Advice on where to live, outside of CO, for best mountain adventures?

[amags543]

what about Washington state and the Cascades? Bellingham?

[Codyhill1991]

what about Washington state and the Cascades? Bellingham?

That area is not a good fit for me at this time as far as long term living for a few reasons, but is definitely on my radar as a place to visit again/maybe a far future endeavor.

[seano]

"Hav[ing] housing taken care of" definitely changes the math, e.g. Jackson and everywhere within its blast radius are insanely expensive, but if you just want to get away from the tourist zoo, the little towns on the Idaho side of the Tetons are nice and have excellent access to many peaks. Same for Bozeman.

Being able to go south for the winter also changes things a lot -- I would choose somewhere much farther north than if I had to live there year-round. Winter in northwest Montana would be brutal, but there are a lot of rugged and uncrowded mountains there, e.g. the Cabinets, so Kalispell gives you lots of options besides the chossy (but fun!) peaks of Glacier. You've got to be fine with grizzlies, though.

[Codyhill1991]

"Hav[ing] housing taken care of" definitely changes the math, e.g. Jackson and everywhere within its blast radius are insanely expensive, but if you just want to get away from the tourist zoo, the little towns on the Idaho side of the Tetons are nice and have excellent access to many peaks. Same for Bozeman.

Being able to go south for the winter also changes things a lot -- I would choose somewhere much farther north than if I had to live there year-round. Winter in northwest Montana would be brutal, but there are a lot of rugged and uncrowded mountains there, e.g. the Cabinets, so Kalispell gives you lots of options besides the chossy (but fun!) peaks of Glacier. You've got to be fine with grizzlies, though.

I've never encountered one! I expect that's something I'll be learning to be comfortable with this coming season.

For added context I have just finished building out a van for full time living so I can go anywhere with public land to sleep on. I can go everywhere I want if I keep my current remote job, new spot every week, but I'm in tech and layoffs are always looming. We got word of a coming RIF so...if I need to sling coffee or groceries through the summer to make ends meet while I tackle the tech/SaaS job market, I'll need to stay put for a reasonable amount of time to do so, which is why I'm trying to narrow down a town or two.

This thread has been super helpful, and I'm going to deep dive some trip reports on Montana mountains to see which range(s) best fit the vibe I'm hoping for. Feel free to point me towards any blogs or sites you find enjoyable. Thanks everyone!

[Bombay2Boulder]

OP- Lot of good recommendations here. I will ask you this as someone who lives the nomad life, are you looking to build any sort of community or friends/partner around these towns or have a very active social life? Rural towns are extremely cliquish and can be very hard to get the initial foot into the local community. I can give some recommendations based on the above answer

[Scott P]

If it makes a difference, I am only looking for summer/fall season and will be in the Flagstaff area during the cold months.

In that case, what about spending at least a summer or two in Flagstaff? For years, I have reamed about spending a summer in Flagstaff (or Camp Verde or Sedona), but alas it's our busy season at work.

Most of the slot canyons and narrow canyons are fed by crystal clear creeks with deep swim holes. Summer is the ideal time to visit them. In my own opinion at least, even the best Colorado 14ers are mundane in comparison to the slot canyons down there. While it is true that many of the canyons are technical, a lot of them aren't.

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Of course there are a lot of non-technical canyons too.

I do realize that everyone has different tastes, but I sure would like to spend a couple summers around Flagstaff at least once in my life.

[Codyhill1991]

If it makes a difference, I am only looking for summer/fall season and will be in the Flagstaff area during the cold months.

In that case, what about spending at least a summer or two in Flagstaff? For years, I have reamed about spending a summer in Flagstaff (or Camp Verde or Sedona), but alas it's our busy season at work.

Most of the slot canyons and narrow canyons are fed by crystal clear creeks with deep swim holes. Summer is the ideal time to visit them. In my own opinion at least, even the best Colorado 14ers are mundane in comparison to the slot canyons down there. While it is true that many of the canyons are technical, a lot of them aren't.

