Considering a Move to Another State

[Krogen]

Thanks, everybody! I appreciate your insight. I see that many of you have faced or are contemplating the same decision we are. You pointed out a number of things and places missing from our punch list. Above all, I see friendly and welcoming people that we're looking to be around. It would be an honor to be your neighbors.

 

[raljr1]

Completely unrelated, but I had to make a business trip to Pittsburgh several years ago. Gorgeous brown stones, walk to everything, and there's a beautiful church there, cant remember the name. I have been to worse places.

There was an article not long ago which stayed that if Pittsburgh was in Europe, people would travel hundreds of miles to visit it. Lots of good stuff nearby, big city with a small city feel...

Robert

 

[raljr1]

Free gas? I'm not following you...

Natural gas from underground wells.. if you sold gas rights, one of the perks is free natural gas for home use.

Robert

 

[PALADIN85020]

It's terrible -- really awful -- to reach the age where you just want to live your life peaceably and instead you have to consider moving.

I was born and raised in Baltimore, spent 30 years in the Baltimore City Fire Department, and have lived in Maryland all my life...and I no longer even recognize this state. Our idiotic gun laws...our sky-high taxes...the far-left agenda of our elected officials...the wild, out-of-control crime in and around the urban areas of the state...it's too much.

I really want to leave, but I'll be 68 next month, and the thought of packing up my home and garage, and starting over, is really depressing. I tell people that I'm only staying here for the crabcakes and Scrapple...

I love crab cakes and Scrapple. Come to Arizona, bring some with you and we'll get together for lunch!

John

 

[Doug627]

Many people got the free gas for allowing the well to go in or pipes across land. I certainly agree to check before buying because not all have free gas.

 

[tominboise]

That's what I was afraid of happening, is it just the Boise area or also other area? We looked at St. George and Twin Falls, and wanted to check out Post Falls too, but could not do that due to my wife's surgeries.

I wouldn't mind being in Post Falls where the Buck Knife factory is.. but the wife would likely take exception to idea of me and my credit card visiting the factory store in a routine basis, and veto moving to that location

All the major urban areas in Idaho are experiencing rapid growth from transplants moving in. I assume in the non urban areas as well, although not to the same extent.

I've not lived in Post Falls but a couple things to remember are that it snows a lot, it's North so lots of darkness in the winter and light in the summer, the panhandle is only lie 80 miles wide, so one must know where they are when hunting, and there is a growing population of grizzly bears around there.

I personally shoveled enough snow growing up in Montana that I would not live there, but I do go there to hunt some with a friend. The hunting there is not my favorite due to the thickness of the timber - I prefer more open country and mule deer. The panhandle has very few mulies and a lot of white tail deer.

 

[VaTom]

Southwest Virginia is nice. Winters not too bad. Roanoke area. Two National Forests within easy driving distance. Great rivers for fishing floating. Boating and largemouth/striper fishing on big Smith Mountain Lake an hour away. Trout fishing in spring and fall, smallmouth in warm weather. Appalachain Trail runs through here. Good medical care for a city our size. VA Medical Center. Some of the best medical care in the US is a three hour drive to Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC. (My wife has doctors there.)

Downside these days in Va. is a lot of the politics in the state is controlled by Northern Va. and getting tighter on gun control issues.

 

[BAM-BAM]

There was an article not long ago which stayed that if Pittsburgh was in Europe, people would travel hundreds of miles to visit it. Lots of good stuff nearby, big city with a small city feel...

Robert

"The Burg" has been rated the #1 city to live in several times over the past 25 years.

I just want to be more rural; less taxes, and away from the politics of the City.

Mom & Dad bought land in the Laurel Highlands back in 1963 and retired there in 79...... so we have long standing "family" and friend connections. Which makes the move a lot easier.

Interesting side story..... about 2 hours ago my eldest son (23) called. He moved to West Philly for a job back in November. But works from "home"/apt. He as suppose to drive home today for a long weekend ....... went out and his car (street parking) wouldn't start...... 5 yr old battery dead. He called "Dad I don't know what to do!" Luckily I remembered seeing an old fashion "Service station" one block over and one block down....... he walked over and they came and jumped his battery and saw his oil was low and added some...........

