How are the driving roads where you live oppo?

"Khalbali" (khalbali2) 08/17/2019 at 10:41 • Filed to: None

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I live in the Chicago area and I really really hate it. I grew up here but lived in the Denver from 2014-17 and coming back has just crushed my spirit. A big factor is a severe lack of driving roads, I don’t enjoy cars here anymore and that’s been a huge passion of mine for over a decade. So I’d like to move in the next year or two but really have no idea where to. So where do y’all live and how is it? I loved the mountain scenery and the tight roads in Denver but not really looking to move back there, looking for somewhere new. In the meantime, hopefully this weekend or next I’ll see how much enjoyment I can get out of a 2013 Rio automatic in the Galena area. As an alternative, if any Chicago area OPPOs have good routes I’d love to try them, still want to move though. I found this as my current inspiration, it’s just a ways away.

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CB > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:04

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If you like straight roads, boy do I have the place for you.

atfsgeoff > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:04

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Shitty. It seems every time I find a really sweet driving road around here, PennDOT ruins it with chipseal.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:06

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There is NOTHING near me. The countryside is all flat within a reasonable drive to me (please prove me wrong, I live in the tri -cities/ GTA.

That being said my old house has three roundabouts in a row once you get off the highway, all connected in a row by multi lane roads. There was also a roundabout with little pedestrian access and a kilometre uphill straight after exiting it. It also had a steep radius change so It really was like a miniature version of the Nurburg ring’s carousel.

Hey Julie > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:12

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I live in downtown Atlanta 

SiennaMan > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:14

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 It's hit or miss here in SW Ohio.  There's enough hills that if you go looking in the country northeast of Cincy or in Northern KY you can find some fun..  it's nothing like Colorado or out into the Appalachians,  but would be much less soul crushing than Chicagoland..

duurtlang > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:16

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Directly around me it’s flat and overpopulated. However, if I drive 1 + hour south it suddenly becomes very interesting!

This is 2  hours away:

Just Jeepin' > duurtlang 08/17/2019 at 11:18

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You really should tell us where that is...

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:19

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I’m only ~3 hours southwest of you in central Illinois, so really awful. If you want warmer weather, the Appalachian  mountains have great road, but without extreme snow or brutal cold. 

fintail > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:19

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Crowded in the Seattle metro rat race. Condition ranges from awesome to rough.  And with high gas taxes and registration fees, you’ll pay to use them.

duurtlang > Just Jeepin' 08/17/2019 at 11:21

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I live just south of Munich, Germany. What you see in that picture is the Hahntennjoch ( pass) in Austria, which is... a 2 hour drive south from me.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:21

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Fantastic

Khalbali > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 08/17/2019 at 11:22

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Ok corollary, how do I move to canada? Will you  adopt me and my wife?

Khalbali > SiennaMan 08/17/2019 at 11:24

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This is exactly what I'm looking for, thanks! I have family in Columbus and Lexington too so that's a possibility.

Khalbali > Hey Julie 08/17/2019 at 11:25

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I gotta  be honest, you’re not really selling it... You were in Denver too though right? 

Svend > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:26

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Kirkstone Pass

Hardknott and Wrynose Pass

Honister Pass

Newlands Pass

Spanfeller is a twat > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:28

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You have to trek pretty far out of Mexico City to find roads that are well kept, safe to quickly drive in, and also not too congested.

Many people talk about the old highway to Valle de Bravo, but that one is super congested all the time... the B roads that connect Estado de Mexico with Morelos are also pretty cool, but I’m not very certain of the safety or the state of the roads.

Khalbali > CB 08/17/2019 at 11:29

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Got plenty of that here thanks. Maybe I just need a muscle car or something, I've always been into imports and they're just not well suited here.

P5guy now GTIguy > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:29

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Im in Lake County IL and I'm in the same boat as you. Was just in Wy and ID and the roads were great. There's nothing here. I asked SavageGeese where he films when he was on the Smoking tire Podcast and he basically there's nothing around here either. 

Khalbali > Svend 08/17/2019 at 11:31

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Maybe when you're done brexiting I'll immigrate.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > SiennaMan 08/17/2019 at 11:32

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True, but SE Ohio has some of the best driving roads in the country. The area around Hocking Hills is used by major Auto rags for their best car  of whatever tests all the time.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:34

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I too am interested in the answer here...

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Just Jeepin' 08/17/2019 at 11:34

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E- yur-r ope

KnowsAboutCars > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:34

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There are few places with scenic twisty roads within the metro area here. I wouldn’t call them (at least the ones I’ve driven) safe for spirited driving though. There are probably more within an hour’s drive. I guess some spots on the highways close to the city could be described as scenic.

