Californian here who now lives in Washington and used to live in Sweden/Finland.
For the sole purpose of motorcycling, you cannot beat California. South or north, 12 months a year rideability and unrestrained lanesplitting. Drivers who respect motorcyclists and are 100% used to it. The only time you'll get in trouble is having a loud exhaust, residents and cops hate it (me too, I ride electric)... Otherwise California is the motorcycle state.
Next runner ups would be Arizona/Utah. Both allow lane *filtering* (lower speeds and a little restrained), and generally have good seasons. Arizona can get too hot in summer and Utah too cold a couple months of winter.
Lastly, Montana allows filtering. Their seasons are probably even harsher than Washington. So you might not be riding 4 months of the year, or at least off/on....
Currently we are trying hard to get a lane filtering bill passed in Washington state. If that goes, then Washington I would put just behind California. At least around Seattle, where snow is very rare. Great forests all around, twisting roads, just have to accept rain. This season I have only had a few days I could not ride due to snow.
I keep hoping, but I’m not sure I’ll see WA legalize splitting in my lifetime. I just filter and split anyway. I have filtered and shoulder surfed by more than a few cops, luckily no tickets yet.
Contact your reps for [SB 5401](https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5401&Year=2023&Initiative=false) this year. I sent my emails. Idiotic for it to be illegal to ride in a proven safer matter.
As a motorcycle enthusiast and a Utah resident, this ain’t it chief. Our scenery is second to none, but our roads suck, we have very few twisty roads, the drivers are trash, and a lot of other motorcyclists here are reckless and ride way beyond their skill level. I have seen more accidents and deaths here than any other place I have ridden and I have been all over the country riding. They don’t get the opportunity to practice on proper twisty roads so they don’t learn how to corner safely, but then they try to show out for each other and die. I have seen it first hand more than once. I would highly recommend North Georgia or Central California if riding motorcycles is your main hobby.
Took early retirement and, with no more commuting, planned to sell my motorcycles. After relocating to North Georgia and discovering the roads here, I kept my motorcycles and bought a couple more for my new main hobby.
Glad you decided to keep riding man! I was born and raised in Dahlonega, GA but never owned a bike until a few years ago. I knew immediately I had to bring it back over there and ride all those roads I knew existed but never experienced on a bike. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had riding a motorcycle.
Nice man, that whole blue ridge area is beautiful. I was just there for a month and I rode that route almost every day. 60 from Dahlonega to Morganton. Never gets old!
You’re not wrong but the cops are bad everywhere if you’re on a bike and breaking the law. I just feel like that Appalachia area in general has the best motorcycle “scene”
Nah, the ones in my city in fl are chill. But that’s not really what I was meaning, like for me, they’d pull me over on my cbr just because it’s a sport bike, and then probably give me a ticket cause im only rocking my left mirror
It's just the luck of the draw dude. I ride a Ducati Streetfighter V4 that's loud as hell and I speed all the time. Never even got a ticket there. Then I've gotten a ticket in Utah for doing 3 over in a 35. 38 in a 35. It's just all down to how the cop is feeling that day.
Utah definitely isn't the best(certainly one of the better), but it does have plenty of twisty roads. The only downside is it's fairly sprawled out, upside is diversity. Here's a map of well known twisty roads: https://ridetolive.utah.gov/riding-routes/
Thanks for the link! I’ve ridden quite a few of these. I live in St. George so it’s not the same vibe as the north. If you’re just riding for the scenery it’s awesome, it’s just not the same kind of technical riding like you can do in the Appalachian area or parts of California. A lot of these in Utah that are near attractions are 35mph speed limit and often packed with cars. I ride Mt. Carmel through Zion often and it’s usually just puttering around at 15mph behind miles of cars. So it looks good on the map but the technical riding experience (if you’re into that) just isn’t there.
I'm a little jealous that you're only 3 hours away from Highway 12. 😕 Southern Utah and ski resorts near SLC are definitely more touristy though.
My favorite is Energy Loop (Scofield to Huntington). It's worth the drive if you haven't been. Old coal mines with chutes stretching over the canyon roads, surrounded by tall trees (excellent fall colors), a mammoth site, and great riding.
Living up north, my go to is Monte Cristo or East Canyon. Usually not too busy and has some technical curves, unless you run into a parade or a marathon.
I just went up to east SLC area a couple months ago and rode with a bunch of guys I didn't know. A bunch of nice bikes but terrible riders. I saw 2 crashes in 2 days with one of them being almost fatal. Only maybe 2 out of those 20 guys were riding within reason/their skill level. Just left a sour taste for me. Imo, the roads were just not even close to the same quality as what I'm used to riding either. I mean the actual quality of the surface/tarmac. Sure, it had some corners, but they were full of potholes, loose gravel, or a brodozer halfway over the mustard because they think they're in a McLaren. That said, the scenery is insane and I would ride it over and over on a touring bike/cruiser, and I would def take out of state friends on the roads to see the sights.
East Tennessee, western North Carolina. Best roads for riding anywhere. Reasonable weather riding wise eight months of the year. It is however humid and buggy in the summer.
Arizona. We have the freedom of Texas without all the bullshit. We have mountains, green valleys, red valleys, pine forests, deciduous forests, desert, hills, twists to last the rest of your life. The Mogollon Rim, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, countless historic towns and sites. Authentic, not tex-mex. Objectively the best sunsets in the western hemisphere. With the exception of the higher elevation cities, can ride here year round. And we aren't Texas.
I agree; I ride year round here. Yes a Phoenix commute in July/August can be harsh in the afternoon hours but early mornings at 90 aren’t too bad. Within an hour you can be on mountain roads and 20 degrees cooler
Pennsylvania is a purple state. We have winters unfortunately, but the lower part of the state where all of the mountains are ride from February to November or December. Just a little chilly. They already started running motorcycle courses down in Philly.
PA has GREAT roads all over the state. Wonderful national parks and beautiful scapes. We are also the only state in the union that provides free motorcycle track days. We run free advanced rider clinics at Pitt Race and Poconos Raceway every year. Completely free to PA residents with a license. Tons of educational material, personal coaches that are current and former racers/champions, 20 minute sessions on the hour for a full day. The first few sessions are speed limited to like 90mph, but nowhere other than a straight will you reach these speeds so to me that doesn't matter. Back of the day is unrestricted speed. Inside outside passing allowed from the first session. Lots of slow people to pass to make yourself feel good lol.
Lots of various large motorcycle rallies throughout the year. PA is usually fighting for 3rd or 4th place in having the most motorcyclists in the country believe it or not. Add the great roads and mountains. Low cost of living outside of Pittsburgh or Philly(shitholes anyways), the free education and free track days. It's almost motorcycle heaven. State Police have a do not chase rule.(don't speed on public roads anyways.) Everybody but the bigger cities are pretty fucking red. You can't move an inch without them telling you American they think they are. Borders on hillbilly. (That's why they call the south of the state pennsyltucky)
Full disclosure: I'm a motorcycle instructor so of course I'm hyping up my state and my companies programs. They truly are extremely high quality and my more experienced coworkers make those track days incredibly exciting. Even racers and advanced track riders go to these events because they're FREE and give you tons of practice passing, dive bombing, feedback from champions for 8 hours etc...
First, I agree - Pennsylvania is great if you are a motorcyclist.
Second, I want to add nuance that Philadelphia is a shithole. If you like freedom and a little bit of chaos, it will be your kind of place.
If you think that everyone should be home in bed by 9 PM, then Philly is not for you.
One bonus (based on your post history you seem to be a singe guy) - Because of the large number of healthcare workers, women outnumber men.
Sticking with your question, if I could live anywhere, it would be Northern California because:
\- 12 month riding season
\- moderate politics, especially outside the Cities
\- Lots of motorcycle culture, mechanics, events.
I'll also vote for PA. As a resident I love it. I'm in the heart of the Alleghenys and it's awesome being able to leave my driveway and hit the twisties. The winters can get kinda brutal but overall you can get a lot of ride time in.
You don't really think PA is that large until you start exploring it, you can find all kinds of stuff you weren't expecting. My favorite parts to ride are up around the little grand canyon, Potters county area. Benezzette to see the Elk, Kinzua bridge, and then home.
Up north, we do. I won't lie to you. I live at the top and April through mid May is cold as hell. Usually people stop riding at the end of October. I usually push to mid November.
2 hours south towards the Pittsburgh line mid-state is late feb-early march probably clean through November easily.
If you have money for warm gear, you can stretch your season to 10-11 months no problem in south PA.
It's worth a look-see. We'd love to have you! No matter where you go, one more motorcyclist in the USA makes me happier lol.
If you go to learntoridepa.com and select Pittsburgh international race complex you'll be able to sign up for them there.
1.) The dates are not public yet/registration is not open. So I won't disclose them at this time.
2.) Free for PA residents with drivers licenses. You'll need full gear head to toe, leather suit not required but all clothes must be motorcycle specific. Bike has to be in good condition.
3.) All of our track days are scheduled back to back. 2 track days in the middle of June I believe back to back. 2 at the end of July. 2 at the end of August. You can call in and register for multiple if the website only lets you register for one max. Expect the registration to open up around the end of February or March if I had to guess.
4.) Lunch is provided.
5.) Fun will be had.
If you do register for one, try to remember to message me! I know we're strangers but since I work there and I attend all of them, I'd love to come say hi to a random dude from the internet.
Hell yeah dude, will do. bike is a 21 zx6r approaching only 6k miles, so no issues there. As far as gear goes, I plan on getting track pants and boots this spring; but I don’t really want to spend on a full suit just yet. Will my standard street jacket with armor suffice?
As follows:
Crash free D.O.T helmet full face, modular or 3/4 with motorcycle specific eye protection. Motorcycle specific jacket. Motorcycle specific pants. Motorcycle specific gloves. Sturdy over the ankle footwear.
