Relocating for storm chasing

[Steve Polley]

Marcus, I know exactly what you mean about chasing west...Single reason I very seldom chase into MO/IL. BTW, my first post in here in 2+ years. Happy to see the new leadership of ST.

 

[Dan Rupnow]

I've lived in the southern Wisconsin area my whole life, and I like the midwest. Though southern WI is not my ideal base location as a chaser, it is far from the worst. Yes, I do make some longer drives out to the plains for some of the bigger setups in the springtime, but even those drives are manageable, and I can leave in the early morning to make a plains target by mid afternoon. We also get our share of more "local" setups in MN, IA, MO, and IL. What I love most about the midwest is that the "season" never truely ends during the summer and fall. While the central and southern plains are baking in the summertime ridge, I am keeping my eye out for the next northwest flow setup in the upper midwest. NW flow has given me a WI and MN tornado over the past two summers. And of course, the fall season can never be ruled out either, as evidenced by 11/22/10, 10/04/13, and 11/17/13.

 

[Adam R Davis]

While school is keeping me tied to Pennsylvania for the next few years, I've actually considered living more on the fringes of the plains, like Kansas City or Des Moines or even someplace like Omaha. But I'll really take whatever location where I can get work in my field of study (TV and radio broadcasting).

 

[JamesCaruso]

I have been chasing since 1996 and often fantasize about living on the Plains. But with a wife, three kids, and most of our extended family currently within three hours of us, it is just that - a fantasy.

Perhaps this is just my own attempt to rationalize and deal with my inability to live on the Plains, but I really do not think it is worth it. (Let me clarify - the Plains is a great place to live for many reasons - but doing it ONLY for chasing may not be worth it). My chase partner and I frequently talk about it during our annual two-week chase vacations. Thinking it through logically and not emotionally: The heart of the severe weather season is for the most part six to eight weeks long. Say you average four chase days per week during that time (average: maybe more in the peak, maybe less at the edges), which equates to 32 opportunities. I think this is pretty optimistic, especially if you start discounting some of the marginal and out of range days. Add a few days in March/April and/or the fall, and let's say you're at 40 days. Then I back out the two week chase vacation I take anyway, using the same average of four chase days per week (likely to be more during the peak period I take vacation) and the *incremental* chasing opportunity living out there is back to 32 days. Would I want to choose where I live solely based upon doing something less than 10% of the year, even though it is the thing I love the most? There are a ton of other considerations as to how I spend my other 333 days... Unfortunately, chasing is not like surfing or skiing, where you can live somewhere and do it almost every day, or at least every weekend, for a good portion of the year. Chasing just seems too infrequent and capricious to be the primary factor in deciding where to live.

My job as partner in a CPA firm would make it difficult to chase every setup on short notice, as would family obligations, even if I did live on the Plains. So I would miss quite a few chase opportunities anyway.

But like I said, I could just be trying to convince myself because I simply don't have the option. Many of the other considerations on where to live are driven by family and job. If I were a single man and a free bird (or when I am retired and the kids are grown), I might very well make a different decision. I might decide that however infrequent the chase opportunities are, they are still greater than I have today in Pennsylvania, and in the "free man" scenario I would not be giving up anything in exchange for them. Then again, if I were a free bird AND independently wealthy, I think I would still rather take an extended six or eight week Plains vacation rather than move there permanently.

When I do fantasize about living on the Plains, I often think the Denver area would be ideal. (I know that is not really the Plains, just within driving distance of the Plains...) It is a long drive into many parts of the Alley, but doable, and lots of opportunities in eastern Colorado. Plus lots to do outside of chasing.

Like Dan, I also think if I lived on the Plains I would miss the extended road trip vacation element. There is something about immersing oneself in the rhythm of a chase trip for two weeks straight... It is like entering another world... I think going back and forth between that magical world and the "real" world within the same day, or back to back days, would take away a lot of the magic and enjoyment of the experience...


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[Robert Forry]

In the end, I chose not to go the Great Plains, but to move to the St. Louis metro.

We both love the St. Louis area (me for the things you mentioned Dan - all of them, Holly for St. Charles) A move for us from the Detroit area, I feel, is still not out of the question. Both my wife and I started new jobs with GM last year, but I don't think that would hold us back, especially once Holly gets a taste of chasing this Spring out there. I have no issues leaving this area behind. As much as I love family and friends here, I'd much rather be in the real "midwest".

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Would I want to choose where I live solely based upon doing something less than 10% of the year, even though it is the thing I love the most?

