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karenmeal

Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado or Washington??

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Well.. all the grad schools that I applied to have finally made their decisions.. now it's time for me to make a decision.

Anyone got some insight or advice as to living in the suburbs of Boulder, Iowa City or Madison?

Good DZ is a must.. affordable living is a bonus, but I'm willing to commute a reasonable distance. I would like a place that has fairly easy access to outdoor activities (hiking, kayaking, snowboarding/skiing) but if there is a kick ass DZ, then that option is negotiable for a few years.

And there must be a good DZ.

Anyone?

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

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Well, I'm from Washington, but haven't lived there in many years...so...I haven't jumped there a lot. But here's my pitch for Washington...

I assume it's U of W where you were accepted. If so, congrats, it's a top notch school... and that is a kick ass campus. I grew up going to the Husky games. I also grew up skiing in all of the mountains, white water rafting, hiking, camping, all kinds of outdoor activities. The mountains are incredible and there are a lot of them!! The San Juan Islands are beautiful, and in the summertime, you can go out on boats in the Puget Sound and see the Orca Pods. There are hiking and camping areas on the Olympic Penninsula that are very remote and built so that you cannot drive into the area, only hike in.

I have only jumped @ Kapowsin, but it is a BEAUTIFUL place to jump (the Farrington's own it/run it) and John Mitchell and his wife Valinda (they're on DZ.com) jump there! My husband and I jumped there last fall when we went home to visit my family and they were very kind and gracious to us. The hanger was almost done, and HUGE, and really nice.

I know there is another DZ in the Seattle area, but haven't jumped there.

Wasington doesn't rain as much as people think, but it is overcast a lot. But since it does drizzle and rain, (it is a rainforest), it is always clean and green. Western WA is very different from Eastern WA, the eastern area is dry and more of a "desert" climate than the western side of the Cascade Mountains.

Obviously, I love that area of the country, the air smells clean, the city of Seattle is very alive, tons of cultural stuff...
the one drawback...it is EXPENSIVE! I can only go off of what my siblings say now cause they all live in the area, but there's no living in the city area for cheap, which means a commute if you can't afford it. But I would think it's worth it.

If I hadn't gotten married and started a business with my husband here in Utah, I was moving back home last year! I love Washington, and miss it sometimes. but home is here, and we have an awesome DZ in Ogden (and a windtunnel this summer). But if we lived ANYWHERE else...it would be in Washington!!:)
To borrow a line from Squeak...MY LIFE ROCKS!! HOW'S YOURS??!!!

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Is there any question? ;) CU it is! Boulder is GREAT, we have the mountains for almost anything you like in all four seasons, we have a wind tunnel, and we have MileHi when you want to jump.

I won't pretend to represent MileHi because that should come from those who jump there, but you would be hard pressed to find a better state. Make a trip out here to do some jumping--I mean, check out the campus--and give it a first-hand look! :)
TPM Sister #102

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I have zero interest in living in Iowa, and I've heard good things about Madison, but it is damned cold there in the winter. I'd either stick with Washington or move to Colorado if it was my choice, probably the former due to family & friends here.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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Iowa City is a good college town. Madison ranks better but I think the winters are colder there.;)

Boulder isn't even in the top 100.:P

Iowa City is an hour drive from a good Cessna DZ and about 2.5 hours from Skydive Chicago. It doesn't have all the attractions that a major city has but it's centrally located. Chicago is 4hrs away; Twin Cities are a 5hr drive.

If you're focused on Grad School; Iowa City doesn't have much to distract you from your studies.;) Unless you get sucked into the Bar Scene.:)
"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

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U of Iowa and U of Wisc. are the top two spech pathology schools. I'm not really super interested in living in either state.. but I figured I would apply for shits and giggles.

Washington is where I'm at right now.

I can't take the winters for much longer. Yeah, summers are nice. But what about the rest of the year?

Hmm.. decisions.

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

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Born and raised in Madison. Went to University of Wisconsin - Madison. LOVED IT!

The city typically has a small town feel, but does have the opportunities of the bigger cities (even if that means having to go to Milwaukee or *shudder* Illinois) A few small dropzones in the area, but I left WI before I started jumping so I've only visited one. I had heard that a few of the Msn jumpers to to SDC for weekends.

Schools - UW-Madison has a SOLID reputation. You probably have all sorts of info on it but I will attach links to the Waisman Center and the University in general. The courses offered were wonderful. The campus is beautiful (ok... maybe a little cold at times....) Besides, what other campus has a real dairy barn on campus and the ice cream at Babcock Hall!!!!!!

People - Noncampus Madison is very conservative. But on campus is wonderfully diverified. It made people watching during lunch on state street very enlightening.

Weather - ok... here is where we might score a little lower on the list, but there's ice skating, skiiing, sledding, snowball fights....

