This image made me think about the best place to go if/when possible. LINK TO POST
Where would you go?
What state is the cheapest to live in?
I was hoping to retire in the next 4-6 years, now those hopes appear to be dashed upon the rocks.
My criteria would be living in a rural area within an hours drive of being able to shop, work, enjoy
some form of entertainment when the urge arose.
Shortened to no winter weather.
Obviously conservative minded.
As I type this it sounds like Utopia!
Florida? The Carolinas? Texas? Alabama! ;) I do have a partner in cryme down there.
I have been to AZ and the northern area seems nice. Pinetop? Flagstaff? I'm sure the CA
exodus will ruin that. We have seen northern/ southern NH overrun with those from MA and the ones
colored red just south of NE in the map above. They come up here to get away but then
bring the BS they are trying to escape. Are they fucking stupid? < don't bother answering, I've
seen their leadership.
Anyone care to recommend a place that would accept a hard working, Jack of all trades?
Oh, and the boss will need a place for a horse or two. :)
.
I also am thinking of this but am closer to retirement. I'm located in western South Dakota now and it is low taxes, low on crime, conservative and open. The state budget is balanced and sane but it's the winters.Tax wise I look at Texas, Florida and Tennessee. The housing markets are all going nuts in those states as well and I understand. . .
ReplyDeleteSpeaking for Texas, when we lived there the property taxes were insane. Government is going to get paid one way or the other! Still, great place to live....for now. Californians are taking over.
DeleteWe live in Arkansas and have done off/on for 25 years. We love it here and will likely retire at a nearby lake.
Hey sarg, me too. The winters aren’t that bad. :D. It was a balmy 16 yesterday with a light dusting. I’m down outta rapid. Tryna buy on the 385 in the next few years. Love them hills.
DeleteSame here, retired to the Black Hills and we LOVE it. People are genuine, I can't say that about any of the blue staters.
DeleteAn inexpensive place is Mountain View, Ar. in the mountains. Lots of places for horses---and motorcycles.
DeleteLand as in acres is very reasonable as is daily living expenses.
We had a cabin/house there for years. Winters are tolerable with just a little snow sometime. Summers are great.
I recommend Texas, but since it's the only place I've ever lived, It would be hard to not think it's the best place to live.
ReplyDeleteWe have our problems: Houston, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, most of the valley, and San Antonio are going to the dark side. The bureaucracies, and liberals are ruining the cities, but they are islands in a state that doesn't care for people telling them what to do.
There is no income tax, but there are tons of other taxes by entities that want their share of the pie. Cities, counties, rural municipal districts, sales, and schools can be burdensome, but when you live in a rural area, all are much less than in the metropolitan areas.
Texas has just about every natural wonder you may want to visit, but considering the size, some may take two days of driving to reach. Still, the day trips can reach enough places to keep you busy for decades. The heritage of the state is as varied as the real estate.
The climate is mild, compared to northern states, but that includes blistering hot summers, and humidity near the coast that's worse than the temperature. A 90 degree day, with high humidity, can be just as deadly as temperatures over 100 in a drier area. It's a bear to work in, but when it finally cools off, the winter will bring days similar to the best days of summer in the north. It's not uncommon to run the air conditioner in January. It's rare, but January can also have temperatures in the teens, with blowing snow.
The coast has hurricanes, and the central parts have tornadoes. Neither are pleasant to deal with, but insurance can prevent total losses after either.
The economy in Texas is good, with the best job opportunities near the metropolitan areas. I think Houston has the most to offer, since it's economy is based on the industrial end of the job market. Refineries provide a huge amount of jobs, since they need specialty craftsmen that can keep them running. Any skill, from construction craftsman, to turbine repairman is necessary. Beside craft skills, the computerization of industry requires those that specialize in software development, and instrumentation. Included in all of this is the service industry that requires every type of skill available. Higher education is available, including technical institutes.
Commuting around, or through any of the large metropolitan areas can be a nightmare. Many chose this, instead of living in the city. With rural areas within an hour of the cities, you can have acreage, and the peace of the country, when you aren't working. The only thing you trade for this seclusion is time, but with me, it was always worth it.
Regardless of where you live in Texas, you'll find the rural areas full of kind, helpful people that are so because of the way they were raised. Manners are still important, and so is respect. It's expected, and appreciated. Those that don't learn it find they may lead a lonely existence.
Well said. I sure hope we can keep the Texas mentality. In the pretty areas, Hill Country, I10 Corridor, east of SA and west of Houston is getting snapped up. Can hardly find anything. I'm thinking about small, unincorporated towns down this way. I, too had planned to bail in 2022, and become my own man. Not looking good. Come down and visit sometime.
