Relocation with shooting in mind...

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I wish I could hack it in the heat. Above 80° and I need a pool or AC. Hunter Thompson said something along the lines of "my blood is too thick for California. I've never been able to properly explain myself in this climate". I can't either.

Texas is my second home though and it's where my Ma lives. I like visiting in Dec/Jan and getting strange looks in shorts and a t shirt while their all in their parkas at 60°.

I'll take snow over heat. And I dont like the idea that I could be murdered by a bug.

When I watch hickok45 out of Tennessee I think? Seems like he's in a good spot gun/weather wise.

"If heaven ain't a lot like dixie, I don't want to go. If heaven ain't a lot like dixie, I'd just assume stay home". I like the Tanya reference. I like the Hank one a smidge more :D
I don't know how old you are, but I used to like cold and hate heat and now it's the other way around. This happens to some people when they get old. I am in southern Arizona, it is raining today and currently 61 outside, my thermostat says my house is 72 but I am wearing a wool watch cap, a heavy-duty long sleeved t-shirt under a cotton robe and a long fleece robe, leggings, leg warmers, and fleece-lined crocs. So if you're under 70, take this as a word to the wise.

Back on the topic of guns, Arizona is every year found to be the most gun-friendly state in the country. No license required for concealed carry, no waiting periods etc to buy a gun. And if the hot part of the summer down here is too hot for you (110 to 115 in August) check out the northern part, they have hills with pine trees etc and I think it even snows in the winter there.
 
As for my mention of crazy AZ heat, I did refer to areas known for it, and I know well about Flagstaff and such, but man are prices for housing crazy, same with Moab UT (love that place), and it seems much of the West. My brother has lived in Gilbert for the last 30 years, and from what he tells me a lot of AZ is becoming very pricey, and I think it may be the No 1 moved to state this year, and its politics are changing. Yeah, I think the cooler, snowy areas of AZ are very nice, but when I see double-wide trailers going for way over $300k, I simply can't, won't do it. I know it's all relative, just not for me.

NV, AZ, ID, UT and CO home prices have soared in the last 15 years or so as CA refugees have fled with fat checks from the sale of their homes.
 
If you don't need a job, eastern Idaho is actually great place to live. I've lived here for four years, retired on a US government pension and in 2018 paid 0 income taxes to the state. No one bothers me. Where I live, land is expensive but over in the snake river plain, Pocetello north to Idaho Falls, land is less expensive.
But it will snow...
Regardless, DO NOT move on what others say. Take your time and research everything that is needed in a relocation, and then narrow it down and spend time in that area; if possible try it all four seasons. It's expensive to move and relocate only to find out you end up hating where you moved to cause of what others say.
I originally retired to SE Utah. Loved the area, loved off-roading, loved that no one got in your business; but after six years, realized I missed the green and yea, the snow, of the northern climes. So spend a year researching and visiting, and moved here four years ago; and have never felt I did wrong.
Primarily look at taxes for those retired. Many states will tax social security, many will not and there are a lot of other loop holes for retirees in many states. UT was very expensive to live in as a retiree with decent income and social security (which they tax...or at least when I lived there).
So take your time, and only figure postings here are suggestions. RESEARCH and STUDY in PERSON.
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Yeah, thanks for all of that. You could put it on some form of social media to get it out to more people, I bet.
 
I am in southern Arizona, it is raining today and currently 61 outside, my thermostat says my house is 72 but I am wearing a wool watch cap, a heavy-duty long sleeved t-shirt under a cotton robe and a long fleece robe, leggings, leg warmers, and fleece-lined crocs

Desert is like that.

I have kin in Safford. The sun can seem so bright that it hurts, but the heat, while hot is no where nera the oppressive heat of the bayou country around Houston in high summer.
 
Desert is like that.

I have kin in Safford. The sun can seem so bright that it hurts, but the heat, while hot is no where nera the oppressive heat of the bayou country around Houston in high summer.
Or inland north Florida/SW Ga rural areas. The heat and humidity can be brutal
 
Or inland north Florida/SW Ga rural areas. The heat and humidity can be brutal
No lie. The "Delta" region in northern MS also tough sledding.

I wish I could recommend NM, climate and scenery by the truckload. But, for VA access, it's probably limited to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Plenty of room if a person wanted it. But, Santa Fe, not so much. If a person told me I had to live in either Santa Fe or Detroit, I'd have to flip a coin, and it would probably best 2 out of 3.
That being said, a person might could fins a balance in NE NM, based on a long drive to the VA in Amarillo, TX. Or in SE NM (Sonorran desert is beautiful, too) and use the VA in El Paso. (There might be a VA facility near White Sands, but it might not meet a retiree's needs).
 
