# Where to live?



## Riparian (Feb 7, 2009)

Seattle or Portland. Be sure to pack plenty of full-spectrum lightbulbs, Goretex underwear and a tub fulla anti-depressants. Oh, and a big box of Slug-B-Gone. They grow 'em big up there. Other than the gray winters, the NW is pretty damned gorgeous. And, all that rain does do nice things for the rivers...


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Say it aint so, Joe. Theres no mank in the pac NW. You'd be known as "the boater formerly known as the mank crew".

I've done some thinking about the same question. My top three were denver, seattle and portland. Seems like some of the top 3 for big city employment options, combined with good access to boating and skiing. Asheville always pops in my mind as a boating haven that might be worth giving up the skiing for. Not 100% sure on that one though.

Seems like there would be some good options in Cali. Don't really know the lay of the land in cali well, but it seems like many options get you close enough for weekend road trips to the good, but not so close for after work or quickies.

Lots of smaller metro areas in oregon and washington that have seemingly decent options / access / location as well.


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## [email protected] (Apr 26, 2006)

Norcal brah, being the murse that you are you don't really have to worry about afterwork stuff, so I would choose Sacramento just because of its central location, but don't live in San Fran, nick abrams lives there and has enevatably spread everything alex kilyk has to the masses.
Also I see a peoblem with you moving out west, when you kayak you actually have to paddle, make moves and punch holes; not the best area of expertise of a mankster such as yourself.
#2 area is morgantown, there is so much sick creeking up there and you get to meet some fine yolcals up there as well, only problem moving there is that the skiing is eastcost shit but for your pizza/french frie ass it won't matter.
In the same catagory I would put Knoxville, creeking looks sick there and your imbred ass will fit in perfectly.
And as always the PacNW the number one reason to move there is the kayaking is sick and your close to BC but the drawback is you will enevatably be turned into and EMO and have to sip on your latte while crying that there is no sun wearing your tight jeans and some shirt that is too small and some black rimmed glasses, if you move there you will be forever known as Emo-Joe. But if I moved there I would move to portland, that way you and kilyk could relax and eat 2 lb hamburgers for 8 bucks at the accrotchalus and when you get off that 3am shift you can head in there and get some cornhole and eggs.
o yeah have fun in Texas but don't stay to long becuse only two things come from texas steers and queers.


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## Claytonious (Jan 17, 2008)

Portland and Seattle are both good. I personally like portland more, less traffic, a little cheaper, less attitude. You would be 30 minutes from the Little White Salmon, and countless other runs. A lot of shit out there is basically year round, if you don't mind kayaking in the snow and rain. You could always try to get a job at the Hood River hospital and then live in the center of outdoor sports in the PNW.


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## Riparian (Feb 7, 2009)

> And as always the PacNW the number one reason to move there is the kayaking is sick and your close to BC but the drawback is you will enevatably be turned into and EMO and have to sip on your latte while crying that there is no sun wearing your tight jeans and some shirt that is too small and some black rimmed glasses, if you move there you will be forever known as Emo-Joe.


There is some danger in making the NW move. The good news? Lots of pale, hot chicks.


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## Ture (Apr 12, 2004)

I'd take the opportunity to pick up a new thing if I were you. Surfing is where it is at, man. Move to Santa Cruz or San Francisco, preferably Santa Cruz, and learn how to surf. With your athletic skills you'd probably be charging big stuff in the winter within 3 years.

The best thing about surfing is that the danger-to-exhilaration factor is TONS lower than it is for class V creekboating. I find that a lot of the rush I get from creeking is from overcoming fear and nailing a line to survive without getting my ass kicked but the rush I get from surfing is from weightlessness. The rush from surfing is still intense but not nearly so do-or-die sharp and edgy. Creeking makes me feel like I'm having a heart attack sometimes and surfing is more of a euphoric feeling.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

Minneapolis. Sick SUP paddling on the Mississippi and ice skating in the winter.


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## doublet (May 21, 2004)

The important thing is that you go to a new city via TX. That way you'll just be happy to be out of TX.

Knowing the kind of boating you like to do I'd suggest Nederland.

Seriously, if you want good skiing and good kayaking you have 3 choices:

1.) Somewhere near Tahoe. Sac and Reno are decent sized cities but not that cool. They're both pretty close to the goods but skiing in Tahoe can be feast or famine.
2.) CO. You know the drill here. Durango, Glenwood, Front Range.
3.) PNW. Anywhere from Portland to Bellingham with Portland having pretty mediocre skiing. I personally think the skiing in the North Cascades is much better than the skiing in CO but that is just me. This is the obvious choice if you can handle the winters.

