Out of 4 states to live.....

[wytx]

If Wyoming is crap why the heck does half of your state head up here every weekend.

You'll probably figure out from these posts we don't get along with our Greenie neighbors to the south.

 

[Murdy]

I've seen a few mentions of the Wyoming weather. Is it really that different than Montana?

 

[wytx]

Couldn't say, never lived in Montana.
I think the wind is the difference. It is very dry climate with bitter cold in winter some years. Days and even weeks below zero get old.
80 is hot in summer for us in this part of the state.
We'll be hunting a great LQ elk area just 1 hr from the house this weekend. Deer and antelope are also right here. Best moose hunting in the state just down the road also. First wolf harvest in the area 2 weeks ago.
Jobs, that is the issue.

 

[TheTone]

As someone who has spent their whole life in ID I would choose montana or wyoming based on quality of hunting and population levels. Idaho is growing like crazy right now and property values are getting just stupid.

 

[Bramk]

I chose Wyoming. Tons of outdoor opportunity and big mountains. Winters and wind aren't bad at all (sheridan). I will say I would NEVER live in 95 percent of the state.


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[3forks]

I was born and raised on the western slope of Colorado, but moved to Montana to guide fishing and stayed for 20 years.

My wife's job brought us back in Colorado, and can say that the same shit that motivated me to leave Colorado was becoming common in most of the cities in Montana that many would need to live in if they were coming from another part of the country.

Bozeman, Helena, Missoula, and other larger cities have the most jobs and those are the cities that are most viable for people coming from other areas of the country. The Montana people dream of moving to certainly exists in rural and less popular areas of the state. To an extent, some aspects of the "Montana Dream" can still be found around bigger and more popular cities - but it's fading quickly.

I would never encourage anyone to move to Colorado. I have great memories of growing up in the state, but all of its attributes and central location in relation to the rest of the US has been its downfall. It's almost a like the state is a drain for the rest of the nation and all the douchebags and bullshit that we would all want to avoid collect in Denver.

 

[ghost338]

As someone else mentioned, if you're into salmon and steelhead or any kind of saltwater activity, then WA is the obvious choice. As bad as the politics can be the, state has it all, from a temperate rainforest to the desert, mountains to the sea.

 

[rileybassman]

As someone else mentioned, if you're into salmon and steelhead or any kind of saltwater activity, then WA is the obvious choice. As bad as the politics can be the, state has it all, from a temperate rainforest to the desert, mountains to the sea.

Yup it does have everything and is very beautiful! Grew up there. Elk hunting is tough tho and OTC tags suck. Drawings take a long time to get decent tags IME.

The fishing is good but getting more restricted.

Hunting seasons are pretty short.

Traffic, politics, and prices pushed me away.

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[BeastOfTheTrees]

Sounds like every state has a slew of problems however which state doesn’t..... I appreciate all this insight probably not going to deter me any though whichever state I get into a good school program with I’ll probably go to Wyoming does seem less crowded though..... hell anything that has wilderness a little closer and isn’t Colorado Springs I’ll be happy with

 

[Murdy]

We should all have it so good. Any of them would probably beat 3/4 of the states in the nation easily.

 

[DAOutfitters208]

One thing to think about it state income tax, which Idaho and Montana have. Its far more expensive than out of state tags. We moved here years ago and now that we have kids, we are going to be heading back to Washington. The public schools here are terrible when compared to whats next door in Washington. I will second the observation that the area has also been flooded with new residents in the last few years and it feels over crowded.

I wouldn't pick the state you live in based off hunting seasons. There are a lot more important issues that affect your day to day life than some cheap tags in the fall. Unless you are single. If you are single and don't plan on changing that, money isn't an issue, and you get plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors, Western Montana gets my vote.

 

[Matt W.]

I feel that every where I research folks complain that there are to many people, and to many hunters... I feel that way as well about areas I hunt. Yet statistics say we are losing more hunters than gaining... I'd be curious to see a report that shows historical hunting license purchases by state. My gut says the west is gaining hunters and the east is losing?? But that is just a wild hunch......

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Obviously hunting seasons aren’t the only factor in a move I understand this however if chasing wild game is a lifestyle and not just a hobby then of course it’s going to be a huge factor in bringing one to a specific state..... elk are in the west not east at least not enough to hunt every year

 

[bigdesert10]

You probably wouldn't like Idaho. There's no internet and everybody lives in trailer parks. Napoleon Dynamite is a pretty accurate description of our lifestyle here. Probably should just scratch Idaho off the list. State's full, anyway.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

Wyoming by a landslide

Best state in the union.

 

[Murdy]

I feel that every where I research folks complain that there are to many people, and to many hunters... I feel that way as well about areas I hunt. Yet statistics say we are losing more hunters than gaining... I'd be curious to see a report that shows historical hunting license purchases by state. My gut says the west is gaining hunters and the east is losing?? But that is just a wild hunch......

Totally subjective, but it feels a little more crowded around here than it used to. It seems like there is a spike in interest in hunting, at least in the Midwest (and not just the hipster-hunters we hear about sometimes).

 

[Ndbowhunter]

There's not a lot of leftover tags like the last 7 to 10 years have offered...

It's an offshoot of a good economy. Guys are swinging an extra trip every year..

Hunting has always been a bit busy in the Midwest.

 

[Matt W.]

Totally subjective, but it feels a little more crowded around here than it used to. It seems like there is a spike in interest in hunting, at least in the Midwest (and not just the hipster-hunters we hear about sometimes).

Ha! There ya go, we all feel pressure, but according to what I read in magazines, social media, etc. Hunters as a whole are declining... I want to find the state where they are declining (unless of course it is due to loss of critters)!

 

[Billinsd]

Eastern Montana, it's way underrated. I just spent a week out there, and it's on my shortlist. However, I don't want to live in any northern state all winter, and I want to travel the west a lot.
Western Montana has really changed, not to my liking. I love the mountains, scenery, but people, not so much.
Permanent residence in Eastern Montana and winter house in Northern Nevada, somewhere in Utah with milder winters and near cities, living in a rural area with tough winters all year, year in and year out ain't for me. Other possibility is Idaho.

 

[Billinsd]

Utah is full. Mostly decent people still. However, there are too many subdivisions, too much traffic, and hustle and bustle. Good people, politically similar to me, which is nice. It wasn't till I got to Rock Springs, in Wyoming, did I feel like I was out of the rat race. And there was a big advertisement against grizzly bear hunting. I just about fell over. I thought, how much further east do I gotta go. Luckily not much further. Came into oil and cattle company and I started to relax. I'd actually traveled back in time. I really loved Gillette. Eastern Wyoming is nice too.