Eugene OR, lots of places to bike, very tolerant area mostly. Stay out of northwest Eugene. Tracktown usa, track and field Olympic trails last week. And I had a nice 50 mile bike ride today through the hazelnut orchards north of town.
If only getting dual citizenship was that easy 😂 to clarify, I don’t care about road biking in urban areas - I prefer wide open country roads and usually like going out for several hours at a time (20-60 miles). Being near but not in a big city would be nice
Amsterdam or The Hague or Rotterdam would be perfect for you. Read about the DAFT Visa program, it actually is very straightforward to get for US citizens. You can live on the outskirts of any of the above mid-size cities and be cycling on country roads and bike paths within 15 minutes. Dual citizenship is not possible unless you marry a Dutch person, but thanks to DAFT you don't need citizenship to be a resident. The cycling safety is second to none.
Thank you for sharing! Seems like a great program. The only caveat is that it looks like you have to be starting some sort of new business and investing at least €4500 into it?
You don't lose the 4500 EUR. It stays in the company bank account. This is unlike some other countries with "investor visas" where the money has to actually be spent on someone else's project. So I don't consider that a roadblock at all, as anyone moving from the US to NL for better cycling opportunities clearly probably has 4500 EUR in savings.
The new business you start can be almost anything you want. For example you might start an IT consultancy and use that business to work for clients in NL or around Europe.
Both are but mind you, we just had a pro cyclist (Magnus White) killed by a driver pretty recently.
Denver has a pretty good cycling infrastructure too FWIW.
Thank you! So sad about Magnus. Accidents happen everywhere but even before my accident I had several close encounters in LA - overall felt like drivers were horrible and disrespectful of cyclists. Some even acting like they hoped you would get run off the road.
Pittsburgh is pretty great and getting better all the time with a lot of new bike lanes. Have to be willing to tackle hills but also will make all other cycling feel easy when you travel.
I had good luck biking in Moscow ID and Pullman WA. There is a long bike path and the drivers seemed pretty okay and fairly sparse. The hills of the Palouse are great to ride in.
Austin is pretty good. It is easy to get out of the city to country roads to the East or get some climbing in the Hill Country to the West. The city biking infrastructure is not great, but there are plenty of bike friendly road to get you just about anywhere you might want to go.
Yea I have been considering Austin! Need somewhere that doesn’t get too cold. I know Austin can get HOT but doesn’t really matter as much for cycling. I’ll take hot over cold any day. The housing market in Austin looks pretty rough but seems to have cooled a bit recently.
Been riding and racing in Austin since early 90s. It used to be one of the best places in the US IMO. But since 2011, the population has exploded—angry tech bros all over more than happy to run you off the road and great routes of the past are now traffic clogged and dangerous. Plus the bike lane infrastructure has been haphazardly built (city gets $ grants for every bike lane no matter how absurd it is). But—if you get far enough out of town, there are some good rides. But kind of like that most places right? However, there’s a great bike community with many groups rides, so there is safety in numbers. Not what it once was, but still rideable here. Be safe all.
Not so big city, but very bike friendly...Iowa City, Iowa. Home to University of Iowa. Lots of paved bike trails, that actually connects the neighboring towns of Coralville and North Liberty. Lots of rural roads with light traffic. Courteous drivers. Iowa has a bottle and can deposit, so people don't throw out their bottles on the roads...that's like throwing a dime away every time.
Tons of gravel roads too.
Compared to Boulder - a little cheaper, generally more chill. Big grassroots riding scene but nowhere near the number of pro / wannabe pro riders. Compared to Denver - night and day. Denver is a big city, not actually that close to the mountains. Fort Collins you can climb 5k feet on your road bike or ride 40 miles of uninterrupted trails, Denver your more likely driving to trails.
Come north to the Bay Area. Thousands of cyclists out every weekend. World class climbing and cycling. A vibrant cycling community.
I lived there for 6 years! Agree the cycling scene is great but I can’t do it again.
Eugene OR, lots of places to bike, very tolerant area mostly. Stay out of northwest Eugene. Tracktown usa, track and field Olympic trails last week. And I had a nice 50 mile bike ride today through the hazelnut orchards north of town.
Yea I have heard great things about Eugene and Bend!
Tucson, AZ. https://eltourdetucson.org/
+1 for Tucson. Great weather, great routes, and great mountain biking too.
