Best Ski City

based on that stuff I'd say Denver. Plus you get other perks like great weather here.

Portland and SLC are dope cities too. and San Fran is great in non skiing aspects but skiing wise its quite a commute to tahoe. Dont leave Vancouver out of the mix either, or Seattle.

SLC

2nd that motion

Yea I recently changed my mind to Denver I was thinking it would be Salt Lake until I looked up more of the lifestyle and realized the skiing would be dope but not anythingelse. I also don't think I could handle the ultra-conservative mormon thing. The job market is prolly better in Denver too.

Purely skiing - SLC.

Living in a city with good skiing a 1-2hr drive - Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Denver all apply because they are each sick cites for the right person. The cultures of each are definitely different so, honestly, if you can visit them, do it. SF is an amazing city, but drive to tahoe is pretty long.

SLC vs the rest basically comes down to how much you value skiing relative to the advantages of living in a metro area that is truly a city. Not saying SLC is a bad place, but when comparing it as a city to any of the metros of 2 mil pop or above, there really just isn't a contest as to what they offer.

As for Denver vs Portland vs Seattle vs Vancouver vs SF....all really different cities with hugely different cost of living, pace of life, metro population, culture, etc.

SF is huge, has pretty much everything you could ever want in a city, but bay area is packed with people so if you don't like a living in a very vibrant, fast paced (and $$$ as fuck) city, then probably not the best fit. Long way to the mountains.

Vancouver is pretty amazing, but very high cost of living. More cosmopolitan, has a huge downtown population, good food, very multicultural. Plus whistler...

Denver has tons of skiing options within a 1-2hr drive. City is pretty cool, though I personally don't like it as much as Portland or Seattle. Some great neighborhoods though, pretty good food, good job market, most people love the weather. Tons of outdoor activities, tons of sun. I don't think I will ever leave the PNW, but if I did, it would probably be to go back to CO and live in Denver.

After Portland, Seattle is my favorite city. Metro is over 4 mil, so while it won't feel as busy as SF, there are definitely more people around, busier streets, more traffic, etc vs denver/portland. Tons of great neighborhoods, good bars, job market is strong. Cost of living is high, but not SF or Vancouver. Bit hipster these days, but no portland. I grew up in Boulder, went to college in WA. Honestly would take skiing in WA over CO. You just ski way, way more powder. If I skied park or hated powder, colorado has a ton of sunny days.

I live in Portland and while the skiing is better than people say if you know where to go, it isn't as good as it is out of Denver, Seattle, or Vancouver (SF is too far of a drive to count here). But as far as living in a city goes, Portland kills it (for me). Smaller than SF and Seattle so traffic is way better. Less people around so sometimes the city doesn't feel as alive as Vancouver, Seattle, or SF, but it is a fairly compact city with tons of great neighborhoods extremely close in. Each neighborhood has its own unique vibe, but they just sort of flow together due to how compact the city is. Downtown is manageable and while the skyline is a joke, is probably one of the better street-level cities in NA. Great bars, amazing food (not fine dining, but in the $10-$30/plate range, literally an endless number of amazing restaurants) pace of life is busy but not chaotic. Tons of beer, bars everywhere.

There are a lot of times where I've considered moving back up to Seattle, and I know I would enjoy living here, but I don't think seattle has the balance of city life without the choas that comes with supporting a metro area of 4 mil vs 2 mil. Cost of living is cheaper in PDX, though job market is probably the worst of the bunch and there ARE hipsters everywhere. You just learn to laugh at them and enjoy life.

Weather wise - Vancouver, Seattle, & Portland are functionally the same. I would love SF weather as it pretty much never gets hot (pretty sure it only gets above 80 a few times per year, but someone correct me if I'm wrong). Denver is hot in the summer, cold in the winter. I don't mind the snow, but 90-95 degree heat sucks donkey balls. Portland/Seattle/Vancouver are 40-50 and raining from October to May (this does mean boatloads of snow in the mountains), but from June to September it is pretty much sunny and 80 degrees. I still wish it never got above 70, but most people think the summers here are pretty much perfect.

I could honestly live and be happy in any of the actual cities you listed. Having been around Denver, Seattle, and Portland a lot, I live in the one that felt best suited for me.

SLC...I could spend a winter there before wanting to move somewhere where the non-skiing parts of my life would be better off.

That is just me, though. Lots of people love living in SLC. I just think if you are a city-person you are going to be missing out on what the other options offer.

Oh and one last thing - if you CAN get a job right now in any of those cities, I would probably take it regardless of the city (and if you have multiple options, well done!). Finding a job, especially without a masters (not sure if you have one or not), is not always easy.

Hope that helps, good luck!

cities suck. move to a ski town. live in the woods.

Girdwood alaska get a night job at the hotel or a restaurant and ski unlimited amounts of powder during your day...