Wait...I just realized you choose to ski Keystone. Maybe check out some options on the E. Coast?


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

Speaking as someone with experience in Portland and Seattle (and still lives near Seattle), Portland as a City is way better in all respects that I can think of. Seattle is a way more expensive place to live and has way worse traffic. It also rains a lot more and is not nearly as nice in the summer as Portland. However, skiing is better up at Baker (where I go) than Hood. Rock climbing is way way way better in Northern Washington than anywhere in Oregon (of which I have explored the state very thoroughly for such). You are much closer to lots of multiday boating in Oregon, although, the drive from Washington is not bad (get to most places in an easy day), such as the Rogue, Deschutes, John Day, Grande Ronde, Owyhee. Overall I would have to go with Hood River area! if you could find a job. My 2 cents.


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## Mike Scott (Apr 22, 2009)

From a native's point of view - Seattle is cool except for the traffic. The traffic here is BAD. And it won't get better any time soon. Provided you can tolerate rain in the winter, other than the traffic it is OK. Portland is good too with less although not optimum traffic. From a skiing point of view I would go with Seattle. Crystal Mountain is way better than Mt Hood Meadows and you are closer to Whistler which out shines Mt Bachelor as a weekend away kind of skiing experience. Both cities are close to really good water for paddling so I would rate them equal there.

Hope that helps.


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## waterratNE (Aug 9, 2009)

If you are not thinking west specifically, you could try the east coast. Pittsburgh is near the Yough River (Upper is awesome), and it's in the beginning of a renewal. You are also not that far from the Cheat River in West Virginia, as well as a few others. There's skiing too, obviously. Good luck.

-Alexis


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## Badazws6 (Mar 4, 2007)

Nurse right? Why pick just one? I just started a bit of a trip with my traveling-nurse-fiancée. We bought an RV and we are planning a couple of years going from place to place... Visit ALL of the above and in season.


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## ID Surfer (Nov 6, 2003)

Boise is pretty cool and has a super long season. I do believe we paddled NF together. I'm an ICU nurse here and it's a sweet gig. Tons of paddling within 3 hours, yet all big water. Hood River is 5 hours for real deal creekboating. Resort skiing so so...backcounty is quite nice with a much more stable snowpack than CO on average.


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## FLOWTORCH (Mar 5, 2004)

Dude, Seattle in winter=Mt Baker('mong others)


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## jboats (Apr 5, 2006)

If boating and creeks are something you like. Try the great lakes and NE area of the country. It seems to me that when the massive ice wall glacier that receeded billions of years ago happened it created most the geology of the country they left amazing waterways that have massive waterfalls and huge cfs. Canada with the magpie and Rogue (7 sisters) ottawa need I say more. NY with the moose raquette beaver borreaus hell just get the gude book. Vermont Pennsylvannia Maine NH. everything is just a very short days trip away. Boating all season and decent sking. lift serve sucks in the NE but the easy access to great trail systems in the mtns allow for esasy backcountry experiences with low Avy issues. Just check out phelps mtn and the birch trees off the back side on the peak. great tour day that mtn.

The only big down fall is the weather and bugs. well and the population density too, but the boating is sick and the sking is fair.


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## phlyingfish (Nov 15, 2006)

*Nothing to see or do in Boise, move along*

Boise, what a terrible place to live. Not only do you have to walk to the good mountain biking that's like a block out of town, but the ski area is open 'til 10 every night in the winter and lights up the whole damn valley. Yeah and the dry snow, what's up with that? How am I going to build a sweet jump with a pile of dry fluff? The real estate is not that expensive, so you're not going to be able to cash in on the flip and dip. And the whitewater park isn't going to be built until at least this spring. Garbage...

Of course, you know the Payettes have too much water all damn season. The mank doesn't come out until at least October. And can you believe that there are runs all over this state that are so remote that you have to carry a sleeping bag in your kayak? Build some damn roads, Idablow. And besides all that you are only a like twelve hours closer to Cali and the Gorge than in Colorado. Please move to Hood River and post a picture when you run Metlako so all the Idaho peeps can see what some real paddling is like. Why do I insist on living in such a whitewater no-man's land?


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## Phillips (Feb 19, 2004)

Good VA's in San Diego, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. . . Well I guess Portland and Seattle could be combined. You know your status yet?

