The best State or region for Audiophile

[Mike Lavigne]

Seattle--Portland---Vancouver B.C. areas----commonly known as the 'Pacific Northwest' does have many attractive attributes for the audiophile.

1.--great active audio club which is unpretentious and inclusive.

2.--great DIY community, Bottlehead and all those guys. good brick and mortar hifi stores. quite a few high end manufacturers too. lot's of used record stores. home of The Tape Project. one good grey market tape seller.

3.--many high tech companies and solid tech/environmentally friendly economic base (home of 2 of the 4 of the worlds most valuable companies---Microsoft and Amazon)......and Google prominent here too. also home to Costco, Starbucks, T-Mobile, Nordstrom, Boeing, REI etc, etc despite having a modest population. so bursting with positive energy. great universities and colleges, good school systems.

4.--best place (safest place) to have a heart attack or cancer anywhere with research and support. let's face it.....most of us are in that age bracket.

5--easy connections to the whole pacific rim, a couple good international airports, 5 hour direct flights to Hawaii.

6--tradition of serious audiophiles and getting together. and with all the economic action many audiophiles from other areas seem to come to town continually.

7--exactly the perfect balance of weather and mild environment for the comfort of our systems when it;s dark and dreary and the most glorious sunshine and natural beauty. clean air, clean water.

8. great skiing very close to cities. amazing hiking, biking, and outdoor vibe. 30 minutes from any population dense place you can be standing in wilderness. the Oregon Coast, Mt. Rainier, Whistler, B.C., Inside Passage, San Juan Islands all world class destinations. Cruise from Seattle or Vancouver to Alaska.

9.--tradition of creativity and active live music scene. Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and many others from here. great support for arts. not nearly at the highest level of some other cities but very good.

10.---Ki Choi lives here, he can fix a Studer......basically trumps all other concerns.

 

[the sound of Tao]

4.--best place (safest place) to have a heart attack or cancer anywhere with research and support. let's face it.....most of us are in that age bracket.

5--easy connections to the whole pacific rim, a couple good international airports, 5 hour direct flights to Hawaii.

6--tradition of serious audiophiles and getting together. and with all the economic action many audiophiles from other areas seem to come to town continually.

7--exactly the perfect balance of weather and mild environment for the comfort of our systems when it;s dark and dreary and the most glorious sunshine and natural beauty. clean air, clean water.

8. great skiing very close to cities. amazing hiking, biking, and outdoor vibe. 30 minutes from any population dense place you can be standing in wilderness. the Oregon Coast, Mt. Rainier, Whistler, B.C., Inside Passage, San Juan Islands all world class destinations. Cruise from Seattle or Vancouver to Alaska.

9.--tradition of creativity and active live music scene. Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and many others from here. great support for arts. not nearly at the highest level of some other cities but very good.

10.---Ki Choi lives here, he can fix a Studer......basically trumps all other concerns.

One of Australia’s richest men (then) media magnate Kerry Packer had a heart attack back in the mid 90’s on a polo field. He was resuscitated.

Famously he then later donated enough money to the state’s ambulance service to ensure that a defibrillator was fitted to every ambulance across the state:.. the ultimate life insurance for our Kerry. Sheer genius. Defibrillators then became known here as the Packer whacker

 

[jeff1225]

Actually weather is shit for 5 months from Nov to March except 4 or 5 days a months, so one can just enjoy music inside home.

But it is not too cold or hot here in Pacific Northwest.

I lived there from 2003 - 2008. In 2008 we had a one moth summer.......so I moved.

But.......my record collection quadrupled and I got turned a lot of great audiophiles in the PNW. I was introduced to LAMM equipment and the best of vintage (Micro Seiki, SME 3012R, Tannoy, etc.)

 

[KeithR]

at least the housing bubble in Seattle is bursting - should be some good deals on that front in the next year or two for potential suitors

 

[bonzo75]

Might sound crazy but a small town like Waco, TX could be a gold mine for the gear head. It’s just south of Dallas and a few hours from Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. We have a strong used market and a strong vintage crowd as well. Land is cheap and houses are big.

Vintage systems like what?

 

[DSkip]

at least the housing bubble in Seattle is bursting - should be some good deals on that front in the next year or two for potential suitors

No joke. A few years ago I went to Seattle with my wife and stayed at one of her friend’s parents’ house. It was shocking to see how little seven figures could get you up there.

 

[KeithR]

Vintage systems like what?

check out the Lone Star Audio Fest which is very much into DIY tubes, vintage, etc.:

https://positive-feedback.com/show-reports/lone-star-audio-fest-2018/

 

[Bruce B]

And the weather is complete shit for 10 months a year so staying inside and listening to records is great.

