If you could move and live anywhere in the lower 48 where would you go?

[Sierra Hunter]

I guess if we are talking about a dream I’d say I would love to pick up a couple thousand acres in the Edward’s plateau area of Texas somewhere around Rocksprings. It’s pretty quiet out there. Good hunting for all kinds of stuff. Pretty country. I like Texas. Gets some negativity around here due to lack of public land but if I could get a couple thousand acres that wouldn’t matter to me much.

In reality I think I’m about where I’d like to be here in southeast AZ.

It’s gorgeous down there, incredibly diverse country. Spend time around sonoita every year

 

[4rcgoat]

As a nonresident, I used to wonder why so few people lived in Wyoming. As a resident, I now understand.

The hunting opportunities are great, but that’s a few months at best. WY also offers world-class snow shoveling for up to half the year.

View attachment 834959

Same here,lived here for 17 years......moving to Arizona a.s.a.p.
Done with winters.

 

[CHWine]

Born in NorCal in '58. For the first 30 years of my life I was proud to be from CA. Then it slowly shifted and now it's completely ruined.
I retired 3 years ago and we knew we'd never be able to afford living there on a fixed income. It wasn't easy to leave lifelong friends and family but the grandkids are all grown and not as fun.
We settled on the White Mtn area of AZ....Show Low area. 7000 ft keep in cool in the summer and we get some snow in the winter but it usually melts in a couple of days before the next one. We also average about 300 days of sunshine a year.
This area is quite conservative, and after being in CA all those years, it's such a pleasure to be around like minded folks.
We're 3+ hrs from Phoenix if we feel the need for city life (going to a spring training game next week).
I haven't been lucky enough to draw an elk tag but my odds are better than most places.
We were never going to be able to have a summer/winter house situation so we tried to find something in the middle.

 

[CorbLand]

Same here,lived here for 17 years......moving to Arizona a.s.a.p.
Done with winters.

Same here. Grew up with a sled between my legs or a board strapped to my feet. Very tired of the cold and shoveling snow. Wife is from AZ so hopefully we will be down that way in the next 5-7 years.

 

[danwattsmessick]

Somewhere in the Flathead Valley of Montana.

 

[4rcgoat]

Same here. Grew up with a sled between my legs or a board strapped to my feet. Very tired of the cold and shoveling snow. Wife is from AZ so hopefully we will be down that way in the next 5-7 years.

Wish it were different, but it is what it is. Almost 50,been a residential framer for 28,too many days wasted to crap weather. Folks live outside Sedona,and I'm an avid mountain biker,best of both worlds.
Wyoming is a vacation destination for me now.

 

[317millhand]

Alaska, in seclusion

 

[Weldor]

Been in AZ for 40 plus years, I'm headed out. Way to many folks now. Phoenix is just L. A. 30 years ago. It has changed a bunch the last 10 years. I'm lucky I don't have to drive to the Rim area, traffic is terrible on the weekends. Prices are high. The mid west looks more reasonable at my age. Get alot for your money.

 

[mt terry d]

Right where I am.

 

[Sward343]

Been in AZ for 40 plus years, I'm headed out. Way to many folks now. Phoenix is just L. A. 30 years ago. It has changed a bunch the last 10 years. I'm lucky I don't have to drive to the Rim area, traffic is terrible on the weekends. Prices are high. The mid west looks more reasonable at my age. Get alot for your money.

Not to mention crime is through the roof, I’m Phoenix PD in Maryvale and it’s just insane how many shooting we have.

 

[7RemMag]

I don’t like to ever say never, but I moved to Wyoming from rural north-central PA about 3 years ago. I’m fairly certain I’ve found home for the rest of my life. Parents moved out here about 6 months later as did my 17 year old sister. It’s not always perfect, but for me the pro’s far outweigh the negatives.

If politics were no issue I think I’d prefer the topography of Idaho or parts of Montana, but their political climates are changing quite rapidly. I’d likely face another move in my lifetime. Alaska has a certain allure to it as well, but I doubt I’d ever make that jump.

 

[Rotnguns]

I don’t like to ever say never, but I moved to Wyoming from rural north-central PA about 3 years ago. I’m fairly certain I’ve found home for the rest of my life. Parents moved out here about 6 months later as did my 17 year old sister. It’s not always perfect, but for me the pro’s far outweigh the negatives.

If politics were no issue I think I’d prefer the topography of Idaho or parts of Montana, but their political climates are changing quite rapidly. I’d likely face another move in my lifetime. Alaska has a certain allure to it as well, but I doubt I’d ever make that jump.

Just to set the record straight, Idaho got even more red in the last few years, as evidenced by the most recent election. The flood of people moving here from other states turned out to be a red tide - in my experience, just about all the new residents I've met are quite a ways to the right of me, and I've been voting solid Republican for decades. For example, a traditional democrat-held seat in the Boise area flipped to Republican last November. Aside from the blue-tinged urban areas of Boise and part of Pocatello, and the exclusive enclaves in Blaine County, the vast majority of Idaho is solid red. There is literally NO elected statewide or national representative office currently occupied by a Democrat. And even in Ada County, where Boise is located, all of the elected county officials are Republicans.