Svend > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:37

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I don’t care what happens with Brexit now just lets get on with it, just shit or get off the pot already. 

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:37

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I work downtown in a metro area. I can be on twisty, hilly roads in 10 minutes. And stay on them for hours. Pick a direction from where I live, throw a dart at a map, you can find a road worth exploring. Traffic in the city often sucks, but isn't as bad as Seattle.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:39

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When I used to live in NJ, finding fun roads and places to enjoy nature are why I put so many damn miles on my Miata. I just had to drive for an hour before it got anything other than straight and boring and really it took two hours or more to anything really interesting. And by then I had been driving a while so it wasn’t something you just did without planning.

Now that I live in Los Angeles the fun roads are a plenty. My commute takes Mulholland Highway to a few different Canyon options and the PCH. So within 15 minutes of home I’m already engulfed in beautiful mountain scenery, race track level twists and turns, and generally minimal traffic. If I expand my drive to within an hour, I have pretty much every possible great road I could imagine. The best part though is the weather. Sure, sometimes it’s a bit hot but there is no “off season” here. There is no 5 months of bleak freezing weather to prevent driving. I can just Canyon carve year round reliably.

I'd consider anywhere with mountains to be great though. You just get varying degrees of winter in other places. The PNW, Smokey Mountain of NC/TN/VA, and parts of the northeast all have arguably equally great roads but winter just gets in the damn way. And they still get weather in the summer too. I have a ZERO percent chance of coming across rain in july/August here. 

BeaterGT > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:41

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Not great, not terrible.  Could use some more elevation.

InFierority Complex > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:42

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The roads in Colorado are okay and have some pretty good variation depending on where you go. After travelling through southern Indiana and Kentucky I have serious county backroad envy. So many of the roads in Colorado are unpaved once you get off the main roads while out here it’s like every little trail no matter how untraveled is paved.

Chinny Raccoon > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:46

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Most of Wales is within a couple of hours with it’s great windy routes, particularly in the Brecon Beacons and heading up towards Snowdonia. Within 10 miles it’s mostly tight little lanes (ideal for road rallying!) and some nice quiet B roads.

Wurrwulf > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 11:57

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I’m in the New Orleans area, and there's really not much around here. Everything is flat and poorly maintained. Any entertaining stretches of road are short lived. The good thing is that there's a racetrack 20 minutes away, though.

vondon302 > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 12:14

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Hocking hills Ohio is kinda near Columbus. Car and driver tests cars around there. Great hiking and cheap cabins too.

Edit I see this has been said  

I live in se Michigan and we’ll go down there just to hit the roads.

SiennaMan > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 08/17/2019 at 12:15

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This is absolutely true, the further east southeast from Cincy you get, the better the roads get for fun drives..

vondon302 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 08/17/2019 at 12:16

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Oops just said the same.

;)

WilliamsSW > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 12:16

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Ugh. I’m in the Western Suburbs now, but when I lived in Wicker Park, I lost all interest in cars completely. It’s come Bach because driving is at least not painful now, but you have to drive quite a ways to find good driving roads - too far for me to go to because little kids. 

WilliamsSW > SiennaMan 08/17/2019 at 12:18

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West is good too - I used to road trip from Dayton to Bloomington IN and there were some good roads in between. I think east of Dayton was better though. 

WilliamsSW > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford 08/17/2019 at 12:21

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Those roads are boring, but at least there’s no traffic. And although they’re 99% dead straight, they occasionally make a hard 90 degree turn.  

Milky > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 12:30

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Shit but we still have fun though.

CB > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 12:39

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Driving a Fiesta ST, I feel you.

Khalbali > WilliamsSW 08/17/2019 at 12:45

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Yeah I'm out west too, I just loved being 30min away from the Rocky mountains so much. I would go for drives like 3-4 times a week, after work, weekends, over night, it was my meditation and decompression and I just don't have that here. I'm looking into new hobbies but my stress, anxiety and depression have gone way up since moving here and all I can think about is how badly I want to leave.

Khalbali > SiennaMan 08/17/2019 at 12:48

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So would Cincy be good? Or would I have to live somewhere smaller? I just don't have a ton of skills so finding a job might be easier in a bigger city, although I'm certainly not a city guy. I've only been to Cincy once but I didn't mind it, could be worth a visit.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 12:51

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I’m in SE Wisconsin and while there are a few stretches of road that are fun do find anything  really enjoyable I need to drive out to the opposite side of the state. 