Really?? We just tell folks that so they will stay the hell away!! I ride my motorcycle year round.....

10.---Ki Choi lives here, he can fix a Studer......basically trumps all other concerns.

Checkmate!!

 

[NorthStar]

Thanks Mike for including Vancouver in the " Pacific Northwest" (State) region.

In these neighborhoods we do have audio clubs, Diy clubs, tubes equipment restorations, vinyl record stores, brick & mortar audio equipment stores, etc., etc., etc. ... and the weather's nice all year round, even on December 25. Kids play soccer wearing shorts and t-shirts 366/365.
With the ocean's breeze and the whales showering we're in good audiophile company.

I could enumerate several beneficial points (no less than hundred) but because I'm right on the borderline I would only in a global audiophile thread.

 

[NorthStar]

Really?? We just tell folks that so they will stay the hell away!! I ride my motorcycle year round.....

Checkmate!!

Here only the savages tell others to stay away.
And people also ride their bikes year round.
Some people build houses without a roof.

We have people who fix tube amps, and we also have musicians.

If you come go to Long Beach (Tofino). ...And rent a charter plane.
Go fishing and sailing and surfing and hiking and skiing ... it's paradise.

Here in the NorthStar's State it's audiophile heaven, right next door to nirvana countryside's bed & breakfast.

 

[Ron Resnick]

And the weather is complete shit for 10 months a year so staying inside and listening to records is great.

It seems that Portland has good temperatures only in May, June, July, August and September. But some of those days experience rain, and many of those days are cloudy.

So Portland definitely a good place to stay indoors listening to music.

Bruce, that’s great that you are a hard-core motorcyclist regardless of weather, but that does not mean everyone would find it fun to ride on a cold, cloudy, rainy day.

 

[ketcham]

I noticed a common thread for all these states: Legalization of Marijuana and all of its derivatives - Correlation of Causation?

Colorado is voting legalizing Psilocybin mushrooms and so is Oregon. I wonder if these states will subsequently drift into this thread 6 months from now.

What's the word from Australia? Sounds to me a fabulous place to enjoy life!!!!

 

[thedudeabides]

And the weather is complete shit for 10 months a year so staying inside and listening to records is great.

I have visited on numerous occasions, especially the Bellingham area. Pretty but the weather does suck if you like a lot of sunshine. A must for me.

 

[thomask]

It is a paradise in Pacific Northwest from May to Oct with mild and dry weather.

But it could be wet during the half of year.

Some people living in Pacific Northwest have winter residence in Arizona or Nevada to have sunshine during winter time.

As I get older, I do not want to take a risk.

The most serious risk of California is that the chance of big earthquake over Mag. 7 within 30 years is around 50% while such chance in Pacific Northwest is just around 10%.

If big one come, you can lose everything unless you have earthquake coverage of insurance.

The more serious danger is that you or your family can get hurt during big earthquake.

Although I had enjoyed living in Bay Area (San Francisco) during 1980's, I have no intention to go back to living in California.

 

[Ron Resnick]

It is a paradise in Pacific Northwest from May to Oct with mild and dry weather.

But it could be wet during the half of year.

Some people living in Pacific Northwest have winter residence in Arizona or Nevada to have sunshine during winter time.

As I get older, I do not want to take a risk.

The most serious risk of California is that the chance of big earthquake over Mag. 7 within 30 years is around 50% while such chance in Pacific Northwest is just around 10%.

If big one come, you can lose everything unless you have earthquake coverage of insurance.

The more serious danger is that you or your family can get hurt during big earthquake.

Although I had enjoyed living in Bay Area (San Francisco) during 1980's, I have no intention to go back to living in California.

What does this have to do with the question in the opening post?

So the best place for an audiophile to live is the location with the lowest risk of earthquake?

Antarctica apparently has the lowest risk of earthquakes of any continent. Do you think Antarctica is the best place to be an audiophile?

 

[NorthStar]

It's a fun thread.

What is the worst State or region for Audiophile? ...Hurricane Alley?

 

[dbeau]

'hurricane Alley'? how bout Tornado Alley in OK ? Just moved here from So CA 3 years ago and it is pretty desolate as a Audio haven compared to So CA or Seattle where we visit often. Don't move here for Audio BUT there are compensating things.

 

[NorthStar]

OK.

The West Coast is best for Audiophile, the State of California.
It's best for music and movies, and surfing.

 

[thedudeabides]

What a silly thread.

 

[steve59]

Gotta be Chicagoland. Plenty of shops to find gear and miserable weather 7 out of 12 months so hiding out in a basement listening seems almost normal. Seriously if I lived in Fla or galveston my money would go to waverunners, if I lived near the mountains it would all go to motorcycle tires and brakes!