I don't know how old you are, but I used to like cold and hate heat and now it's the other way around.

Yeppers, I’m 71 and my wife is not that far behind. We still don’t like the high (95 to 100) summertime heat here all that much, but we struggle to stay warm in the winter nowadays. Our way of explaining why we used to prefer winter cold over summer hot was, “You can always put on more clothes.” But we’ve found that’s no longer true. Now that we're older, we can feel below zero cold down in our bones even when we’re not out in it and we’re wearing hats and several layers of clothes.

The other thing we have to deal with here in SE Idaho is the snow. Twenty years ago, it wasn’t a problem. We’re not skiers or snowmobilers, but we really didn’t use to mind the snow because shoveling out the sidewalk and driveway was good exercise. Nowadays it’s torture, and downright dangerous…old folks shoveling snow are risking heart attacks, strokes, and falling down and breaking bones. We have a snow blower, and we work together with our neighbor who has a blade on his ORV, but it’s still hard work considering the length of our driveways and the fact that the snow blower and ORV won’t get into the tight places.

On top of the fact that moving snow around is hard work for us old folks, later on today we are going to visit a friend in a rehab facility in Pocatello. He’s a disabled (booby trap) Vietnam Vet, but he’s in the rehab facility because he fractured a vertebrae the week before last when his vehicle slid on some black ice, went off the road, took out a fire hydrant, a stop sign, a little tree, and piled into a building.

But as far as shooting goes, I’ve written before how almost 66% of Idaho is public land, so there are plenty of places to legally and safely shoot here. I’ve also written how my shooting “range” is a county gravel pit about 2 miles south of our house. The flipsides are, in this part of Idaho, (SE Idaho) you don’t get very far into the hills this time of year unless you’re on a snowmobile or on back-country skies/snowshoes. And if you did manage to get your truck down into that county gravel pit this month, you would probably have to figure on leaving it there until spring.:uhoh:
 
I am not so sure that I like Kansas; however, I have been working here for about five years and am getting ready to move here. As far as guns go, it is a constitutional carry state. Not much is specifically restricted. The taxes are a bit high however, that is because I compare it to other states.

In all, it isn't a terribly bad place (damming with faint praise).
 
Yeppers, I’m 71 and my wife is not that far behind. We still don’t like the high (95 to 100) summertime heat here all that much, but we struggle to stay warm in the winter nowadays. Our way of explaining why we used to prefer winter cold over summer hot was, “You can always put on more clothes.” But we’ve found that’s no longer true. Now that we're older, we can feel below zero cold down in our bones even when we’re not out in it and we’re wearing hats and several layers of clothes.

The other thing we have to deal with here in SE Idaho is the snow. Twenty years ago, it wasn’t a problem. We’re not skiers or snowmobilers, but we really didn’t use to mind the snow because shoveling out the sidewalk and driveway was good exercise. Nowadays it’s torture, and downright dangerous…old folks shoveling snow are risking heart attacks, strokes, and falling down and breaking bones. We have a snow blower, and we work together with our neighbor who has a blade on his ORV, but it’s still hard work considering the length of our driveways and the fact that the snow blower and ORV won’t get into the tight places.

On top of the fact that moving snow around is hard work for us old folks, later on today we are going to visit a friend in a rehab facility in Pocatello. He’s a disabled (booby trap) Vietnam Vet, but he’s in the rehab facility because he fractured a vertebrae the week before last when his vehicle slid on some black ice, went off the road, took out a fire hydrant, a stop sign, a little tree, and piled into a building.

But as far as shooting goes, I’ve written before how almost 66% of Idaho is public land, so there are plenty of places to legally and safely shoot here. I’ve also written how my shooting “range” is a county gravel pit about 2 miles south of our house. The flipsides are, in this part of Idaho, (SE Idaho) you don’t get very far into the hills this time of year unless you’re on a snowmobile or on back-country skies/snowshoes. And if you did manage to get your truck down into that county gravel pit this month, you would probably have to figure on leaving it there until spring.:uhoh:

On the flip side you still have Lava Hot Springs where you can go soak your old bones.
 
Kansas taxes are crazy high. Still pay full tax on food and don't buy a new vehicle. I still pay 250 a year on 2004 ford ranger and 63 on a 91 plymouth. That is every year. Gun friendly yes but look out.
 
