My wife and I are weighing a lot of the same places. My initial research & visits left me with the thoughts below. We are slightly more geared toward skiing, hiking/mountaineering than climbing but I think those interests lead us to the same places. I grew up and live in NJ but lived in SF for a few years so my perspective on what is an reasonable cost of living is a bit off balance.
As a general comment on climate, if you are comfortable with the Dakota winter temps you will be fine in New England or the Northern Rockies. If that is too 'cold' then then OR, WA, CO and NM might be better. The winters are going to be more grey in the Northeast and PNW (West of the cascades though). On a hole, the mountains of the Northeast would probably be more comparable to the Black Hills. They don't have the grandeur of the Rockies or the Sierra but are still great for an ass kicking and a beautiful view.
For those of you who have lived in ID, MT, WY, NM and AZ (Flagstaff or Sedona area), how do they compare to the other places discussed, economically and politically? And everyone, please correct my thoughts below if I am mistaken.
VT- I have spent a ton of time in Southern VT, and like it down there. Manchester Vt would be the biggest town down south. Northern VT is beautiful. I think if I were going to live there full time it would have to be near Burlington. It is a really cool fun town. It is expensive-ish in the town itself, but I think outside of town is fairly affordable. There is not a ton of work in VT though and their taxes are higher than NH and ME (i think).
NH- No income tax or sales tax. A lot more work opportunity down south towards Boston and Portmouth, especially compared to Vermont but that takes you a little farther from the mountains. I haven't spent as much time there as vermont. If you head up to the White Mountains you can get a legitimate, above the tree-line big mountain experience on Mount Washington. Tuckerman's Ravine in the early spring is a really cool experience even if you don't ski it (epic if you do).
ME- Portland is another really cool town, like Burlington, but 50% larger with more of a small city feel. I think with the relative proximately to Boston/Portsmouth and its tourism there is a little more work than might be found in VT. I am not sure on the proximity to climbing. Mount Washington is 2 hrs away over the NH border and then there are other mountains north of Portland --- More of a coastal New England vibe than mountain town. Awesome Beer.
What about upstate NY? In the catskills you have the Gunks which are apparently world class climbing, Kingston, New Paltz and Poughkeepsie have some cool stuff going on and then there are Adirondack High Peaks around Lake Placid if you look further north. The further from NYC, NJ, CT you get the cheaper things it will be but I am not sure on the employment situations in those areas...
CO - Lots of upside for work b/c it is growing quickly. But it is going to be more costly than the other options (beyond NY) if you are anywhere near Denver. It has all the Rocky mountain awesomeness though.
OR - Portland is like Austin TX meets Burlington VT (in my mind) and is a really cool city. The town Hood River and the Columbia river gorge are amazing. If you are concerned about the grey winters, look east of the cascades. Bend is high desert (literally) and 30 min from Smith Rock SP which is right there with the Gunks, Squamish and Yosemite in the climbing world from what I gather. Tons of awesome beer. It sounds like there are lots of other cool places throughout the state, but I can't speak to them.
WA - Sounds like a lot of what is awesome about OR, but with more work opportunity?
ID, WY, MT - Thoughts anyone?
UT - If you focus your life around Park City, the politics won't feel so conservative. I have a few not-so-conservative minded friends that live there and love it. In addition the state seems to have a fairly stable/healthy economy so that could help with job prospects.
NM - Northern NM seems like it could be a hidden gem. Can anyone offer more color here?
NV - Lake Tahoe straddles the CA/NV border and has some good things going on. Reno and Nevada city are definitely bigger towns and Tahoe remains busy due to the NorCal population. In this area, you get a lot of what is great about the Sierra but you can live on the NV side where they have no income tax --- right there with NH and WA... Can anyone speak to the culture on the NV side of the border?
I hope this keeps the convo going. I am really interested to hear what everyone has to say as well.