Move from NJ to MT or CO? Need guidance.

[Eagle]

If you want to avoid kalifornication, I really think WY is your only hope. MT/ID/CO are all slowly being taken over by liberals from CA/OR/WA.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

A bunch of guys are saying Wyoming. My question is where would you suggest? I know nothing of the state other than route 80 on my way to Steamboat Springs.


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[Zak89]

I’ve done more less the same researching as you.
I’m coming from CA though.
My first requirement, like you, is NO liberal politics, and unfortunately CO fails there. Though the outlying rural areas have very conservative holdouts the majority of the population is in the major (liberal) cities. I have several friends that moved there and i warned them and sure enough they want out now.
Montana, by statistics, is the most conservative state in the US (last i checked, last year).
But the snowfall for you might be a dealbreaker

I came from CO to CA, and I would definitely move back in a heartbeat, but not to the big cities. The mountains in CO are really something special. I'm not going to name towns since I plan on living there someday!

Politics alone is a pretty poor reason to dismiss CO. Only you can define how liberal is too liberal, but I can tell you CO is not even close to NJ or CA.

Plenty of good options out there, ideally you would be able to take extended vacations in these places before moving.

I agree, I don't see a reason to make politics such a big factor in a moving decision. Much more important considerations like cost of living, outdoor recreation, etc.. I live in California and life is good as long as I don't let the crazies get to me!

 

[JRMiller]

Montana isn't really that conservative sadly. We've had a democrat governor forever and Bozeman is becoming the most yuppy liberal hellhole I've ever seen. It's changing fast and I think in the next 10-15 years will probably be a swing state. We just don't have enough populace in the rural areas to make up for the coastal liberal transplants. If you want a solid red state Wyoming is the place to be. That being said, my wife and I just relocated from Bozeman to Laurel, just west of Billings. Nice little town with that Montana feel to it and still pretty close to Billings. Roundup kinda has the same feel to it. I wish more of the transplants here were people like you that don't want to bring the coastal elitist ignorance with them but sadly most are hellbent on ruining what we have.

You are correct. I realized later i was thinking of Wyoming being the most conservative state, which it still appears to be

 

[Mlank]

A bunch of guys are saying Wyoming. My question is where would you suggest? I know nothing of the state other than route 80 on my way to Steamboat Springs.


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Yes. I’d like to hear more on WY. How do the bigger cities compare to one another?
I think most would have something to meet the wife’s agenda : Target, Amazon deliveries, a handful of decent restaurants, a grocery store with great options (similar to Whole Foods but, not)...

 

[alexanderg23]

Yes.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Go to Colorado.

It’ll suit your needs better.

 

[bobr1]

Wyoming 2 biggest cities are Cheyenne and Casper with ~60k people each, the third largest is half that, and it dwindles down drastically from there. The only targets are in Cheyenne and Casper, and there are no Costco's in the state. Wyoming has extremely varied terrain, the I-80 does not give a good representation of the entire state and it is one of my least favorite drives in the country especially in the winter. Depending on if both of you work, I'd narrow down cities that you like and apply for jobs in all of them. It can be extremely difficult for people moving out west to get jobs in certain areas. So it would be better to have the jobs lined up then move vs moving and trying to get a job. Or if you don't mind a career change there are a lot more opportunities.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

Wyoming 2 biggest cities are Cheyenne and Casper with ~60k people each, the third largest is half that, and it dwindles down drastically from there. The only targets are in Cheyenne and Casper, and there are no Costco's in the state. Wyoming has extremely varied terrain, the I-80 does not give a good representation of the entire state and it is one of my least favorite drives in the country especially in the winter. Depending on if both of you work, I'd narrow down cities that you like and apply for jobs in all of them. It can be extremely difficult for people moving out west to get jobs in certain areas. So it would be better to have the jobs lined up then move vs moving and trying to get a job. Or if you don't mind a career change there are a lot more opportunities.

