Where should I live???

[eblank]

This is kinda random, but since this is a pretty geographically diverse group here I figured I'd ask y'all. I'm finishing Mechanical Engineering school in the spring, and at this point have no idea where I want to find a job. I went in to college with the idea of going into automotive, but since I've always got projects to work on at home, I'm no longer dead set on that idea. So really, I don't have a specific field I want to get in to, just something interesting and a good work environment. AND, I WANT TO LIVE SOMEWHERE COOL! I'm from WI, which is nice, and my wife is from IL, which is not, but we want to go somewhere else, at least for a few years. Thinking CO, WA, maybe CA, or even east coast direction, but really open to anything. (thinking mountains and/or oceans/lakes) We're big on the outdoors.

SO, I am looking for ANY and ALL opinions and thoughts. Think your state is cool? wish you could have lived somewhere in particular? or know of a dream company? just looking to grow my knowledge base. your input is appreciated!

[ND92]

How about Calgary Alberta? We've got the stampede every year. Mountains only 20 min away. We have 7 ski resorts that are just as close. The bow river and nose hill park. Kananaskis provincial park with hikeing trails, bike trails, mountain climbing, white water rafting, tons of lakes, scuba diving. Banff national park with hot springs and hike/bike trails. And all year camping everywhere.

[Rampage108]

wa. near so much outdoors. boeing company

[Breezy]

Lockheed Martin. Missile and air defense. Orlando, FL.

I had a roommate co-op with Kimberly-Clark near Seattle, WA. He loved that. Nice company too.

[vt_maverick]

Don't know much about the ME field but as far as places to live Colorado and Utah seem to be pretty nice, I've always said if I ever moved out west it would probably be Boulder. As far as East Coast Asheville, NC and Blacksburg, VA are both cool places to live with easy access to hiking, skiing, white water rafting, etc. Also Research Triangle Park (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) area in NC is great for jobs and graduate school opportunities and is a stones throw from the Outer Banks (see my gallery for pics). The Uwharrie National Forest is not too far from there either, that's where Marlin, Joe Darlington, and a slew of other 'Zu folks go offroading several times a year (most notably Halowharrie this month).

Btw my wife is from Wisconsin (near Chippewa Falls) and she loves the mountains where we live (Asheville would be the same). You get the full range of seasons without the massive humidity of the East Coast or Southeast. If you have the money I would consider taking a trip to one or more of the areas you're interested in before you start applying for jobs, that way you have some idea where you want to be.

[VX MileHigh]

I moved to Colorado when I was 19 and I have never wanted to leave. There is so much to do in Colorado; skiing, boarding, rafting, climbing and 4 wheeling. The weather is mild compared to Wisconsin, I grew up in Iowa. The summers can be hold but there is almost no humidity. The winters are milder than you would think. Denver does have some heavy snow but generally only a couple of times each winter. There are some great companys as well, Martin Marietta, Ball, Sunstran and sevearl others. There is also that Colorado School of Mines and the University of Colorado for futher education, if you desire.

[VxSport]

You did a good job on our state's many good qualities.... However you did forget to mention that we get a average of 260 pure sunny days a year.

I moved to CO over 20 years ago..... you would have to drag me out.

I moved to Colorado when I was 19 and I have never wanted to leave. There is so much to do in Colorado; skiing, boarding, rafting, climbing and 4 wheeling. The weather is mild compared to Wisconsin, I grew up in Iowa. The summers can be hold but there is almost no humidity. The winters are milder than you would think. Denver does have some heavy snow but generally only a couple of times each winter. There are some great companys as well, Martin Marietta, Ball, Sunstran and sevearl others. There is also that Colorado School of Mines and the University of Colorado for futher education, if you desire.

[Maddawg]

The weather is mild compared to Wisconsin, I grew up in Iowa. The summers can be hold but there is almost no humidity. The winters are milder than you would think.

But not this mild. I'll paste another one at the beginning of December. This is from the MSN weather page.

Hesperia, CA (92345) - Clear, 64°
Saturday77° / 51° Sunday79° / 53° Monday81° / 51° Tuesday80° / 52°

[Allison3371]

There are tons of folks out here in South-Eastern VA with govenment contracts in the engineering field. We have Langley Air Force Base, NAB Norfolk, Oceana Naval Air Station, Damn Neck Naval Base, Fort Story Army, and a few more I'm forgetting. Minutes to the ocean and a couple hours from ski resorts. Not to mention we need more VX out this way.

[JAMAS]

Montana.....Gorgeous

[Maddawg]

Montana.....Gorgeous

I agree! But freakin' cold.

[vt_maverick]

If you're thinking about Denver take a look at ADIC and StorageTek, they're two of the leading companies in the mass storage systems market and they manufacture robotic media libraries. I worked with their systems for the first 5 years out of college, pretty cool stuff.

[WormGod]

Come to the DC metro area if you have a love for traffic, politics, and cookie cutter suburbanites.

[vt_maverick]

Come to the DC metro area if you have a love for traffic, politics, and cookie cutter suburbanites.

Lol... true dat, true dat. I lived way down in Fredericksburg and I still hated the commuter traffic. I read once that the average new resident of the DC metro area only stays 4 years before moving away.

Steer clear...

[VXorado]

I don't want to make this thread sound like a broken record but CO is awesome for almost everything outdoors. CO does lack in large bodies of water, so consider that an issue if boating is your thing. My wife and I are CO natives and have no plans to ever leave.

x2 for VX Mile High & VXsport's comments AND you get a big VX community on CO...

Also, a friend of mine is a mechanical engineer and works at Lockheed Martin in South Denver.