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So I'm doing a little thinking and research. I love the Red, but I know Lex isn't where I ultimately want to park (I know - some of you are shocked that I consider settling). I've climbed at the New, Smith, Red Rocks and I hung around Rumney a bit, but I wouldn't choose to live near any of those places. Well, Vegas is cool, but overwhelming. Portland is great, but Smith isn't my favorite place (very beautiful though).

So for a sport climber like me who likes a little city action, what would those of you who have traveled quite a bit recommend I consider?

mcconnell's mill.. need i say more?

I love Truckee, Nevada and Flagstaff, Arizona but those are very trad intensive areas. Those towns are waaaay cool and there's so much climbing nearby. I'm thinking your best bets maybe Salt Lake City, Utah or Denver, Colorado. Big cities, good job markets, and amazing climbing in all directions.

This is a very good question, and one that I would love to hear people's opinions on as well since I may be relocating in another year and we are making a list of acceptable places. Salt Lake City and Denver are on my list, as well as Vegas. Asheville seems like it would be good as well, although a lot more trad and bouldering than sport nearby. But, isn't the Obed about 2 hours from Asheville and the Red about 5-6 hours away?

BTW, what's wrong with Lexington? It is on my list, but mostly because of proximity to the Red than anything else. Is it not a fun, medium-sized town to live in?

Can't put myself in the perspective of just clipping bolts but I'm thinking about this a lot lately. My choices are as follows (knowing that I dig bouldering -> multipitch trad -> occasional chuff if necessary).

1) Asheville -- best town but not so good job market, surrounded by my kind of climbing and a killer music scene.
1.5) Atlanta -- best job market, easy move for me with friends, killer bars and tons of music, lots of climbing within an easy drive.
2) Boulder -- decent job prospects, a few friends nearby, tons of climbing but it ain't the south and trustafarians kinda bug me. Damn there's a ton of shows rolling through there though.

If I were you, I'd open my horizons a bit and maybe not have to depend on bolts.

I <3 lex, awesome city to live in for me cause I can't go anywhere without knowing someone but I'm pretty bored with my current employment and prolly won't get as good a paycheck anywhere else in this town.

If sport climbing is your goal and you want to live near the best sport climbing in this country...I would stay right where you are. The Red and the New are the best sport climbing areas in the US. I live 4 hours between the two and consider myself very lucky.

The only other place I have ever considered is Vegas. Red Rock is super fun all winter and then the high elevation limestone is really fun all summer if you don't care about manufactured routes(I don't). Vegas is like every other city and you don't have to live on the strip.--plus the bars are open all night--I hate 2am closing time in Cowtown.

St. George, Utah or maybe Mesquite, NV would be great as far as being close to sport crags. There's a bunch of stuff out there: Snow Canyon, Chuckawalla, Turtle Wall, etc are right outside of St. George, VRG is within 1/2 hour of St.G and im sure theres other stuff i don't know about. red rocks is only a couple hours away. i don't know what the town is like job or "scene" wise, doesn't matter too much for anti social people like me though. i've thought about moving there b/c of the good climbing and my brother lives pretty close by.

I just got back from a trip to the North West. Started in Seattle and drove up to BC. I’m not a city guy, but I like Seattle a lot, and I loved Squamish. That place has everything and it’s only about 3 to 4 hours from Seattle. If I move anytime soon, I would definitely consider the Seattle.

You won't find the amout of killer steep sport climbing that the red has anywhere else in the US. Esp. near any kind of cool city. Boulder/Denver/SLC are probably your next best choices. Or maybe Knoxville, Atlanta or Chattavegas if you want to hang out in the south. In my mind, the southeast has the best of all types of climbing (except alpine/ice/walls/really long routes) anywhere in the US, and esp. kicks ass for sport climbing. If only the weather was better in the summer.

Golden, Colorado.
You can avoid Boulder and Denver traffic, but hit either one very quickly when you need some "action". Great location, close to the mountains, tons of climbing, biking, boating, etc etc. I can handle Boulder and Denver is very small doses.

I have a good friend there who loves it.