But, I might be a bit partial :)

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Weather - ok... here is where we might score a little lower on the list, but there's ice skating, skiiing, sledding, snowball fights....

Being a Washington jumper, I have to say that being stopped from jumping because it's raining all day is not any better than being stopped from jumping because it's snowing all day. And when I lived in Utah, there were some great (but cold) days in the winter when you could make some dives. Wisconsin or Colorado would be doable.

But I think you and Jeff should stay here.[:/]

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I went to CU for undergrad and loved it. It'a a great school and a great place to live. I had a good friend who majored in speech pathology....it seems like they've got a great program there from what I hear.

As far as hiking, rock climbing, snowboarding, etc., you really can't get much better than Boulder. Hiking and rock climbing are literally 5 mins away. snowboarding is 40 mins away (Eldora). There are a TON of kayakers in Boulder. There is a kayak play park in town and hundreds of kayak-able rivers in the state.

As far a skydiving goes, Boulder is 15 mins from Mile-Hi, and an hour from the tunnel. There's also a small group of jumpers who run a 182 operation out of the Boulder airport.

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Well.. all the grad schools that I applied to have finally made their decisions.. now it's time for me to make a decision.

Anyone got some insight or advice as to living in the suburbs of Boulder, Iowa City or Madison?



Boulder rocks. 15 minutes to a turbine DZ with Super Otter & King Air. January is often cold although I never went a month without jumping (I don't jump when it's below 40 degrees on the ground, and Colorado is a dry cold which makes a difference) when I lived there for over a decade. Good skiing (you can hit Eldora 45 minutes away after morning classes). Good hiking. Great restaurants. Decent music. Living is not cheap unless you share a place with other people. In theory you could commute, but the surrounding areas are getting expensive and one DUI would wipe out any savings you had.

The weather sucks for skydiving in Washington and the snow is not as good as in the rockies.

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Hooknswoop gets full credit for this information, but I understand these (http://www.gravityplay.com/adventureracing/index.htm) races are a BLAST if you're looking for some other things to occupy yourself here in Colorado!



Ohhhh....that reminds me.

Dave if you and Bonny need a support crew for Moab let me know, I'll have the bandwidth since Derek is doing it solo.
Fly it like you stole it!

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In WI if you are drunk act act stupid you will go unnoticed.



Hey now, wait a minute, I resemble that remark. What were we talking about?
“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

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Karen, looks like you have some choices to make.
Do your homework and go for it. Follow your heart.
“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

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I am a washington type of girl so that is where I would go.....but, colorado might not be too bad - don't know much about the other schools.
DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!

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I can't answer because I'm totally biased towards keeping you guys in the Seattle area. :D
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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I love ice-skating!! When I was growing up I used to just throw my ice-skates over my shoulder and wander around the countryside looking for undiscovered ponds with clean ice.

And am a big fan of winter.. so that is actually a huge attraction for me. The little bit of snow that we get in Seattle just teases me.

As far as quality of schools.. I am attending the UW in Seattle right now. They are a good school, considered number 3 for speech therapy, but the program I applied to is a brand new master's program. The person who started the program and the head-coordinator just up and quit! I'm worried that the program is going to crumble.

What are the closest dropzones next to Madison, Iowa City and Boulder, and what are they like? Got many freeflyers? Is there tons of drama? Are there opportunities for my boyfriend to work as a rigger, tandem instructor and videographer?

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

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I love ice-skating!! When I was growing up I used to just throw my ice-skates over my shoulder and wander around the countryside looking for undiscovered ponds with clean ice.



*I always carry a pair of ice skates in my car. Just in case. Even now, in Missouri, warm weather, cruthces... the skates are there in the trunk. B|

And am a big fan of winter.. so that is actually a huge attraction for me. The little bit of snow that we get in Seattle just teases me.


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What are the closest dropzones next to Madison, Iowa City and Boulder, and what are they like? Got many freeflyers? Is there tons of drama? Are there opportunities for my boyfriend to work as a rigger, tandem instructor and videographer?



Madison - there are twelve dropzones in a 150 mile radius. One of them being a "little" dropzone called Skydive Chicago (where I am told that Nationals will be at this year)

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Go with Madison, in addition to a great school (I work there) Madison has a wide variety of things to offer. If you want to jump check out sevenhillsskydivers.org. We are 15 minutes from Madison. We have two C182s and we jump year round.
"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups"

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You're not goint to get the varied climates and topography of Washington, nor the ocean, at any of the other 3 states.
You'll at least get the mountains and good winters/mild summers in Colorado.
Why the hell would anyone want to live in Wisconsin or Iowa, where the nearest oceans and mountains are far, far away, and the winters are too cold to properly enjoy?

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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