Retired,,,,western Michigan,,,the ‘Gold Coast’. Sure we have winters, but they are moderated by the big Lake....I don’t ski, or snowshore, or snowmobile anymore,,,however, seeem to keep very busy in my workshop,,with and without my guns,,,,I can shoot every day of the year right out my garage doors. Land is cheap,,, rural people are great. Concealed carry and open carry both allowed,,, some of the best fishing there is, streams, small lakes, and the Big Lake....Hunting,,,,,have to walk about 200 yards to my hunting spot,, don’t even use a stand, just plunk down on the ground,,,,have got deer every year for the last 12....
Summers, with all the beaches,,, oh, wow,,,did I mention bikinis on those girls that want to show they didn’t lose it during the winter....whew.
Michigan's gun laws, taxes, and building/ land development regs are terrible. I used to live in Baraga County. The people are fine. The hunting and fishing is great.
 
Let it be known, on occasion,
when you have been really good and have gotten all of your firearms cleaned and brass sorted,
just when you begin to think it can't be a nicer winter in Michigan...
It snows "Dippin' Dots"!:)
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I wish I had thrown a dime in for size! Only two of the big ones fit.
The kids are loving sledding on Ice Marbles. I can spot rimfire impacts at two hundred yards with how they splash!
(I'm glad it's been slow a work.;))
 
Let it be known, on occasion,
when you have been really good and have gotten all of your firearms cleaned and brass sorted,
just when you begin to think it can't be a nicer winter in Michigan...
It snows "Dippin' Dots"!:)
View attachment 825079

I wish I had thrown a dime in for size! Only two of the big ones fit.
The kids are loving sledding on Ice Marbles. I can spot rimfire impacts at two hundred yards with how they splash!
(I'm glad it's been slow a work.;))

Got that along the shoreline today ,, very early morning,,, finally started to melt around noon,,,tomorrow is going to be a beautiful winter day,
 
Wisconsin have everything you are looking for, but the winters can be brutal.
Look up the weather we have had in Eau Claire the last couple of weeks.
Every place has its problems. Its just which ones will you put up with.
 
Wisconsin have everything you are looking for, but the winters can be brutal.
Look up the weather we have had in Eau Claire the last couple of weeks.
Every place has its problems. Its just which ones will you put up with.
Why you have TWO smaller places; one good for late spring through early fall and one for fall through early spring........

Down in Florida, they call them Snowbirds; they start migrating here about October or November and then return back North about April
 
If I were younger I would definitely consider UP Michigan, yes they have a lot of snow but the gun friendly part of the state at least in the UP are fantastic, and as far as the fishing you just can't beat it, and also the deer population has gone thru the roof. Yeh, I said if I were younger right now I'm here in Southern Nevada, and have all kinds of areas where I can go shooting, have my CCW. Do have a motor home so I can get out of the nasty heat we get every summer here for 5 months, the biggest drawback is I've accumulated so much property here in the past 10 years, it would take two semis to move me and my wife. From that last election I saw Las Vegas give us a very liberal Government in Carson City NV, so it looks like I'll have to see what happens here.

Doesn't Michigan have a problem with CWD and that other whitetail disease - epizootic something?
 
rpenmanparker wrote:
Tanya Tucker said it best:

“When I die, I may not go to Heaven.
I don’t know if they let cowboys in.
If they don’t, then let me go to Texas.
Texas is as close as I’ve been.”

The same song also makes the extravagant claim that she would "ride through all of Hell and half of Texas..."

...and riding through "all of Hell" may be exactly what you do - financially speaking - if you move to move to Texas without first running the numbers.

I just chose to relocate from Texas to Arkansas knowing I would pick up both an income and a county-level personal property tax in the process.

Still, I gave up a $5,200 property tax bill (with Zero income tax) for a $4,000 income tax bill and a $650 property tax bill (along with an $80 personal property tax bill) on a property that is more valuable than the one I left behind in Texas. Tell me, am I worse off for the income tax?

Again, run the numbers BEFORE you move.

Don't be fooled. Each state has to extract sufficient wealth from its population to fund its own operation. The fact Texas has no income tax does not make it a magical paradise since what it lost in income taxes is made up in property taxes. And Texas is not as efficient in administering those tax monies as is Arkansas.
 
this is a great thread, please keep it going. im searching too after a long career spent overseas. i grew up in wmass when it was normal. now obscene home prices and insane politics make it hard to return, though its where my heart is. further out from boston normalcy has toeholds and there are enough shooters quietly tucked away. im spending alot of time in tidewater va dealing with my elderly/ailing mom but don’t like its geography, climate or ambience. several months per year in las vegas, it offers places to shoot outdoors in an hour, lots things to do or avoid, lots of people from away, easy flight connections to anywhere and a reason for relatives to visit, but the dem party’s lock on state politics is a huge looming worry. i was out of the u.s., short visits aside, for 30 years...what happened to our wonderful country?
 
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