Thoughts on North Carolina and Colorado.

[okieboater]

A good choice
Did you consider Fayetteville as well?

[shawn_rackley81]

I haven't considered Fayetteville really because she's wants to work with mental illness. There's a state hospital in Little rock that has that as a specialty (Looney pin). We don't want to live in any city, so was figuring could live between LR and russellville . plenty to hike plenty to paddle. I'm 300 miles from anything in Pocahontas so I will be "close to big piney, mulberry etc" which I've never ran any of them. Lol I cut my white water teeth on the saint Francis (134 miles) from Pocahontas. So its the closest at the moment. But honestly its a little "more" than I want most time. But I do it anyway cause its my main option. Cadron is the same distance from pokey but never made it over there yet.

[mgood]

Hold on. I feel like I must put forth a voice of reason here.

If you are considering CO, AR, and NC based SOLELY on quality of life/paddling/hiking/outdoor opportunities, then AR should not be in consideration. CO and NC blow AR out of the water unfortunately. If you live in NC, you literally can paddle every day of the year. Not only that, you can paddle on multiple rivers every day of the year. AR is heavily rain dependent, and CO will depend largely on snowmelt. CO gives you paddling, hiking, skiiing, etc. Personally, I'd be drawn to NC because of the variety of paddling options in close proximity, cheaper COL, and dam-released rivers.

I say this as an AR resident that will be here for some time. Now if you do decide on AR for personal reasons, I can't fault you for that and Russellville has probably the best city location in the state for outdoor opportunities. AR is a really good state for learning the fundamentals of boating, but you really have got to want it to paddle class IV+ more than three days a year. Also, those 12 hour road trips really take a toll on the wallet and patience.

[justin.payne]

I moved from Arkansas to Colorado a few years back for the whitewater. It is fantastic here, but you have to love winter sports too. I typically get 50 or so days of hard whitewater boating and 50 or so days of skiing each year. There really isn't alot of boating in the class II category, unless you want to do the same runs over and over, or travel across the state. I have also boated in NC and TN and can say that it is much more conducive to a beginner. The warm water and typically moderate levels aren't really that terrifying. The freezing cold temps and high volume creeks and rivers in CO can be intimidating to someone not used to it. Good luck whichever way you choose.

[shawn_rackley81]

It looks like there's a good chance I will be going to russellville. My girlfriend has an interview Monday. One thing, it will be an easier move (distance) than Co or NC lol.

[sig]

#condolences

[LarryT]

Just returned from 4 days in NC. NC is the best state.

[Eric Esche]

Tell your girlfriend that there are lots of nursing jobs up here in NW Arkansas and that they are paying starting bonuses in many cases as nurses are hard to find. Happen to paddle with a nurse supervisor weekly who is often short staffed at work.

Eric Esche