DeleteA friend moved from NH to Branson Missouri. His new house was a lot more house than he had in NH for a lot less money. He really likes it there. There is some seasonal variation in temps, and it is still a small town relatively speaking. Maybe move to Mayodan NC and go to work for Ruger for a while. Some seasonal variation there as well. Florida would be fun to visit, but year round, no thank you.
ReplyDeleteLake of the Ozarks area of central Missouri is nice as well. Wife and I live in the area now and have horses and dogs. Taxes aren't bad and property is reasonably priced. The best part is Missouri doesn't try to micromanage your life. Governor doesn't have authority to mandate masks and only the big cities try to mandate such paranoia. Stay out of St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia as they are blue cities in an otherwise red state.
DeletePretty much what I see, moved here 13 years ago from NC. Have 90+ acres, private 14ac pond, livestock and a bunch of giant dogs. Surrounded by National Forest with abundant wildlife and hunting. Have not bought meat in years but always have full freezers. Couple more years and I can close the business and enjoy it for real.
DeleteKentucky was the test case for this stolen election. Testifying in Michigan, a former US Army computer counter-cyber warfare expert said they became aware of Dominion during the election in which Kentucky Governor Matt Bevins had his votes blatantly switched to his democratic challenger.
ReplyDeleteThis challenger, Beshear is now our governor and with his emergency powers granted by the last democrat congress has been able to make life mildly irritating here. However we own both houses in a state where the governor traditionally has less power than other states and without the emergency powers he has nothing. Prior to covid the state lawmakers batted legislation after legislation back into his face.
I'm saying this because this in my estimation is the only real down side to living here in Kentucky that I can see.
We have constitutional carry, Castle doctrine and stand your ground. We also have something called the sportsman law, which was a law written during Obama's tenure that protects Kentucky's 1st Amendment/America's 2cd amendment from being preempted, set aside or otherwise infringed upon. Biden can write all the laws he wants they will not be enforced here, the so called supremacy clause does not preclude the constitution it upholds it!
Kentucky is a mess for business, just saying as a business man that transplanted here from Florida, starting a business here depending on your field and demographics can be down right maddening. Being a tradesman here is not though. And we have many high paying manufacturing jobs in both the automobile industry and in Aeronautical/Aerospace.
People don't think of Kentucky as an Aerospace leader yet we did more in Aero GDP than Florida did in tourism by a large margin.
A study last year on dollar value put us in the top 5 states, whereas 100 dollars was worth about 88 bucks in NYC, it was worth 108 dollars here. Because of Eastern KY Coal we have some of the cheapest electric in the country. How cheap? My house was built in the late 1860s, I keep it at 68 year round, run a monster graphics rig in my home office, with my wife writing on her rig upstairs while huddled around a pair of space heaters and I have never not even in the warmest month gone over 230 on my electric.
G-Town Pop 30K, (Georgetown where our crazy preacher Elijah Craig invented Bourbon), is the fastest growing town east of the Mississippi 10 years running, is the most conservative 'big' town in Kentucky. We are 15 minutes from the Capitol, 15 minutes from Lexington, about an hour from Cincinnati to the north, an hour from Louisville in the west.
We do have property crime but our violent crime is lower than the national average and almost entirely confided to the major cities.
I love it here, the winters are mild and the summers are never too hot. If one were looking for a state to relocate, unless something drastically changes, I'd recommend Kentucky.
Kentucky was the test case for this stolen election. Testifying in Michigan, a former US Army computer counter-cyber warfare expert said they became aware of Dominion during the election in which Kentucky Governor Matt Bevins had his votes blatantly switched to his democratic challenger.
ReplyDeleteThis challenger, Beshear is now our governor and with his emergency powers granted by the last democrat congress has been able to make life mildly irritating here. However we own both houses in a state where the governor traditionally has less power than other states and without the emergency powers he has nothing. Prior to covid the state lawmakers batted legislation after legislation back into his face.
I'm saying this because this in my estimation is the only real down side to living here in Kentucky that I can see.
We have constitutional carry, Castle doctrine and stand your ground. We also have something called the sportsman law, which was a law written during Obama's tenure that protects Kentucky's 1st Amendment/America's 2cd amendment from being preempted, set aside or otherwise infringed upon. Biden can write all the laws he wants they will not be enforced here, the so called supremacy clause does not preclude the constitution it upholds it!
Kentucky is a mess for business, just saying as a business man that transplanted here from Florida, starting a business here depending on your field and demographics can be down right maddening. Being a tradesman here is not though. And we have many high paying manufacturing jobs in both the automobile industry and in Aeronautical/Aerospace.
