Great places to live for outdoors lovers

[Nick]

I will add my two cents of S. Utah communities later but Nick you realize our mountains are much different than yours, are you going to be able to handle not having the Uintas and Winds in your back yard? The Tushars are kindof cool but... definitely not...

I've been to pretty much everywhere in the Uintas that I want to go, so no big deal there. As for the Winds, that will be sad having them farther away, but if there is one thing I've learned about them its that they are best done on longer trips. The 3-4 day outings that I've been doing don't really cut it up there, so it wouldn't be that bad to set aside 5-8 day trips and only do one or two per year, so the longer drive isn't the end of the world. And then of course there are the Sierras. Looks like it's only around 6 hours of driving to get into some great areas there. That's how long it takes to get to some parts of The Winds from SLC! Either way, I love the mountains, but I don't love them as much as I love the desert, so having that surround me would make it all worthwhile.

 

[Alison]

Glenwood Springs has Valley View Hospital, which just finished a major expansion and is affiliated with University Hospital in Denver, and Aspen Valley Hospital is a fine facility. Just sayin'.

We have an amazing hospital here in Gws! 2 hours to Moab. 3 hours to the roost. 7 hours to Zion. And Carbondale is extremely liberal. . Come on over to my neck of the woods!

 

[gnwatts]

We have an amazing hospital here in Gws! 2 hours to Moab. 3 hours to the roost. 7 hours to Zion. And Carbondale is extremely liberal. . Come on over to my neck of the woods!

2 hours to Moab?!!!
I have tried very hard to break 3 hours, did it once in 2.5. It's 200 miles from GWS!

Having said that I would agree, as a citizen of Carbondale, that it is very liberal (we have 3 marijuana dispensaries if that is your thing, prescription required).
Where else do you get hippies, ranchers and rednecks banding together to fight gas and oil drilling?!!
And we have a 25 acre dog park, where the critters can run free and walk their owners around, a pretty cool amenity.
When I first moved here you could drink on the street, not anymore though.

Sigh.

 

[Seldom Seen Anderson]

but I don't love them as much as I love the desert

Good to hear! I have family move here who have a hard time with the desert! My aunt bawled upon arrival from Canada because she missed the green forest...My Mom cries almost every time she drives through Sardine Canyon in the Spring (she is a Cache Valley gal) although I know she doesnt miss that drive in the winter!!

I think the dream of most outdoorsy people in Southern Utah would be Springdale, but often that is improbable (both price of housing and commute for work).

With that in mind there are some close seconds! (keep in mind I think St George has too many people and I dream of smaller towns)
Leeds
Toquerville
Hurricane-
Virgin- I think I like the idea and location of Virgin but would have a bit tough time with many in the community (they did pass an non enforced ordinance that everyone must own a gun to live in Virgin for example)
* Smaller the town equals more of a conservative community. I have to bite my tongue often at church (when I go) or risk getting into an argument or labeled as a liberal or....

If gun to my head I had to be in the greater St.G for sure somewhere out near Tuacahn/Entrada or Santa Clara/Kayenta area. Gunlock might be cool but because of the yearly floods that wash out the road, and the wild fire evacuations I might have to pass! I think Kayenta would be pretty awesome. Most of ^ are very $$$$ though so....

Washington Fields is growing like mad but doesnt have as easy access to many of the Red Cliffs trail system.

You also have along the I-15 corridor (New Harmony, Kanaraville, Cedar City but then you have the cold and on again off again snow all winter long!)

I have friends in Mesquite/Logandale and they love that area. It is a touch hotter in the summer but there is lots to see out there (Gold Butte, Grand Canyon Parashant, etc)

 

[Alison]

2 hours to Moab?!!!
I have tried very hard to break 3 hours, did it once in 2.5. It's 200 miles from GWS!

Having said that I would agree, as a citizen of Carbondale, that it is very liberal (we have 3 marijuana dispensaries if that is your thing, prescription required).
Where else do you get hippies, ranchers and rednecks banding together to fight gas and oil drilling?!!
And we have a 25 acre dog park, where the critters can run free and walk their owners around, a pretty cool amenity.
When I first moved here you could drink on the street, not anymore though.

Sigh.

I drive 90. Breaking the law, breaking the law.

 

[Dave]

keep in mind I think St George has too many people and I dream of smaller towns

Worth pointing out that the greater St. George area is growing like a weed and the next 30-50 years will dramatically alter the character of the place. Even the communities now considered small will be bursting. Just 15 years or so ago no one along the Wasatch Front had any idea where Hurricane was... now it's building out and well known.

