Hi. Twitter version: Bored in SC, apartment lease up, want to see western US.
Wordpress version: I'm a 26 year-old single freelance web dev working fulltime from home in South Carolina. Lived in the southeast my whole life; now is as good a time as any to see something else. My very tentative plan is take my trusty F-150 ($4 gas = ouch) across the country and stay in one place for a month or two, then keep moving. If I love it somewhere, hell, I'll stay. Itinerary: SC -> Vancouver? -> Seattle -> Portland -> Sacramento -> SF/SJ -> San Diego -> Vegas? -> SLC -> Denver. Or something.
My plan is to look for furnished apartments with month-to-month leases or find extended-stay hotels. To be open about my budget, I work 40hrs/week @$40/hour (all remotely) and I plan on keeping 30 hrs+/week throughout my travels. (Haven't talked to my client about it yet but they're very cool.) That should cover my cost of living. I know downtown metros are expensive but 15 miles away I should be able to find some housing. (Right?) Say, $1,200/month avg? (SF notwithstanding)
My current lease here is up July 31st. If I could scrape 1% of the YC'ers collective knowledge about the west coast and extended road trips, it would be a humongous help. So that you can refer to them by number, here are my questions:
1.) Is that itinerary FUBAR? Any other city suggestions? I was trying to migrate south as it got colder this fall, then maybe to Denver to ski :)
2.) Is there even such a thing as month-to-month furnished apartments? Google's not a lot of help. Is $1,200/mo. for temp housing a good guess?
3.) Work: I will need wireless internet service; I'm looking at Alltel EVDO @ $60/month. Verizon & Sprint EVDO's cap at 5GB/mo. Unacceptable. Any other options / experiences? I will be working from desktop + 2 LCD's when I can, HP laptop when I can't.
4.) Need to buy: Garmin nuvi 350 GPS, digital camera, external USB hard drive for backup/photos...any other nontrivial essentials?
5.) People in the cities I mentioned - what do I simply have to experience in my time there?
6.) Catch-all advice on the western US
7.) Catch-all advice on extended road trips
And, last but definitely not least, does anybody on that route want to meet up? I follow HN daily, had 3 sites I've built on TechCrunch, had YC in-person interview last spring (stayed in SF & really liked it), and just love to talk ideas and execution. Supper and some beers with a few of you would be a welcome respite from my solo saga.
THANKS!!!
BlogSpot version: Buy VI@GRA!
Sam
samstrip at gmail (Damn, that's supposed to indicate "Sam's Trip", not "Sam, Strip")
* The road in Iowa that hugs the Mississippi is quite a nice relaxing drive relative to the Interstates. A good break.
* In the SD/WY area I90 is a much nicer road than I80.
* The camping/hiking in the Black Hills of SD is awesome. Be sure to drive Needles highway. Be aware of the timing of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally if you head toward the Black Hills.
* I recommend camping at Devil's Tower in Wyoming. There is something special about that place.
* Stop in Red Lodge Montana and then cross the continental divide on Beartooth Highway-- amazing drive and it will take you into Yellowstone.
* There is lift accessible skiing year-round (minus two weeks of maintenance time) at Mt. Hood in Oregon.
* There is some awesome camping at Pt. Reyes in Marin county north of SF. You'll need backcountry camping gear though as the sites are a mile or two away from the parking.
* Eat at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. This is where Alice Waters originated California Cuisine. It is special and delicious.
* Santa Cruz, Monterrey and Big Sur are all worth your time. I'd say much more deserving of your time than Sacramento is. Eat at Nepenthe in Big Sur.
* If you are out by Yosemite/Mammoth research hot springs in which you can soak.
* Despite the anti-Boulder sentiment I sometimes perceive here I think it's a great town and worth spending some time.
* If you take I80 and pass by Laramie let me know I can tell you a lot of cool things about Laramie and the surrounding countryside.
Good luck and have fun!