Looking to move, any ideas?

[ColtLover64]

I live in California and I am contemplating leaving very seriously. It has become draconian and I feel my freedom and my family's life/freedom is being taken away from us. To own guns and be conservative here, is just asking to be target. Any internet search for real info on this cannot be completed without personally checking with those who actually are availed the real information by experience. My concerns are also impacted by the over-taxation and under representation of those who are like-minded. Please, if you will, provide some light for me. I'm looking for a state(s) that are gun/second amendment friendly and respectful of privacy and the rights of personal property, not a socially engineered melting pot of multi-culturalism/politically correctness, and finally a state(s) that aren't over-taxed and over-burdened by ills of today's maladies. On the lighter side, a state(s) that has a good source of parts for my 1967 Mustang and good hunting/fishing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to anyone that replies or has valid suggestions, God Bless.

Additional info: You are absolutely correct that this is a gun forum and not a platform for political discourse. Also, rest assured, I'm not interested in "wearing a white hood over my head". I just want to not have to deal every day with the social ills of this state and still be able to afford to support my family. My purpose for mentioning my personal ideology is because I believe that one should be aware of all aspects of a state before making a bold and expensive move to another state. This would allow for the forum members to offer informed answers, which could help me make the correct decision. A state's political demeanor, how they handle the social aspects of today's issues, coupled with their financial philosophy, can definitely affect a person's decision and financial situation regarding where to move to. I agree that diversity can be good, because it can be beneficial to us as citizens to be aware and to make informed decisions about ourselves and others around us. As it has been proven in this website, there are many issues that will affect our hobby and desire to own firearms, specifically political ones (laws). Since the members of this forum are experienced and knowledgeable, I was hoping to learn from the years of personal situations each of you has had. I asked my question with a great amount of respect given to those on this forum. Should any of you feel slighted by my request, I apologize for offending your sensibilities. The arena of ideas can only be helpful if truth and reality are allowed to coexist. As an adult, I believe that we can agree to disagree if the situation dictates it.

Mod (GEM) - this is inappropriate for this forum. I'm letting it stand as an example of how we should follow the rules for this forum.

[Old Grump]

North or South Dakota, Montana or Wyoming, or Idaho. You skip the crazy liberals of Minnesota and Wisconsin and you get all the fishing and hunting you can stand.

[cornbush]

Utah, Idaho and Wyoming are pretty good.

[Shane Tuttle]

I would add Utah to the list, but I don't know what their taxes are like. I would think about Texas, but the problem is Dallas, Austin, and Houston areas are becoming more and more liberal minded but some of the gun laws there are very lenient. It is pretty expensive to apply for your CCW, but they have Castle Doctrine type laws set firmly in place it appears.

Me personally, we're looking to leave Iowa as soon as I retire and either head to Alaska, Idaho, or western Montana/Wyoming.

[Yankee Traveler]

Tennessee is not to bad, for all things considered.
No state income tax, but a high sales tax. Firearm friendly. Open minded about most things, considering it is the bible/tobacco belt.
3.5 seasons...not too cold in the winter.
Education could be better in some places.
An increasing number of bussineses have been either starting up or relocating to Tennessee, especially semiconductor and solar panel.

And lotsa muscle cars.

[SPUSCG]

Maine, any centerfire rifle round you want is in abundance, pistol calibers are starting to show up again, shall isssue permits, hunting, fishing, bushmaster is up here so lots of their ar-15s around.

[NWPilgrim]

Oregon and Washington are fairly good on guns but lots of liberal politics otherwise. Somewhat true for Montana and Colorado as well.

From my travels and other family I would choose: Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, and possibly Nevada (but seems to be getting more and more liberal). Don't know much about South Dakota.

Those are some desolate places so the challenge is to have a job. On the other hand cost of living can be way cheaper. I read on a forum where a fellow bought an acre of land with house in a small town in ND for $11,000. And property taxes were under $100/yr.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Well, most of NY is not bad.... except for that "over taxed" part. Yeah, you're pretty S.O.L. in NY on the tax front. Upstate's not nearly as uber-liberal, progressive, anti-gun as "NY" tends to imply with folks.... It is beautiful here, the taxes, yeah, not so good.