Kent




JCKeck1 said:


> So it looks like there is a good chance of me tragically leaving CO in the next few years, but I get to pick almost any decent sized city in the states. Anyone got recommendations? Looking for good access to skiing and of course class V paddling. Seattle might be the ticket, but I am worried about the winter...
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Joe


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## st2eelpot (Apr 15, 2008)

*South east has it's benefits.*

I'm surprised no one has mentioned anything in the Southeast like Asheville, Chattanooga, or stuff in Alabama. 

Linville gorge, green river narrows, raven fork, toxaway, road prong, bear... plenty of sieve filled creeky classics.

All rain run off or damn release though, so winter is typically best, though there is boating there all year.


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## Yonder_River (Feb 6, 2004)

I think you're familiar enough with the PNW to know your options boating wise so I won't comment on that aspect. 

As far as bigger cities go near good skiing and boating, Seattle is about as good as it gets. Seattle is a notch cooler and grayer than Portland, but not by much. Our economy is hands down better than Portland but I don't think that should affect your job outlook too much. My wife did some rotations through the VA here and said it was decent as far as VA's go. 

The city is way prettier than Portland and is surrounded by big mountains, not like the flat hills near Portland. Hence, the skiing isn't even comparable unless your into park skiing in August. If you live close to where you work, then traffic isn't as much of an issue. We live in North Seattle and the VA was the furthest hospital away that she worked at and I still think it only took about 25 minutes. Housing is expensive here....still and probably at least 10-15% over Denver. Portland is similar or slightly less than Denver. 

Portland is probably a little cozier and there is a much bigger paddling scene down there for sure, not even close really. Technically, all the good paddling is in Washington, but you probably already know that. I could easily live in Portland, but I like to have big mountains nearby and scenery and Seattle delivers in that area. 

Who knows, if you move here, maybe TRL will let you post in their blog.


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## GorillaBoofin (Sep 4, 2009)

Chattanooga Tenn. Could possibly be the best decently sized city to live in as far as paddling goes. You are not going to get to ski all the time, but there is decent skiing around the smokies, and the paddling.. well it is absolutely everywhere. There are more runs in the vicinity of the city of chattanooga than you could even count, and there is ALWAYS something to paddle.


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## cemartin (Oct 11, 2003)

phlyingfish said:


> Boise, what a terrible place to live.
> Shushh!!!!!! Quiet!!!!! Leave it at the first sentence.


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## Force (Apr 27, 2004)

Joe, Joe, Joe...I knew it was only time before another CO boater figured out what's up. Sure its good out there while it lasts but while most of ya'll are spanking it to Seven Rivers most of the winter peeps in the PacNW are getting in done. 

This weeks weather report: Rain, Rain, Rain 3in by Thursday/Friday. The result, I'll be boating the a few runs 30mins from my front door for dawnpatrol wednesday, thursday, friday and into the weekend biatches. Yeah it sure does suck out here. If you only want to kayak, Portland and Hood River are a better scene. Most peeps my direction take the core of the winter off as Cystal/Baker/and BC are rich in pow pow and the thought of getting wet is slightly unpleasant. Don't forget Boise, I would move there just for the NF.


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## Claytonious (Jan 17, 2008)

*Hood River.*

Not that I want everybody to move to Hood River, because I plan to move back there someday but Hood River is probably the coolest place in the world if you are into kayaking and every other outdoor sport known to man. No traffic, no strip malls, absolutely beautifull mountains. It pretty much has the best mountain biking, kayaking, windsurfing, kiteboarding, and hiking of anywhere I have ever been, all within a 30 minute drive. And the skiing is not bad. Oh yeah, and you can ski in August up at Timberline. In my opinion, the rockies are way over-rated compared to the cascades. Every time I look at Mt. Hood it gives me a woody, and I start to cry a little bit. 

Downsides: No jobs (unless you are a nurse or an aerospace engineer), it rains for six months out of the year (year round boating), everybody that lives there thinks that they are really cool, there is no college close by.


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## bwest (Mar 13, 2008)

Portland also has more titty bars per capita than any other city in the U.S., nothing to brighten up a gloomy day like some fully nude skank and a rainier


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## possumturd (Jul 13, 2006)

*South East*



GorillaBoofin said:


> Chattanooga Tenn. Could possibly be the best decently sized city to live in as far as paddling goes. You are not going to get to ski all the time, but there is decent skiing around the smokies, and the paddling.. well it is absolutely everywhere. There are more runs in the vicinity of the city of chattanooga than you could even count, and there is ALWAYS something to paddle.