My point; when you move somewhere "new" you lose all your old connections and networks you need to get by on a daily basis. So be prepared to rebuild those networks.

 

[zeke]

I love crab cakes and Scrapple. Come to Arizona, bring some with you and we'll get together for lunch!

John

Had to learn to make my own scrapple. Even the young ladies at nearest Mennonite farm/store din't know what it was. They had to ask their father, and his had so much fat i had to drain the skillet twice, then let it sit on paper towels.

 

[charlie sherrill]

I can't really think of anyplace north of I-10 I'd like to move to. Louisiana pretty much sucks politically and economically but quite honestly I can't think of a place I'd rather live than right here.
At this stage in life all I want is to live in close proximity to medical care, a Rouses, a Costco, the Gulf of Mexico, saltwater marsh, freshwater fishing, the French Quarter and a few gambling houses. French Quarter is about 2 hours away, the rest is within 40 minute radius to destination/boat launch/hunting ponds so I am pretty well set. Don't get me wrong I like to travel but I'm gonna hang around here. Like Charlie said, the Mississippi /Alabama/Florida gulf coasts are a half day drive when I need a beach fix and Texas is the other way so I'm pretty well set. The older I get the less it takes to make me happy. The only thing I would change is to get rid of the state income tax-but that is not enough reason for me to leave Louisiana. If I did move from Acadiana, I would move to Old Town Mandeville or Madisonville Louisiana (maybe Covington-but probably not-definitely not Slidell ).

I just got back from the Slidell Gun Show. Didn't buy squat. Stuff too high. But I did find some good seafood (royal reds, flounder, jumbo shrimp, frog legs, and some other stuff at a good seafood shop) at good prices. Ate at Phil's Marina Cafe with some friends. Lots of very good seafood. From reading the local fishwraps it looks like the crime rate sucks but I didn't have any problems. I wouldn't care to live in Slidell but I do like to shop and eat there.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Going to Rouse's tomorrow in Slidell, and the gun show, and Louisiana Wine Warehouse for cheap booze.

You want cheap booze you need to try COSTCO. Their Kirkland house brand is usually a re labling of a name brand. I've discovered a "Wine to Go" in Lafayette and all I can say is WOW!!! Think Rouses only selling nothning but wine, whiskey, whisky and the sundries associated therewith. Prices are cheap too. 1.75 liter of Dewars for $30.88

 

[AJ]

You want cheap booze you need to try COSTCO. Their Kirkland house brand is usually a re labling of a name brand. I've discovered a "Wine to Go" in Lafayette and all I can say is WOW!!! Think Rouses only selling nothning but wine, whiskey, whisky and the sundries associated therewith. Prices are cheap too. 1.75 liter of Dewars for $30.88

I will check the package store on base.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I don't tell anyone where I am. And after 18 years, the locals are just now starting to trust me. I approve of their attitude and value why they are so protective. It may be too late now.

Says here you're in northern Idaho. . . .

 

[Robspeire]

Greene County, Tenn.
No state income tax. Gun friendly, good hunting , & fishing.
I am in the next county over.
I would buy close to the NC state line as National forest is there & hunting is excellent. Check out Zillow

 

[Huskerguy]

Greene County, Tenn.
No state income tax. Gun friendly, good hunting , & fishing.
I am in the next county over.
I would buy close to the NC state line as National forest is there & hunting is excellent. Check out Zillow

I looked at a map, not sure which county is "the next county over" as it could be either way it appears. I have talked about moving to Tennessee for a couple of years, just haven't fully committed to it. I need to plan a trip that way, I have more time than anything else. I am looking to get out of Kansas with high taxes and going higher. It is gun friendly, but that is about it. Ideally, at our age we would like to be close to good health care but live away from a lot of people. My dream was always to have a bass pond on my property, deer hunting on the same and a private range where I can shoot anytime I want. So where do I move to? Town and county? I look on Zillow as you said, sheesh, lots of places for sale, but that doesn't give me perspective of the lay of the land.