I won't need to find a job. I am an Independent Financial Advisor so I essentially would just be moving my office. My clients are all over the country. My wife would need to find a job. She has worked as an office manager and bookkeeper her entire life so I don't think that would be very hard and even if she didn't find a job we would be fine with the reduced cost of living by just the cost of real estate.

The plan is to research areas then visit them before we commit to moving there. We would most likely sell our home here and after deciding on an area we would rent before committing to buying so we have the flexibility of moving if it turns out we don't like it there.

 

[cnelk]

Visit the Western States in January.
Summers in the West are pure awesome, so you might as well see what winter is like

 

[fngTony]

Are you retaining or building new clientele? My wife has been in your industry for 20+ years. She probably has some insight about it around the Denver and more populated areas of Colorado. Send me a pm if ya got questions.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

Are you retaining or building new clientele? My wife has been in your industry for 20+ years. She probably has some insight about it around the Denver and more populated areas of Colorado. Send me a pm if ya got questions.

I would be doing both retaining my current clients as well as looking to add new clients to offset attrition as clients get older and pass away. That is why I was looking at areas that are more suburban/ urban for the area and less rural than many areas out there.


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[ramsdude47]

I have to make one more sales pitch for CO.

Even if there is some sticker shock - lateral move $ wise, for what would be viewed as a lesser home - can you put a price tag on quality of life? Do you really need a big, nice house as empty nesters? Also there is next to no chance the property value will not grow faster in CO, plus the property taxes are a fraction of what they are in NJ.

That last statement most likely applies to almost anywhere in Montana or Idaho as well, but I don't know first-hand. Demand to live in CO is nit going away any time soon.

 

[Mlank]

I have to make one more sales pitch for CO.

Even if there is some sticker shock - lateral move $ wise, for what would be viewed as a lesser home - can you put a price tag on quality of life? Do you really need a big, nice house as empty nesters? Also there is next to no chance the property value will not grow faster in CO, plus the property taxes are a fraction of what they are in NJ.

That last statement most likely applies to almost anywhere in Montana or Idaho as well, but I don't know first-hand. Demand to live in CO is nit going away any time soon.

Could you/would you speak on how Fort Collins compares to Colorado Springs. Perhaps, if one was trying to avoid Denver and too much congestion.

 

[fngTony]

Could you/would you speak on how Fort Collins compares to Colorado Springs. Perhaps, if one was trying to avoid Denver and too much congestion.

It’s all the same town now

 

[rob86jeep]

If your wife wants to still be able to experience big city shopping, then I would suggest Denver. I know a lot of people b**ch about the politics in Denver, but it gives you big city life and mountain life all within a 30 minute drive. There's a reason tons of people are moving to CO every year... While it's not for everyone, I feel like it would fit what you want (based upon your post and coming from NJ).

And don't listen to people saying Californian migrants are changing things, it has nothing to do with California. People are changing and you can't stop that.

 

[cnelk]

And don't listen to people saying Californian migrants are changing things, it has nothing to do with California.

Bullsh!t
Our governor is from California

 

[street]

Bullsh!t
Our governor is from California

Yep I see probably 10% cali plates driving around the front range.

 

[rob86jeep]

Yep I see probably 10% cali plates driving around the front range.

But CA has soooo many people, you'll see CA migrants everywhere (it's not limited to CO). You're never going to find a place that people from CA haven't moved too and it's not CA politics getting dispersed (it's American citizen politics getting dispersed). WY, MT, NM, CO, (wherever), doesn't have any more right to say what should be the law than someone from CA. While I may not agree with them, I feel they should have the right to feel/think however they want and to move to whatever state they want within the US.

 

[bobr1]

If you don't think Montana is headed the way of Colorado you should read these. This is from today and yesterday.

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2020/06/24/seeking-safe-haven/

https://montanafreepress.org/2020/06/23/realtors-report-out-of-state-rush-on-montana-real-estate/