Where to live...?

cerebus

Just interested - where do people think is the best place to live from the point of view of adventure/extreme sports?

Any suggestions? Don't necessarily restrict it to someplace in Ireland - anywhere in the big wide world (and maybe give some reasons why?)

I'm going to put in a blatant plug for Vancouver, Canada. We moved here 2 years ago, after checking a whole bunch of places out. Our main criteria was that wherever we ended up had to have skiing within a couple of hours drive

Here's some reasons for choosing Vancouver:

Pros:
- Winter sports
Whistler is less than two hours drive, while there are three ski hills within the city itself - I can leave work at 5pm and be on the slopes 30 minutes later, skiing until 11pm or so. You could ski/board year-round if you really wanted to.
- Mountain biking
The North Shore - what more needs to be said? Aside from the insanity of some of the downhill/freeride stuff, there's tons of other quality biking.
- Paddling
Hardcore white water within the city limits, loads more within driving distance. Amazing sea kayaking, including the chance to paddle with whales.
- Climbing
Tons of alpine mountaineering and bolted/trad climbing within a couple of hours drive.
- Wildlife
Not many other big cities where you might see a bear or a cougar when you look out your window Adds a certain edge to your downhill run when you never know if a bear's going to be around the next corner.

Cons:
- Surfing
It is a bit of a drive (5 hours or so?) to the nearest decent break. Still, not much worse than driving from Dublin to Easkey, etc.

The city is laid back and very outdoorsy... also got a good skateboard and BMX scene. Add in the fact that Vancouver offers all the amenities of a big city and it's all pretty impressive!

Anyone got some other suggestions? Some parts of NZ are supposed to be amazing, for instance.

How about at home? From the point of view of location, Limerick city is close to a whole bunch of stuff like good surf, the Reeks, the Burren, etc. (shame about the city itself though...) Anywhere else?

Enygma

Hossegor in France, world class surf breaks and skate parks plus you're only an hour away from the slopes.

Jak

Hossegor!

Got knocked out in the water there as a kid and dragged out. Simply the biggest waves I had ever encountered. The only place I have been where they can issue a warning for freak waves and everyone has to move their stuff back on the beach. Don't remember much else to be honest.

As for best place to live ... Vancouver has to be up there - still trying to encourage sister to move there .. but another good spot is New Zealand - with the capital (so i have heard) passing itself off as the meca of extreme sports.

They have snow, surf, rapids and the highest ratio of sheep to people in the world.

TacT

I wouldn't mind Hossegor myself, great place, friendly folks and I speak the language
I've heard similar reports on New Zealand, 5 of my mates are heading out there at the end of September for a few months.
Vancouver/Bondi Beach would be great too, how about mauii, depends what ya want to do, there is a spot in the world for everything

CyberGhost

for what you want Hossegor defenatelly!!!


but for me it's Vancouver, Canada

i just love the nature there!

take a big knife, go into the woods, without food, what more extreme sport do you need? the survival

TheFatSpa

i agree with cyberghost and vancover has just legalised weed ya baby

^whitey^

New Zealand

Paddling, Rivers are still evolving so you paddle a river one year come back the next and its changed.

Its the home of bungee jumping ... i think?

Climbing , You've got the alps

Surfing , jet boating Can't think of any extreme sport that woulldn't be at home here.

Shad0r

Vancouver City itself is a sh!t hole. Sorry but it is. I had some good times there but its not somewhere I would want to live. Vancouver Island is supposed to be nicer although I haven't been so I cant say outside of what I have heard.

cerebus

Originally posted by Shad0r
Vancouver City itself is a sh!t hole. Sorry but it is. I had some good times there but its not somewhere I would want to live. Vancouver Island is supposed to be nicer although I haven't been so I cant say outside of what I have heard.

I'm interested in why you feel this way - care to elaborate? Did you have a bad experience? Most annual surveys of 'best cities to live' consistently rank Vancouver in the top 5.

Where did you stay? It might have been that the neighborhood you saw wasn't the nicest (a lot of the hostels are in a not-so-nice part of town, and close to skid row) - like most big cities, Vancouver has its dodgy areas so I can see how you wouldn't like it if these were all you saw.

Maybe it was the weather? It does rain a lot, and you could have been here when it was wet and grey - but when the clouds lift and you get a view of the North Shore mountans (all sprinkled with snow this time of year) rising behind downtown, it really is breath taking.

It's funny - we had the complete opposite reaction to you! We visited on a beautiful weekend in April, when the roads were lined with cherry trees covered in blossoms and there was still snow on the hills. We fell in love with the city pretty much instantly, and started trying to work out how we could move here...

I'll tell you what, next time you come to Vancouver I'll make sure you see the better parts

Unpossible

purely for surfing, windsurfing, wakeboarding etc, castle gregory in kerry, i live about 30min from the place. The place has 3 beaches, on sheltered used mainly for canoeing, wakeboarding, one is open to the atlantic great for waves and one sheltered from the waves but loads of wind.


Hossegor sounds really cool though, where abouts is it? lol there are so many places i have yet to be

Enygma

Ya CaslteG is pretty good for surfing alright.
I don't really like the vibe at gowlane though, some people there have no respect for the beach or other people. Last time I was down there I saw a guy checking for keys on peoples wheels and in their bumpers.
People all seem to stick around the car park too even though there are some great banks up the beach.

Such a rippable wave though!

Unpossible

yea but at the windsurfing beach theres nobody but dedicated windsurfers. (im not talking about the front beach)

ambasite

New Zealand has everything & cheap to boot, was there for 4 months this year. For a relativly small country, the variation in landscape & climate is amazing, Queenstown, Taupo are a must.

MrHappy

Originally posted by Enygma
Ya CaslteG is pretty good for surfing alright.
I don't really like the vibe at gowlane though, some people there have no respect for the beach or other people. Last time I was down there I saw a guy checking for keys on peoples wheels and in their bumpers.
People all seem to stick around the car park too even though there are some great banks up the beach.

Such a rippable wave though!

Hope you reported it???? The last thing someone needs is to head off WSurfing and get back to no car, and/or kit for that matter! In the back of my Daa-Kine harness there's a pocket for a key! Used it a few times and then the key broke in the door.... (Had rusted inside the key, but couldnt be seen from the outside of the key AND I didnt have a spare) One expensive lesson..... :-(

TacT

Originally posted by Unpossible
purely for surfing, windsurfing, wakeboarding etc, castle gregory in kerry, i live about 30min from the place. The place has 3 beaches, on sheltered used mainly for canoeing, wakeboarding, one is open to the atlantic great for waves and one sheltered from the waves but loads of wind.


Hossegor sounds really cool though, where abouts is it? lol there are so many places i have yet to be

Hossegor is South France, very near to North Spain (Basque - San Sebastian) and close enough for a drive to the mountains for boarding/skiing (not sure how long)