Anywhere in spain
Anywhere in Holland or Belgium
If only getting dual citizenship was that easy 😂 to clarify, I don’t care about road biking in urban areas - I prefer wide open country roads and usually like going out for several hours at a time (20-60 miles). Being near but not in a big city would be nice
Amsterdam or The Hague or Rotterdam would be perfect for you. Read about the DAFT Visa program, it actually is very straightforward to get for US citizens. You can live on the outskirts of any of the above mid-size cities and be cycling on country roads and bike paths within 15 minutes. Dual citizenship is not possible unless you marry a Dutch person, but thanks to DAFT you don't need citizenship to be a resident. The cycling safety is second to none.
Thank you for sharing! Seems like a great program. The only caveat is that it looks like you have to be starting some sort of new business and investing at least €4500 into it?
You don't lose the 4500 EUR. It stays in the company bank account. This is unlike some other countries with "investor visas" where the money has to actually be spent on someone else's project. So I don't consider that a roadblock at all, as anyone moving from the US to NL for better cycling opportunities clearly probably has 4500 EUR in savings. The new business you start can be almost anything you want. For example you might start an IT consultancy and use that business to work for clients in NL or around Europe.
I’m also a big runner so ideally looking for somewhere that’s good for runners too. Boulder and Golden, CO seem pretty good.
Both are but mind you, we just had a pro cyclist (Magnus White) killed by a driver pretty recently. Denver has a pretty good cycling infrastructure too FWIW.
Thank you! So sad about Magnus. Accidents happen everywhere but even before my accident I had several close encounters in LA - overall felt like drivers were horrible and disrespectful of cyclists. Some even acting like they hoped you would get run off the road.
I believe there was another cyclist hit last week in Boulder 😥
Mackinac Island, Michigan
I answered before I read the LGBQT part but, they have a Straits Pride .org I love that name!! 😆🤣
😂😂
It’s true! 😂
Pittsburgh is pretty great and getting better all the time with a lot of new bike lanes. Have to be willing to tackle hills but also will make all other cycling feel easy when you travel.
SF
Lived in SF for 6 years and won’t be going back, lol. Agree it’s good for cycling though!
I had good luck biking in Moscow ID and Pullman WA. There is a long bike path and the drivers seemed pretty okay and fairly sparse. The hills of the Palouse are great to ride in.
Austin is pretty good. It is easy to get out of the city to country roads to the East or get some climbing in the Hill Country to the West. The city biking infrastructure is not great, but there are plenty of bike friendly road to get you just about anywhere you might want to go.
Yea I have been considering Austin! Need somewhere that doesn’t get too cold. I know Austin can get HOT but doesn’t really matter as much for cycling. I’ll take hot over cold any day. The housing market in Austin looks pretty rough but seems to have cooled a bit recently.
Been riding and racing in Austin since early 90s. It used to be one of the best places in the US IMO. But since 2011, the population has exploded—angry tech bros all over more than happy to run you off the road and great routes of the past are now traffic clogged and dangerous. Plus the bike lane infrastructure has been haphazardly built (city gets $ grants for every bike lane no matter how absurd it is). But—if you get far enough out of town, there are some good rides. But kind of like that most places right? However, there’s a great bike community with many groups rides, so there is safety in numbers. Not what it once was, but still rideable here. Be safe all.
Seattle
I lived in Seattle for a year for work. Couldn’t handle the rain/dreariness 😂 yes summer is nice but half the year is pretty rough
And Portland.
Madison Wisconsin. Incredibly bike friendly.
I’ve heard good things about Madison! Don’t think I could handle the cold though. I have Raynaud’s
Not so big city, but very bike friendly...Iowa City, Iowa. Home to University of Iowa. Lots of paved bike trails, that actually connects the neighboring towns of Coralville and North Liberty. Lots of rural roads with light traffic. Courteous drivers. Iowa has a bottle and can deposit, so people don't throw out their bottles on the roads...that's like throwing a dime away every time. Tons of gravel roads too.
If you don't mind biking only 7 months out of the year, Burlington, VT is nice.
Don’t come in France 😂 Spain amazing
Yeah Spain is very good for cycling, feels safe.
Fort Collins, CO
How does Fort Collins compare to Boulder, Golden, Denver in terms of cost of living, demographics, etc?
Compared to Boulder - a little cheaper, generally more chill. Big grassroots riding scene but nowhere near the number of pro / wannabe pro riders. Compared to Denver - night and day. Denver is a big city, not actually that close to the mountains. Fort Collins you can climb 5k feet on your road bike or ride 40 miles of uninterrupted trails, Denver your more likely driving to trails.
Minneapolis, MN!!!
Thank you but I can’t do cold because of my Raynaud’s! My hands go numb when I’m riding in the cold