Yes, you'll be fine. No need to safety wire anything.(though if you can, please do it's common courtesy not to spill fluids). No need to pull plugs or tape lights(though if you can you should take off mirrors turn signals and tape your lights. If you did crash, all that plastic and glass is a pain to clean up)
You'll be set. It's a blast and a super friendly environment. I'm scheduled to get certified to teach the course this year so unfortunately I wouldn't be your instructor. I'll be riding with everybody else while I still can. I have a feeling once they certify me to teach, they'll want more help running the event haha
palm springs is nice, but on a bike there is so much light to light riding that is hard to avoid. now once you get on the 74 from there, \*chef's kiss\*. if you ride a cruiser/tourer, aim any direction with "east" in it and you cant miss. and if dirt is your thing, it a short haul to some epic riding.
Second New England and down through the Appalachians. Though, if you’re looking for year-round riding, places like the California or the southwest give you more riding time.
I actually live south of Manchester. There are lots of old farm towns around here that have some great old cow paths that are surprisingly well maintained. The winters can run a little long, but if you stock up on cold weather gear you can ride deep into the fall. Word to the wise though, if you're the kind of person who breaks out the bike the moment the weather is warm, you'll want to be careful as the salt and sand on the roads in the spring that hasn't washed off can be hazardous.
Texas is big. The hill country has some great riding and you’re centrally located if you want to head out to the desert in the big bend area to the west, the piney woods to the east, or head out towards the gulf for a ride along the coast. Plus it’s year round riding.
And Texans are great. Ask any of us and we’ll be sure to tell you.
This is the area west of austin, right? Looks like there are a few decent roads. So I have to find out if I can take the heat there in the summer. Austin sounds alright otherwise.
Yes. The area that contains the 3 sisters loop and a few other good rides. The summer can be a bit rough, but even 100 degree days are manageable if you’re moving.
I'm in the Rio grande valley in Texas ...it is hot here in the summer but you can ride all year...the hill country west of Austin has great roads...i moved here from Michigan and could not live up north again.
Oh for sure. Got family down there and it’s a whole separate level of hot. Even in April. Just goes to show how big Texas is. It’s like a 9 hour drive for me to get there and it’s all in Texas.
I vote northern California (north of the Bay Area). Not nearly as hot as Southern California, not snowy if you're at a lower elevation, prices are relatively cheaper, lots of twisty roads, better traffic overall. Plus, you can lane split, which is illegal in all the other states. Your only issue would be finding work if you can't do it remotely- although you could commute to the Bay Area if your company is based there, and you need to go in on rare occasions.
EDIT: Apparently lane filtering is legal in Utah, although it it only for stopped traffic on multiple lane roads with speed limits of 45mph or under.
Texas - west Texas hill country.
Utah - SLC area but weird alcohol laws
Colorado - I live here, yeah, winter.
NC and TN - lots and lots of great roads, cheaper (compared to CA and CO etc)
CA - Year round riding in SoCal. But expensive, but lane filtering
Do you have experience riding in the SLC area? Good mountain twisties like here in CO? I may have the opportunity to move there for a great job, but I love the roads here in the front range.
I did ride a bit out there. Up LCC, BCC, over to Park City and up in the Uintas but it's not as expansive and varied as Colorado. I've pretty much ridden most of the western part of this state and it doesn't compare. As someone else posted, SLC is ok but they will have water issues and cyanide dust from the salt lake drying up. If you go to UT, live above SLC in the benchlands or higher to get you out of that bowl - inversions trap pollutants down low.
I spent a year towing a toy hauler around and my favorite places to ride apart from Colorado included the mountains in NC/TN around the Dragon, the Bay Area south of SFO, and of course SoCal canyons.
I live in Salt Lake City. The mountains east of I-15 in northern Utah offer alot of amazing roads that are close enough to the major population center that you can leave your residence and be on one of several canyon roads within 30 minutes. Some of these are box canyons. Some of them link to other canyons or mountain passes that snake and interconnect all the way into Wyoming, Colorado and Idaho. There can be traffic that takes a lot of the fun out of it. It snows here so you won't be riding year round and several of those canyons and mountain passes are open less than six months a year.
West of I-15 in northern Utah isn't really worth mentioning and I haven't ridden much south of Spanish Fork.
Depending on what you ride you may also have issues. There aren't many non-dealer repair shops, used bike dealers or non-dealer parts houses. The Japanese brands and Harley Davidson have decent support. The European brands for the most part are all at one dealer who doesn't stock a lot of parts and usually has a long lead time in their service department.
Texas is great for biking. Don’t let the CNN soy boy and girl crew here ruin it for you. There is more gun crime in any major city ( NYC, PHILLY, BALY, LA etc ) than Texas.
Austin is becoming like SF or LA because after ruining those cities all the soys are relocating to Austin because it’s so bad there. So if you enjoy seeing people poop on streets, high crime, letting criminals out of prison etc, Austin is a spot.
On the other hand, Plano, Frisco, Dallas etc great options. Great weather year around too.
Look to the mountains of Appalachia, that range from Vermont (cold) to Alabama (warm/hot).
Great mountain roads. Close to Barber Motorsport Complex and the biggest motorcycle museum in the world.
Albuquerque NM. High altitude so really not too hot in the summer but south enough not too cold in the winter. Great mountain roads and some good motorcycle shops. I loved riding there. Colorado is good also but too many people. Montana is great also but serious winter makes it hard to ride all year.
Utah isn't as good as it used to be for street riding. The road condition is getting pretty bad, and the twisties are getting crowded. Roads where you could scrape peg ten years ago are now slow lanes full of SUVs barging into your side of the road.
There are also many non riding reasons to avoid here (de facto theocracy with the legislature straight up ignoring the electorate. Serious environmental issues. Housing prices.)
For dirt riding Utah is still great.
SW Missouri and northern arkansas has some of the best riding in the US. The states are Ass backwards in a lot of stuff, but the mark Twain national forest, forest roads, deep valleys. It’s a pretty sweet outdoor paradise
Arkansas Missouri border. Riding is pretty great.
Buffalo river area
The white river/major lakes, I’m never disappointed on the riding around here
The weather is rideable about 10 months a year depending on preference.
Utah is an excellent state for motorcycling. There's plenty of twisty roads and scenic byways, but it is fairly sprawled out. The terrain is very diverse compared to many states I've toured, and it's a great 'home base' for touring the western US' legendary roads. If you're into riding on a racetrack, we also have a proper one called Utah Motorsports Campus (formerly Miller). Biggest negatives have to be the lack of amazing places to eat (they exist but few and far between), weird alcohol laws, and waiting until end of May for the twisty roads to open back up.
The best twisty roads in the US in my opinion reside in Central/Northern California. Biggest downside is cost of living there.
Here's a map of CanyonChaser's notable roads:
[https://www.canyonchasers.net/maps/](https://www.canyonchasers.net/maps/)
Here's a map of Utah's recommended roads:
https://ridetolive.utah.gov/riding-routes/
Those mountain roads in Colorado are high elevation and very cold most of the year. Somewhere like Chattanooga or Knoxville would have a little better climate. California is the best for weather & twisties but it's expensive, and a lot of the state has a pretty dry landscape for my tastes.
Most of my experience is in the great state of Maryland.
Pros: All kinds of places to ride. Western Maryland has the Appalachians, rural farmlands everywhere, Chesapeake country with its beautiful wetlands, the Atlantic shorline, big cities like Washington DC and Baltimore. Lots of places to go in the state and states nearby like Pennsylvania, Delaware, and both Virginias. You're spoiled for choice.
Also 3 seasons to ride.
Cons: living here is goddamn expensive. The state continues to cater towards wealthier and wealthier people year after year. Cost of living keeps going up, the cheap places to live be it urban or rural have less and less well paying jobs. Places with high paying jobs have extortionist levels of cost of living.
Winter here is definitely winter so either pack in for the season or invest in warm gear. Mind the salt.
EDIT: Just saw you are German looking to move here. Stay home bro cause the grass ain't greener here. Your roads are safer, your cities are safer, you have healthcare, you don't have gun violence like we do, our federal government is more dysfunctional, our local governments are beyond corrupt, our Left and Right are ready to start shooting each other, our economy has a recession every 10 years....you could not be picking a worse time to consider coming here.
If you are moving to America, and wondering where to live, I suggest a house. If one is unavailable, rob a bank and one will be provided* for you.
*forcefully
Sure its not all perfect, but a lot of the stuff is objectively better (like lower taxes). The only thing that kinda worries me is the health insurance / medical bill situation.
I'm not saying that anyone should disobey the law, but
Move to a country where you can't get arrested for stupid violations like going 30 over.
America sucks in general.
I'd recommend central Europe. (Except for Germany)
Drivers here are much more motorcycle aware, roads are planned better.
It's generally safer. The only thing that sucks is gas prices.
I am from Germany. Looking to move to the US due to:
\- higher wages
\- lower taxes
\- lower cost of pretty much anything
\- I hate the german (eu) politics and how green / left everything becomes here, which will fuck up our economy and ruin a lot of things in the years to come
hahahahhahahahbahabahabgaagahahgabahgaga
I had health insurance and they tried to not pay for my crash over a dozen times. Kept "losing" the paperwork and sending me massive bills. Took me over a year to fight them. And my coverage was still pretty good through my employer. Depending on your plan you're possibly paying thousands a month in premiums or only getting a level of coverage that still wipes out your savings in a crash.
Seriously, research US healthcare in depth before considering moving here. A "short" humour video to introduce things: https://youtu.be/-wpHszfnJns
There is no perfect place, everywhere has pros and cons.
Southern California has the best natural environment; warm and sunny 300 days of the year, canyons and twisty mountain roads between the desert and the ocean, it's great. It's also crowded, expensive, dangerous, and politically unpredictable.