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Of course there are a lot of non-technical canyons too.

I do realize that everyone has different tastes, but I sure would like to spend a couple summers around Flagstaff at least once in my life.

Those images are beautiful, and it's something that I'd definitely like to see at some point... This summer at least I have my heart pretty set on spending time in high mountains and among all the alpine lakes I love, but it's really good to have that on my radar and know it would be a nice place to stay for a whole year if the feeling strikes.

[Codyhill1991]

OP- Lot of good recommendations here. I will ask you this as someone who lives the nomad life, are you looking to build any sort of community or friends/partner around these towns or have a very active social life? Rural towns are extremely cliquish and can be very hard to get the initial foot into the local community. I can give some recommendations based on the above answer

In a perfect world I would love to make some friends and find some adventure buddies, but I am very solitary by nature and doing things alone is my comfort zone so needing access to community is a lower priority.

[Bombay2Boulder]

OP- Lot of good recommendations here. I will ask you this as someone who lives the nomad life, are you looking to build any sort of community or friends/partner around these towns or have a very active social life? Rural towns are extremely cliquish and can be very hard to get the initial foot into the local community. I can give some recommendations based on the above answer

In a perfect world I would love to make some friends and find some adventure buddies, but I am very solitary by nature and doing things alone is my comfort zone so needing access to community is a lower priority.

I see, in that case you will pretty much be fine in any small rural town that has been posted here so far. If you remotely care about the social aspect, here's what my recommendations will be for outside CO ( I am avoiding the bigger cities)- Bend, Bozeman, Bellingham, Bishop. These towns are very close by to some great mountains while having amazing trails and stuff to do in the town itself with a decently active social scene amongst the younger population.
Have fun with the journey, let us know about your thoughts where you end up living.

[k_fergie]

OP- Lot of good recommendations here. I will ask you this as someone who lives the nomad life, are you looking to build any sort of community or friends/partner around these towns or have a very active social life? Rural towns are extremely cliquish and can be very hard to get the initial foot into the local community. I can give some recommendations based on the above answer

In a perfect world I would love to make some friends and find some adventure buddies, but I am very solitary by nature and doing things alone is my comfort zone so needing access to community is a lower priority.

I see, in that case you will pretty much be fine in any small rural town that has been posted here so far. If you remotely care about the social aspect, here's what my recommendations will be for outside CO ( I am avoiding the bigger cities)- Bend, Bozeman, Bellingham, Bishop. These towns are very close by to some great mountains while having amazing trails and stuff to do in the town itself with a decently active social scene amongst the younger population.
Have fun with the journey, let us know about your thoughts where you end up living.

And they all have B names just like Bombay and Boulder. And Boise. Coincidence, I think not!

[seano]

Bend, Bozeman, Bellingham, Bishop.

Bishop?! Have you dealt with summer temps in the Owens Valley? Summer in a van around Bishop is survivable, but you'll be spending a lot of time soaking up A/C in the Starbucks and driving uphill to find bearable places to sleep. It's also ~20 miles to the high trailheads, and cell service is hard to find in the habitable zone if you need to be online for work.

[greenonion]

OP- Lot of good recommendations here. I will ask you this as someone who lives the nomad life, are you looking to build any sort of community or friends/partner around these towns or have a very active social life? Rural towns are extremely cliquish and can be very hard to get the initial foot into the local community. I can give some recommendations based on the above answer

In a perfect world I would love to make some friends and find some adventure buddies, but I am very solitary by nature and doing things alone is my comfort zone so needing access to community is a lower priority.

I see, in that case you will pretty much be fine in any small rural town that has been posted here so far. If you remotely care about the social aspect, here's what my recommendations will be for outside CO ( I am avoiding the bigger cities)- Bend, Bozeman, Bellingham, Bishop. These towns are very close by to some great mountains while having amazing trails and stuff to do in the town itself with a decently active social scene amongst the younger population.
Have fun with the journey, let us know about your thoughts where you end up living.

+1 each for Bend OR, and Bishop CA!!