What Western State To Retire In?

[Dart368]

Lots of good points to ponder. One does have to wonder how things will be in 8 to 10 years in some of the states mentioned.
I am leaning towards Idaho with maybe Utah being a close second, mostly because my best friend will be moving to the South West corner of Utah.
I guess as long as I can get a tag for Deer each year, I could be happy. I know the girlfriend really wants to hunt elk but we can always go out of state for that sometime.

 

[npm352]

Idaho is the fastest growing state in the US with many people coming from liberal strongholds.

In 8 years it will have it's own liberal country inside Boise limits just like CHAZ in Seattle.

 

[MuleyFever]

In 8 years you won’t be getting a deer tag every year in Utah. If you want to rifle hunt you are waiting 2-4 years for a tag in any decent general unit now. Archery is not 100% anymore in most decent units either so in a few more years it may be closer to every other year.

 

[Indian Summer]

I have a friend from Georgia living in Alpine Wyoming now. His wife is a nurse working in Jackson which is one of the prettiest places in the country. They along with other residents I know draw killer elk tags every year. Their general elk tags offer great hunting too. They can buy great deer tags over the counter. Antelope aren’t far. They have non-resident free wilderness areas. Every couple years they shoot bison in the National Elk Refuge. What more could you ask for! There’s no question in my mind that’s where I’d go.

 

[Russp17]

Idaho hunting is not comparable to Wyoming. Montana and Idaho are closer IMO.

I agree Wyoming hunting is much better!!! However, he is worried about climate and most areas in Wyoming have tougher winters than say the Boise area.

 

[Tag_Soup]

South Western Idaho is generally nicer climate, but any decent hunting will be a low percentage limited draw or a long drive. The population is also exploding and prices are skyrocketing. Property taxes there also aren't as friendly as they used to be. Eastern or northern Idaho would be much better from a price and hunting standpoint but will have harsher winters. I would likely lean MT or Wyoming if finding a great place to hunt regularly was a high priority. I choose Idaho for the proximity to family, but if we could go anywhere I would probably be in Alaska i think... maybe with a winter home in southern Arizona

 

[sneaky]

I have a friend from Georgia living in Alpine Wyoming now. His wife is a nurse working in Jackson which is one of the prettiest places in the country. They along with other residents I know draw killer elk tags every year. Their general elk tags offer great hunting too. They can buy great deer tags over the counter. Antelope aren’t far. They have non-resident free wilderness areas. Every couple years they shoot bison in the National Elk Refuge. What more could you ask for! There’s no question in my mind that’s where I’d go.

The Wyoming NR law for hunters in wilderness areas always has been, and always will be, bullshit. Outfitter subsidy law would be an apt description of it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Shotshill]

CALIFORNIA:
Free housing
Free food
Free medical
Abundance of wildlife
Urban and suburban critters
Short attention span
Hot women with their Ex’s wealth
Short attention span
Geography
Short attention span

 

[Roughwater]

Here is what you do and what a lot of retires do. Spend the summer in Alaska and the winter in Arizona. Establish a address and residency in AK but again winter in AZ. You will get paid to live in Ak not the other way around. Awesome fishing and hunting in AK for sure. A lot of weekend type prospectors do exactly this as there is gold to be found in both states and the cost of living is doable. I would not worry so much about the politics either way.

 

[Dart368]

CALIFORNIA:
Free housing
Free food
Free medical
Abundance of wildlife
Urban and suburban critters
Short attention span
Hot women with their Ex’s wealth
Short attention span
Geography
Short attention span

LMAO, Oh yeah...nevermind...I got it made here

 

[HankNM]

I had a choice & started looking where I wanted to retire 20 yrs ago. I was already traveling the west on vacations & hunts. Had a nice place near the coast & a cabin in the woods already. But too many damn people in between.
Offered early retirement 10 yrs ago sped the plan. Bang for my buck was my mantra.
65 & in NM. Free & clear.
The winters are cold & summers warm.Liberals are conservative & wear guns.Conservatives are liberal and eat sushi. Every county speaks a different language/dialect. Roads to the space launch pad are dirt. Hell,all the roads are dirt..........
In the largest,least populated county. No shopping,chicks,restaurants.....people.
a few neighbors,but not Gila.

 

[Dart368]

I had a choice & started looking where I wanted to retire 20 yrs ago. I was already traveling the west on vacations & hunts. Had a nice place near the coast & a cabin in the woods already. But too many damn people in between.
Offered early retirement 10 yrs ago sped the plan. Bang for my buck was my mantra.
65 & in NM. Free & clear.
The winters are cold & summers warm.Liberals are conservative & wear guns.Conservatives are liberal and eat sushi. Every county speaks a different language/dialect. Roads to the space launch pad are dirt. Hell,all the roads are dirt..........
In the largest,least populated county. No shopping,chicks,restaurants.....people.
View attachment 192202 a few neighbors,but not Gila.