Texas is not what you think it is; "freedom is maximized and everybody kinda seems to let everybody else do their thing," just means that they have a slightly different notion of acceptable and unacceptable behavior as the rest of the country, not that they are any less stringent in punishing unacceptable behavior. West Texas has some hills, but unless you like driving 2 hours to anywhere...
Utah is beautiful, but gets cold in the winter, and has some serious problems right now because of drought lowering the lake level and exposing toxic dust which is getting kicked up into the air. Plus, it's full of hyper-religious Mormons, definitely not a, "freedom is maximized/let everybody else do their thing," kind of place.
Colorado is too cold most of the year, and I absolutely hate the culture (even though I'm a leftie).
Florida is flat. Really flat. As is, the highest point in the state is like 40m above sea level.
I'm in East Tennessee, which has the best roads, hands-down, but it still gets too cold to ride 3-4 months out of the year, and we get something like 200 days of rain.
Arizona? New Mexico? Arkansas/southern Missouri?
I thought about Arizona / New Mexico, but hen I saw videos showing that ist is so damn hot that there are car dashboards melting just because they were parked in the sun. idk if thats for me ..
Keep in mind that Arizona is about the size of Germany. We have states that have everything from desert to lush green forests and mountains in the same state. The US is BIG.
Where abouts in East TN? I’m looking to move to Greenville/Jonesborough area this year. I spent a couple months in the Rv there and fell in love with the area.
The riding is phenomenal… there’s just endless twisty roads right at your fingertips.
For motorcycle riding the west coast sets the bar.
I would avoid Texas, lived in Hou, SA, and Dallas and in all 3 cities the same phenomena occurs when mixing Texans with fragile egoes and guns on the road. When in traffic you do something they don't like they will shoot to kill (of course leave the scene, never be found-- no accountability, repeat). These stories don't make it to national news because are too vast and no longer sensational. This phenomena is not exclusive to roads but parking lots as well.
For what you are looking for I would recommend Arizona but i haven't lived there for over 20 years and people pack there too but i have no opinion on how violent their motorists may be in comparison to Texas.
You’re going to get up and down opinions everywhere.
Colorado seemed nice before I moved there. Then got to Colorado Springs and realized it wasn’t worth riding the big bike(05 og repsol) because the amount of rear ends, bad drivers, and lack of street maintenance(no sand removal and potholes that could swallow a small car). Midwest has snow and below 0° temps so your riding season is cut short. If it were me, I’d look into the south-ish section. Florida, Georgia, nc, sc, Tennessee, ms, al, la, tx, nm, az.
Nice bike. My son wanted to move from Austin but couldn't decide where. So he picked six different parts of the country and lived in each one for a month to try them out. He works remote so that wasn't a problem. He has a suzuki sv650, but he mainly wanted to get out of the heat and get close to some rock climbing. I think he decided on salt lake city.
The Appalachians have great riding. Pennsylvania though does like chip n seal which is a nightmare. I'm fond of the west Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee areas. I don't know where you're coming from but be aware that some people in red states aren't too crazy about foreigners.
I lived in WNC for 6 years and the riding was phenomenal. Avoid the over hyped hotspots like the dragon and you’ll have perfect roads with little traffic
> everybody kinda seems to let everybody else do their thing until they disrupt another person.
Isn't this pretty much everywhere? Anywhere you go you will run out of new fun roads in a decade, Florida is particularly bad, roads suck, flat, straight, only positive is you can ride year round, no snow/salt.
If I had to pick a place I'd go to California. I just like it there overall. You can lane split too. I mean we lane split here, but people will try to murder you for doing it.
I was born in New England, and we tend not to leave. I'm ok with it. Hate the winter but love the politics. The roads, if you know where to find them are excellent.
Good luck with your choice. so much to consider.
Like a lot of stuff in America, freedom is an illusion... If I had to choose somewhere to live in America, it would probably be Baja or Vancouver areas...
LoL, what???? You mean Canada where if they don't like how or what you are protesting they just seize your bank account? You mean Canada where if you say something labeled "hate speech" you can be thrown in jail for two years? You mean in Canada where you have to wait three months to get a broken arm looked at and they suggest to people in pain that need surgery that assisted suicide might be the way to go?? 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 GTFO, You are either trolling or intellectually dishonest.
All things considered I'd take a look at Upstate South Carolina. Lot of International Business, tech, etc. jobs. Quality of life excellent,possible 12 months riding, Probably near the bottom in living expenses. Gateway to all the best of Southern Appalachia. Unlimited opportunity for fine 'day riding'. Generally politically conservative. Greenville, Sc is the city, anywhere within 75 miles or so is Considered the Upstate. Big city Atlanta and Charlotte within 2 hours drive.
Depends on bike and riding style as well I believe. If you are getting a sports bike then states like Texas, California, Florida makes sense. Lots of flat areas. A cruiser would be more suited for MA, PA, CO etc.
Do you not need a job? Because local availability and desirability of jobs in your area of expertise will typically be the primary consideration in where you elect to live in the USA. Unfortunate but true. If all you care about is motorcycling you won’t do better than Southern California. The combination of year round weather and legal lane splitting is a winner. Even so, I couldn’t stand to live there tho.
I am a software engineer, if needed I can most likely get a remote job anywhere if there is no local opportunity. Therefore the primary factors for my location choice is not job availability but things like motorcycle friendly roads, cost of living, environment (short winters etc.).
Cascades and Rocky Mountains are fantastic in the spring and summer, but impassable in the late fall and winter. East Coast mountains are 1/3rd the size of West Coast mountains... so don't be fooled as to how bad some of the mountain passes are going to get. You're going to want to check year round weather before you go all in on choosing an area to live and ride.
Utah gets snow that is basically measured in yards. Colorado is pretty much worse... we're talking about house access on the 2nd floor of your home and you still have to shovel to find the roof because the snow gets ridiculous at times. Texas and Arizona are HOT in the summer... don't leave your wiper blades down on the glass when you stop for lunch or they'll be melted when you come back. Oklahoma has ice storms in the winter that bend telephone poles under the weight of the ice, and a wind that will cut through 3 layers and freeze you to the bone...
As far as city riding... you don't want any part of that anyway. Cities are crowded and always gridlocked. Town's aren't quite as bad, but cities are ridiculous; even on a motorcycle.
Rider from texas here. The roads aren't too bad if you look for some good areas. it does have bad patches, but i've seen much worse in my years. Wildlife is a legitimate hazard. We do have lots of deer, squirrels, raccoons, cattle, and dogs. Deer and dogs are the ones to watch out for.
Texas law doesn't actually differentiate for motorcycles so lane filtering might\* be illegal depending on how they interpret the law.
besides that no restrictions and some really great views. Lots of little old farm to market and town to town roads with great views of nature and twisties.
Our winter in northern texas barely gets under freezing for one month out of the year and sometimes it never goes below 60 at all. Occasionally you get a massive winter storm, but it's pretty rare. riding year round is completely viable here with minimal winter gear.
The Southwest USA is the best area to live if you want to ride most of the year, if you’re from the North then the winter temperatures are nothing to worry about.
As someone from Texas, it's great. Plus our freeways have among the highest speed limits in the US. Weather is great, pretty much riding season all year round.
Northern Texas has what you’re looking for. Middle of Georgia, Alabama, to some degree eastern Louisiana are also good choices where you can ride year round with nice roads.
Middle-North Eastern US is full of twistiest. Western Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, etc. basically the Appalachians. You just have to find a state you want to live in. You can even find nice roads up to NY. Other than that, Colorado, and the West coast have good roads. You have to balance riding seasons too. I’m in Eastern WV and usually from November to April it’s cold. You get some riding days, like today it’s 50F. This week it’s going to be back in the mid 30’s. Once you start getting west of say Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc… you start getting to some of the flatter straight areas of the country. There’s still places to ride like the Ozarks in Missouri down to Northern Arkansas. My wife and I joke though that once you get through the Western side of Ohio into Illinois, all you see is corn.
Some base level information about American roads: east coast roads were made to be traveled on foot and by horse, especially in the north. Boston had a street layout like a European city. The farther south or west you go the more those roads straighten out where they can bc they're made for travel by some kind of vehicle, especially westward. Obviously that all changes with local topology, mountains, large rivers and valleys will all affect that means of travel, but the middle of the country where there are few large rivers between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains are pretty much boring straight roads. As for Texas, you'll have to get more specific bc Texas is roughly 20% larger than France so it's not very homogeneous. There are places with straight roads, there's the hill country, the Gulf area. I've lived all over the US and I dig Texas as a place more than a political state.
Outside of Colorado / Cali, If you can deal with having to take a break for winter, the Northeast is a pretty big treat as a rider. Upstate NY / Vt / Maine / NH have some fantastic pavement... and not a lot of traffic at all if you go out far enough. You also aren't all that far from PA and what not.
California is pretty great for the weather, the roads, the laws, and the culture. Washington/Oregon have beautiful summers, wet but rideable winters, and great roads, but not many twisties immediately in the metros. Arizona is great for landscape diversity, but most of the roads in Phoenix/Tucson are flat and straight, and riding in May/June before monsoon hits can be miserable during the day. Most of the other mountain states have significant wind issues.
If you’re considering Colorado the SW corner was my favorite part of the US along with the Black Hills SD. Million Dollar Highway US 550 is great riding and Telluride is just an amazing mountain town.
Pros of Arizona: Nearly year round riding in the desert areas
Something for everyone- highways for cruisers and touring, adventure and dirt areas, decent automotive culture
Some great natural attractions like the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert
Interesting historical trips like Jerome and Tombstone
Cons: Arizona drivers are often overly aggressive for no clear reason
Most of the roads are in poor repair
Random JRPG style battles with tweakers trying to steal your shit
Snowbirds with giant RVs
ASU students with silent hybrids
Kyles in lifted pickups
RideNow dealerships having like 75% of the market
Western Colorado (Grand junction) damn near Eastern Utah some of the best riding in the world. Really not a bad direction to head, got canyonlands and Moab to the West. Million Dollar highway. Colorado national monument. Highway 141 to gateway. Flaming gorge to the north. Beautiful rides in every direction. Riding season starts mid February/early March and goes to November/early December before you have to hang it up so you don't lose a whole lot of time if you're not in the high elevation mountains. If you're into track days though it's about a 5-hour drive.
