In reply to Stefan:
I really like Oregon and Washington, the people and the terrain are just so great but I'm not sure the weather is what I'm looking for. It's heaps better compared to where I live now but if you're going to pack up your life and move, why not get the best place possible?
Titan4 wrote: I'm in southeast Pennsylvania and it's OK here. Obviously no desert, no swamps and no F1. Several road racing tracks within a reasonable distance (Pocono, NJ Motorsports Park, Summit Point) but probably more than 120 miles. The Pennsylvania Hill Climb Association does 6 or 7 hillclimbs each year and a couple of track time trials - mostly in the eastern half of PA. Autocrosses are all over the place around here. NASCAR is at Pocono and Dover, Delaware (not too far south of Philadelphia). There are drag strips in eastern PA and NJ.
I'd vote for this. In the Lehigh Valley and I cannot keep up with the amount of car stuff I want to do around here.
Look at land and properties a little bit west of Allentown. Be wary of incoming expansion of warehouses and housing developments as the area is growing...but buy something back in the woods and you'll be good for 50 years. Or buy a nice normal house in an existing community if that's your thing. Either way you can get a reasonable amount of space and 2+ car garage for a fair price still.
In reply to Ovid_and_Flem:
Motorsports in AZ, I kinda got this one.
Autocross on Phoenix, Tucson and Sierra Vista. I am partial to the club closest to the border...
Wild horse pass area in southern Phoenix is a Motorsports park. Some forms of boat racing, drag and a road course. West Phoenix has AMP iirc which is another road course. Both amp and wild horse host autocross on their skid pads. That's my Phoenix knowledge!
Tucson has rally cross and autocross on the NW areas iirc. Head to the East side and mount lemon is a fun mountain road, careful of cops on the weekend. Southern area has drag, kart track (you can take your car on there during non karting hours which is the majority of the time) and dirt circle track should my memory serves me correctly.
Somewhere in between Tucson and Phoenix (just south of Phoenix) there is off road races, probably by wild horse.
Sierra Vista had the autocross club and someone there should have an idea of how to get into the Wilcox track.
Good luck, hope you enjoy the USA should you ever come.
Live in Reno, play in California. Rubicon trail for rock crawling, two world class tracks, Laguna Seca and Sears point, year round auto crossing. Not a lot of F1 in North America
News flash, it is not just San Francisco that is expensive.
RevRico wrote: Not southwestern Pennsylvania.
Except for a great local autocross scene, our own track (PittRace) and short drives to hillclimbs, tracks like Nelson Ledges, Mid Ohio, Summit Point, we have a drag strip and Summit Motorsports and National Trail are not too far, High Point Raceway for MotoX is close, and we have lot's of seasonal dirt tracks.
OK, we are not the hub of motorsports activity, but we are not as bad as Salinas Kansas!
In reply to loosecannon:
I couldn't live that far from the coast, so places like AZ and NM are just not my style.
Most places in Cali are just too expensive.
Southern Oregon is basically Northern Cali without the BS, so the weather is pretty mild and sunny nearly all year long.
To each their own, I wish you luck with your search!
One problem with Southern Oregon is all the Californians that have moved there.
Where I live is not the place. There are some autocross events, but they are about 45 miles from my house and I've not checked them out in the 3+ years I've lived here. It is flat so there are very few interesting roads to drive. The closest track is a small oval in Myrtle Beach. CLT is about 3 hours or so and there is car stuff to do over there. I moved here despite the closeness of car related stuff, not because if it. I like that I am close to the beach, can boat, jetski, kayak, paddleboard in my backyard and the we have seasons but not really winter.
NC has great cost of living, traffic, and weather. A lot of the urban areas are very cool, but the state as a whole has questionable politics and a lot of very backward thinking inhabitants :(
Motorsports events...
VIR is about 1.5 hours from me. CMP is 2. Track days are common both of those places.
Karting here is awesome because GoProMotorplex. There are also other kart places such as VIR.
Autox schedule is far more dense up in the northeast. I came from DC area and I recall a lot more events a lot closer together there.
Here there is only one rallyx region for the whole state pretty much, with ~9 events per year. They only have like ~30 participants at any given event and aside from VIR are mostly concentrated in the Raleigh area. Also most sites don't let them run when wet so we've already lost 1 of the 9 events this year :(
IMO, you need to find an area you like and choose the motorsport that is the best fit for that area. Or take the motorsport you enjoy most and choose a good location for it. Doing all the motorsports with any regularity isn't really plausible in most areas of the country.
In reply to STM317: Obviously you have never ridden a snowmobile. They do go faster than 20 mph.
I've been in Las Vegas since 1978;
Wehave local Autocross, 12-15 events a year, with SCCA
Our road racing and track days are done at Spring Mtn Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump NV 45 miles west of Vegas, the PCA does 3-4 track days, Audi Club and Speed Ventures each put on a track day there, VARA (vintage races) have one race a year there as well.
WERA (motorcycle road races) run 3 times a year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
LVMS has NHRA and NASCAR twice a year now. They also have Friday night run your street car down the drag strip events al of with bracket racing.
We have some of the best off roading in the country and several off road races. We even have a stage rally (it's part of Califonria Rally Series)
There's also the SEMA show every year.
Finally there are many great drives as well; North Shore Road around Lake Mead, Valley Of Fire as well as the ones in Southern Utah. Lots of,fun day trips to numerous to name.
The only down side of course is it gets a touch hot, it's a dry heat, you know like a pizza oven.
Tom
Tom1200 wrote: I've been in Las Vegas since 1978; Wehave local Autocross, 12-15 events a year, with SCCA Our road racing and track days are done at Spring Mtn Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump NV 45 miles west of Vegas, the PCA does 3-4 track days, Audi Club and Speed Ventures each put on a track day there, VARA (vintage races) have one race a year there as well. WERA (motorcycle road races) run 3 times a year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. LVMS has NHRA and NASCAR twice a year now. They also have Friday night run your street car down the drag strip events al of with bracket racing. We have some of the best off roading in the country and several off road races. We even have a stage rally (it's part of Califonria Rally Series) There's also the SEMA show every year. Finally there are many great drives as well; North Shore Road around Lake Mead, Valley Of Fire as well as the ones in Southern Utah. Lots of,fun day trips to numerous to name. The only down side of course is it gets a touch hot, it's a dry heat, you know like a pizza oven. Tom
Vegas or some other town in Nevada is at the top of our list. We have done a number of motorsports activities around there and were very impressed with the quality, plus we have family that live there.
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