People don't think of Kentucky as an Aerospace leader yet we did more in Aero GDP than Florida did in tourism by a large margin.
A study last year on dollar value put us in the top 5 states, whereas 100 dollars was worth about 88 bucks in NYC, it was worth 108 dollars here. Because of Eastern KY Coal we have some of the cheapest electric in the country. How cheap? My house was built in the late 1860s, I keep it at 68 year round, run a monster graphics rig in my home office, with my wife writing on her rig upstairs while huddled around a pair of space heaters and I have never not even in the warmest month gone over 230 on my electric.
G-Town Pop 30K, (Georgetown where our crazy preacher Elijah Craig invented Bourbon), is the fastest growing town east of the Mississippi 10 years running, is the most conservative 'big' town in Kentucky. We are 15 minutes from the Capitol, 15 minutes from Lexington, about an hour from Cincinnati to the north, an hour from Louisville in the west.
We do have property crime but our violent crime is lower than the national average and almost entirely confided to the major cities.
I love it here, the winters are mild and the summers are never too hot. If one were looking for a state to relocate, unless something drastically changes, I'd recommend Kentucky.
Sorry for the double post, probably just a newb mistake but it does not update immediately leaving you to think it did not go through,
Deletezap this one if you don't mind...
Good morning and no worries about the double post. Right now I moderate all comments and I just sent all these ones through at once without really checking them. I’ll cleanup on aisle three later on :-)
Delete[click, click, click] “There’s no place like America.”
ReplyDeleteTrue, but we do have too many places acting as ass-cracks.
DeleteI left Idaho for southern Utah near St George. The cost of living is low, the weather is fantastic usually in the 50's and 60's during the winter, no smog, low taxes. Maybe the most scenic place I've ever been. Vegas is two hours away- homes are running 200 sqf. Population about 100k. Been here a year now- very happy with the move.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Oklahoma. Spent 25 years in Texas. It's a good place but Cali transplants have raised rent and home prices in last 10 years to stupid levels. Okla is still pretty cheap. We have constitutional carrry, legal weed which btw is a booming business here, cheap land and if you get down around the Texas border say... Tishamingo, Ardmore etc. you are right on the Texas border within an hour or so of Dallas/Ft Worth with several beautiful lakes to fish. Lot's of hunting areas etc. Oklahoma is OK!
ReplyDeleteColorado is out. We have heavy infestation of California locusts (the two-legged kind), with magazine capacity limit and red flag law. Every statewide seat, both houses and governor's mansion are held by demos, and courts are generally left-leaning.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in Texas and I agree with Jess. It's nice to hear that, outside of the metro areas, the state is still as I remember. I just couldn't handle the heat and humidity.
So I'm eyeing Idaho, since I prefer winter weather. But I hear they have the coastal locust infestation also.
Northern Idaho is getting stupid expensive because of all the rich Libtards flocking in. Gotta go considerably north of Coeur d'Alene to find good inexpensive land. Hope ya don't mind snow.
DeleteI live in OK these days. I lived in TX for 6 years and worked in TX for 12, commuting from OK for half that time. Great place to work, but ranch land and property taxes are high. One my colleagues said her mortgage was less than her property taxes! No income tax is great, but once you have little income, the property tax is gonna bite. Oh, it’s a little cooler here than TX in the summer and the winter.
ReplyDeleteHey hey there neighbor. I'm SE Okla near Ada.
DeleteMy birth town Grand parents lived there mom grew up there. Great city, every girl in college I met from Ada was no less than an 8
DeleteI'm looking at Tezas as well. East of Dallas, towards Tyler.
ReplyDeleteIt ain't perfect, but it is the best I've found so far.
I likve in INdiana, and gotta say that were it not for the weather in the winter, outside of large (and Blue) cities, it is a decent place, politically..mostly rural and conservative..
Ivo found a place.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilPGLj87ybo
I live in the next county over. There's a reason why the Rockies are so sparse; lack of water. I did ask my sheriff friend in that county (Box Elder) if he knew Ivo, and got this back. "Yes, Yes I do know Ivo. We have punched targets at 1000 yards together." -W
DeleteI retired to south east Alabama, the little town of Chancellor Al. I bought 21 acres with a brick 3000 sq ft house with a attached 3 car garage, a detached 4 car garage and a 2 acre pond in the back yard for $360K. Cost of living is low. Everyone voted for Trump around here. It is 90 minutes from Panama City Beach, 15 minutes from a Lowe's and super Walmart (Enterprise Al), 45 minutes from a Sam's Club (Dothan Al), 2 hours from Costco (Montgomery Al). I have since added a 36 x 72 ft poll barn and am adding off the grid solar power. I am a retired Software Engineer and lived and worked in, Nashville Tn, Huntsville Al, Portland Or, Seattle Wa, Dallas Tx so I have been around and I like it here.