Chattanooga, Asheville and other parts of the South East have allot to offer the boater and outdoorsman sans the skiing. The laid back life style and attitude I really mis. But the bumpkin factor and a few other aspects are going to keep many people on this list away.

I have a couple ***** friends who moved from Colorado to Brevard, NC and they are happy as clams


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## Palo Duro (Jun 12, 2009)

Sounds like a clam-itty, possum.

Washington, it rains everywhere, I'm sure ur used to water. Have an extra cocktail, now and then, it will be all good.

Sacramento, H2O, skiing close, surfing not too far. 
Saving folks, (cool job) where-ever you go you will do right.


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## HINDS (Oct 14, 2003)

Joe, We will take you in up here in Seattle. There is sure plenty of water and a few jobs floating around.


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## waterratNE (Aug 9, 2009)

phlyingfish said:


> Boise, what a terrible place to live. Not only do you have to walk to the good mountain biking that's like a block out of town, but the ski area is open 'til 10 every night in the winter and lights up the whole damn valley. Yeah and the dry snow, what's up with that? How am I going to build a sweet jump with a pile of dry fluff? The real estate is not that expensive, so you're not going to be able to cash in on the flip and dip. And the whitewater park isn't going to be built until at least this spring. Garbage...
> 
> Of course, you know the Payettes have too much water all damn season. The mank doesn't come out until at least October. And can you believe that there are runs all over this state that are so remote that you have to carry a sleeping bag in your kayak? Build some damn roads, Idablow. And besides all that you are only a like twelve hours closer to Cali and the Gorge than in Colorado. Please move to Hood River and post a picture when you run Metlako so all the Idaho peeps can see what some real paddling is like. Why do I insist on living in such a whitewater no-man's land?


I'm there. woo.


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## David H (Oct 14, 2003)

Newark New Jersey,
You can paddle the Knarr on the Raritain River or the the world class pow
at mountain creek. It also has the largest budweiser refinery in the country.


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## Mr Beaver (Mar 8, 2009)

People here have pretty much hit the mark on the Seattle vs Portland scene, but I will add in my 2 cents.

Being only about 4 hours apart, you can still take in the best ski spots from either once in a while, but if it is only skiing we are discussing, then Seattle has Portland beat. More resorts, closer to metro area, closer for long weekends at Whistler, etc.

But I think whitewater paddling is better in Portland, the Sandy, Clackamas, White Salmon, are all local and the epic stuff of Southern Oregon/No.Cal is closer (Rogue, North Umpqua, Illinois, Klamath, Smith)

And the cost of living while not Alabama, is still much cheaper than Seattle, and the traffic really isn't comparable, while Portland has traffic, Seattle has TRAFFIC.

But, the job situation IS MUCH BETTER IN SEATTLE, now if you are a Nurse/Engineer/IT Pro, it really isn't a problem but if you are say in retail sales, finding a good job in Portland can be difficult. 

But again the plus side is you can still buy a nice house for $250k in the city. That isn't happening in Seattle.


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## Mr Beaver (Mar 8, 2009)

bwest said:


> Portland also has more titty bars per capita than any other city in the U.S., nothing to brighten up a gloomy day like some fully nude skank and a rainier



Not that I disagree, this number although widely reported is technically true, but it is a bit misleading.

The State of Washington forbid drinking alcohol in Peeler Joints (aka Strip Clubs). For most of us that would take away half the appeal of going to a strip club, but I digress. 

Portland is just across the river from Washington and more importantly Vancouver, Wa -I don't believe the Couv' has a single strip club, but even if they did, who wants to go there if there isn't any booze?

So Portland business "leaders" have simply built the supply to meet the demand of Portland+Washingtonians to get their drink and perv on.

Plus now given the reputation of "all Portland's strip clubs" people from out of town always wanna check them out. So it is a little self perpetuating sterotype. 