Not great skiing but Boston is as close to resorts as is San Francisco with Killington 3 hrs away and all of NH less than 3 hrs. It's also a great city to live in and go to College in. Wouldn't say it's the best "Ski City" but maybe best real city for skiing on the EC.

I'm pretty sure when you have to pay for your own tickets Killington isn't an option because it is so expensive for a day ticket. But with Boston you've got access to some of the best restaurants in New England right in the city as well as some of the worlds best hospitals

Right here folks is the WORST advice you could give someone. Take note of the poster's complete lack of understanding of how the real world works by not mentioning that not only is Boston an extremely expensive place to live and the job market sucks there for anything above construction pay. Notice how he talks about how a 6 hour round trip drive to a ski resort that you already paid 600 bucks for a seasons pass for, like it costs absolutely nothing to him.

Never, I reapeat, NEVER take advice on where to live from a kid who has only lived with his parents.

ehhh to reno...it's close enough to the mountains, but when it snows you want to be in tahoe, not sitting in traffic. all of north lake has a small town feel, but it's busy enough and has tons of out door activities. i live in squaw right now and it's real dope. only problem you may have is finding a job within your field here. I lucked out and got 2 jobs in the 7 months that i've been here that are both within my field and advancing my career. worth looking at jobs at the major ski areas here, as well as in tahoe city, truckee, and even incline village, to try and find a job in tahoe and not in reno. cost of living is a little high but it you find a way to make it work. it's definitely worth it. i get to look at KT every day from my porch.

Shut up you little slut... and kiss me

iggyskier that was an epic comparison +K

Honestly, if you do visit, come in the winter just so you have an idea of what you are getting into. For some people, the rain is seriously a problem. I love the rain, but even I find myself noticing it a bit the first week I go without sun. Though as soon as you get in the swing of things, it becomes normal. And as I said, means lots and lots of snow.

if you ever have any questions you are welcomed to shoot me a message or email.

I feel as if you've never been to Salt Lake.

At best, you've taken a ski vacation there, and never actually got to know the city.

true ive only done a ski vacation but from talking to people that live there I just feel like Denver or the PNW would be a better fit but Im not saying I wouldnt wanna live in SLC just the ultra conservative mormon thing is prolly just the biggest thing holding it back. But eventually Id like to spend a month or more there to see how much that affects the daily life and see how much the culture is different compared to the other ones

I really didn't even think this was a question. Salt Lake City hands down. One of the best job markets in the nation, best skiing in the nation (it is debatable), low cost of living, low taxes, TONS of recreation (as much as Denver), major university with Pac-12 sports, major airport, well managed city and state, VERY close to skiing, and I-70 in from Denver is a bitch, especially if it snows, just like I-80 to Tahoe.

Not Portland because Hood really isn't that great, especially compared to Utah resorts near SLC. Seattle would be better than Portland, but it's still around an hour to any mountain with clear roads. However, Seattle also has a great job market and Washington isn't in the hole too badly. Vancouver is pretty cool, but the cost of living is EXTREMELY high there. San Francisco shouldn't even be on this list (even though I love SF) because the cost of living is outrageous, California is the most poorly ran state in the union (despite being the best; that's not debatable), the taxes are fucking outrageous, and it's full of ignorant people on both ends of the spectrum. Not Denver because it's far from skiing, the job market isn't that great, and it's a bigger, more liberal version of SLC.

Innsbruck (my opinion for europe at least)

Vancouver. 3 resorts to choose from half an hour away from downtown and god damn Whistler is another hour away.

I'd say Denver sounds great for what you're looking for. I live near Denver and I can ski at Breckenridge, Keystone, A-Basin, Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper, and Winter Park along with smaller resorts, all within a day trip.

There isn't an abundance of extreme terrain in summit county, but you do have some steeper terrain at Breck and A-Basin, some cliffs in vail, and bowls that are fun to ski in powder. For park, you've got some of the best parks in the U.S. with Breck and Key, and Vail and Beaver Creek usually have fun parks too that aren't too crowded.

The mountain biking around here is great, with some fun trails in the front range and around the ski resorts. You've also got some great downhill trails at Sol Vista, Winter Park, and Keystone. I can think of at least 4 or 5 smaller MTB specific places that have some jumps and other features that are all within 1hr 30 from Denver.

Just to comment on your point of Denver being a bigger, more liberal version of SLC. That's kinda the point dude haha

Burlington isn't bad as far as east coast goes... But I've never been out west, so don't listen to me.

Whistler, beautiful skiing during the winter across the 2 mountains with a catskiing company nearby and then in the summer you can go biking, theres multiple lakes close by and many activities out in the woods.

Also they have tons of shops and clubs so theres always something going on there, plus they have tons of biking and skiing compositions throughout the year to watch like WSI and Crankworx

For East Coast Burlington is great. Hell, even Boston and Portland are decently close (2-3 hours) to a lot of places.