 

[ancient-one]

Whatever you do stay away from Arkansas, too many people here already.
And plus we have hot, humid summers, or hot, dry summers. Did I
mention floods? We have those also.

That first sentence hit home. I think it was five times in the fall of the year that we spent a month in a cabin on Bull Shoals Lake. We always stayed on Howard Creek arm of the lake. We would take our boat and the resort furnished a covered dock.
We would buy our groceries in Mt. Home and sometimes eat while in town. We were sitting in a ice cream parlor, enjoying ourselves and talking to the business owner and everything was going good until this little old lady at the next table heard us asking about property prices. She immediately told us she did want us or anyone else moving to Mt. Home.
The shop owner was shocked and begin to apologize. Come to find out she did not want any more expansion of any kind. She was mad because they had built a drive in food place close to her and she was getting a lot of wrappers and foam cups blown against her fence. She was a refugee several years prior from Chicago.
Our last trip was in 1992or93 and I would guess with the probable expansion since then she is fuming in her grave.
I want to say with few exceptions(not native), everyone was very friendly and helpful. I wanted to fish Crooked Creek for smallmouth bass but didn't have the proper lures and was referred to a store in Yellville. The man not only told me what lures to use but gave me some.
The first trip I had no idea where to fish and stopped in a marine store in Bull Shoals. The man found out where we were staying and told me the exact neck and underwater tree that he had fished the day before. I found it but didn't have his luck. Nice people and some pretty areas.

 

[PALADIN85020]

You want cheap booze you need to try COSTCO. Their Kirkland house brand is usually a re labling of a name brand. I've discovered a "Wine to Go" in Lafayette and all I can say is WOW!!! Think Rouses only selling nothning but wine, whiskey, whisky and the sundries associated therewith. Prices are cheap too. 1.75 liter of Dewars for $30.88

I buy Costco's store brand Irish Cream. Their bottles are twice the size of the original Bailey's for the same price as Bailey's. It tastes exactly the same, and I suspect that it is actually Bailey's. I could not do without a dollop in my morning coffee, and a small glass of it on the rocks is very soothing as the sun goes down!

John

 

[PALADIN85020]

You want cheap booze you need to try COSTCO. Their Kirkland house brand is usually a re labling of a name brand. I've discovered a "Wine to Go" in Lafayette and all I can say is WOW!!! Think Rouses only selling nothning but wine, whiskey, whisky and the sundries associated therewith. Prices are cheap too. 1.75 liter of Dewars for $30.88

Here in the Phoenix area, we have Total Wine and More, a store that sells name brand stuff for way less, and often has whiskey like Rebel Yell, which I used to have to order from a store in Los Angeles to be shipped to me here.

John

 

[AJ]

Here in the Phoenix area, we have Total Wine and More, a store that sells name brand stuff for way less, and often has whiskey like Rebel Yell, which I used to have to order from a store in Los Angeles to be shipped to me here.

John

We are stuck with the package store on base..............

 

[snubbyfan]

Of course I'm gonna say small town West Virginia.
540 people in our small town as of the last census.
Nearby we have a river, bike trails, hiking trails and camping areas.
Summers do sometimes get up to triple digits but that usually depends on which side of the mountain you're on. Winters are usually mild but we do sometimes get a big snow.
West Virginia's a Constitutional Carry state and people here do just that.
In our small town, guns are just part of the home decor.
Shooting clubs? That's somebodies back yard. Although we do have a nearby public shootin' range.