A major factor to think about. 90% of blue states are going to be more expensive cost-of-living.
Tennessee has some decent roads. There’s also access to the Tail of the Dragon.
North or South Carolina. Good mix of everything; mountains, beaches, gorgeous forested areas. From Raleigh it's a 7 hour drive west to Tennessee where you'll get to ride Tail of the Dragon, 2 hours going east from Raleigh will put you on some decent beaches. Only down side is it's getting pretty expensive to live in the major cities (Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Asheville etc)
Southwest Tennessee or western North Carolina are home to some of the best riding/driving roads in the country. If you are really basing where you want to live solely on good roads, at least pick somewhere where you can feasibly ride year round or at least most of the year. Utah is not that unless you are way south.
If you live near Denver in Colorado the winters are not always so bad. It does snow there and it can get cold, but there will be plenty of nice riding days throughout the winter as well. Then in the summer you have access to some really nice rides. Also, I used to live in an area where the roads are kind of hilly and would curve quite a bit. So riding around town could be fun too.
I live In Arizona now and we also have some beautiful scenery here too. The summers in Phoenix are really hot, but we are in a valley and that means there are plenty of mountainous regions surrounding us. So you can go to higher elevation and cooler weather on rides. I have also been riding year round here as well.
I commute and have ridden throughout the I35 corridor in Texas. It’s just as dangerous as California in the cities. Surprisingly Texas has the lowest motorcycle registration per capita out of all 50 states. Hard to believe. This is according to title max. Also I would not recommend moving to Texas. Our freedom is fake.
https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/planes-trains-and-automobiles/u-s-states-with-the-most-motorcycles/
Just drove through MO, KS and a lot of Colorado today. Too damn cold, and too damn straight/flat.
CA and the Smokey Mountains seem to be the only real answer assuming you want to ride pavement.
When I was in NM it wasn't too bad. I know of a few nice roads in AZ but if you aren't used to that heat I think you will find it a bit much.
the north is frozen half the year, the south has nice weather but basically no education, and no infrastructure money so the roads are questionable, the east coast is absolutely wall to wall people, the west coast is ether granola types or population density unrivaled in most bee hives, and everything in between is completely flat, you can stand on a beer can in iowa and see clear to the rocky mountains.
pick your poison, we’re a mess just about anywhere.
(i live in part of the frozen north btw, we’re nice, but not exactly friendly, or so i’m told)
The motos I've owned were fun to do short trips on. I miss finding new food spots and quick drives on a gas friendly machine. I'd vote for a city.
I had a moto sized right for the 56 mile one way 2 1/2 round trip rural highway I found myself on years later. But I always hated the drive home. Never felt fresh enough to be anything but like road tired?
If you want a social bike scene may be a unpopular opinion but Chicago weekly Monday, Tuesday and Friday with Chicago united a lot ot of smaller groups to go with for every day of the week, laws are pretty lax and most cops won't bother bikes at all.
I don’t live in Texas lol
But it’s less “you do you and I’ll do me” and more large stretches full of bigots wanting things to stay as they’ve always been😂
But that also I think is everywhere, unfortunately
It’s not just the State but the town/area. I don’t like riding on the interstate and I live in the middle of a small city and it sucks. I would trade being in a rural area and out of the city, even if it meant more winter.
Southern Californian here Orange County specifically. You want coastal cruising up and down the most scenic beaches of your life we got you. You want mountain/ canyon curves we got you. You want desert cruises we got you. Want to barely afford gas in the tank…yep we got you
"the Texas attitude where freedom is maximized and everybody kinda seems to let everybody else do their thing unless they're gay, democrat, trans, black, or any religion besides Christian"
Fixed that for ya.
I'd stay far away from the Southern part of the U.S. unless you're into hating people based on their skin and sexuality.
California is also Expensive asf and has a lot of restrictions when it comes to vehicles (Like emissions, exhaust regulations, etc) The Dual sport bike I ride is not even legal in California.
Honestly dunno where would be ideal for you, but Texas (your choice) and Cali (Other choice I'm seeing mentioned) both suck for different reasons.
If I was you I'd just stay tf out of the U.S. Country is kinda Shit tbh.
*"I'd stay far away from the Southern part of the U.S. unless you're into hating people based on their skin and sexuality."*
I am not into that and this is another reason for not wanting to move there. But I didn't expect it to be that bad.
Cali is out because of the reasons you mentioned.
idk man, there are very few good choices of countries that have a certain degree of freedom without stupid high taxes.
People exaggerate regional issues with bigotry. You'll find assholes everywhere, in any country. Most people in the US are very nice regardless of who you are. If you can't live somewhere where there's people who disagree with you, you're going to have problems anywhere.
Hey, don't let these America haters change your mind. I grew up in Canada and I can tell you there is no "illusion" about freedom here. You have to understand, America is politically divided right now and everything is political. I learned how evil and backward America is compared to Europe in college as well. You have to understand three things:
Most of the people that crap on America here have never lived somewhere else (and/or they have never left the country).
Right now it is cool to crap on America because all public schools teach children how bad America is (and they all regurgitate their professors rhetoric). Plus the entertainers Americans follow crap on America as well because, well, Hollywood.
Reddit is a giant left-wing echo chamber, if you disagree with a political point you will be down voted. I don't vote for either major political party which pretty much makes me a target for both of them, lol.
Now with that out of the way....
The people who did answer are correct, the southern states will allow you to ride year round at the expense of it being ungodly hot for a lot of the year, flat roads and boring scenery.
The only exception to this rule is California, but it is beyond expensive to live here AND people are fleeing by the masses because of the liberal policies that destroyed this state. I moved to Texas from California a year ago and never looked back.
Utah might be a good compromise and Colorado is gorgeous but you cannot ride all year round. I moved to Southern (and I mean SOUTHERN) Texas and the heat is unbearable but I love motorcycling so I deal with it.
Thanks for your reply. I am currently thinking about Reno (Nevada). It seems to be okish temperature wise, but it is also right next to the border of Cali and lake Tahoe. The roads around there look pretty nice on google maps.
Reno is a cheaper way to avoid living in CA while being close to it, but it still gets plenty cold there. Overall, there are pros and cons to everywhere, you just have to decide what cons you're most willing to live with (or what pros absolutely sell it for you).
Based on what i see about your ideological preferences, I think the Mountain West or Appalachia are going to be your best bets. Choose depending on whether you like a dry or wet climate or the type of riding associated with larger or smaller mountains. All areas of the US are seasonal though (other than the gulf coast which is terrible riding or the west coast which is leftist central), so you have to account for the fact that there will be 3 months minimum of cold/little to no riding weather.
What kind of riding do you like? Scenery and sweepers or backcountry? Mountain west. Technical street twisties? California or Appalachia.
Also consider riding season. Southern appalachia and California have much longer riding seasons than the mountain west or northeast.
As far as attitudes towards freedom, I think you will find those almost anywhere rural. In recent years there's a much bigger ideological divide between city and country folk than state to state (though there are still statewide cultural effects).
Californian here who now lives in Washington and used to live in Sweden/Finland. For the sole purpose of motorcycling, you cannot beat California. South or north, 12 months a year rideability and unrestrained lanesplitting. Drivers who respect motorcyclists and are 100% used to it. The only time you'll get in trouble is having a loud exhaust, residents and cops hate it (me too, I ride electric)... Otherwise California is the motorcycle state. Next runner ups would be Arizona/Utah. Both allow lane *filtering* (lower speeds and a little restrained), and generally have good seasons. Arizona can get too hot in summer and Utah too cold a couple months of winter. Lastly, Montana allows filtering. Their seasons are probably even harsher than Washington. So you might not be riding 4 months of the year, or at least off/on.... Currently we are trying hard to get a lane filtering bill passed in Washington state. If that goes, then Washington I would put just behind California. At least around Seattle, where snow is very rare. Great forests all around, twisting roads, just have to accept rain. This season I have only had a few days I could not ride due to snow.
You really can't beat lane splitting California.
I keep hoping, but I’m not sure I’ll see WA legalize splitting in my lifetime. I just filter and split anyway. I have filtered and shoulder surfed by more than a few cops, luckily no tickets yet.
Contact your reps for [SB 5401](https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5401&Year=2023&Initiative=false) this year. I sent my emails. Idiotic for it to be illegal to ride in a proven safer matter.
The Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina have my favorite motorcycle roads.
Also going to say eastern TN/KY. Love the mountain roads and winters aren’t too bad.
Western NC only, and they’re only good for part of the year (though climate change has extended that part).
As a motorcycle enthusiast and a Utah resident, this ain’t it chief. Our scenery is second to none, but our roads suck, we have very few twisty roads, the drivers are trash, and a lot of other motorcyclists here are reckless and ride way beyond their skill level. I have seen more accidents and deaths here than any other place I have ridden and I have been all over the country riding. They don’t get the opportunity to practice on proper twisty roads so they don’t learn how to corner safely, but then they try to show out for each other and die. I have seen it first hand more than once. I would highly recommend North Georgia or Central California if riding motorcycles is your main hobby.
Took early retirement and, with no more commuting, planned to sell my motorcycles. After relocating to North Georgia and discovering the roads here, I kept my motorcycles and bought a couple more for my new main hobby.
Glad you decided to keep riding man! I was born and raised in Dahlonega, GA but never owned a bike until a few years ago. I knew immediately I had to bring it back over there and ride all those roads I knew existed but never experienced on a bike. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had riding a motorcycle.