 

[Weldor]

Cool except for their new city flag, (Boise) LOL

 

[Rotnguns]

Cool except for their new city flag, (Boise) LOL

What a mess that is. Expect the legislature to close that loophole next session.

 

[7RemMag]

Just to set the record straight, Idaho got even more red in the last few years, as evidenced by the most recent election. The flood of people moving here from other states turned out to be a red tide - in my experience, just about all the new residents I've met are quite a ways to the right of me, and I've been voting solid Republican for decades. For example, a traditional democrat-held seat in the Boise area flipped to Republican last November. Aside from the blue-tinged urban areas of Boise and part of Pocatello, and the exclusive enclaves in Blaine County, the vast majority of Idaho is solid red. There is literally NO elected statewide or national representative office currently occupied by a Democrat. And even in Ada County, where Boise is located, all of the elected county officials are Republicans.

This is a trend that I hope continues. Perhaps what I’ve seen or heard of is smaller pockets, which are admittedly even occurring in Wyoming. Thank you for clarifying.

 

[Shooter45]

Wyoming can be ‘breezy’ depending where you are. The western side is more mild in comparison to the eastern side. Winters are fine just gets chilly a month or so. Very conservative values and no state income tax. Lots of public land and plenty of hunting and fishing opportunities. Price has gone way up in the past 5 years same as everywhere else.

On the other hand, Wyoming is overpopulated, no attractive women, and it’s a miserable place to live...

 

[ReaptheHeat]

WY to get out of this CO cold, the best hunting, no dumb laws. no income tax. ID and MT a close second. Honestly depends on land prices in a couple decades.

 

[AK Troutbum]

I had the opportunity to visit all 50 states and live in 8 of them:
Pennsylvania
New Hampshire
Delaware
Washington
Colorado
Tennessee
Alaska
New York

I would live in Key West (Florida) and learn to take the heat because it is arguably the best year around fishing in the USA. If that didn't work out Tennessee would be my second choice. I would never move back to PA or CO even if you paid me and gave me a free house.

I'm kind of in agreement with you here and have had similar experiences. I haven't been to all 50 states (yet to see Nebraska, Rhode Island, N. Dakota, Delaware, or Connecticut), but I have lived in:
California
Oklahoma
Utah
Washington
Colorado
Wyoming
Missouri
South Carolina
New York
Florida
and Alaska for the last 33 years

That said, I'm hoping to retire in the next 3 years and while I'll never give up my Alaska residency, I would like to spend Nov.-Apr. in south Florida. Right now I'm looking at Everglades City/Chokoloskee area. It most definitely has the best warm water fly fishing I've ever experienced, and although it does have some drawbacks, I think the pro's far exceed the con's.

 

[PSDBowhunter]

Hard to say. Too crowded in SWFL for me these days but my career is established here and at 62 Im not starting over. If I retire , and I probably wont, I would probably like to have two small places. One in Alabama for whitetail and turkey hunting from October thru April then somewhere the summers are cool like out west in the mountains or woods or both on a lake.
I would just like two small cabins and barn or garage. Nothing fancy just functional and low up keep.
I have a small dry cabin in Alabama now and I do good in it for three week stretches but would need just a bit bigger set up for full time living. Nice dream to think about.

I thought for a while about just having small livable prefab sheds around the places I hunt and fish on a lot and just traveling around to them as I pleased. If they were off grid
I would just carry my generator in an enclosed trailer with my SXS from one to the others. I could think of about ten places to put them.

Im old so both places need to be a few hours from a good sized town for healthcare.

My wife and I have been talking about something similar recently. I was looking at it from a potential investment standpoint. Buy a small piece of ground in multiple states that we would like to spend time in. It would have to be raw land to set up a camper or an off grid cabin to minimize upkeep.

We live in the mountains of North Central Pennsylvania. It's a good area to raise kids and only about 3-4 hours from both our families. There's decent whitetail, turkey, bear, and small game hunting. If I ever draw an elk tag in PA I'm just on the edge of elk country and can be in the middle of it in 1.5 hrs. We also get 4 seasons, which is nice. The winters can be a touch long which got us thinking about this.

My original thought was to find a small parcel down south where we could go for a few weeks in the winter. Somewhere that isn't popular and crowded. Ideally, next to a large state or national Forest. Alabama is intriguing with their late rut deer hunting.

Then I started going down the rabbit hole of small parcels in other states we would like to spend time in. Montana, Wyoming, mountains of NC, West Virginia. Owning land is usually a good thing and we could figure out places we would potentially stay for the winter, retire to, or just spend tine vacationing.

 

[Lil_Tan]

Wyoming can be ‘breezy’ depending where you are. The western side is more mild in comparison to the eastern side. Winters are fine just gets chilly a month or so. Very conservative values and no state income tax. Lots of public land and plenty of hunting and fishing opportunities. Price has gone way up in the past 5 years same as everywhere else.

On the other hand, Wyoming is overpopulated, no attractive women, and it’s a miserable place to live...

You and WyDOT must have a different definition of “breezy”. I they shut down I-80 just shy of 60 times per winter. Because I don’t want to get stuck in some town for 3 days I won’t even drive across Wyoming in the winter.