Idk about other places...but I love mammoth. Super chill and athletic too! IMO

Boston /thread

This guy knows what he is talking about

If you want a job market Calgary easily trumps all, Alberta oil= big bucks.COP in the city, with a killer park and pipe and then the shine, LL, Norquay, Nakiska and a handful of resorts in strking distance.  I Can't say much about the American cities, but Vancouver has been a very enjoyable city to live in the past 5 yeas. Local hills has fun and many many days of skiing in Whistler. That said its expensive as fuck, and the job market is pretty competitive.

Typical just-moved-to-Tahoe-from-the-East-coast-and-hating-on-Reno attitude.

And I just noticed you're an engineer. I have friends who started their jobs as engineers based out of Calgary making $80,000 a year, just some food for thought, I don't think any other city in North America could offer you that. But I myself would much rather live in BC over AB.

Torino -> http://www.abload.de/img/146779513_e5f4c39665_2zy54.

What your talking about there is im assuming petroleum engineers since you said AB is big with oil. Petroleum engineers do have ridiculous starting salaries so if that is the case that is pretty normal but if they are anything else that is pretty awesome. Also it would prolly take a really really good job offer probably in Vancouver to get me out of the states

Well my friend is an electrical engineer.

dang that is impressive then...

Aspen is my favorite place so far

SL,UTs 4 lfe

VANCOVER

this. and if you want to hit any urban Reno IS NOT th eplace to live. all the snow falls over tahoe. reno barely ever gets anything significant but the skiing is the shit

Hood River or Bend in Oregon are both tight and worth considering, but If I had to choose a large city it would be Seattle

SLC and Jackson WY

This is easy, Tahoe City baby, or South Lake. Tons of great skiing within an hour of you in like every direction, and an almost endless list of summer activities or tourism dependant summer jobs. And a fucking lake with tons of hot bitches to creep on. Doesnt get much better.

And for heavens sake dont go to Reno. Nothing good ever comes out of Reno.

I love this thread. It's about something I'm always considering. I've lived in NYC (Williamsburg, Brooklyn), Denver/Summit County and I currently live in Park City. I'm thinking about checking out Portland but I've got a good enough job now that I don't really want to ski bum it too much.

O ya I forgot to add that the weather in PC is pretty unreal. Sunny and dry until Mid October and it never gets too hot because you're at 6500 feet.

pft denver obviously.

Calgary has lower cost of living than vancouver and good skiing nearby and plenty of really good jobs in the oil business.

Calgary's a great city. People whine and complain but we have a phenomenal job market, COP in town for park and pipe and 6 resorts within 2.5 hours including some of the gnarliest inbounds terrain anywhere at Kicking Horse. Summit country may have more resorts, but the terrain in the Canadian Rockies puts them to shame. Plus the backcountry skiing destroys most of the US if you're into that kind of thing.

agreed 100%  Really nice enviornment, not so expensive to visit, 5 Big mountains, for freeride,  also park. they did the youth olympic games there, so there are also, ice skating, ice hockey and many more sports to do, as in summer, biking, kayak, fishing... not to mention the nice ski scene in winter!

I live up in the mountains on I-70, but spend a lot of time in Denver.  Denver is awesome.  There are tons of pocket neighborhoods that are really hip.  Easy to ride bikes around, and the Light Rail is sweet.  Coors Field is amazingly cheap to watch a Rockies game, and it's right downtown.  The sunny weather is hard to beat.  Yeah, you are going to have to get in traffic to go ski, but that is the same for every real city on your list (Portland, Denver, Seattle).  The drive is much easier in SLC, but it doesn't feel like a cool city to me.  However, the skiing is retarded good in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons as well as Snowbasin.  Denver/Boulder might be one of the best cities for live music.  Red Rocks is an experience that any music lover should see.  Plus, Denver has 4 pro sports teams.  The airport is decent.  If I lived in Denver I would rent a place in Vail with 4-5 friends to keep costs down and you have a home base for the weekend when you go ski.  Denver rent is not cheap as SLC, but it's not too high for such a cool city.

Seattle and Portland are super awesome places.  I just don't particularly like not seeing the sun for months at a time.  When summer comes, those cities are pretty sweet and the weather is beautiful, but it lasts such a short time.

Portland reminds me a lot of Denver.  Lots of biking around, good music scene, plenty to do.  It's a super young place.  However, it seems the skiing is a bit of a drive and not that good.  I admit that I have never skied in OR though.  So take that with a grain of salt.

Seattle has super shredding not too far.  Crystal and Alpental are the tits.  However, the weather is even more gray than Portland. 

My order of preference would be Denver>Portland>Seattle>SLC.  I don't consider SF to be on the list because it is really far from Tahoe.