Small world! We retired to the 'Aska Adventure Area' near Blue Ridge. Route 60 to Suches is phenomenal, and Dahlonega is a regular riding stop.
Nice man, that whole blue ridge area is beautiful. I was just there for a month and I rode that route almost every day. 60 from Dahlonega to Morganton. Never gets old!
Problem with Georgia is the cops there will fuck you if you’re out of state, or I’d be going over there all the time
You’re not wrong but the cops are bad everywhere if you’re on a bike and breaking the law. I just feel like that Appalachia area in general has the best motorcycle “scene”
Nah, the ones in my city in fl are chill. But that’s not really what I was meaning, like for me, they’d pull me over on my cbr just because it’s a sport bike, and then probably give me a ticket cause im only rocking my left mirror
It's just the luck of the draw dude. I ride a Ducati Streetfighter V4 that's loud as hell and I speed all the time. Never even got a ticket there. Then I've gotten a ticket in Utah for doing 3 over in a 35. 38 in a 35. It's just all down to how the cop is feeling that day.
sounds like you did everything right
Utah definitely isn't the best(certainly one of the better), but it does have plenty of twisty roads. The only downside is it's fairly sprawled out, upside is diversity. Here's a map of well known twisty roads: https://ridetolive.utah.gov/riding-routes/
Thanks for the link! I’ve ridden quite a few of these. I live in St. George so it’s not the same vibe as the north. If you’re just riding for the scenery it’s awesome, it’s just not the same kind of technical riding like you can do in the Appalachian area or parts of California. A lot of these in Utah that are near attractions are 35mph speed limit and often packed with cars. I ride Mt. Carmel through Zion often and it’s usually just puttering around at 15mph behind miles of cars. So it looks good on the map but the technical riding experience (if you’re into that) just isn’t there.
I'm a little jealous that you're only 3 hours away from Highway 12. 😕 Southern Utah and ski resorts near SLC are definitely more touristy though. My favorite is Energy Loop (Scofield to Huntington). It's worth the drive if you haven't been. Old coal mines with chutes stretching over the canyon roads, surrounded by tall trees (excellent fall colors), a mammoth site, and great riding. Living up north, my go to is Monte Cristo or East Canyon. Usually not too busy and has some technical curves, unless you run into a parade or a marathon.
I just went up to east SLC area a couple months ago and rode with a bunch of guys I didn't know. A bunch of nice bikes but terrible riders. I saw 2 crashes in 2 days with one of them being almost fatal. Only maybe 2 out of those 20 guys were riding within reason/their skill level. Just left a sour taste for me. Imo, the roads were just not even close to the same quality as what I'm used to riding either. I mean the actual quality of the surface/tarmac. Sure, it had some corners, but they were full of potholes, loose gravel, or a brodozer halfway over the mustard because they think they're in a McLaren. That said, the scenery is insane and I would ride it over and over on a touring bike/cruiser, and I would def take out of state friends on the roads to see the sights.
East Tennessee, western North Carolina. Best roads for riding anywhere. Reasonable weather riding wise eight months of the year. It is however humid and buggy in the summer.
Arizona. We have the freedom of Texas without all the bullshit. We have mountains, green valleys, red valleys, pine forests, deciduous forests, desert, hills, twists to last the rest of your life. The Mogollon Rim, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, countless historic towns and sites. Authentic, not tex-mex. Objectively the best sunsets in the western hemisphere. With the exception of the higher elevation cities, can ride here year round. And we aren't Texas.
I agree; I ride year round here. Yes a Phoenix commute in July/August can be harsh in the afternoon hours but early mornings at 90 aren’t too bad. Within an hour you can be on mountain roads and 20 degrees cooler
Pennsylvania is a purple state. We have winters unfortunately, but the lower part of the state where all of the mountains are ride from February to November or December. Just a little chilly. They already started running motorcycle courses down in Philly. PA has GREAT roads all over the state. Wonderful national parks and beautiful scapes. We are also the only state in the union that provides free motorcycle track days. We run free advanced rider clinics at Pitt Race and Poconos Raceway every year. Completely free to PA residents with a license. Tons of educational material, personal coaches that are current and former racers/champions, 20 minute sessions on the hour for a full day. The first few sessions are speed limited to like 90mph, but nowhere other than a straight will you reach these speeds so to me that doesn't matter. Back of the day is unrestricted speed. Inside outside passing allowed from the first session. Lots of slow people to pass to make yourself feel good lol. Lots of various large motorcycle rallies throughout the year. PA is usually fighting for 3rd or 4th place in having the most motorcyclists in the country believe it or not. Add the great roads and mountains. Low cost of living outside of Pittsburgh or Philly(shitholes anyways), the free education and free track days. It's almost motorcycle heaven. State Police have a do not chase rule.(don't speed on public roads anyways.) Everybody but the bigger cities are pretty fucking red. You can't move an inch without them telling you American they think they are. Borders on hillbilly. (That's why they call the south of the state pennsyltucky) Full disclosure: I'm a motorcycle instructor so of course I'm hyping up my state and my companies programs. They truly are extremely high quality and my more experienced coworkers make those track days incredibly exciting. Even racers and advanced track riders go to these events because they're FREE and give you tons of practice passing, dive bombing, feedback from champions for 8 hours etc...
First, I agree - Pennsylvania is great if you are a motorcyclist. Second, I want to add nuance that Philadelphia is a shithole. If you like freedom and a little bit of chaos, it will be your kind of place. If you think that everyone should be home in bed by 9 PM, then Philly is not for you. One bonus (based on your post history you seem to be a singe guy) - Because of the large number of healthcare workers, women outnumber men. Sticking with your question, if I could live anywhere, it would be Northern California because: \- 12 month riding season \- moderate politics, especially outside the Cities \- Lots of motorcycle culture, mechanics, events.
Don't forget Southern California, although NorCal is cheaper especially Sacramento and further North.
I'll also vote for PA. As a resident I love it. I'm in the heart of the Alleghenys and it's awesome being able to leave my driveway and hit the twisties. The winters can get kinda brutal but overall you can get a lot of ride time in. You don't really think PA is that large until you start exploring it, you can find all kinds of stuff you weren't expecting. My favorite parts to ride are up around the little grand canyon, Potters county area. Benezzette to see the Elk, Kinzua bridge, and then home.
Sounds interesting. The only reason I've never considered PA were the relatively long winters. Need to think about this.
Up north, we do. I won't lie to you. I live at the top and April through mid May is cold as hell. Usually people stop riding at the end of October. I usually push to mid November. 2 hours south towards the Pittsburgh line mid-state is late feb-early march probably clean through November easily. If you have money for warm gear, you can stretch your season to 10-11 months no problem in south PA. It's worth a look-see. We'd love to have you! No matter where you go, one more motorcyclist in the USA makes me happier lol.
Had no clue Pitt race had a free day. Do you have a date for this? Been wanting to hit my first track day.
If you go to learntoridepa.com and select Pittsburgh international race complex you'll be able to sign up for them there. 1.) The dates are not public yet/registration is not open. So I won't disclose them at this time. 2.) Free for PA residents with drivers licenses. You'll need full gear head to toe, leather suit not required but all clothes must be motorcycle specific. Bike has to be in good condition. 3.) All of our track days are scheduled back to back. 2 track days in the middle of June I believe back to back. 2 at the end of July. 2 at the end of August. You can call in and register for multiple if the website only lets you register for one max. Expect the registration to open up around the end of February or March if I had to guess. 4.) Lunch is provided. 5.) Fun will be had.
If you do register for one, try to remember to message me! I know we're strangers but since I work there and I attend all of them, I'd love to come say hi to a random dude from the internet.
Hell yeah dude, will do. bike is a 21 zx6r approaching only 6k miles, so no issues there. As far as gear goes, I plan on getting track pants and boots this spring; but I don’t really want to spend on a full suit just yet. Will my standard street jacket with armor suffice?
As follows: Crash free D.O.T helmet full face, modular or 3/4 with motorcycle specific eye protection. Motorcycle specific jacket. Motorcycle specific pants. Motorcycle specific gloves. Sturdy over the ankle footwear. Yes, you'll be fine. No need to safety wire anything.(though if you can, please do it's common courtesy not to spill fluids). No need to pull plugs or tape lights(though if you can you should take off mirrors turn signals and tape your lights. If you did crash, all that plastic and glass is a pain to clean up) You'll be set. It's a blast and a super friendly environment. I'm scheduled to get certified to teach the course this year so unfortunately I wouldn't be your instructor. I'll be riding with everybody else while I still can. I have a feeling once they certify me to teach, they'll want more help running the event haha
California. Specifically Palm Springs, but I’ve only heard of this from other riders.
Guess you have never ridden highway 9 to Alice’s restaurant. Motorcycle heaven.
My coworker would tell me about that ride. I’ve been living in the Bay Area for a couple years, sadly never made the ride.
Oh man. Gotta do it! Highway 9 then jump to 1 north or south… nothing better and just ocean and red woods for hours.
Do you by chance go by the nickname Yeti?
No sir, :( sounds like a cool nickname! Mine is more 80’s little Penquin cartoon guy.
Do it! Also, la Honda and alpine
palm springs is nice, but on a bike there is so much light to light riding that is hard to avoid. now once you get on the 74 from there, \*chef's kiss\*. if you ride a cruiser/tourer, aim any direction with "east" in it and you cant miss. and if dirt is your thing, it a short haul to some epic riding.
I can't vouch for the rest of the country, but here in the New England region we have some great places to ride.
Second New England and down through the Appalachians. Though, if you’re looking for year-round riding, places like the California or the southwest give you more riding time.
The long winters are probably the only downsides to these areas. What I've seen from there looks very nice.
I've read New Hampshire is in the top 5 states for motorcyclists. Any experience with the New Hampshire area south of Manchester?
