[Challenge] Fix this problem...

richardjiles

Hey guys, I love to mountain bike so much, did it for about 3 years, gained so much skill, built a wicked bike that used up my wages from those three years :P Any way I have struck a big problem, and that is that I used to live in Cardiff, and was able to go to Cwm Carn every Saturday, and now I live in Iowa, USA. Mountains = 0, Hills = 0

So, I would be in the equivalent of year 12, infact its just ending now, and was wondering where i should move once done with year 13. Should I stay in the US? should i go to canada? UK?

Additionaly I feel as though I am losing my skill? Is this possible or will I just be "rusty" when i get back into it?

chazkayak

Canada would be on the top of my list.

richardjiles

chazkayak wrote:

Canada would be on the top of my list.

Yeah, I love the videos that come from there, but then I question the all year around weather, biking is something I want to do as much as I can.

Mccraque

just get on some skis when it snows and the bike when it melts.....sounds like the perfect combination to me!

ilovedirt

From what I can gather, it's hard to get resident status/a permanent visa in canada. Move to Washington (the state, not the city), it has plenty of hills, and is on the border with canada. Weekend trips to whistler/the shore .

desweller

Moab, Utah. So I'm told.

cat_with_no_tail

richardjiles wrote:

So, I would be in the equivalent of year 12, infact its just ending now, and was wondering where i should move once done with year 13. Should I stay in the US? should i go to canada? UK?

Additionaly I feel as though I am losing my skill? Is this possible or will I just be "rusty" when i get back into it?

Not being funny, but if you're planning your life around MTB, I'd suggest you review your priorities (unless you're planning on making a living in the industry).

You're in year 12, so are you planning on going to university or starting work? Either way, you need to go where the jobs (or uni courses) are. If there is a choice of a few of those places, then go for the one that has the best MTB.

MountainMonster

Canada has amazing MTB, as well as Colorado in the U.S.

Shame your in Iowa, been there once, and we call them fly-over states.

bluechair84

I lived in Seattle, Washington, for a year and the mountain biking was amazing. Tokul East (iirc) has a network or trails that just blew my mind. Then there's the I5 colonade, a dirt park built underneath the I5 overpass so it's always dry. The people, the food and the weather are brilliant, and I was two hours from whistler They've got a good economy there from what I can gather - it's where Microsoft is based - so jobs shouldn't be a problem. But, the job is going to be the deciding factor...

cooldad

What CWNT said.

chazkayak

Having just read the original post again, I cant believe your asking that question when your already based in the US of A!!. Hop on a cheap flight, go on a road trip. If i was based in USA i would be going to all the places suggested.

bluechair84

I wonder what his circumstances are, getting a visa to stay in the US is very hard, but if your domicile is say, dual passport, I'd remind you that healthcare in UK is free and insurance in US is expensive :shock: Extreme sports and the US don't go well together.

richardjiles

bluechair84 wrote:

I wonder what his circumstances are, getting a visa to stay in the US is very hard, but if your domicile is say, dual passport, I'd remind you that healthcare in UK is free and insurance in US is expensive :shock: Extreme sports and the US don't go well together.

I do agree with this, but in the years I lived in the uk, I never went to the doctor for anything bike related, having said this though, im sure that time is coming :? (assuming i ever going biking again)

Tom Barton

You also mentioned returning to the UK... The UK is geographically tiny, in the time it takes you to cross a (very flat state) you can pretty much drive to most the best bits of the UK.

Depends as someone said where you want to be professionally etc in the future - ok the the biking comes first you said, but where does the job, education, social life/night life, possible family life stack up behind it (theres nothing like falling in love with a home bird type for keeping you pinned somewhere!). Pick somehwere that leaves you options.

Considered NZ btw? Its stunning and most of the southern island cities have good mtbing nearby. Auckland is the only real big business centre mind and not a huge amount of big ride spots near it but same as the uk a 4 hour drive south takes you to some pretty special places (rotoroua/bay of plenty)

richardjiles

Tom Barton wrote:

You also mentioned returning to the UK... The UK is geographically tiny, in the time it takes you to cross a (very flat state) you can pretty much drive to most the best bits of the UK.

