The forums have been slow lately (picked up just slightly the past week or so but still slow in general) so im going to post this here even though it has absoultely nothing to do with bomb! I am posting it here because I value the opinions of the bomb guys more so than I feel I can in other forums where people tend to type before they think.

Anyway I am currently attending college to get a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering Technology. My goal is to land a job somewhere in the automotive/powersport market. A sub-goal is to find that job somewhere out west. I have been to california once but out west in general a handful of times. I absolutely love it out there! I would love to eventually have a home out there that is close to some dunes. My question is...where? I know california seems to be the mecca of up and coming automotive customs shops. I am not sure at this point what exact type of work I will get into but some ideas could be working for large manufacturers (GM/Ford etc etc) but problem with that is most are in the midwest (been there done that have the boring childhood to prove it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] ) or pipe dream is to eventually open up my own customs shop for cars or possibly powersports (or at least work in one). I have never been to arizona but seems like there is a decent market there as well as being relatively close to some dunes. What about washington/oregon/nevada? One thing I know for sure is the cost of living in california is absolutely outrageous but I am assuming it is relatively similar in other coastal states especially in larger cities.

The only REAL dunes I have been to thus far are St.Anthonies and Little Sahara (UT) as well as walden and one other smaller place neither of which were very exciting. Granted I dont have the option to pick dunes first and career second (would be nice wouldnt it? lol) I am just wondering where some of you guys out west live and what type of cities you live in. I have been all over the east coast and it leaves a lot to be desired for me (the fact there are no dunes would put me into a state of depression in no time). I dont much care for skyscraper size cities but something big enough that is/will support a customs shop.

Any opinions and input is greatly appreciated. Once I start the job hunt it would be nice to have a general area (or at least state) picked out to start looking for a place to live at least temporarily.

Thanks guys [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Well, I like where I live, but I live in a rural area. In the middle of the two big dune areas you mentioned. I like it here because of the true four seasons. I like snowmobiling and there isnt to many areas better than here. There is a few other places I would not mind living in, but they all have similar climates. I would think that, like you mentioned, southern Arizona or Cali would be your best bet for that industry. However, Thiokol Propulsion is right in my area, you know the ones that make the power boosters for the Space shuttle. And that kind of work is in you area. The one thing that can bother alot of folks is the religon here. Mostly Mormons. Not that thats bad, but I am used to it. Some dislike it for that reason alone. But this state is true blue Republican. If you like the hunt, fish, wheel, dune, snowmobile, he!! anything that involves anything outdoors, this place is for you. Good Luck in your future.

 

Thanks a lot for the info. Ya I know utah is heavily mormon but I dont have a problem with others religions and beleifs just as long as they dont put a damper on what I like to do - which dosnt seem to be the case with what you mentioned. I do love fishing and hunting but rarely get to do either as the only other one in my family who is heavily into either is my grandfather who is now too old to do much of either. I love the mountains - I am sure you get used to it and dont think all that much of it once you live in the area for a long time but there is something about them that is fascinating. Not saying I want to live IN the mountains necessarily but nice to be close to them. Without knowing exactly what I want to do it is pretty hard to pick a place because the 5-7 state area I would like to live in is a LARGE area and there are so many possibilities. I dont know what all of the other dunes are like but I absolutely love st.anthonies and lil' sahara - the fact you can ride in one direction for miles is awesome.

 

I second what 650viper said UT is great. I think the opportunity to do something on your own is growing here and religion thing is much less of a factor than what it used to be, especially in the Salt lake valley. The outdoor rec. opportuinities of all kinds are right out your back door, where else could you ski/snowboard/snowmobile and ride the dunes in the same weekend both within 1 1/2 of home! Also much lower cost of living than AZ, NV (Vegas) and CA!

 

I do like the idea of being in utah as it does have nice dunes as well as the rock crawling/wheeling areas (another thing i love but due to financial reasons not a hobby I can support right now). I will have to pay more attention this june on our Little sahara trip to get a better grasp on what is available in a few different areas of utah.

 

I have lived in So Cal all my 54 years. There are many places to ride and we have the beach. But I would like to retire in Utah some day. More land, less people.

 

One of the best engineering schools out west for the money is Cal Poly SLO. Its a small (50k) but growing town just 10 miles from Oceano Dunes. If you make it out to Cali do yourself a favor and check it out.

 

Find the job first then it will decide which city you live in.

Open yourself up to other things / ideas.

I've been in the Industrial Boiler business for about 7-years now. . . Never knew what a boiler was 9-years ago.

Anyways, I love it! We are always looking for Mechanical Engineers at one of our offices.

As long as you enjoy what you do and it enables you to do the things you like to do with the people you want to do it with than you've got a win.

Vegas and Southern CA are close to Glamis and to Dumont
Twin Falls ID is close enough to St. Anthony. . . not sure what industry is out there but, I'm sure you could find something and that is a nice sized town.
Reno, NV has some industry and is a med. sized town.
I'm in Sacramento area of CA. Pismo is 5.5 hours away and Sand Mt. NV is 4.5 hours away. . . wish they were closer. But, the town size is good and should be plenty of employment options.
Not a lot of Automotive in CA - more aftermarket stuff in Southern CA. Just keep in mind, the excitement of a company like FMF that makes pipes can quickly fade as all they are doing is welding pipes and you are working with the same thing day after day. One of the things I enjoy about my job is the places I get to go and the people I get to meet and the products I get to see made. . . Brewery, Electronics, bread, beverage, food processing, etc. Won't name the companies on here but, some very cool places. Makes the job fun.

 

I think you may want to try visiting Oregon.We have a lot of different terrain to ride on.We have many miles of wooded trails,awesome dunes and desert riding as well.The economy here is generally very strong and getting stronger and the job market is good for most occupations.Florence Oregon where i do most of my dune riding is growing at a fast pace and it is right on the coast.Portland oregon is very large but the job market there is wide open for just about anything you could imagine.If you ever want to try the dunes here in Oregon just give me a little notice and me and the wife will show you around.By the way your Top Gun should be there soon.It was shipped monday priority mail.

 

I live in the Modesto area which is in the Central Valley. We are an hour plus away from the Sierra Mountains, 68 miles as the crow flies to S.F., 240 miles from Pismo[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] As far as automotive jobs, we have seen a growth in the 4x4 Truck shops the last 2-3 years, seem one was popping up all over the place. However all the manufactorers seem to be down in the southern part of the state. If you get into civil or structural engineering, the Central Valley is busting at the seems with jobs. Especially if you have a degree. Like DSengineer said, SLO is the school to go to out here, then you have Berkeley, Fresno State, UC Davis and Merced State (which just started a few engineering programs). Then for a private school, there is UOP of Stockton.