Urambo Tauro > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 12:56

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Road quality: it’s Michigan. Fresh pavement is nice for a few months, then becomes rough again until the next resurfacing 20 years later. Hope you like potholes.

Road layout: With few exceptions, the first two words of Tron: Legacy describe it best.

There are only a handful of fun twisty roads around , and none of them are paved. As for paved roads, you’ll occasionally f ind one tight corner to divebomb.

WilliamsSW > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 13:01

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I know what you mean. You need something to de- stress, and it’s difficult to make driving that hobby here.

I look forward t o escaping this area too, but with family close by and little kids a t home, it ain’t happening any time soon.

Flying used to be that for me, but I’ve gotten away from it, and my wife isn’t a fan at all. 

You must be fairly near both me and shop- teacher. I’m a bit south of Oak Brook, he’s a bit north.

Khalbali > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/17/2019 at 13:07

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North or west?

SiennaMan > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 13:13

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I'd say Cincy, Lexington,  Louisville, Dayton or Columbus would be fine on the larger cities.  In terms of low speed suburban road fun, Cincy or Lexington might be best.  I grew up in the suburbs of Cincy where a) there was a road named Devil's Backbone and b) where I accidentally hill hopped a Dodge Omni back in high school..

SiennaMan > WilliamsSW 08/17/2019 at 13:14

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This is true, southern Indiana in general has some good prospects 

Maxima Speed > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 14:51

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I live on the best driving road in Ohio IMHO. State Route 555. I also live within a short distance of some of the other great ones. 676, Scenic route 78, etc. Southeast Ohio has a nice mix of sweeping fast roads, tight technical roads, single lane paved, and gravel roads through a beautiful rural wooded/ farm land setting. I would recommend highly. Cost of living is pretty low but job opportunities can be fewer depending on the field.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 15:54

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As a Virginia resident we have many nice roads, just don’t speed! On a related note I have driven down the roads PG and the infamous speeding incident and I totally get it.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 15:54

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As a Virginia resident we have many nice roads, just don’t speed! On a related note I have driven down the roads PG and the in famous C amero incident and I totally get it.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 16:18

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West, the driftless region and along the Mississippi have some great roads

MrSnrub > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 17:56

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The Texas hill country has some nice curvy roads and good scenery . Pretty accessible from Austin or San Antonio

Hey Julie > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 18:21

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Yep and the Denver/ boulder area is full of great roads and hidden spots as well as scenic views. Now where I live  it’s probably at least an hour drive to anywhere without traffic but I guess you could call any time spent on the highway here as spirited driving, 8 lanes and everyone is going 100mph 

Khalbali > Phyrxes once again has a wagon! 08/17/2019 at 18:27

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Any particular area?

Khalbali > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/17/2019 at 18:28

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Yeah I think I’m gonna go out to Galena tomorrow and check that out, but I'd be open to Wisconsin or Iowa I just really hate Illinois.

Khalbali > Hey Julie 08/17/2019 at 18:30

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Yeah we have lots of open country roads here but I miss the twistys, I’m more of an import guy and my Mazdas  don’t like the straight open road as much, I guess maybe I just have to get a muscle car or something.

Khalbali > MrSnrub 08/17/2019 at 18:34

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That looks beautiful, I'll keep that in mind too.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Khalbali 08/17/2019 at 18:39

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Some of that depends on what you want out if it, either just a drive and scenery or places to stop and drink/eat along the way. Generally you have to escape the suburbs to make it happen. PG rain afoul of a state trooper in Rappahannock which does have some nice wineries but is your stereotypical sleepy country county away from DC where people do commute into DC (because they are insane?) but they like the “peaceful life. ” If you want twisty mountain roads you just need to pick which part of the “valley” you want to deal with. My experience with two lane country roads (some state routes some US routes) has largely been central VA between NoVa and C’ville/Fredericksburg.
 

pip bip - choose Corrour > Khalbali 08/18/2019 at 03:52

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good roads near me

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Khalbali 08/18/2019 at 08:57

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If I could work remotely I’d move to the drift less region in a heartbeat. I don’t know what you do but if you can’t work remotely then finding a job will probably be the hardest part

Khalbali > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/18/2019 at 11:45

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Yeah I can't work remotely, but I'm not really qualified for much anyways so I'd probably just go back to restaurants or something, it's not like I have a great job here.

RutRut > Khalbali 08/19/2019 at 12:19

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San Luis Obispo, CA aka the central coast, pretty epic road options with good weather year round (average is 73). 2.5 hours to Laguna Seca, 4.5 to Sonoma, 3 to LA or SF and plenty of canyons and twisty back roads to run locally without much traffic.