Yes, yes, yes, 1000 times yes. I'll chose that every damn day of my life.

 

[Rodney Nonamaker]

Never really thought about the chasing west thing as living in western kansas most of my chases take me east...then further east as the storms progress. Then, the long haul back home. Living out east and driving to target then the storms trek back in direction of home would be a huge bonus!! I'm big on picking targets along the dryline even when the bigger target is the triple-point or frontal, so a move a little further south sets me up nicely for that. I am looking at a transfer with work to Moore, OK and as most of the chases I really want are central ks to northern tx, this move is optimal for me.

 

[Francis]

Well here is a different point of view of the question. I live in Manitoba in the Canadian Prairies and have lived on the east coast of Canada for most of my life. I moved to the prairies to be closer to severe weather and to study here, so yes I did move to get closer to chasing. However, I don't think I would move to the states like Oklahoma or something unless I was offered a job there because I really enjoy the Canadian Prairies. There is no chaser traffic here, meeting a fellow chaser is very rare and most of the time you know the chaser. Setups don't occur as often up here but the landscape is absolutely stunning. I love living here because during May and most of June I just head further south into the plains and chase there and when the season progresses I follow it up to North Dakota/prairies and I chase from home more than half of the storm season so this is really awesome as I get to chase the whole season basically and I get to chase the setups up here that nobody chases. It's cool to have videos/photography from the states and the other half of the season from the Canadian Prairies.

 

[Zack Cooper]

I've actually got a move planned with storm chasing a pretty big motivating factor. It's not the only thing that's bringing me to the plains, but I must say.. it's the main one. I do like the road trip factor, but with my move being to Norman, that road trip feel will still be there for northern plains chases, and since I chase dixie alley, it will now be there for those chases as well.

 

[Kevin Rimcoski]

I'd move in a heartbeat. Actually if I could I would right now. I'm here in AZ at the moment trying to at least get the general classes for college done. My fiance has family here we're staying with so we can save up money for once
Once I get these 60 credits out of the way I'll be heading either to Florida (can chase hurricanes, Florida thunderstorms, and attempt to chase in louisiana, Arkansas area as well, or Oklahoma

 

[Michael Towers]

The thought of living in the heart of the alley definitely has its allure, I’d love to be within a few hours reach of so many set-ups and take advantage of so many opportunities I miss due to time constraints. I realize that living in Illinois is still a great location for a chaser to reside, most set-ups are within a day’s reach and if my schedule allows I can pull the trigger the day before, put in a full day’s work and be anywhere from Oklahoma to North Dakota the next day. That’s great when I have freedom to take at least two days off and those are the typical set-up situations I usually chase, a two to four day trip depending on the target locations. I’m self-employed and have to be judicious about taking days off, not just because of lost income but because it’s just not good for business to be absent extensively or for extended durations. This basically limits me to about a half dozen trips a year and I'm fine with that.

But of course I’d love to chase more and if I were to relocate the consideration for chasing would definitely factor into the equation in deciding where to live. While I love the West Coast I’d never move there, its just too far from the Plains. Same for the East but I’m not much of a big fan of anything east of the Mississippi anyway. But my primary choice wouldn’t be in the heart of the Plains either, yeah I do love the area, the people are great and I’m sure I’d be perfectly happy residing there. The ability to chase so many more set-ups and then be able to sleep in my own bed on many of those occasions would be awesome. But there’s more to life than chasing and I think I’d be happier in the Denver area where I’ve resided briefly in the past and where I plan to ultimately retire. The mountains hold a strong attraction to me, I love to ski, hike or just simply take a ride and escape to the wilderness. It’s kind of a therapeutic thing for me and the ability to have that year round would outweigh the advantages that living in the Plains would provide for chasing. Denver's also on the edge of some of the best chasing country in the world and I’d be much closer to my favorite chasing territories than I am now. Western Kansas is a few hours away and a drive of ten hours pretty much gets you all of the best chasing territories of Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, a large swath of South Dakota and the entire Texas Panhandle. I’ll trade that for Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota in a heartbeat and the choice of Eastern Colorado as my backyard over Illinois is no contest. So ultimately I do plan to relocate and the Denver area is my choice, hopefully in due course and on my own terms. If so my entire chasing experience should benefit and I’ll have those beautiful mountains right in my backyard.

 

[JamesCaruso]

...I’m self-employed and have to be judicious about taking days off, not just because of lost income but because it’s just not good for business to be absent extensively or for extended durations. This basically limits me to about a half dozen trips a year and I'm fine with that.

