I will venture a guess that most people think where they live is the
best. 8-)
But really, I would say that a few areas I would consider to be premier
places to live (not just one), but if you are seriously thinking of
relocating, there are a few more things than autocross to take into
consideration, right? Okay..maybe not. 8-)
Criteria to be considered:
1. Lot availability. Size of lot, type of surface.
2. Length of season and number of events.
3. Proximity to a Starbucks.
4. Distance of lot from where the people live.
5. Weather.
6. Competition, both in helpfulness and national level ability.
Your weighting of these criteria may vary. For example, you may not care
about the Starbucks, but I do.
My take is that San Diego has to be way up there. We have the huge
Qualcomm/Jack Murphy lot with the 1+ mile long courses. Nice speed
ability. We also have the NTC Bay lot.
We run all year. The season never ends. We do work around other users of
the Stadium, so we may have fewer events than some areas. I think we get
around 15 events per year. But, add in how close Los Angeles is, and you
can run many more events if you include San Bernardino and Hollywood
Park.
There is a Starbuck near the Stadium. In fact, Qualcomm is one of the
nicest venues I have run at. It is centrally located. I can see it from
my backyard.
San Diego's weather has some excitement but mostly blue skies and mild
temperatures.
Some of the nation's best compete here, the friendliest folks you will
ever meet.
The jobs in San Diego are plentiful and opportunities are great. Helps
to pay for them tires. 8-P
And because not everyone autocrosses all the time (well, except Barbara
Boehme..joking Barb!..congrats on how well you did); we have LegoLand,
The Zoo, world class beaches, La Jolla, Sea World, and great mountain
twisty touring roads.
Comparable places to autocross IMHO:
San Francisco/Bay area. More events and lots and they meet all the other
criteria. The friendliest autocrossers live here. They do have a winter.
Seattle. More opportunity to practice in the wet, and they are infested
with Starbucks. The friendliest autocrossers live here. Season is
shorter.
I am sure that some of the middle and east coast places are nice, but
this is my experience. Mari, you and Eric should vacation here at an
autocross. You guys can drive my car for the cost of a lunch (fish
tacos).
Randy Chase
Team Caffienated
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