If Washington changed their laws Portland's title would be taken by someone else.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Joe 5 hours to Canada 5 hours to Seattle 10 to cali and the winds are stone throw away! Oh yeah killer mountains with killer terrain and snow check.n also drunk college chicks are like a swarm of mesquitos on warm summe night. Just your type check it out you hang around here we could go boat some 5 and shred some double diamond in the same morning. Peace hombre


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## JCKeck1 (Oct 28, 2003)

Yo mikey,

You moved right? I simply can't believe that you're recommending casper as my new destination. Where are you? Glad to hear you're loving it.
Joe


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## ski_kayak365 (Dec 7, 2003)

Lamar Joe Lamar,

Its only 2hours east of the Pueblo Play Park. I move there next week. Great lake boating at John Martin Res, the Ark has about 20cfs in town, a good size feed lot on the north end of town with wind turbines on the south end.

For sure the place to be with 0 V boating and 0 skiing within 2-4hrs!


Good luck finding a better place than here!


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## cuzin (Oct 4, 2007)

ski_kayak365 said:


> For sure the place to be with 0 V boating and 0 skiing within 2-4hrs!
> 
> 
> Good luck finding a better place than here!


 
Looks like its time to change your screen name, no?


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## Kendi (May 15, 2009)

Joe, I'm a bit East of Seattle (North Bend- the last stop before they close the pass on I-90) and I love it here. We live on the Snoqualmie river, so the kayak can go in at any time and pull out at our back yard. We are 20 min to the closest ski area but there are many nearby to choose from.

The best part? No traffic here! Sure in the city it sucks, but I get to drive nearly anywhere I need at 70 -80 mph. It's pretty nice to enjoy all the pretty moutains and not be stuck in traffic. 

Oh yeah, if you like hiking- egads there's lots of it here, rock climbing too. If not, there's always the new casino....

Anyway, good luck.

btw- the White Salmon/Hood River area is pretty nice too....


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

So there is not traffic in North Bend after work or on weekends? I call B.S.


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

shappattack said:


> So there is not traffic in North Bend after work or on weekends? I call B.S.


In all seriousness though, North Bend does have some perks, It is the only place I ever know of experiences like showing to a pullout to watch a woman only wearing a t-shirt arguing with her man friend/pimp? outside an old motor home ealry in the morning just before some work on the Snoqualime River, coming back latter to find a bag of coke and $1400. 

It is also the only place I ever had an old snaggle toothed man-whore offer to give me a helmet polish for $10, but I only had $8 at the truck stop off I-90
nasty


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## kelly (Dec 13, 2003)

*BC.......*

Joe, why limit yourself to the US? With your creds. you can easily get a BC 1-2 yr work visa, no idea what the nurse lic regs are in BC..but if in the health fields they need workers..
Spent 2 yrs Vanc to Fernie in the early 90's, skiing was the best i've had (grew up in CO)...boating phenomenal, only downside is access, long drives, and there will be no-one around so did a lot of solo boating, not really a downside.
NZ is sick as well, but you take a serious hit $$, with the exchange rate and low salary, but you can get a house in Hoki for under 100K, and creek yr/round. Greymouth is a "larger" city that is always looking for nurses to travel up and down the more remote west-coast. It rains.... alot anywhere from 3-4 meters/yr on the west coast, and the skiing is wet/heavy and average at best, but the creeking is world class
I'm still trying to figure out how to get back to either
Good Luck


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Joe yeah need update My shit to bozemanmike now but shit keck seriously how couldn't you go right with living within an hour to the real big T.


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## Kendi (May 15, 2009)

shappattack said:


> In all seriousness though, North Bend does have some perks, It is the only place I ever know of experiences like showing to a pullout to watch a woman only wearing a t-shirt arguing with her man friend/pimp? outside an old motor home ealry in the morning just before some work on the Snoqualime River, coming back latter to find a bag of coke and $1400.
> 
> It is also the only place I ever had an old snaggle toothed man-whore offer to give me a helmet polish for $10, but I only had $8 at the truck stop off I-90
> nasty


Hey- it's just "character". You can't find that kind of experience in the big city can you? :mrgreen:

Then again, I've lived here for 7 years and never had those kinds of experiences. Maybe you just attract it?


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## richierivertrip (Jul 28, 2008)

I started kayaking in 1975 and quickly realized that river corridors were possibly the most beautiful places in the world. For thirty years I thought the only way you could enjoy this was to boat whitewater rivers-until I retired a few years ago and took up fly fishing. As one loses interest in boating class V, floating and wading wonderful trout and smallmouth water is a great way to continue to get your "river fix". So, keep this in mind as you decide to relocate. if you don't fly fish, give it a try. I could kick myself for not starting 3 decades ago when I first started boating. After all, boating alot of these rivers puts you right on top of some great fishing. I'll be floating and fishing until I die.
Take care.


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