ReplyDeleteconsider texas. we need people to cancel out/educate the californians
ReplyDeleteWe moved from the belly of the beast, DFW, to east Texas south of Tyler. Been here since ‘96. I’m an Okie by birth but got here as fast as I could! Come on down.
ReplyDeleteThe Wife and I left the beaches of Jacksonville, FL for the Smoky Mountains of Waynesville, NC about 8 1/2 years ago and have never looked back. We have gotten downright used to small town (compared to Jax) living. Only thing wrong here is that we're only about 1/2 hour west of Asheville - infested with dems, antifa, blm, etc.
ReplyDeleteI will be nearby when I retire, but please do not tell anyone about Western NC mountains, we need to keep it a secret.
DeleteSorry, but the secret is already out. Everywhere I look, it's Florida plates and the owners of said vehicles have northern accents. This state is currently purple, and on the verge of going blue. And our idiot demonrat governor keeps extending mask and curfew executive orders.
DeleteI agree, its sad the state is purple; the locals definitely do not like people from FL or Atlanta.
DeleteWith Florida plates and a Northern accent it is obvious that they are double transplants - originally from somewhere up North,moved to FL, found the summers too hot so NC in summer. The local term is "Floridiots". The Wife and I are somewhat unusual in that we are from FL but have Southern accents. But we say "y'all" instead of "you'uns". web do have ties to the area. My wife has grown kids in Hendersonville and Flat Rock, NC. My Mom was an East Tennessee farm girl - New Market, TN. Where is New Market you might ask? Easy - 5 miles East of Strawberry Plains and 10 miles Southwest of Bulls Gap. Now you know RIGHT where it is.
DeleteWhere my land is located, they call those folks 'half backs' moved to FL then moved half-way back to NC.
DeleteI personally think that Alabama is one of the best kept secrets in the country especially if you like outdoor activities. We're in Texas up Northwest of Fort Worth and I like it but would be in a more rural setting if I could get it through congress.
ReplyDeleteSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
DeleteMikey
LOL!
Central AB (Alberta), nice summers with averages of 26C and usually a couple weeks of over 32C- which us the only time you need AC.
ReplyDeleteThis winter is mild so its a nice -20C today though usually Janb/ Feb often hit -40C.
We are the only rat free place in North America.
It's prairie so you can see your dog run away for days. Or inversly you can see company coming a long time before they arrize.
Exile1981
I have a few readers up your way. Someday a trip to Banff will be planned. Thanks Exile.
DeleteI have been to AZ and the northern area seems nice. Pinetop? Flagstaff?
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see what north AZ looks like, watch Yellowstone Kelly or Last Train To Gun Hill. Nice ranch country. flagstaff is bone-chilling cold in the winter, though.
Yellowstone Kelly, a real person, is buried here in southern Montana, on the rimrocks overlooking the Yellowstone River. It's always amusing to see how the movies portray a real place.
DeleteEdutcher, after all this time I never knew you had a blog!! Shame on one of us. It's gonna be on the sidebar soon.
DeleteMy bride and I settled into NW Tennessee in 2015 and love the state. Tennessee is exceptional for retirement with some guidance on exceptions. Stay out of Memphis period. We’re about an hour north of I-40 exactly 2.5 hours from both Nashville and Memphis. Most larger cities have a significant crime problem however if your looking for rural properties a diligent search can yield excellent results.
ReplyDeleteI spent three years across the entire state and by far my favorite area is this area. I’m 20 minutes from the Kentucky border. It’s rolling farmland with excellent woods, mild winters and excellent seasonal changes. We get around 50” of rainfall annually, waters are abundant, deer and turkey roam my property regularly.
I would avoid the Cumberland plateau for a number of reasons driven predominantly by “you ain’t from around here “ mentality and a significant drug trade. The north western region here is small but towns and easy drive to the big cities if desired.
Come on down
Did a two-month sawmill startup in a concentrator mill in Onieda, TN!
DeleteBeautiful place!
Lemme chime in for TX also.
ReplyDeleteMore specifically the Upper North East corner.
Several have mentioned Tyler, but for me that's a bit too big.
In this neck of the woods there's also Longview, Mt. Pleasant (really the largest town I care to go to), Texarcana, and a few more.
Plenty of rolling hills, lots of green, lakes, and if you do get into some land the property taxes in the rural areas is not too bad.