...there’s more to life than chasing and I think I’d be happier in the Denver area where I’ve resided briefly in the past and where I plan to ultimately retire. The mountains hold a strong attraction to me, I love to ski, hike or just simply take a ride and escape to the wilderness. It’s kind of a therapeutic thing for me and the ability to have that year round would outweigh the advantages that living in the Plains would provide for chasing.

Michael, I really enjoyed your post.

I always fantasized that if I were self-employed I would have more flexibility and opportunities to chase, but your post is a reminder that that is not necessarily the case.

Also, your post is similar to my own on this topic, in that you recognize that no matter how much you love chasing, there is more to life, and you have to give more weight to year-round considerations than to something you can only do 10% of the days of the year if you're lucky.

Jim



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[Michael Towers]

Michael, I really enjoyed your post.

I always fantasized that if I were self-employed I would have more flexibility and opportunities to chase, but your post is a reminder that that is not necessarily the case.

Thanks and that’s very true, I can take as many days off as I like but aside from the chase trips I take only a one week vacation the remainder of the year. One thing this hobby does for me that hardly anything else does is offer an “escape” from having business on my mind, when I’m on a chase somehow it’s only the storm that has my attention and all other worries or concerns are temporarily forgotten. But when the chase is done the realities of the real world come back and I’ll find myself balancing the value of returning home to work versus extending a chase trip. While many chasers, especially chasecationers like yourself, yearn for a long stretch of activity it’s something I dread because I know I won’t be able to play it out. Better for me to have a nice two day set-up followed by two weeks of inactivity followed by another nice two-day set up…that’s my sweet spot!

Also, your post is similar to my own on this topic, in that you recognize that no matter how much you love chasing, there is more to life, and you have to give more weight to year-round considerations than to something you can only do 10% of the days of the year if you're lucky.

Most definitely. Family, friends, career all are more important to me than chasing. There are many things in life that matter more and I wouldn’t sacrifice any of them for the sake of chasing. My choice of Denver still keeps the people that matter to me relatively close and there are of course other things beyond the mountains that make it an attractive destination to me.

 

[Patrick Martin]

Most definitely. Family, friends, career all are more important to me than chasing. There are many things in life that matter more and I wouldn’t sacrifice any of them for the sake of chasing. My choice of Denver still keeps the people that matter to me relatively close and there are of course other things beyond the mountains that make it an attractive destination to me.

Agreed! I relocated to Denver nearly 15 years ago without ever having stepped foot in CO, before I got into chasing, and loooong before having a child was a thought for my wife and I. We like being near Denver (I could never live downtown anywhere) for the variety of activities in and out of the city, but we like having a quiet place to actually live. It has it's pros and cons, but when we had the opportunity to move in 2009 on a full relo to MI for me, we declined it, but not for the chasing aspect. My wife was pregnant at the time, and we decided Denver was a much more lucrative place to be for jobs for both of us, friends are here (but not family), and that CO more than MI was where we wanted to raise a child. It's not to say we won't leave CO, but it would have to be the right opportunity in the right place that allows us to provide for the lifestyle we want throughout the year.

Even being here, there are plenty of events that I miss simply because or work or family, but that is okay. My daughter being born did not put to much of a crimp in my chasing activities and my annual chase vacation with my chase partner was uninterrupted, even when my daughter was 6mos old. My wife understands this is one of my passions, and fully supports the 2 weeks my partner and I chase. Now that my daughter is 5, things are easier from a kid aspect, and we go as a family sometimes. Work more than anything is what limits some of the day trips. One of the biggest downsides to being in Denver, is you are always chasing away from home, so a 3hr drive to the target area on the KS border can easily become a 5hr drive home.

 

[Tom Stolze]

Living just west of St. Louis and my work limits my days for chasing in the plains to the weekends and my planned two weeks off in May each year. My boss is flexible enough on the somewhat local chase days for me to get out early and make the time up. Last year I didn't make it out of MO or IL to chase, this is frustrating at times, but with a wife and two kids, you take what you can get. My wife wants nothing to do with chasing(yet), I have tried to convince her for us to try and find a condo in Kansas to rent for the whole month of May, in her own words, "that ain't happening".
I do agree with others that heading west is fun because you get to chase the system home, for some reason I hate going into Illinois, just knowing it will be a squall line when we are finished chasing and having to drive back through it always frustrates me.