 

[YkcorCal]

As someone who has lived in several different states such as Arkansas, New Mexico, Texas, Pennsylvania, California, and Wyoming. I would highly recommend Wyoming if you are self employed as it checks off most of the boxes you listed and depending where you choose you would not be too far from a drive down to Denver if you wished to go to a "Big City" for some shopping, more advanced medical care or sports events. I lived in Casper in the center of the state for 10 glorious years. You will find fantastic fishing, hunting, and a lot of like minded people there. I wish you the BEST in your search! Lots of open range, State and Federal Land to explore.
Rocky

Official State Nickname of Wyoming
The nickname for Wyoming is The Equality State (Wyoming's state motto also focuses on equality; Equal Rights).

Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote in 1869 (more precisely, women were granted the right to vote so there would be enough voting citizens to meet the population requirement for statehood). This action lead to the nickname The Suffrage State and then later The Equality State.

The Cowboy State
A cowboy on a bucking horse is Wyoming's official registered trademark), which led to some calling Wyoming The Cowboy State (the cowboy and bucking bronco emblem also appears on the U.S. Mint's bicentennial commemorative quarter for Wyoming).

 

[9mmPatriot]

I used to love living in Colorado, now it's just where my job is.


Not sure where I'll be headed to when I'm ready to retire, but I don't see myself here.

It's sad when people leave a place because it's "gone to hell" and once they get settled they do everything possible to turn it into the place the escaped from.

 

[9mmPatriot]

Is it time for a new 2a friendly state?
We could have towns with catchy names!
Revolver
Seer City
We could fish on the Upper Receiver River and go skinny dipping at the Mag-Well.
Breakfast at Derringers, steaks over in Weatherby.
No free range chickens here, just free ranges.


Who's with me!?!?!

 

[YkcorCal]

I used to love living in Colorado, now it's just where my job is.


Not sure where I'll be headed to when I'm ready to retire, but I don't see myself here.

It's sad when people leave a place because it's "gone to hell" and once they get settled they do everything possible to turn it into the place the escaped from.

Colorado is a beautiful state! My wife lived in Buena Vista, Colorado when we were dating a very scenic valley surrounded by a number of fourteen thousand plus peaks and nearby hot springs. There is a real divide between the people in the big cities and those in the countryside in touch with the land and nature. I feel your pain as I hated leaving Wyoming though for different reasons as mine were purely economic because Amoco Oil closed the refinery I worker at in Casper. I LOVED Casper, the State and the people as I am very conservative minded. I will pray for you to find a new "Home" where you will find the "Peace" I know you and we all seek. God Bless you in your search my friend!

Rocky

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

WYO or SD.....

 

[AJ]

It's sad when people leave a place because it's "gone to hell" and once they get settled they do everything possible to turn it into the place the escaped from.

There is a T-Shirt here for that.

 

[ladder13]

Heck, you just described where I live. Come to Adams County, PA.

My cousin lives in Gettysburg. Both he and his wife are retired NP Rangers. They worked the battlefield for many years, then the Eisenhower Society. Both have been on C-Span discussing the ES.

I go to Carlisle every August and stay in Mechanicsburg. Before that, many years in Camp Hill.
I hate snow or would have considered moving to that area.

 

[zeke]

My cousin lives in Gettysburg. Both he and his wife are retired NP Rangers. They worked the battlefield for many years, then the Eisenhower Society. Both have been on C-Span discussing the ES.

I go to Carlisle every August and stay in Mechanicsburg. Before that, many years in Camp Hill.
I hate snow or would have considered moving to that area.

chhs class o 74

 

[zeke]

I buy Costco's store brand Irish Cream. Their bottles are twice the size of the original Bailey's for the same price as Bailey's. It tastes exactly the same, and I suspect that it is actually Bailey's. I could not do without a dollop in my morning coffee, and a small glass of it on the rocks is very soothing as the sun goes down!

John

Pretty easy to make plus p irish creme good as or better than Baileys. And lot cheaper.

 

[Faulkner]

Whatever you do stay away from Arkansas, too many people here already.
And plus we have hot, humid summers, or hot, dry summers. Did I
mention floods? We have those also.

And mosquitoes, snakes too.

I have had the opportunity to travel all over our beautiful and fabulous country, but I would never move from the Arkansas Ozarks.