Which state would you move to?

[Scorch]

OK, so I have to defend my choices now? It's my opinion. You can have yours, too, and I will not say you are right or wrong. But for the record:

* Alaska is too cold and has too many bugs during the time when it's not cold.
* Montana is too cold in the winter. Same for Wyoming, but to a lesser degree.
* Colorado is getting too expensive to live in and too crowded.
* E WA is good, but less so than my stated choices.
* E OR the taxes are too high.
* Arizona is too hot (anytime you can cook eggs on rocks in October, it's too hot).
* The rest of the states are on the wrong side of the Rocky Mountains for me to recommend them.

given the options listed, I would vote for a move to Nevada, Utah, or Idaho

That pretty much means those are the places I would recommend, but you guys feel free to mention others!

[FirstFreedom]

You're right, Arizona should definitely make the top 10 or 12 - left you guys out. I'll revise, as I find this an interesting exercise.

[Anthony Terry]

Like Jim Morrison said:
The west is da best!

[Long-Goodbye]

I am enjoying this thread.I am 30 and unmarried.My elders all say the same thing:"if you want to go and do something do it now,or you will regret it when you are 60 every day".Thanks to Wild Alaska for the police link.How bout you other cops out there where I want to move ,would you send me some info on taking my MO sponsored certificate out of state?

[Dave Haven]

NO! Arizona SUCKS! You'd hate it here! Trust me.

[Fat White Boy]

I have lived all over the country and have decided to stick it out here in California. I know, I know, all the fruit cakes and stupid gun laws. But- That being said, if you are going to be in law enforcement- the gun laws are are way different. My son is in law enforcement and he has things I can't buy.

Also, the main reason I stay here is convenience. I can be in Mexico fishing in 2 hours, I can be in Arizona, hunting quail in 3 hours. I can be in Nevada hunting chukars, varmints, etc. in 4 hours. I can stand hip deep in snow, look left and see the desert, look right and see the ocean.

AND, I can play golf in shorts in January....Oh- You can also hunt hogs all year round with no limit....

No. WAIT!!! There are millions of people here who don't speak English and drive badly...Don't come here!!!

[maas]

i alway thought the Dakotas might be a nice place to live. i would be happy here in Northern california if it was its own state. im sure it would become a red state in no time.

[Long-Goodbye]

I am considering going back to Colorado! When I lived there before I lived in Salida,rite in the middle of the 14ers.I have never seen any place as beautiful as that.I am thinking that it might be worth the crowding and the liberals.So y'all better work hard to talk me out of it.I don't think Colorado is heading in a good direction politically but then again that is speculation.

[Long-Goodbye]

One thing I would also consider is accessibility.Can I access good hunting areas in Alaska on foot or by truck,or would I have to hire an air taxi like on TV.Would the easy access places be crowded because of there accessibility.This would apply to Idaho and Montana as well.The traditionally Western states can be accessed by horseback which is a goal of mine in the future,to own my own horses and mules.Well any insight would be of help,thanks brothers.

[Art Eatman]

L-G, why not systematize your plan?

E.g., if skiing is desirable, how often would you go if you lived near a ski resort? If only twice a year, you might as well live in Key West. If weekly, El Paso, Colorado Springs, Phoenix are as convenient to ski slopes as many other places. (I'm not recommending these; I'm just pointing out examples.)

What are your marketable skills? Where is there a demand, so you can find a good job? You don't want to be in The Perfect Place, but unemployed.

How important to you is having a CHL? Over 2/3 of the states have such laws, so it's much less of a problem, nowadays.

Game departments generally have websites. You can learn what can be hunted and when, and the license fees.

Climate? I'll bet the humidity in Missouri makes a 90-degree day, there, as discomforting as a 100-degree day anywhere around the Rocky Mountain country. Same for cold: Dry cold "hurts" less.

Anyhow, think about what's important to you and to your billfold, and then compare states. After states, then compare cities and towns. You can use the various Internet mapping URLs to get a feel for the geography of any area.

Art

[Scorch]

Long-Goodbye:
All hunting areas in Alaska are accessible by foot. You can walk from Prudhoe to Nome to Anchorage without getting your feet wet. In January.

Of course, it would take several Januarys to actually do it. Until you have been to Alaska, you have no idea what wide open spaces means. My dad told me about standing on top of the Brooks Range looking north until the curve of the earth hid things. Look south and it just went on forever. Look east across Alaska and Yukon and northern Canada and you could not imagine it ever ending.

Just remember, it takes a different breed to live in Alaska year-round. I have known several people who lived there for a few years and finally gave up. Cold and dark all winter long. Alcohol apparently helps some, but not for everyone. But it's like anyplace else in the world; if you really love it, none of that matters.

[FirstFreedom]

That 3 month winter may help explain why WA is so grumpy - maybe we should cut him a break.

[Wildalaska]

We dont have just winter.

We have
Almost Winter
Winter
End of Winter
Contruction Season (2 weeks in August)

WildandimnotgrumpyimjustalwaysrightAlaska

[cje1980]

I say Colorado. There are lots of outdoor activities to do in the Rocky Mountains. Excellent hunting(large bucks and beautiful elk). The hunting regulations are also very reasonable. Many states are too specific, while others are way too broad with their rules. The gun laws are very reasonable. If you defend yourself in your home, the perpetrator or perpetrator's family can not legally file a lawsuit against you. The CCW laws are very reasonable as well. You can even have a firearm in your vehicle without a CCW. It has to be unloaded but the law only specifies that the chamber must be unloaded. You could certainly have ammo in a magazine closeby.

