[TT C6]

Hey all!
I am currently living in the Northeast and I love the community, the food, and the fact that we are in the "middle of everything" here.
Although I love the Northeast,
I HATE the cold weather and limited riding season.
SNOWBOARDING is the only thing that gets me through the winter.

In addition,
It seems that outside the urban areas,
most Northeast cops become real a$$holes.
Police harassment has me to the point that I think I might never ride again.


Now that the cold weather has ALREADY rolled in,
I am asking myself the question:

Where is the best area in the country for a sportrider to RIDE, work, and own a home?

I have been searching the sportbike sites and have read some of the following:

Obviously,
the Northeast and the Midwest has weather that significantly limits the amount time that you can ride.

California has the best weather, and arguably the best tracks and terrain.
But, Cali's cost of living and state government makes it practically impossible to "make it".

South Florida has great weather, good tracks, and decent roads.
But, it seemed to me that the local economy does not support the cost of living and I didn't feel a strong sense of "community" there.
(It's my opinion. Sorry if you disagree)
Although, I never was personally harassed by law enforcement in Florida and I am very grateful for the "leeway" that it seemed I was given on the bike when riding late night; especially during the week.

I LOVED everything about Texas.
The people are the nicest I have met in the country and I LOVE the food!
However, it does get cold and I am not personally familiar with the job market and cost of living.

I am very interested in Arizona and the Carolinas,
but I have not done any significant research.

So,
what do you all have to say?

 

[Higgs Boson]

I like it here in Texas. I've lived in San Antonio and Dallas. Austin is probably the best place with the hill country twisties, good job market, nice place to live and decent Texas weather. The only drawback is that the hil country can kick your ass if you have allergies.

 

[TT C6]

I like it here in Texas. I've lived in San Antonio and Dallas. Austin is probably the best place with the hill country twisties, good job market, nice place to live and decent Texas weather. The only drawback is that the hil country can kick your ass if you have allergies.

That's funny!
I have pretty bad allergies.
But, nothing that a little Claritin can't fix.
When I lived in Houston,
I used to get really bad headaches.
From the humidity I assume.

What are "relations" like between cops and riders out there?

Phoenix and Austin are probably my top two realistic choices based on all factors.

California and Hawaii would be my dream locations, but finances and other factors rule them out.

 

[fugitiveorphan]

I've lived in NH, MA, Pennsylvania, Texas, England, and North Carolina.

It's a toss up between England and North Carolina. And you probably prefer to stay in the northwestern hemisphere. Raleigh, NC and it surrounding suburbs are expanding very rapidly right now, and housing costs will be about half of what they are in the northeast. Business is booming, real estate is on the uprise, the weather is beautiful for 10 months of the year. You never really have to put the bike up for the winter. THe beach is 2 hours in one direction and the mountains are 30 minutes in the other.

VIR, CMP, Summit Point, Pocono, Road Atlanta, and Roebling Road are all within a half day's drive. The tail of the dragon is within 5 hour drive for weekend getaways.

SoCal sounds nice if you want to pay a half million dollars (literally) for a house that goes for $160k here. Wouldn't leave me much loot to play with my bikes. Check out USAjobs.com and monster.com and come on down.

 

[GSX-R Dave]

So. Cal is nice. Personally, I wouldn't leave it.

What I like about California
Women are hot here.
Weather is always nice.
I have 3 major tracks within 120 miles from the Los Angeles area.
I can literally surf in the morning and be snowboarding in the afternoon.
Vegas is only 300 miles away.
We can split lanes aka "lane share"
You can casually run into stars/famous people - saw Jennifer Garner at Starbucks.

What I hate about California
The O.C. is a show and not a lifestyle.
It takes me 30 minutes to drive 10 miles to work.
Housing by the beach cities I live in go for almost a million.
Too many people coming out here from out of state that want to "Make it" and already have an attitude.
The hotter the chick, the more money it takes to keep her.
We get raped about bike prices. Getting MSRP OTD is unheard of.

 

[palutz59]

I have a couple of friends that I graduated with and they all made their way to Arizona and from what they tell me they wouldn't live anywhere else. Perfect roads, weather is nice and it does have a good job market from what they say. Once I get my Masters I'm out of this boring and cold state (PA) and I'll head somewhere west... CA or AZ for me.

 

[GSX-R Dave]

What half a mil buys you in So. Cal. LOL.

http://www.ziprealty.com/buy_a_home/search/home_detail.jsp?listing_num=06_129897&page=1&property_type=SFR&mls=mls_so_cal&cKey=286ppd1v&source=CLAW

 

[OhSicksGix]

are you high? the northeast sucks, shitty weather, high taxes, rude people, the only nice thing is the history and the leaves change colors. Texas is the nicest place i have been too

 

[iluvdagxr]

AZ is where it's at as long as you live in or near Phoenix cause everywhere else in the state is boring.

 

[Ghostrider750]

I have a couple of friends that I graduated with and they all made their way to Arizona and from what they tell me they wouldn't live anywhere else. Perfect roads, weather is nice and it does have a good job market from what they say. Once I get my Masters I'm out of this boring and cold state (PA) and I'll head somewhere west... CA or AZ for me.