The St. George area is also quick bumping up against the Las Vegas conundrum... aka where in the hell do we get water? I wouldn't mind living there during the winter months, but it's downright intolerable to me in the summer. To each their own...

 

[gnwatts]

I have spent a lot of time driving through St. George (and staying in motels before and after trips to the Escalante region), and witnessing it's sprawl since the mid 1970's, and like most places before they grew it was better, a lot better. It seems like any other kind of suburban sprawl, just in a beautiful spot that is rapidly getting pretty crowded.

Is the Bob's Big Boy still there? My room mate and I slept in my 68 mustang in the parking lot there (I think it was Bob's, maybe a Denny's) one Saturday night on presidents day weekend in 1977, after we lost all of our money in Vegas and were stuck without gas money, freezing our asses off. We were able to borrow enough to get back to SLC from the kind people of that town, in front of the restaurant, after people had been to church. We were amazed and grateful, and dreadfully hungover.

Youth!

 

[blueeyes]

I have spent a lot of time driving through St. George (and staying in motels before and after trips to the Escalante region), and witnessing it's sprawl since the mid 1970's, and like most places before they grew it was better, a lot better. It seems like any other kind of suburban sprawl, just in a beautiful spot that is rapidly getting pretty crowded.

Is the Bob's Big Boy still there? My room mate and I slept in my 68 mustang in the parking lot there (I think it was Bob's, maybe a Denny's) one Saturday night on presidents day weekend in 1977, after we lost all of our money in Vegas and were stuck without gas money, freezing our asses off. We were able to borrow enough to get back to SLC from the kind people of that town, in front of the restaurant, after people had been to church. We were amazed and grateful, and dreadfully hungover.

Youth!

I don't think there is a Big Boy's left in Utah! Funny story.

 

[Nurrgle]

Having grown up in Northern Utah, Cleirfield to be exact, I had a hard time moving when I got took a job here in Denver. Personaly, I would't live anywhere else. The political climate here in Colorado is great and the people are some of the best folks I have been around. I am still close enough to Southern Utah so I can get my desert fix whenever I need to, and the mountains here are breathtaking, so rugged and huge. There are a million great places to hike and backpack. For me, it's like living within an hour drive from the high Uintas.

Plus, pot is legal here now! No really, the great thing about legalized pot here in Colorado, other then allowing me to relive the years of college without fear, is all of the income it generates will go to the schools. The schools here make the schools in Utah look like they ae actually in the Sudan.

Denver has also been great for my career. I took a job with a company that builds wind turbines, and having worked for a Frack Pump company before, it is nice to feel like you are doing something for the environment. I Salaries are higher here and there is an atmosphere of inovation and improvement. The oldest person at my company is probably 45.

 

[Laura]

View attachment 8139

2 hours to Moab?!!!
I have tried very hard to break 3 hours, did it once in 2.5. It's 200 miles from GWS!

Having said that I would agree, as a citizen of Carbondale, that it is very liberal (we have 3 marijuana dispensaries if that is your thing, prescription required).
Where else do you get hippies, ranchers and rednecks banding together to fight gas and oil drilling?!!
And we have a 25 acre dog park, where the critters can run free and walk their owners around, a pretty cool amenity.
When I first moved here you could drink on the street, not anymore though.

Sigh.

OMG, I think I found paradise! Sounds like the Northern Exposure town I've been searching for!!! On another note, and off topic but while we're discussing Southern Utah, I know everyone is happy about the "warm" weather lately and I understand, but I'm seriously bummed. I'm supposed to come out and photograph Zion and the Grand Canyon this weekend and was hoping for snow, but the forecast is boring blue skies and 58 degrees-the worst of photography conditions! Seriously, it's mid 70's here in San Diego, is it worth driving 1500 miles at $4+ gallon??

Here's "winter" in SoCal:

Sunset, anyone? by Laura Zirino, on Flickr



Is Zion/Grand Canyon still beautiful enough in winter without snow and leaves on the trees to make it worth the drive? Worth leaving this?

See attached photo for what I was hoping to get-this photo was taken exactly a year ago.

 

[Laura]

Outside magazine has its Best Towns To Live In issue out, and on that list are Carbondale, CO, and.......San Diego, CA.

 

[Ndheiner]

PARK CITY!! Outside Magazine Rated us #1 This year "THE BEST town in america"

http://www.outsideonline.com/advent.../The-Best-Town-in-America-Park-City-Utah.html