I've lived in Arizona my entire life and don't particularly care for it. I'm sick of living in the city and just want to get away from the crowds for 3-6 months. I prefer pine trees, lots of mountains, streams/creeks/rivers and winter days that are colder than a witches tit. I like Alaska but fear there are too many crackheads and Sarah Palin fanboys there, but maybe I'm wrong. I've been to Durango, Colorado and loved it and the same goes for Lake Tahoe although it may be out of my budget. I'll need a full time job, I don't care what the job is so long as it pays the expenses and doesn't take up every hour of my day. States with live poker are a plus too!

If anyone who lives in these states could give me an opinion on the quality of life (culture, job market, crime, etc) in their city that would be awesome. If this OP is too vague just say so and I'll go into better detail.

Thanks

colorado: live pokers, pine trees, lots of mountains, streams/creeks/rivers and winter days that are colder than a witches tit, jobs are tough to come by right now but im sure its the same everywhere. check out black hawk colorado you may be able to get a casino job. crime is low here as im sure it is everywhere on that list.

stay away from Wyoming that's where i live... lol pretty wildlife stuff but colorado is better

I've lived in 3 of the four (MT, WY & CO). MT HAD better poker until CO increased their limits at the beginning of the month, now CO has some of the best games around due to the pent up demand.

I started playing in MT nearly 20 years ago; games in bars there are typically low limit spread that are either really good or really bad. I've seen lots of team play and "house" players in MT.

For poker, CO is the clear choice. I've been living in Denver since '97 and love it. I recommend moving to Black Hawk or one of the small towns nearby. You can probably get a decent deal for housing in a mountain town somewhere like Idaho Springs and commute over to Black Hawk. If you want to live along I70 so you've got quick access to Denver, yet still be in the mountains, it would probably be more economical to move there now before all the ski bums come back.

As far as quality of live, you can't beat CO. I used to travel all over the country for work & Denver is by far my favorite city in the country. Denver housing is expensive, but good deals can be found in the small surrounding towns. The suggestion for a casino job is a good one, they've been hiring a ton of people to keep up with the influx of new players lately.

OP just curious how old you are? Free spirit imo (not a bad thing)

I'm 21. I guess I could be called a free spirit, I've thought of myself as sort of like Ron Burgundy except a bit more social (and a desire for both women and sleeping on a mattress or a combination of the two).

Colorado is high on the list, it fits the description plus it looks like there are some community colleges and universities should I decide to stay longer and finally decide what I want to major in. The Western Slope intrigues me the most but I'm not sure I could find a job there and I think its just too damned expensive for me at the moment so I guess I'll save that for later. I've found a few jobs which will let me use my construction industry skills and knowledge, but I'm also looking in to those casino jobs. Going to have to buy some warm clothes for the winter.

How's the nightlife in/around Denver?

Go to boulder. Just go to boulder, trust me.

Isn't there a very healthy population of people who believe in the "green" fallacy in Boulder?

Im at boulder, I came up from Texas, and will never go back.
Boulder is gorgeous, everybody is nice, crime is very low and well we have the best of the best...
Skiing is but an hour to 2 hours away in the winter
We get 300+ days of sunshine a year
I am not 21 yet, but when i am if not before and just be careful, i plan to take some trips to poker, i hear its but an hour away and very juicy games!

If you are just looking for the prettiest nature of those states I'd go Montana.

If you are looking for the best combo of society and nature i'd go Colorado... Whatever you do stay away from Wyoming!

Boulders **** imo. Unless you like to be stuck in artificial traffic for hours and hang out with people who care for the world more than you and drive bmw trucks purchased by their parents....

Also, colorado is overrated for cold. You're gonna have to get off the front range to expect a cold winter type climate. In Jan or Feb there might be a week or two around 0, but thats every 3 years or so. You'll get a blizzard thats expected to be colorado like about every decade. The best advice possible is to stay clear of Colorado Springs. Don't be fooled by the aesthetic beauty, its a suburbia full of zealots.

the Obusha avatar. You have to remember that I'm from the Phoenix-metro area so anything below 50 degrees is colder than what I get here. I'm taking a hard look at Black Hawk, Denver etc. so I'll probably end up there for a while.

lol bull****

Boulder has maybe the worst traffic in the state. Its not like I'm just pulling this out of my ass. Diagonal/Foothills at rush hour is definitely as bad as Colorado Blvd in Denver at the same time. I think its probably worse.

If you appreciate the simple things in life, Colorado is way overrated (although it is still a great state -- just that the randoms that move out west seem to think that Colorado is their only option). If you appreciate nature and/or maximizing your dollar, better values can found in any of the other states you mentioned.

If night life is a priority, then yeah, your options are pretty much limited to either Denver or Boulder.

You will have a high quality of life no matter which state you choose. All the ones you listed are great.

I lived in Bozeman, Montana for awhile. Compared to most of the rest of the state, it has a little more going on intellectually/culturally since it is a college town (Montana State University). Nonetheless, be prepared for stuff like a lot of people using the word "bro" without irony. Doesn't sound like much, but I think a lot of brainy poker players would go insane there. If you are really into skiing, hiking, rafting, mountain biking, etc., you will probably think it's paradise. If not it doesn't really make any sense to live there.

I know nothing more than what I saw driving through it for 5 minutes, but when I did, Jackson, WY seemed like a really nice town. Love the old west look. Here's the weather:

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wyjack

Obv a tourist town, whether you consider that a good thing or a bad thing.

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/jackson_wyoming.htm

That's it from an ignorant Canadian.

Why not drive up the interstate to Flagstaff and check it out?
It's not out of state, but it's certainly a different climate/vibe.

I don't know why but I've never really liked Flag. Guess there are too many yuppies or something. Also not enough big country for my liking.

Jackson looks pretty bad ass. Colorado seemed like the #1 choice but becoming a dealer may be a bit more difficult than I had originally thought = \

I'd probably go with Denver since it sounds like you're looking for a more active social life...but Glacier National Park is about as pretty as the US gets

Been thinking about moving to MT myself lately. Why does everyone say WY is so much worse than everyplace else on the list?

Probably not much/any nightlife except in Cheyenne once a year.

I've gotten the impressive that Wyoming is mostly dirt poor hicks with a sprinkling of multimillionaires (and not much in between).

Looking at the Wyoming picture thread Id say its an ideal location.