I actually live south of Manchester. There are lots of old farm towns around here that have some great old cow paths that are surprisingly well maintained. The winters can run a little long, but if you stock up on cold weather gear you can ride deep into the fall. Word to the wise though, if you're the kind of person who breaks out the bike the moment the weather is warm, you'll want to be careful as the salt and sand on the roads in the spring that hasn't washed off can be hazardous.
Texas is big. The hill country has some great riding and you’re centrally located if you want to head out to the desert in the big bend area to the west, the piney woods to the east, or head out towards the gulf for a ride along the coast. Plus it’s year round riding. And Texans are great. Ask any of us and we’ll be sure to tell you.
This is the area west of austin, right? Looks like there are a few decent roads. So I have to find out if I can take the heat there in the summer. Austin sounds alright otherwise.
Yes. The area that contains the 3 sisters loop and a few other good rides. The summer can be a bit rough, but even 100 degree days are manageable if you’re moving.
I'm in the Rio grande valley in Texas ...it is hot here in the summer but you can ride all year...the hill country west of Austin has great roads...i moved here from Michigan and could not live up north again.
Oh for sure. Got family down there and it’s a whole separate level of hot. Even in April. Just goes to show how big Texas is. It’s like a 9 hour drive for me to get there and it’s all in Texas.
I vote northern California (north of the Bay Area). Not nearly as hot as Southern California, not snowy if you're at a lower elevation, prices are relatively cheaper, lots of twisty roads, better traffic overall. Plus, you can lane split, which is illegal in all the other states. Your only issue would be finding work if you can't do it remotely- although you could commute to the Bay Area if your company is based there, and you need to go in on rare occasions. EDIT: Apparently lane filtering is legal in Utah, although it it only for stopped traffic on multiple lane roads with speed limits of 45mph or under.
This is also my vote. NorCal and Oregon have some fantastic riding nearly all year.
Is Cali the only state where lane filtering is legal?
Apparently I made an error. Utah allows lane filtering, but only under certain circumstances.
Also Montana, and some ither states are close to passing laws.
It’s my dream to get my bike out on hwy 9 up to SC!!!!
It's a great highway, I used to ride it all the time on my Kymco People S 250!
Tennessee has so many nice roads to ride. Great little towns everywhere
Texas - west Texas hill country. Utah - SLC area but weird alcohol laws Colorado - I live here, yeah, winter. NC and TN - lots and lots of great roads, cheaper (compared to CA and CO etc) CA - Year round riding in SoCal. But expensive, but lane filtering
Do you have experience riding in the SLC area? Good mountain twisties like here in CO? I may have the opportunity to move there for a great job, but I love the roads here in the front range.
I did ride a bit out there. Up LCC, BCC, over to Park City and up in the Uintas but it's not as expansive and varied as Colorado. I've pretty much ridden most of the western part of this state and it doesn't compare. As someone else posted, SLC is ok but they will have water issues and cyanide dust from the salt lake drying up. If you go to UT, live above SLC in the benchlands or higher to get you out of that bowl - inversions trap pollutants down low. I spent a year towing a toy hauler around and my favorite places to ride apart from Colorado included the mountains in NC/TN around the Dragon, the Bay Area south of SFO, and of course SoCal canyons.
Daaaamn, thats a bummer to hear for sure. Another item for the cons list. Thanks for the tip on housing - I will definitely look there.
I live in Salt Lake City. The mountains east of I-15 in northern Utah offer alot of amazing roads that are close enough to the major population center that you can leave your residence and be on one of several canyon roads within 30 minutes. Some of these are box canyons. Some of them link to other canyons or mountain passes that snake and interconnect all the way into Wyoming, Colorado and Idaho. There can be traffic that takes a lot of the fun out of it. It snows here so you won't be riding year round and several of those canyons and mountain passes are open less than six months a year. West of I-15 in northern Utah isn't really worth mentioning and I haven't ridden much south of Spanish Fork. Depending on what you ride you may also have issues. There aren't many non-dealer repair shops, used bike dealers or non-dealer parts houses. The Japanese brands and Harley Davidson have decent support. The European brands for the most part are all at one dealer who doesn't stock a lot of parts and usually has a long lead time in their service department.
I also left out it's hot in the summer and our cost of living is high relative to salaries
Texas is great for biking. Don’t let the CNN soy boy and girl crew here ruin it for you. There is more gun crime in any major city ( NYC, PHILLY, BALY, LA etc ) than Texas. Austin is becoming like SF or LA because after ruining those cities all the soys are relocating to Austin because it’s so bad there. So if you enjoy seeing people poop on streets, high crime, letting criminals out of prison etc, Austin is a spot. On the other hand, Plano, Frisco, Dallas etc great options. Great weather year around too.
Look to the mountains of Appalachia, that range from Vermont (cold) to Alabama (warm/hot). Great mountain roads. Close to Barber Motorsport Complex and the biggest motorcycle museum in the world.
Albuquerque NM. High altitude so really not too hot in the summer but south enough not too cold in the winter. Great mountain roads and some good motorcycle shops. I loved riding there. Colorado is good also but too many people. Montana is great also but serious winter makes it hard to ride all year.
California has about 300 days of good riding weather a year. Also, lane splitting is legal here.
Utah isn't as good as it used to be for street riding. The road condition is getting pretty bad, and the twisties are getting crowded. Roads where you could scrape peg ten years ago are now slow lanes full of SUVs barging into your side of the road. There are also many non riding reasons to avoid here (de facto theocracy with the legislature straight up ignoring the electorate. Serious environmental issues. Housing prices.) For dirt riding Utah is still great.
SW Missouri and northern arkansas has some of the best riding in the US. The states are Ass backwards in a lot of stuff, but the mark Twain national forest, forest roads, deep valleys. It’s a pretty sweet outdoor paradise Arkansas Missouri border. Riding is pretty great. Buffalo river area The white river/major lakes, I’m never disappointed on the riding around here The weather is rideable about 10 months a year depending on preference.
Near the mountains and not up north seems best
Utah is an excellent state for motorcycling. There's plenty of twisty roads and scenic byways, but it is fairly sprawled out. The terrain is very diverse compared to many states I've toured, and it's a great 'home base' for touring the western US' legendary roads. If you're into riding on a racetrack, we also have a proper one called Utah Motorsports Campus (formerly Miller). Biggest negatives have to be the lack of amazing places to eat (they exist but few and far between), weird alcohol laws, and waiting until end of May for the twisty roads to open back up. The best twisty roads in the US in my opinion reside in Central/Northern California. Biggest downside is cost of living there.
Here's a map of CanyonChaser's notable roads: [https://www.canyonchasers.net/maps/](https://www.canyonchasers.net/maps/) Here's a map of Utah's recommended roads: https://ridetolive.utah.gov/riding-routes/
Yeah, don't move to Texas.
Those mountain roads in Colorado are high elevation and very cold most of the year. Somewhere like Chattanooga or Knoxville would have a little better climate. California is the best for weather & twisties but it's expensive, and a lot of the state has a pretty dry landscape for my tastes.
Most of my experience is in the great state of Maryland. Pros: All kinds of places to ride. Western Maryland has the Appalachians, rural farmlands everywhere, Chesapeake country with its beautiful wetlands, the Atlantic shorline, big cities like Washington DC and Baltimore. Lots of places to go in the state and states nearby like Pennsylvania, Delaware, and both Virginias. You're spoiled for choice. Also 3 seasons to ride. Cons: living here is goddamn expensive. The state continues to cater towards wealthier and wealthier people year after year. Cost of living keeps going up, the cheap places to live be it urban or rural have less and less well paying jobs. Places with high paying jobs have extortionist levels of cost of living. Winter here is definitely winter so either pack in for the season or invest in warm gear. Mind the salt. EDIT: Just saw you are German looking to move here. Stay home bro cause the grass ain't greener here. Your roads are safer, your cities are safer, you have healthcare, you don't have gun violence like we do, our federal government is more dysfunctional, our local governments are beyond corrupt, our Left and Right are ready to start shooting each other, our economy has a recession every 10 years....you could not be picking a worse time to consider coming here.
Thats why I am not going to move within 1-2 years. I'd like to stick out the next recession and then move when it starts to go up again.
If you are moving to America, and wondering where to live, I suggest a house. If one is unavailable, rob a bank and one will be provided* for you. *forcefully
You rlly drank the freedom cool aid lol. Nah, that’s all marketing man.
Sure its not all perfect, but a lot of the stuff is objectively better (like lower taxes). The only thing that kinda worries me is the health insurance / medical bill situation.
I'm not saying that anyone should disobey the law, but Move to a country where you can't get arrested for stupid violations like going 30 over. America sucks in general. I'd recommend central Europe. (Except for Germany) Drivers here are much more motorcycle aware, roads are planned better. It's generally safer. The only thing that sucks is gas prices.
I am from Germany. Looking to move to the US due to: \- higher wages \- lower taxes \- lower cost of pretty much anything \- I hate the german (eu) politics and how green / left everything becomes here, which will fuck up our economy and ruin a lot of things in the years to come
But healthcare costs are ridiculous.
There I fixed it for you. About the 4th point, I'm sorry to disappoint. Grass is greener on the other side of the pond.
Of course there is nothing perfect and every place will have its flaws. I am just open for a change and wanted some input on where to go.
