The East v. The West

[Gris]

Interesting thread, lotsa good comments. Having lived my entire life on the beach in - FLORIDA! despite an affinity for the mountains. And, oddly, having spent a GREAT deal of time in the Whites. And having had the privilege of being in the West and other wild places like Argentina and Chile, I can truly say "there is no comparison" simply because each is so completely different unique. (Someday maybe, hopefully i'll see Alaska and the Himilaya.) IMO the beauty is in the eye of the beholder - it just depends upon what you are seeking. I like them all and think they are all irreplaceable. But, ... if I had only one choice, it would be Patagonia - hands down. Think Montana in the 1890s with sheep in ieu of cattle, no grizzlies and only a smattering of lions. And, people so few and far between that everybody helps each other survive. Get it while you can.

 

[NY2AK]

Interesting

Interesting thread, for sure. Having moved from upstate NY to Alaska 7 years ago I've been able to explore the mountains in both. Its difficult to compare the two though, as the differences go beyond the obvious. More the reason to explore both east and west!

 

[pinquond]

Still on the fence.

I just moved to the west (Portland) and think it is an amazing place within an amazing area. The east is my home and I am attached to the Adirondacks in a serious way, but everywhere I go out here is awe inspiring. The mountains are green and rugged and the coast is unparalleled, but, like any place, you develop a connection to "home" and struggle to find that in your new surroundings. It is, however, incredibly easy to do so out here. I did a ten mile hike in Forest Park this weekend, then walked home, stopping downtown for pizza along the way. You just can't beat the accessiblity of nature and the love for it that everyone in this area shares. Seems that much of the west is like that. The west is awesome, but it's all about where your "home" is.

 

[Orphic Seth]

Hey Pinquond, that's an awesome design in your avatar... is there an explanation/description about it?

Edit: Woops! Hijacking thread, sorry!

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Great thread! After growing up in N.H., I spent seven years in Boulder, Pocatello, and Seattle, but then moved back East for an academic position. One neat part of academia is that it has allowed me to continue spending many of my summers in the mountains out West, although it seems to take me longer to acclimatize to the altitude as I get older. In due time I will have a difficult decision to make whether to move west for retirement. I am leaning towards Nelson, B.C., at the moment.

 

[spaddock]

I am leaning towards Nelson, B.C., at the moment.

I telecommute and could pretty much live anywhere. My wife works for the Federal Government so Ottawa is our home.

I'd love to live in Vancouver. You get a vibrant city life with lots of different cultures to experience. You have the ocean to play in and great mountains pretty much in the city. Only place I've hiked where the trailmap had residential street names on part of it. It's not a dry desert and despite the fact I hear it rains a lot for Canada the winters are pretty mild. A roadtrip from there to the Yukon or Alaska isn't totally out of the question either.

Plus its a pretty big city so there are lots of jobs in many different areas of work. The real-estate is the only thing as it is a little pricey.


-Shayne

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

And neither remotely feels like a small town in Nebraska dominated by an enormous grain elevator.

I just had to comment because I grew up in a small town in Nebraska and rarely here mention of Nebraska, especially on a hiking board for the northeast. Where have you been in Nebraska?

As for the east v west thing, I think it's the same as everything in life, both have their pros and cons. I've really enjoyed our trips out west for a number of reasons, but will likely stick around the east coast for the time being (mainly due to jobs). My husband and I talk about retiring out west, but who knows, that is a long ways off.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere in western NE (although this is not the "west" people are referring to), and I miss the wide open feel of the land, the big sky, the cool thunderheads and lightning storms, the stars (yes, I know, I can see stars out here and I've seen some great skies, but it's so much easier back home when the most light pollution you have to deal with is the moon), the lack of traffic (closest stop light was about 45 miles from my town), complete strangers doing the one finger wave while driving on the highway (and not THAT finger, people do it to be friendly), and so on. But out here I like all the water, the cultural diversity/availability of non-outdoors activities, the awesome fall season, the accessibility and variety of outdoors activities, and the different feel the mountains and forests have to them.

 

[truepatriot09]

Wow, look what I started. This turned out to be a great thread.

A few points were made that ultimately we're lucky simply to live where we do. If I stay in the East for the rest of my life, I'll still be able to visit the west and vice versa. But if the right opportunity came up to move somewhere out west, I'd probably take it. But like I said before, if we do go, I betcha we'll make it back this way one day...I just love New Hampshire.

Keep the thoughts and stories coming...

-ct

 

[bruno]

i matriculated at cu boulder. so, boulder. but don't tell anyone. paradise on earth. lots o' mountains and pretty skinny girls.

 

[Nadine]

I'll eventually migrate west. Either Montana, Wyoming, Utah,Colorado, Washington, n.Calif or BC. I'm even considering the Alps.
Family and grad school are keeping me here now. I'm ready when the time comes. I've lived in NE all my life.

 

[spaddock]

A few points were made that ultimately we're lucky simply to live where we do.

We definitely are. We could have been born in Ethiopia or the Sudan just as easily.

Of course we also could have been born in Sweden flanked by single Swedish blondes on the either side of our house.


-Shayne

 

[Ned Kipperson]

Ned's only been "out west" once, on an all expense paid trip courtesy of the Federal wildfire cash hog. I went to Oreg-ON, in the Sisters Mountains. It was awe inspiring as far as the views. Snow capped peaks in the summer is pretty cool when it's 90 degrees where you are. I didn't have much exposure to the locals out there, especially since I was with my mostly northeastern fire crew. After 18 days, it was WAAAY to dry.

After living in the Adirondacks, the Catskills, and now the Hudson Highlands, it would be very hard to leave NY. I love the fact that it can be blue skies for a week, and then nasty rain, snow and clouds for a month. Too much sunshine fries the brain and makes you want flavored beer and strange coffee varieties.

If you spend as much time in the woods of NY as I have, it's hard not to love the familiarity of seeing your mountains, and on clear day the other ranges you know. Plus I'm a sarcastic son of a gun, and that doesn't fly too well out there.