in 40 min, Carver in 25 min, Beacon in less than an hour. Throw in Smith and you have a pretty good variety of climbing throughout the year. I still have a hankering for granite and slabs, so I usually make a JT trip in the Spring and one to the Sierra (Yos, Tuolumne, the Portal) or Idyllwild in the Summer.

[ITri4VT]

I'll look up the different climbing areas, and maybe narrow it down based on my (and my boyfriend's) climbing preferences. I've been mostly stuck in the gym for the past year, and couldn't afford to build a trad rack, so all I have is sport gear. I do like climbing trad though, and when I pay off my loans I'll start building up the gear. Not a huge fan of bouldering, although my boyfriend is. And I have to admit, I learned to climb in Western NC, so I really like slab

 

Thanks again for all your help, everyone!

 

 

[sobo]

And I have to admit, I learned to climb in Western NC, so I really like slab

Then you must be familiar with Whitesides, Looking Glass, and Stone Mountain (the one in NC, not GA). I'm a VA Tech grad, and that's where I got my slab fix regularly.

 

From your avatar, are you also a Hokie? There's a pretty big VT/UVA community on this board.

[LostCamKenny]

Hey Sobo, what time is it?

[LostCamKenny]

Portland resident here...

 

I grew up in and started climbing in SoCal (> 2 hours to JT and Idyllwild), been in PDX for 16 years now. PDX actually has good climbing closer (although much smaller crags) than where I lived in SoCal, but weather is most definitely a factor. Winter in PDX often means driving to the East side for rock climbing (~3 hours to Smith.) That limits it mostly to weekends for me. Mountaineering is a different story that I know little about - not into the cold. All in all, I'm very happy with the climbing ops in stumptown. I can be to Broughton's in 40 min, Carver in 25 min, Beacon in less than an hour. Throw in Smith and you have a pretty good variety of climbing throughout the year. I still have a hankering for granite and slabs, so I usually make a JT trip in the Spring and one to the Sierra (Yos, Tuolumne, the Portal) or Idyllwild in the Summer.

 

nothing to add except that if you do want to get into the cold stuff that it probably doesn't matter which side of the mountains you live on.