[cornbush]

Taxes here in Utah aren't too bad, Idaho is much better though, I need to move back.

[elkman06]

Interesting, While Wyoming fits the bill on most of your requirements, it's ironically funny that Wyo is nicknamed the "equality" state. First state in the union to give women the right to vote, first female governor, etc.
The reality of the situation is that with the exception of Sweetwater county(where I live), this state is absolutely conservatively held and driven. We do however have a Democrat Governor who would fit the conservative mold in most places.
Bear in mind, our infrastructure is somewhat weak, schools don't have enough money(conservative mind you, save, don't spend), mental health and doctors are non existent. On the other hand, no state income tax, lowish property tax, low license prices, lower cost of living than many places, homes values tend to be up.
Only you can decide what fits your ideal of a perfect place to live. Good luck.
elkman06

[Buzzcook]

Just got back from Florida. Cheap living. Live away from cities and you can wear a white hood if you've a mind to. Real good fishing and good hunting.

You might be more comfortable in New Mexico. Same advise about staying away from cities. Excellent hunting. Chile pepper capital of the world.

West Virginia and Kentucky are inexpensive. Close enough to Detroit so you can feed your Mustang.

[MTT TL]

I'm looking for a state(s) that are gun/second amendment friendly, respectful of privacy and the rights of personal property, not a socially engineered melting pot of multi-culturalism/politically correctness, and finally a state(s) that aren't over-taxed and over-burdened by ills of today's maladies. On the lighter side, a state(s) that has a good source of parts for my 1967 Mustang and good hunting/fishing would be greatly appreciated.

Russia has much lower taxes and allows private ownership of most weapons (with registration). No more social engineering, no melting pot and great fishing. You won't find any 67' Mustang parts. Crime is still very high in cities.

[cornbush]

MTT TL- hows the hunting?

[B. Lahey]

Indiana meets your criteria as long as you aren't looking for saltwater fishing or elk hunting.

Northern Indiana is close to Chicago if you get an itch to kick around a large city, but it's nothing at all like Chicago as far as politics and lifestyle goes. Close to Lake Michigan too if you want more exciting fishing than a bassboat can provide.

We issue lifetime carry permits and are very machine-gun friendly. And we have a lot of corn.

[Huntergirl]

Wyoming can be a great place if you don't have high hopes of being socially welcomed and included. I've lived here 25 years and couldn't ask for better hunting and fishing. But I plan to return to the midwest upon retirement, just to re-experience the atmosphere of friends, family, socializing.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Georgia, particularly the rural areas. Low land prices, low taxes, great deer hunting. Bass fishing in the south and trout in the north. Huge amounts of public land to hunt, fish and hike. Beautiful mountains in the north, rolling hills in the south, great Atlantic coast cities like Savannah.

Gun friendly, are you kidding? This is Georgia.

Southern state, so no salt on the roads in winter unless you are in the far north counties, beau-coup Mustangs. Race it at Road Atlanta if you like.

I've spent 8 years in FL, (you couldn't pay me to live there again, someone just tried), 10 years in GA, and 18 years in NC. GA is by far my vote.

[chris in va]

Wherever you do move, keep Cali back in Cali. Too many issues with the left coasters bringing their ideals to a 'conservative' place. Not saying you're like that, but holy cow do those people try to change everything to their way of thinking.

I knew a guy that lived on a large plot of land out in the country. Some Californians moved in next door and started complaining about his occasional range practice. He'd been shooting on HIS land for decades, only to have the county .gov tell him he couldn't do it any more for some reason or another.

[Beentown71]

I was thinking of moving to Texas. Unemployment is only at 8.3% Just alot of attitude/ideas I like there. I hate the fact that to find A+ hunting you pretty much need a lease.

