Hey guys. I'm currently looking at relocating myself and my family, but I'm having the hardest time finding the right place. You see, my two favorite hobbies are mountain biking and wakeboarding. It seems I am finding places that offer awesome opportunities for one, but are very limited on the other. <BR> <BR>What I am looking for is a place that is warm year round with lots of technical singletrack nearby and plenty of watersports opportunities with 10-15 minutes. It would also be great if some epic snowboarding could be had within a few hours drive. For occupational reasons it would be important that a large city be with commuting distance. Does such a place exist?

Yeah it's called California, but you should stay away the earthquakes are really bad.

That's funny. I just wanted How the Earth Was Made on the History Channel last night. It was all about the San Andreas fault. At the end they said the experts agree that there is a 99% chance the "Big One" will happen in the next 30 years. <BR> <BR>But I digress. Where in California? Can you name a few cities that match my criteria. That would be awesome. Thanks.

Sacramento but again, you will need a drysuit for the winter.

Sacramento is good because we have probably 30 lakes within 30 - 45 minutes. Epic mountain biking 1-2 hours away. and Ocean about an hour and half away. <BR> <BR>100+ degrees in the summer and drysuit winters but we all turn our attention to the snow for the most part. <BR> <BR>But again the Earthquakes and fires are unbearable here. I wouldn't come if I were you. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/talker.gif" border=0>

Minnesota WHAT! not warm all year but bad azzz Mt Biking, and SICK LAKES.

auburn, ca <BR> <BR>Live there and love it. TONS of mountain bike riding all over! Epic lakes in every direction, epic snowboarding only 1 hour away to the closest resort. Truely an outdoorsman's paradise. <BR> <BR>Many commute 20 minutes to rocklin or roseville. Could even commute 50 minutes to Sac if you really wanted to. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by wakeboardertj on February 16, 2009)

whats the housing market look like there? are there affordable houses on/near the water? ... that's my real issue with ca other than the traffic... <BR> <BR>(Message edited by stoked_32 on February 16, 2009)

depends on what your housing budget is like. right now you can buy very nice houses on the water here in discovery bay on the delta for around 500,000. you can buy off the water in the same town for around 300,000

you can find cheaper houses in the very low 200s that need a little work but are still nice

dont forget ,its mad expensive to live in cali,the traffic sucks,and riley you forgot mudslides and shark attacks <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

Oh yeah those killer mudslides that happen every week are a killer. I wouldn't move here for sure.

Have you considered Oregon or Washington? <BR> <BR>While not as warm they have a long wakeboarding season and some diehards do ride almost if not year round. Both states are also very solid for mountain biking.

Martin <BR>Don't think about California. <BR>Park City Utah is where its at. <BR>Summer awesome wakeboarding in town and about the best bike trails and lifts in the US, winter is all about snowboarding. <BR>I've considered it myself but the job issue is the only challenge.

Portland Oregon, ride all year, just 5 month in a drysuit. Lot's of single track every where, Mt Hood and Alpine for your winter fix, less then a hour.

Phoenix, AZ!!!!!!!! Killer MTB and there are lakes too. You can ride both year round if you want.

Yeah you should move to Oregon, Utah or Arizona. They are all way better than Cali!

I agree with CQ arizona is amazing awesome lakes lake powell mountain biking snowboarding everything its always amazing weather too

British Colombia! Some of the sickest riding in the world, and <font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font><font color="ff0000">•</font> of lakes!!

Austin Texas! It is in the hill country, great biking. 4 lakes within an hour. Lake Austin is pretty much one of the biggest riding scenes in the state. A few worthwhile rivers nearby. Great city to raise a family. Low cost of living. Warm year round. That is it, no more worries about where to move, come on down.

Stay out of the Northwest... it rains everyday here, our lakes are awful, people only slalom ski and no one mtn. bikes so you probably couldn't even find a shop, or a trail. Did I mention Earthquakes, flash floods, acid rain, tornadoes, gigantic monster spiders?

Charlotte Metro Region,North Carolina. Affordable housing, Lake Norman,and at least two popular mtn bike trails, two hours drive to sugar mtn for snowboarding.

+1 for Austin TX. Great lakes, great mountain biking, and it's a cheap 2 hour flight to Denver in the winter time!

You guys are funny <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0> <BR> <BR>A lot of good suggestions here. Some places I hadn't considered like Austin. I'll have to check it out on my road trip out west next month. Some others like BC...yeah, um, probably not to live. Perhaps I will take a trip there sometime in the summer. But I'd really like to get out of the cold. <BR> <BR>Keep them coming. Thanks, guys.

Mike, according to googlemaps Austin Lake is almost 5 hours away from Austin. Is there another lake austin that is closer that I'm not seeing on the map?

Arenal, Costa Rica. <BR>Mountains all around a big a$$ lake that has virtually no boats on it. Riding year round without wetsuits. Kiteboarding/windsurfing. Surfing at a 2 hours-drive. <BR>Snowboarding might be a problem though. But who needs that with all of the above anyway?!

Whatever you do don't come to the Dirty Dirty. You will hate it. There are too many nice people down here. The summers are humid and winters are at least 3 months of torture. Stay away from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. <BR> <BR>Good luck with your search.

This is going to be a lot tougher compiling a list of the places I "don't want to go." <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0>

you guys just dont want this poor guy on your lakes!

Martin, <BR> <BR>It is right downtown. There is also Lake Travis and Canyon Lake. And, I almost forgot, the Texas Ski Ranch is about 35 minutes away. <BR> <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/austin/access.phtml" target="_blank">http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/austin/access.phtml</a> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/670739.jpg" alt="Upload">

Looks more like a river to me <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

It is more like a river, that is what is so great about it....if the wind is a blowin, turn a corner, and you're good to go. Plus on much of the lake there are cliffs and the water is usually butter.

Check out these cats... <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.austinridgeriders.com/" target="_blank">http://www.austinridgeriders.com/</a>

Martin, I have been all over the US and if given the chance to move anywhere it would be lake Austin. The hill country surrounding is probably a good place to bike there is not any mountians but there are several canyons. <a href="http://www.360wakeboard.com" target="_blank">www.360wakeboard.com</a>

Mike and Doug, thanks for the links. Good stuff there. I'll definitely have to check out Austin on my way through next month. Anybody looking for a third then? <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>Any other suggestions?

Martin, <BR> <BR>I would love to give you a pull, but I will be in Houston in March. If you head through Houston give PM me. I am taking two weeks of vacation so I can ride during the week. We are going to hit up the Trinity River, i have never rode there but I hear it is sweet.