Colorado is an excellent place to live. All the people that I know who have visited tell me how beautiful it is. The weather isn't bad either. Lots of sunshine. Although the mean winter temperatures are somewhat chilly. This is misleading because the majority of the days in winter are very mild but they are skewed by the times that we get cold spells. Temperatures seldom reach 100 and are usually upper 80s or low 90s. You have access to some great scenery and outdoor activities while not being out of touch with civilization. The traffic systems are a disgrace though, especially in the Denver area.

[CrustyFN]

God please just plant me in the mountains among some real tobacco spitting red-necks.

Well now you are talking about West Virginia. You will find great deer hunting and small game hunting but no real big game. There are a lot of small towns and wide open spaces. Also good skiing in the winter. It is a very gun friendly state and I don't remember ever seeing any signs prohibiting CCW, except of course the normal places. I moved here from the Bay Area about 10years ago and am very happy with the stress free environment. There are a lot of other beautiful states as well. I have spent some time in Sandpoint Idaho at the corporate office of the company that I work for. That was also some beautiful country.
Rusty

[Oregongundude]

I have been to most states in the USA and I still like living here in Oregon for a lot of reasons. Good big game hunting Deer, Elk, black bear, and excellent Salmon and Steelhead fishing. In addition, I like the fact we don't have a sales tax and job market is good for me in the Portland Metro area. Yes the Real Estate is overpriced and the Portland area is on a 20% percent growth pace. But, hey I love the summers here, no humid summer days, and surprising enough are rain fall annually is less than 80% of the major east coast and mid west cities. Clean air, and great water. If I had a second choice i would pick IDAHO, or UTAH, and then Nevada.

1. Oregon
2. IDAHO
3. Utah
4. Nevada

[Long-Goodbye]

and that is what I have been doing all along.This has bean only one small part of my system.I will have graduated from the Police Academy before I move.I hope to get on with a security type job until I can get certified in my new home state.That state is looking like Idaho.Its not as green as I would like but its a horse culture and getting into good hunting seams easier than Alaska.Its also easier for Mom and Dad to visit.Mom is scared to go to Alaska but Idaho would be o.k.I have a lot of buddies who would like to take advantage of having a connection in good elk country.Thanks for your time.

[Fat White Boy]

You should move to Nevada- Become a cop in Las Vegas for 2 or 3 years then make a lateral move into the Nevada Game and Fish Department...The hunting in Nevada is exceptional.

[roy reali]

Nevada is eighty five percent public land. All the gun friendly laws in the world don't amount to a hill of beans without a place to actually shoot them.

[Art Eatman]

roy, maybe the BLM has changed the rules; I don't know. But I've burned up many a round on jackrabbits and "just plinkin'". But that was some 20 years back.

Art

[roy reali]

You still are pretty much free to shoot on BLM land. I am currently staying with my cousin. His particular neighborhood sits along side public land.

Every morning before work, I grab my 22 revolver, some ammo, my dog, and take a walk around the land. Not only I have I seen and shot at numerous bunnies, but there are also quite a few dove flying around. Guess where I'll be next weekend.

I have been talking to several other California transplantees. They told me that they noticed the lack of crowds during hunting season. California does have a few public hunting spots. They are fine if you don't mind crowds and dodging errant birdshot. Nevada has so much public land that everyone has elbow room while out in the field.

I have lived in California all my life. This extra freedom allowed in Nevada is almost surreal. I can almost imagine what the first colonists to this land felt when they escaped Britian's tyranny. At least I have escaped California's Draconian laws and am now enjoying more of an "American" way of life.

[MEDDAC19]

You know PA is not that bad for an eastern state. Over 1,000,000 whitetail, super turkey, black bear of world class size, an elk hunt by draw, coyote, bobcat, grouse, pheasant, snowshoe hare, cotton tail, squirrel, canada geese out the ..., water fowl, beaver, racoon, and all the fur bearers and more. There is a lot of public land and one heck of a fishery. Skiing, white water, great lake, close to the ocean and Canada. Shall issue too. Land prices in the rural areas are still blue collar affordable.

[roy reali]

I am sure that Pennsylvania is a great state for outdoorsman. But here are some figures.

Nevada has about 110,000 square miles populated by some two and a half million people. Pennsylvania has over twelve million people on some 45,000 squae miles. There are only a few state with a lower population density then Nevada. Then you also factor in that the majority of land is public.

In other words, you have room to not only breathe, but to shoot to your heart's content.

[davlandrum]

+1 on Oregon. I moved back here after retiring from the Army, because I never found anything better. Only thing I miss about some of the places I was stationed was the more liberal bag limits. One deer a year is frustrating after being in Maryland where it was borderline "kill all you can" deer season. Of course, you can't bowhunt elk in MD either.....

[Art Eatman]

South Brewster County is indeed desert, and is indeed hot in summer. The upside is that there's no real winter--and I hate winter. If I want hard water, hey, there's this big white box in the kitchen.

Brewster County is the size of Delaware, roughly; four million acres. Roughly 10,000 people. I can take off to the northwest from my house and traverse unpopulated private land for some 25 miles without being bothered by anybody.

Art