If it weren't for the kids being young and all the family and friends we would have already moved.

I have to say that Ohio is not bad as long as you stay away from the large cities. We have CCW, huge bucks, and Lake Erie.

Here is what showed up on my trail camera last night...



My friend moved to Wyoming and loved it for the first two years. After that he decided he missed interaction with other people and moved back. And he is a person that keeps to himself.

Good luck,

Beentown

[MTT TL]

Russian Hunting



http://eng.garms.ru/stories.php?dep=hunt&id=7

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Oh, dear - liberals and diverse populations everywhere.

I'm not keen on that undertone, to be blunt. Let's tone that down to

GUN RELATED friendly states.

If you want to find a state that matches other social beliefs or political agendas - that's not what this forum is for.

GUNS ! - that's us. Other forums exist for the other issues.

GM

[NitroxAZ]

As a former Commiefornian myself, I would suggest Arizona. It is a very gun friendly state that leans conservative. There are plenty of things to do, weather is great most of the year and the state is very diverse. There is more here than what I thought there was when first moved here. The other good thing is that you will still be close to the People's Republic of Kalifornia to visit. I still miss the state but not the policies.

[johnwilliamson062]

I am the most Liberal of the bunch, some of you guys just don't know what the word means!!!

If you are serious about this I would think very seriously about the free state project.
http://freestateproject.org/

You want to talk about a group that is gaining ground and starting to make a difference that is it. Now have 5 reps in their state legislature and have successfully passed several bills. Probably the most successful Libertarian group in the nation.

NH gun laws?
http://pgnh.org/gunlawfaqs
I don't think it gets a whole lot better than that in the US.
Of course you could always develop the problem Utah and Nevada seem to be having(silly people realize their dreams of a socially state are collapsing and decide to move to a neighboring state and corrupt its libertarian lean). Silly Californians

That is if you want to be active.
If you just want to sit back and relax, one of those big square western states mentioned above is probably a good idea too.

[carguychris]

I was thinking of moving to Texas... Just alot of attitude/ideas I like there. I hate the fact that to find A+ hunting you pretty much need a lease.

I'll offer a few more details on TX.

State laws are very gun-friendly, despite lack of legal open handgun carry outside of private property. You have to work hard to find Texans who openly support gun control; they're out there, but they're a minority. Most urban centers offer plenty of shooting ranges, and although public land is hard to find (see below), state law restricts the ability of counties and cities to prohibit shooting on private tracts of land over 10 acres in size. If you or a friend own a big tract of land, you're usually free to open fire.

Fishing is generally very good due to the abundance of stocked recreational lakes.

To offer a little more explanation about the hunting lease issue, you need to be aware that public land simply doesn't exist in TX like it does in other Western states. Without starting a massive historical sidetrack, this happened because TX was originally a sovereign country that joined the USA voluntarily. Land that was not already claimed by private parties under the Spanish, Mexican, and Republic of TX regimes remained under state control after TX joined the Union. The state government subsequently sold almost all of it to private owners to raise revenue. Hunting is allowed on a few state sanctuaries, but compared to BLM lands in the West, it's generally tightly controlled and the sanctuaries are relatively few and far between.

[NWPilgrim]

Private versus government/[public hunting land is an interesting factor. Most Western states will have large areas of BLM, NF, State Forest, etc. on which anyone with a license can hunt. The Midwest and Eastern states tend to have much more private hunting land.

What aspects of "gun friendly" are you looking for? Open carry? Machine guns? Easy CHL? Any Western State will be better than California and still have lots of public hunting land. Does your job/business limit you to certain population centers or can you make it in rural areas?

Oregon has pretty good gun laws except the stupid McCain "gun show loop hole" law. We have open carry except in a couple of cities, easy CHL, all NFA items available, and no waiting periods.

[Slopemeno]

I'd look at Carson City, Nevada. Close enough to Reno for the concerts you might want to see, and the Reno Gun Show, of course. And Hot August Nights. And if you want to get away from it all just head out Hwy 50.