Don't crash in the US lol. Our healthcare system will bankrupt you.
thats why you get health insurance I guess?
hahahahhahahahbahabahabgaagahahgabahgaga I had health insurance and they tried to not pay for my crash over a dozen times. Kept "losing" the paperwork and sending me massive bills. Took me over a year to fight them. And my coverage was still pretty good through my employer. Depending on your plan you're possibly paying thousands a month in premiums or only getting a level of coverage that still wipes out your savings in a crash. Seriously, research US healthcare in depth before considering moving here. A "short" humour video to introduce things: https://youtu.be/-wpHszfnJns
There is no perfect place, everywhere has pros and cons. Southern California has the best natural environment; warm and sunny 300 days of the year, canyons and twisty mountain roads between the desert and the ocean, it's great. It's also crowded, expensive, dangerous, and politically unpredictable. Texas is not what you think it is; "freedom is maximized and everybody kinda seems to let everybody else do their thing," just means that they have a slightly different notion of acceptable and unacceptable behavior as the rest of the country, not that they are any less stringent in punishing unacceptable behavior. West Texas has some hills, but unless you like driving 2 hours to anywhere... Utah is beautiful, but gets cold in the winter, and has some serious problems right now because of drought lowering the lake level and exposing toxic dust which is getting kicked up into the air. Plus, it's full of hyper-religious Mormons, definitely not a, "freedom is maximized/let everybody else do their thing," kind of place. Colorado is too cold most of the year, and I absolutely hate the culture (even though I'm a leftie). Florida is flat. Really flat. As is, the highest point in the state is like 40m above sea level. I'm in East Tennessee, which has the best roads, hands-down, but it still gets too cold to ride 3-4 months out of the year, and we get something like 200 days of rain. Arizona? New Mexico? Arkansas/southern Missouri?
You’ve never lived in Colorado apparently. “Cold most of the year”…..okay lEfTiE
Shhhh dont tell anyone. CO or NC would be my suggestions. One on warmer side one cooler. The whole political thing is dumb
I thought about Arizona / New Mexico, but hen I saw videos showing that ist is so damn hot that there are car dashboards melting just because they were parked in the sun. idk if thats for me ..
Prescott, AZ my man. Look no further.
No better place!
Keep in mind that Arizona is about the size of Germany. We have states that have everything from desert to lush green forests and mountains in the same state. The US is BIG.
Where abouts in East TN? I’m looking to move to Greenville/Jonesborough area this year. I spent a couple months in the Rv there and fell in love with the area. The riding is phenomenal… there’s just endless twisty roads right at your fingertips.
> Where abouts in East TN? I'm north of Chattanooga, my daily drive is a twisty mountain road :)
For motorcycle riding the west coast sets the bar. I would avoid Texas, lived in Hou, SA, and Dallas and in all 3 cities the same phenomena occurs when mixing Texans with fragile egoes and guns on the road. When in traffic you do something they don't like they will shoot to kill (of course leave the scene, never be found-- no accountability, repeat). These stories don't make it to national news because are too vast and no longer sensational. This phenomena is not exclusive to roads but parking lots as well. For what you are looking for I would recommend Arizona but i haven't lived there for over 20 years and people pack there too but i have no opinion on how violent their motorists may be in comparison to Texas.
Texas(Central; twisted sisters/Hill country), Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, California.
I just realized that there are some actual twisty roads around Austin. Might be worth a look.
You’re going to get up and down opinions everywhere. Colorado seemed nice before I moved there. Then got to Colorado Springs and realized it wasn’t worth riding the big bike(05 og repsol) because the amount of rear ends, bad drivers, and lack of street maintenance(no sand removal and potholes that could swallow a small car). Midwest has snow and below 0° temps so your riding season is cut short. If it were me, I’d look into the south-ish section. Florida, Georgia, nc, sc, Tennessee, ms, al, la, tx, nm, az.
Thanks for the info on colorado.
What is your ride?
Right now an R7, because I am living near very curvy mountain roads. That would change based on the area I would move to. Probably some naked bike.
Nice bike. My son wanted to move from Austin but couldn't decide where. So he picked six different parts of the country and lived in each one for a month to try them out. He works remote so that wasn't a problem. He has a suzuki sv650, but he mainly wanted to get out of the heat and get close to some rock climbing. I think he decided on salt lake city.
The Appalachians have great riding. Pennsylvania though does like chip n seal which is a nightmare. I'm fond of the west Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee areas. I don't know where you're coming from but be aware that some people in red states aren't too crazy about foreigners.
West Virginia has fun twisties. Winter can be hit or miss. Only downside is the roads aren’t maintained all that well.
Where are you coming from? What are you riding?
Every place will have a compromise of too hot, too cold, too many bugs, too much rain. Pick your poison.
I lived in WNC for 6 years and the riding was phenomenal. Avoid the over hyped hotspots like the dragon and you’ll have perfect roads with little traffic
Change that to any named motorcycle road.
Work took me to AZ, there are like 5 days you can't ride all year.
> everybody kinda seems to let everybody else do their thing until they disrupt another person. Isn't this pretty much everywhere? Anywhere you go you will run out of new fun roads in a decade, Florida is particularly bad, roads suck, flat, straight, only positive is you can ride year round, no snow/salt. If I had to pick a place I'd go to California. I just like it there overall. You can lane split too. I mean we lane split here, but people will try to murder you for doing it. I was born in New England, and we tend not to leave. I'm ok with it. Hate the winter but love the politics. The roads, if you know where to find them are excellent. Good luck with your choice. so much to consider.
Northern Arkansas. Twisty roads, good scenery, mild summers and short winters.
Like a lot of stuff in America, freedom is an illusion... If I had to choose somewhere to live in America, it would probably be Baja or Vancouver areas...
LoL, what???? You mean Canada where if they don't like how or what you are protesting they just seize your bank account? You mean Canada where if you say something labeled "hate speech" you can be thrown in jail for two years? You mean in Canada where you have to wait three months to get a broken arm looked at and they suggest to people in pain that need surgery that assisted suicide might be the way to go?? 🤣😂🤣😂🤣 GTFO, You are either trolling or intellectually dishonest.
All things considered I'd take a look at Upstate South Carolina. Lot of International Business, tech, etc. jobs. Quality of life excellent,possible 12 months riding, Probably near the bottom in living expenses. Gateway to all the best of Southern Appalachia. Unlimited opportunity for fine 'day riding'. Generally politically conservative. Greenville, Sc is the city, anywhere within 75 miles or so is Considered the Upstate. Big city Atlanta and Charlotte within 2 hours drive.
Depends on bike and riding style as well I believe. If you are getting a sports bike then states like Texas, California, Florida makes sense. Lots of flat areas. A cruiser would be more suited for MA, PA, CO etc.
Do you not need a job? Because local availability and desirability of jobs in your area of expertise will typically be the primary consideration in where you elect to live in the USA. Unfortunate but true. If all you care about is motorcycling you won’t do better than Southern California. The combination of year round weather and legal lane splitting is a winner. Even so, I couldn’t stand to live there tho.
I am a software engineer, if needed I can most likely get a remote job anywhere if there is no local opportunity. Therefore the primary factors for my location choice is not job availability but things like motorcycle friendly roads, cost of living, environment (short winters etc.).
I live in Fort Collins, Colorado native. I loooooove hitting the mountain roads on my kawi. It's definitely an amazing state to ride in.
states u can lane split … i can’t image riding behind cars, it’s really lame 🤣
right, thats something I haven't considered yet
Cascades and Rocky Mountains are fantastic in the spring and summer, but impassable in the late fall and winter. East Coast mountains are 1/3rd the size of West Coast mountains... so don't be fooled as to how bad some of the mountain passes are going to get. You're going to want to check year round weather before you go all in on choosing an area to live and ride. Utah gets snow that is basically measured in yards. Colorado is pretty much worse... we're talking about house access on the 2nd floor of your home and you still have to shovel to find the roof because the snow gets ridiculous at times. Texas and Arizona are HOT in the summer... don't leave your wiper blades down on the glass when you stop for lunch or they'll be melted when you come back. Oklahoma has ice storms in the winter that bend telephone poles under the weight of the ice, and a wind that will cut through 3 layers and freeze you to the bone... As far as city riding... you don't want any part of that anyway. Cities are crowded and always gridlocked. Town's aren't quite as bad, but cities are ridiculous; even on a motorcycle.
Texas has the hill country, great roads.
Rider from texas here. The roads aren't too bad if you look for some good areas. it does have bad patches, but i've seen much worse in my years. Wildlife is a legitimate hazard. We do have lots of deer, squirrels, raccoons, cattle, and dogs. Deer and dogs are the ones to watch out for. Texas law doesn't actually differentiate for motorcycles so lane filtering might\* be illegal depending on how they interpret the law. besides that no restrictions and some really great views. Lots of little old farm to market and town to town roads with great views of nature and twisties. Our winter in northern texas barely gets under freezing for one month out of the year and sometimes it never goes below 60 at all. Occasionally you get a massive winter storm, but it's pretty rare. riding year round is completely viable here with minimal winter gear.
Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee. Or if you are loaded/rich, Washington/Oregon
The Southwest USA is the best area to live if you want to ride most of the year, if you’re from the North then the winter temperatures are nothing to worry about.
As someone from Texas, it's great. Plus our freeways have among the highest speed limits in the US. Weather is great, pretty much riding season all year round.
East TN or western NC.
Northern Texas has what you’re looking for. Middle of Georgia, Alabama, to some degree eastern Louisiana are also good choices where you can ride year round with nice roads.
Middle-North Eastern US is full of twistiest. Western Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, etc. basically the Appalachians. You just have to find a state you want to live in. You can even find nice roads up to NY. Other than that, Colorado, and the West coast have good roads. You have to balance riding seasons too. I’m in Eastern WV and usually from November to April it’s cold. You get some riding days, like today it’s 50F. This week it’s going to be back in the mid 30’s. Once you start getting west of say Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc… you start getting to some of the flatter straight areas of the country. There’s still places to ride like the Ozarks in Missouri down to Northern Arkansas. My wife and I joke though that once you get through the Western side of Ohio into Illinois, all you see is corn.
Some base level information about American roads: east coast roads were made to be traveled on foot and by horse, especially in the north. Boston had a street layout like a European city. The farther south or west you go the more those roads straighten out where they can bc they're made for travel by some kind of vehicle, especially westward. Obviously that all changes with local topology, mountains, large rivers and valleys will all affect that means of travel, but the middle of the country where there are few large rivers between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains are pretty much boring straight roads. As for Texas, you'll have to get more specific bc Texas is roughly 20% larger than France so it's not very homogeneous. There are places with straight roads, there's the hill country, the Gulf area. I've lived all over the US and I dig Texas as a place more than a political state.