Same here- Live in "Dreary" PA, really thinking alot on moving to Arizona or New Mexico. Plus humidity in those areas at most are like 10-15 %. I can stand hot temps, just hate humidity. I've stayed at both places for a couple of months and loved it-can't wait to move!!!!.

 

[Cheez5000]

So Cal is the place to be!:cheers:cool GSX-R Dave said it pretty eloquently... there's also the beaches for surfing, and the mountains nearby for snowboarding

 

[Higgs Boson]

Yeah move to AZ if you like nosebleeds. It's very dry out there. Move to SoCal if you want to not be able to afford the tissue.

 

[BlackJacket]

Portland, OR. 1 hour to beaches, 1 hour to some of the countrys best snowboarding. Tons of microbreweries and eco friendly stores (if your into that sort of thing) Great economy and theres always the possibility that you could land a job with Nike, Intel or columbia sportswear- depending on what background you have. Oh and no sales tax, and plenty of back roads to tear up on the weekends if trackdays arent your thing

 

[zjbarnes]

AZ is where it's at as long as you live in or near Phoenix cause everywhere else in the state is boring.

+1 If you can make it through the summer you'll love being able to ride comfortably for the rest of the year. But 120 degrees? I'd rather be in the NC/SC area.

 

[junglicious]

Cali is the place to be, where you can ride all seasons. I live in central, so its a couple of hours from the hills and the beach.

what i hate is there is a law for everything and tax sucks.

 

[IronGSXR35]

im surprised no one is sayin Florida:scratch Granted I only spent a couple weeks there but it was a blast.

Im stuck here in PA for a little longer but who knows in a couple years

 

[sinnergixxer]

Where I live in Illinois isn't really that bad of a place to ride.

I live in Aurora, which is a western suburb of Chicago. I wouldn't wish downtown on anyone on a bike, but, the ride around the actual city on the highways isn't all that bad. Urban cruising can be pretty dangerous, but exciting at the same time if you know what you're doing.

Also, if you ride about 30-40 minutes away from civilization, you'll find yourself with huge, long, stretches of road with nothing but farm fields & cows. We lack twisties here, which are extremely fun on a bike, but, the straightaways make up for it.

Just be weary of the cops, they don't screw around here - Illinois is what I call a 'police state', meaning, they'll look for ANY reason to bust you, any way they can. I've already gotten 3 tickets this month, they really pump the revenue out of you here.

 

[06gix-fireman]

I like it here in Florida. Contrary to what some people say, there is a lot of good places to ride here. I ride a 30mile stretch of twisty country roads to work ever morning, 90% of my ride is enjoyable. There is a lot of traffic, but its not to bad. The weather is great all year. I rode in this morning and it was 50deg. outside and sunny.
As far as work goes there are endless oppotunities here. There are jobs everywhere, and the cost of living is relatively low.
If I was going to move anywhere else I would probably move to Raleigh NC, or Cali.
Oh yeah and did I mention we are surrounded by beautiful beaches!

 

[TT C6]

So. Cal is nice. Personally, I wouldn't leave it.

What I like about California
Women are hot here.
Weather is always nice.
I have 3 major tracks within 120 miles from the Los Angeles area.
I can literally surf in the morning and be snowboarding in the afternoon.
Vegas is only 300 miles away.
We can split lanes aka "lane share"
You can casually run into stars/famous people - saw Jennifer Garner at Starbucks.

What I hate about California
The O.C. is a show and not a lifestyle.
It takes me 30 minutes to drive 10 miles to work.
Housing by the beach cities I live in go for almost a million.
Too many people coming out here from out of state that want to "Make it" and already have an attitude.
The hotter the chick, the more money it takes to keep her.
We get raped about bike prices. Getting MSRP OTD is unheard of.

That's the whole point.
Cali is awesome,
but how they hell do you afford it?

If you don't mind me asking:
How do you pay your bills and how much did you pay for your place?

I'm sure many people here would like to know how a rider can "make it" out there.
But, if you feel more comfotable, please PM me.

 

[Teknikscian]

So. Cal is nice. Personally, I wouldn't leave it.

What I like about California
Women are hot here.
Weather is always nice.
I have 3 major tracks within 120 miles from the Los Angeles area.
I can literally surf in the morning and be snowboarding in the afternoon.
Vegas is only 300 miles away.
We can split lanes aka "lane share"
You can casually run into stars/famous people - saw Jennifer Garner at Starbucks.

What I hate about California
The O.C. is a show and not a lifestyle.
It takes me 30 minutes to drive 10 miles to work.
Housing by the beach cities I live in go for almost a million.
Too many people coming out here from out of state that want to "Make it" and already have an attitude.
The hotter the chick, the more money it takes to keep her.
We get raped about bike prices. Getting MSRP OTD is unheard of.

I agree 100%! been all around the US and i would never leave southern california! its pricey, but its worth it.