Depends as someone said where you want to be professionally etc in the future - ok the the biking comes first you said, but where does the job, education, social life/night life, possible family life stack up behind it (theres nothing like falling in love with a home bird type for keeping you pinned somewhere!). Pick somehwere that leaves you options.

Considered NZ btw? Its stunning and most of the southern island cities have good mtbing nearby. Auckland is the only real big business centre mind and not a huge amount of big ride spots near it but same as the uk a 4 hour drive south takes you to some pretty special places (rotoroua/bay of plenty)

by NZ I'm assuming new zealand? that might be a posability considering my parents lived there for a while when they were younger.
Do you know what prices of thing are like over there?

delcol

ilovedirt wrote:

From what I can gather, it's hard to get resident status/a permanent visa in canada. Move to Washington (the state, not the city), it has plenty of hills, and is on the border with canada. Weekend trips to whistler/the shore .

what this guy says.. decent riding with in the area and your a short drive ( by us/canda standards) to the mecca that is whistler, or sqamish the infamous north shore etc.

and why anyone would want to come back to this 5hit hole of a country is beyond me.. especially with those clueless useless pricks running it...

King_Pin_Rich

Presumably you have some kind of plan in order to finance your hobby?

bluechair84

What is it you're doing which is allowing you to transcend international boundaries and visa law? The US just doesn't let people in as they want to protect the US workeforce. It costs something in excess of $2000 for a company just to put forward a VISA application on your behalf (and you can't be there without a work visa, 80 days max on a tourist visa iirc and you can't work). I was hopeful of a US work permit once but the college just couldn't afford it. When you've lived there for seven consequtive years you can apply for citizenship - but you have to have a company willing to pay visa fees for that time to keep you there. You basically have to be a highly valuable assett that the company cannot replace with a resident. I don't know specifics about Canada but I think it's as equally hard.

bails87

bluechair84 wrote:

What is it you're doing which is allowing you to transcend international boundaries and visa law?

Sounds like he's still in school, so moved with parents presumably.

bluechair84

bails87 wrote:

bluechair84 wrote:

What is it you're doing which is allowing you to transcend international boundaries and visa law?

Sounds like he's still in school, so moved with parents presumably.

I was thinking what career path he intends to go down which means he'll be able to go wherever he wants. The only one which is viable to average Joe is to be an artist as it's easy for the Visa sponsor (company) to argue that they can't fill the position with an American - individual specific talent see?

Well, he needs seven years to gain US citizenship and once he's over the age of 18 (I think) he is no longer classed as a dependent and needs to build his remaining years independently. This might mean staying at college/university there as a student visa counts towards the seven years. Whether he has to pay international fees depends on his circumstances. The only work he can get whilst on a student Visa is at the university so he either needs to get hold of highly sought after jobs or finance his hobbies via Bank of Dad. Because student visas deny work outside of the college, most international students are rich kids and study is out of reach for most. If he does aim for US citizenship he has to give up his British passport - it isn't dual nationality. The likely hood is this query will be determined by visas and not hobbies. My odds are on; ends up in Blighty.

welshkev

Cat With No Tail wrote:

richardjiles wrote:

So, I would be in the equivalent of year 12, infact its just ending now, and was wondering where i should move once done with year 13. Should I stay in the US? should i go to canada? UK?

Additionaly I feel as though I am losing my skill? Is this possible or will I just be "rusty" when i get back into it?

Not being funny, but if you're planning your life around MTB, I'd suggest you review your priorities (unless you're planning on making a living in the industry).

You're in year 12, so are you planning on going to university or starting work? Either way, you need to go where the jobs (or uni courses) are. If there is a choice of a few of those places, then go for the one that has the best MTB.

i actually disagree with that totally, he's what? 18? i didn't settle down in my job/career until i was 27 and had done a bit of cocking around and lived abroad for 3 years. live your life when you're young and have no ties i say. but it all depends on what peoples ambitions and aspirations are surely? we can't all be modeled teh same way....

obviously he needs money to live but i worked in a bar to pay bills when i lived abroad and had a blast and still earnt a shed load more than the average joe in the UK. obviously the other things mentioned about visas etc could be a problem.....