Where would you move???

[bowuntr]

Amen.... I feel the same way aggie.... a better life for my family, that's what I'm after.... Ed F

 

[outdoor hunter]

I actually live about 3 hours East of Dallas/Ft. Worth. In a small town about 45 mins North of Longview, The demographics here are getting way different than they were even 10-15 years ago. And it's not just "White Flight" or whatever you want to call it that's not the only issue I have. Yes, West Texas still has a "Western" feel to it but as you mentioned above the bigger cities and here in East Texas it sucks. Hunting sucks, the weather in the summer is Brutal!! 95-105 deg almost all summer long. This place when I was a kid was what you would term the "Bible Belt" great people down to earth caring etc. Nowadays, it has changed so much I believe most of the good folks here will pass with the greatest generation then my parents the baby boomers are half what their parents were and my generation is even less.
I want a place that I can raise my children in an outdoor way of life Fishing, Hunting, Skiing, and the list goes on. Where I live now you can fish and hunt most of the hunting is no private land and I do have land to hunt but nothing like the public land In Montana, Idaho, etc. My dad will pitch a fit when I try to move away and leave but he was born and raised here with a very large family and will probably never leave, I was born and raised here as well but I also want to try and make a new life for my children. Who knows if I know what I'm doing but I feel its worth a shot.

John day is beautiful man

 

[HellsCanyon]

John day is beautiful man

That it is... I spent a summer there working while in school. Has decent elk hunting but not much opportunity for muleys which kills me...

Mike

 

[outdoor hunter]

That it is... I spent a summer there working while in school. Has decent elk hunting but not much opportunity for muleys which kills me...

Mike

You may be looking in the wrong area. I seen the biggest buck of my life in the John day area. At first my dad and I thought it was an elk.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I'm not saying they don't have big deer, just not very good seasons... but I haven't looked into Oregon seasons for a few years though!

EDIT: Looks like a general archery season with draw only rifle tags... crappy rifle season at Sept 29-Oct 10 but that's the way they see it I guess. Would like to explore some of the high country units around there for that season.

Sorry for the thread jack guys! Hope you don't mind the little tangent...

Mike

 

[hammer0419]

I live in rip off NY. I love looking at all the great western hunting photos on here and hate NY even more!! I would give anything to move to Co, Montana, Wyoming. Basically anywhere other than NY!!!

 

[AK Troutbum]

Ya, Alaska is too tough. You and your family couldn't tolerate it. There are Liberals everywhere. There is no good radiology jobs either. The access elements of hunting here make it too expensive.

Just check Alaska off your list. It's all just Wilderness overrun with game. You wouldn't want anything to do with that.

Look for a heavily populated area.......with a heap of Christians.

Ha ha ha, I totally agree with everything except the plentiful wildlife. The hunting, fishing, weather, and people they all suck in Alaska. There's not enough wildlife, not enough fish, too much foul weather, and WAY too many people. Whatever you do don't be a fool like myself and move to Alaska.

 

[Ray]

We moved about every 4 years while I was young. AZ, NV, NY, NV, CA, OR, NV, AK. After AK I ran away from home by standing still and watching the folks get on a plane south.

Traveled a lot to ID, WY while the folks lived there. Mom's family is from WA and OR, so spent lots of time there.

I never put down roots until AK and college, and then jobs and more jobs. Now looking at a few more years until I get enough time in grade to leave it all behind. I'll think I'll stay in AK, but I have yet to spend any serious amount of time in MT and CO. Bird hunting in MT calls to me. I know I'll be spending time there.

For raising a kid or two AK on the road system would not be a bad place to think about.

 

[aggieland]

Guess, I need to visit Alaska soon, The wife still says Alaska is a no go for her but she has not visited it either. Plenty of time to decide, My business is doing really well here in Tx. So moving might be something I have to put off for some time.

 

[FemoralArchery]

I live in Idaho, not too far from Boise. My wife is an RN, plenty of medical field jobs in the area. Plenty of small towns, communities in the area, within 45 minutes. You can be completely out of town in that amount of time. I grew up here in Idaho, but spent some time on the east coast; South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Georgia. I can't imagine trying to raise my kids in a big city. Its pretty tough to beat Idaho on OTC opportunity.

 

[2rocky]

Ed we can talk more about this topic at the CBH Banquet. I think nearly any out of state move is going to be a culture shock for the family, for about 6 mo to a year. My time in Idaho really opened my eyes to the opportunities in the outdoors that the PNW/Mountain west offers.

A valuable tool is www.city-data.com Sometimes we don't realize the trade offs when we move to a small town. I know it sure amazed me when I started looking at some of these things that there will be thing we miss about our home state. If I had to pick up and move I would look at the Magic Valley area of Southern Idaho around Twin Falls for big town services, and proximity to neighboring states for hunting.

One thing I found true was...
Unless you move in with all CA refugee's you WILL be known as "the Californian" until you outlive all the other members of your generation in the neighborhood.

 

[alecvg]

New Zealand! That's where I am hopefully headed before too long!

 

[fillthefreezer]

New Zealand! That's where I am hopefully headed before too long!

might as well go head first into established socialism instead of hang around here

 

[Salmo-Priest]

As mentioned before N. Idaho! Biggest whitetails I've ever seen. Loaded with bear with spring seasons. Good Mule deer and Elk hunting. Doubt Idaho will ever stop hunting wolves. Fewer liberals! I Also Like the Victor area outa Jackson. I am going to retire in North Idaho and build a log home or two!

 

[huntingbigsky]

Aggieland, western Montana offers alot. Butte is a hard mining/union town that is a blue dog democrat area (would not be on my list). Missoula is nice but very liberal as it has a liberal arts university (U of M) in town. The Bitterroot valley is pretty nice, offering good hunting, backpacking and fishing. Only a short distance from Missoula and is pretty conservative.

 

[huntingbigsky]

Aggieland, western Montana offers alot. Butte is a hard mining/union town that is a blue dog democrat area (would not be on my list). Missoula is nice but very liberal as it has a liberal arts university (U of M) in town. The Bitterroot valley is pretty nice, offering good hunting, backpacking and fishing. Only a short distance from Missoula and is pretty conservative.

 

[aggieland]

Thanks for the info guys, I have also included Southern Colorado into the options as a possible area. I know Colorado seems to be moving more and more Left but it is much closer to family than making the move to the other choices.