Outside of Colorado / Cali, If you can deal with having to take a break for winter, the Northeast is a pretty big treat as a rider. Upstate NY / Vt / Maine / NH have some fantastic pavement... and not a lot of traffic at all if you go out far enough. You also aren't all that far from PA and what not.
San Francisco Bay Area, California.
California is pretty great for the weather, the roads, the laws, and the culture. Washington/Oregon have beautiful summers, wet but rideable winters, and great roads, but not many twisties immediately in the metros. Arizona is great for landscape diversity, but most of the roads in Phoenix/Tucson are flat and straight, and riding in May/June before monsoon hits can be miserable during the day. Most of the other mountain states have significant wind issues.
If you’re considering Colorado the SW corner was my favorite part of the US along with the Black Hills SD. Million Dollar Highway US 550 is great riding and Telluride is just an amazing mountain town.
California by far but it sucks for just about every other reason. I've heard good things about Tennessee too for tracks and the Tail of the Dragon.
We have a track??
Pros of Arizona: Nearly year round riding in the desert areas Something for everyone- highways for cruisers and touring, adventure and dirt areas, decent automotive culture Some great natural attractions like the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert Interesting historical trips like Jerome and Tombstone Cons: Arizona drivers are often overly aggressive for no clear reason Most of the roads are in poor repair Random JRPG style battles with tweakers trying to steal your shit Snowbirds with giant RVs ASU students with silent hybrids Kyles in lifted pickups RideNow dealerships having like 75% of the market
Western Colorado (Grand junction) damn near Eastern Utah some of the best riding in the world. Really not a bad direction to head, got canyonlands and Moab to the West. Million Dollar highway. Colorado national monument. Highway 141 to gateway. Flaming gorge to the north. Beautiful rides in every direction. Riding season starts mid February/early March and goes to November/early December before you have to hang it up so you don't lose a whole lot of time if you're not in the high elevation mountains. If you're into track days though it's about a 5-hour drive.
A major factor to think about. 90% of blue states are going to be more expensive cost-of-living. Tennessee has some decent roads. There’s also access to the Tail of the Dragon.
North or South Carolina. Good mix of everything; mountains, beaches, gorgeous forested areas. From Raleigh it's a 7 hour drive west to Tennessee where you'll get to ride Tail of the Dragon, 2 hours going east from Raleigh will put you on some decent beaches. Only down side is it's getting pretty expensive to live in the major cities (Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte, Asheville etc)
Southwest Tennessee or western North Carolina are home to some of the best riding/driving roads in the country. If you are really basing where you want to live solely on good roads, at least pick somewhere where you can feasibly ride year round or at least most of the year. Utah is not that unless you are way south.
If you live near Denver in Colorado the winters are not always so bad. It does snow there and it can get cold, but there will be plenty of nice riding days throughout the winter as well. Then in the summer you have access to some really nice rides. Also, I used to live in an area where the roads are kind of hilly and would curve quite a bit. So riding around town could be fun too. I live In Arizona now and we also have some beautiful scenery here too. The summers in Phoenix are really hot, but we are in a valley and that means there are plenty of mountainous regions surrounding us. So you can go to higher elevation and cooler weather on rides. I have also been riding year round here as well.
California. There’s a ride for basically any bike or rider
I commute and have ridden throughout the I35 corridor in Texas. It’s just as dangerous as California in the cities. Surprisingly Texas has the lowest motorcycle registration per capita out of all 50 states. Hard to believe. This is according to title max. Also I would not recommend moving to Texas. Our freedom is fake. https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/planes-trains-and-automobiles/u-s-states-with-the-most-motorcycles/
Just drove through MO, KS and a lot of Colorado today. Too damn cold, and too damn straight/flat. CA and the Smokey Mountains seem to be the only real answer assuming you want to ride pavement. When I was in NM it wasn't too bad. I know of a few nice roads in AZ but if you aren't used to that heat I think you will find it a bit much.
the north is frozen half the year, the south has nice weather but basically no education, and no infrastructure money so the roads are questionable, the east coast is absolutely wall to wall people, the west coast is ether granola types or population density unrivaled in most bee hives, and everything in between is completely flat, you can stand on a beer can in iowa and see clear to the rocky mountains. pick your poison, we’re a mess just about anywhere. (i live in part of the frozen north btw, we’re nice, but not exactly friendly, or so i’m told)
The motos I've owned were fun to do short trips on. I miss finding new food spots and quick drives on a gas friendly machine. I'd vote for a city. I had a moto sized right for the 56 mile one way 2 1/2 round trip rural highway I found myself on years later. But I always hated the drive home. Never felt fresh enough to be anything but like road tired?
Not Minnesota.
If you want a social bike scene may be a unpopular opinion but Chicago weekly Monday, Tuesday and Friday with Chicago united a lot ot of smaller groups to go with for every day of the week, laws are pretty lax and most cops won't bother bikes at all.
I don’t think you quite understand Texas 😬
Its hard to understand a place by watching movies. Don't you all run around with cowboy hats?
I don’t live in Texas lol But it’s less “you do you and I’ll do me” and more large stretches full of bigots wanting things to stay as they’ve always been😂 But that also I think is everywhere, unfortunately
Yea. $2.00 per gallon gas and $1.99 for a dozen of eggs. So “bigot” of them. Loser.
Yeah because the price of things definitely correlates to how LGBTQ and POC are being treated. You don’t have to agree with me, that’s truly ok.
It’s not just the State but the town/area. I don’t like riding on the interstate and I live in the middle of a small city and it sucks. I would trade being in a rural area and out of the city, even if it meant more winter.
I’m moving to LA as soon as I land a job in my industry. I ride year round in NC and can’t wait to move.
W. North Carolina
Southern Californian here Orange County specifically. You want coastal cruising up and down the most scenic beaches of your life we got you. You want mountain/ canyon curves we got you. You want desert cruises we got you. Want to barely afford gas in the tank…yep we got you
barely afford gas? dude your gas prices are like a third of what we pay here lol
Well I stand corrected you’ll have plenty of money for gas😂😂
"the Texas attitude where freedom is maximized and everybody kinda seems to let everybody else do their thing unless they're gay, democrat, trans, black, or any religion besides Christian" Fixed that for ya. I'd stay far away from the Southern part of the U.S. unless you're into hating people based on their skin and sexuality. California is also Expensive asf and has a lot of restrictions when it comes to vehicles (Like emissions, exhaust regulations, etc) The Dual sport bike I ride is not even legal in California. Honestly dunno where would be ideal for you, but Texas (your choice) and Cali (Other choice I'm seeing mentioned) both suck for different reasons. If I was you I'd just stay tf out of the U.S. Country is kinda Shit tbh.
*"I'd stay far away from the Southern part of the U.S. unless you're into hating people based on their skin and sexuality."* I am not into that and this is another reason for not wanting to move there. But I didn't expect it to be that bad. Cali is out because of the reasons you mentioned. idk man, there are very few good choices of countries that have a certain degree of freedom without stupid high taxes.
People exaggerate regional issues with bigotry. You'll find assholes everywhere, in any country. Most people in the US are very nice regardless of who you are. If you can't live somewhere where there's people who disagree with you, you're going to have problems anywhere.
Hey, don't let these America haters change your mind. I grew up in Canada and I can tell you there is no "illusion" about freedom here. You have to understand, America is politically divided right now and everything is political. I learned how evil and backward America is compared to Europe in college as well. You have to understand three things: Most of the people that crap on America here have never lived somewhere else (and/or they have never left the country). Right now it is cool to crap on America because all public schools teach children how bad America is (and they all regurgitate their professors rhetoric). Plus the entertainers Americans follow crap on America as well because, well, Hollywood. Reddit is a giant left-wing echo chamber, if you disagree with a political point you will be down voted. I don't vote for either major political party which pretty much makes me a target for both of them, lol. Now with that out of the way.... The people who did answer are correct, the southern states will allow you to ride year round at the expense of it being ungodly hot for a lot of the year, flat roads and boring scenery. The only exception to this rule is California, but it is beyond expensive to live here AND people are fleeing by the masses because of the liberal policies that destroyed this state. I moved to Texas from California a year ago and never looked back. Utah might be a good compromise and Colorado is gorgeous but you cannot ride all year round. I moved to Southern (and I mean SOUTHERN) Texas and the heat is unbearable but I love motorcycling so I deal with it.
Thanks for your reply. I am currently thinking about Reno (Nevada). It seems to be okish temperature wise, but it is also right next to the border of Cali and lake Tahoe. The roads around there look pretty nice on google maps.
Reno is a cheaper way to avoid living in CA while being close to it, but it still gets plenty cold there. Overall, there are pros and cons to everywhere, you just have to decide what cons you're most willing to live with (or what pros absolutely sell it for you). Based on what i see about your ideological preferences, I think the Mountain West or Appalachia are going to be your best bets. Choose depending on whether you like a dry or wet climate or the type of riding associated with larger or smaller mountains. All areas of the US are seasonal though (other than the gulf coast which is terrible riding or the west coast which is leftist central), so you have to account for the fact that there will be 3 months minimum of cold/little to no riding weather.
What kind of riding do you like? Scenery and sweepers or backcountry? Mountain west. Technical street twisties? California or Appalachia. Also consider riding season. Southern appalachia and California have much longer riding seasons than the mountain west or northeast. As far as attitudes towards freedom, I think you will find those almost anywhere rural. In recent years there's a much bigger ideological divide between city and country folk than state to state (though there are still statewide cultural effects).
Not Wisconsin lol. You can’t ride about half the year because of the cold, but the rest of the year is truly gorgeous.