From what you described, it doesn't sound half bad and your neighbors look awesome!

 

[HankNM]

Not for most folks. The wild west still in many ways. Hard living. Long ways to anything.
County ord. that every household have a firearm for safety. Very little to no crime really.
Homesteader & ranchers. Old hippies to original Tea Party folks. Lots of outdoors folks.
I looked @ several states,lived in a couple before. Road trips,lots of road trips.
What are trends in area? Growing or dying? Future? Your needs? Your family's.
Take your wife on vacations there. See what she likes and dislikes. Talk trade offs.Logically.Realisticly.
Every state is hard to draw now. That's just a fact. What are your outdoors needs?
I do not have my custom own built home & woodshop in woods. I have some land,views,some tree cover,good access & WATER.
Trade offs.
My ex came out last summer for a visit. Loved it.
But way too remote for her reality. She said it fit me & I blended like always had in the crowd,the non existant crowd...lol.
I have hunted elk every year since coming to NM, & before.That & water was a priorty. I have both.
We all came from somewhere.

 

[JJMoody]

Seems like every good place has been found. If you’re looking at plates and people anymore Idaho might as well be considered Northern California. CDA, Boise, hell,even Lewiston- flat bill caps, tattoos and super lifted diesel pickups that never get dirty and only haul ski/wake boats....

 

[805Bowhunter]

CALIFORNIA:
Free housing
Free food
Free medical
Abundance of wildlife
Urban and suburban critters
Short attention span
Hot women with their Ex’s wealth
Short attention span
Geography
Short attention span

Dont forget that taxes are virutally non-existant and the cost of living is amongst the lowest in the country.

 

[visage]

For what it's worth - I grew up in NM and now live in rural Northern Colorado. A friend of mine just moved to Arizona from Idaho Falls, ID because his wife couldn't take the winters. I was always impressed with the hunting and fishing opportunities that SE Idaho had - but it did have the cold/snow/long winters that we get here in CO and the wind that we had in eastern NM. I was also surprised on how high the housing costs there which largely was due to the influx of folks (many from CA) that has been previously mentioned. His wife was a nurse, however, so there is some opportunity there.

I wouldn't hesitate to retire in NM, but personally I wouldn't want to be in any of the larger cities that would provide job opportunities for your spouse.
Colorado would probably be last on the list as it seems to be getting very crowded and more and more liberal minded.
WY would be high on the list due to the lack of income tax, fewer people, and hunting opportunity - if you could deal with the climate.
AZ seems very friendly from a climate perspective and hunting opportunity, and reasonable housing prices.

Living in a mountain town with many second homes, I'm convinced that the ideal scenario is splitting time between a mountain home in the summer/fall (WY or ID?), and somewhere more arid in the winter (AZ or NM). Depending on your spouse's job, this could lend well to a travel nursing type career that allows her to bounce back and forth. This is definitely the route I'm interested in going.

 

[CMF]

Living in a mountain town with many second homes, I'm convinced that the ideal scenario is splitting time between a mountain home in the summer/fall (WY or ID?), and somewhere more arid in the winter (AZ or NM). Depending on your spouse's job, this could lend well to a travel nursing type career that allows her to bounce back and forth. This is definitely the route I'm interested in going.

I'm not ready to retire, but looking at ways to work remotely for freedom to travel and move somewhere with more hunt opportunity. Wy high on my list, but thinking splitting time is the best route, I would travel around and also spend some time back in the SE during the winter.
How does the residency work in places like AK or WY if you're splitting time between RV'ing or have a second home somewhere else for half the year?

 

[visage]

I'm sure someone with first hand experience can chime in, but I think you essentially have to chose/"show" that the majority of your time is spent in a particular state, which you identify as your state of residency. This gets into more tax code stuff than anything, and I think the uneducated answer if 6 months in one spot.

 

[zion zig zag]

I'm sure someone with first hand experience can chime in, but I think you essentially have to chose/"show" that the majority of your time is spent in a particular state, which you identify as your state of residency. This gets into more tax code stuff than anything, and I think the uneducated answer if 6 months in one spot.

Varies by state, WY is one year of residency, ID is 6 months. You have to have an in state address and typically that states drivers license. And the big one is not buying resident tags in any other state.

 

[HNTR918]

Wyoming!