-rightwingterrorist
The same thoughts a lot of us are having. Conservative, low taxes, fairly pleasant somewhat easy living. My psersonal choice so far is Texas based on weather, cons, and taxes, and 2A
ReplyDeleteYou said horses so I'd recommend Marion County Florida, biggest city is Ocala, which is not too big, hour south of Gainesville, Fla. which is college town with top notch medical facilities if needed. 90 minutes north of Orlando so far away from liberal big city. Homes very reasonable plus surrounded by many small towns if desire is acreage with house. I-75 runs through town so if wanting to travel can hop on interstate and go. Moved here from DFW, don't regret it at all. DFW yeah no state income tax, but they rape you with property tax it's how they pay everything.
ReplyDeleteOcala is blowing up right now. They are building the largest equestrian facility in the world. Prices are starting to rise and will only rise more once completed. Most of the people that are attracted to that type of horse scene (competition)are douch bags. Good luck!
DeleteOcala is beautiful and is in a indeterminate zone between North, Central, and, South Florida.(Not South, obviously). Equestrian accomplishment has never been achieved in the performance per cost ratio by even the Arabs (Arabian horses are second to none, except cranky burly Quarter horses and Morgans)
DeleteWe have been looking at Eastern Tennessee of late. Somewhere around Altamont probably.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in between the lakes region and the White Mountains in NH back in the late 50's & 60's and loved it with all the fishing, hunting, hiking and camping. Since then following job opportunities we have lived in the Adirondacks of NY, Oregon, Washington, South Carolina and Michigan before finally settling outside Hickory NC where I worked for 10 years acquiring the company I worked for in the process.The company was sold to junior management team 5 years ago and we retired into the Brushy Mountain Region of NC,
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed every area we lived in but while in SC I traveled on business quite a bit to NC and as a family we took frequent trips to NC and we knew that somewhere in the mountains of NC was where we wanted to retire to. We live at the very end of a mountain gravel road in the middle of 63 acres with two year round streams, multiple springs and pond full of crappie and bass.have put in several large garden areas, a berry patch with 125 strawberry plants 48 high bush blue berry bushes and around 72 raspberry, blackberry, marionberry, loganberry and boysenberry bushes as well as an orchard consisting of about 60 assorted apple, pear, peach, plum and cherry trees. We There are more deer and turkey than you can imagine.We have 4 definite seasons and most winters do get some snow although herein the mountains after most snow storms they just wait for it to melt and only plow down towards town.
The county has been consistently voted red and when VA started with their anti gun agenda our county passed a 2nd Amendment sanctuary law. It is less than 30 minutes down out of the mountains to civilization and the two sister towns there which both have a population of around 4,000 people. Merle Fest which honors Doc Watson's son Merle is held there every year accept last year due to the Kungflu. It brings in more folks over the 4 day event than live in the entire county. We generally do not go down into town during that event or during the apple festival in the fall.
We love the mountains of NC and feel truly blessed to have been able to retire here and are working to become as self sufficient as possible. The area reminds me a lot of the mountains I grew up in, but without the harsh winter. The only drawback is the occasional rattlesnake or copperhead that makes it way into the yard but like with most things if you are aware of your surroundings you avoid them. Rattlesnakes in general just want to be left alone although copperheads in my opinion are just plain nasty creatures.
We love the mountains of NC but having watched the migration of folks from the Boston area flood into the lower part of NH while growing up there and basically turning it into the place they just fled from if you are going to move from any major urban area I suggest that you chose SC as your final destination.
sawman
Just bought a place in Deland FL.
ReplyDeleteQuiet, hometown feel, trees, a few hills, an hour north of the Orlando madness, clear springs, good food/beer, quite a red area (you should see the signs!), not California, Gas $2.37/gal, don't speed (really don't speed), they are pretty anal about that....and....Florida Man!!!
The great thing about Florida is Florida Man and Florida Women.
DeleteSmarter Half and I moved to East Tennessee last Oct. The ONLY reason we aren't in Texas Hill Country is I wanted to be within an 8 hour drive of Dad (he's 90). TN has friendly people, good food (alas, 2 new found favorites have closed due to Covid Craziness), great scenery. Hit 65 degrees yesterday. May dip into the 20's tonight. Immediate area is infested with "academics" working at Universities and Federal Facilities but they're just for amusement (for now).
ReplyDeleteI moved to the Panhandle of Idaho from South Dakota to be closer to family (Worse Idea I have had) What a disappointment. All the commie californians are moving here in droves and jacking up real estate prices to san fagcisco levels. I have decided to turn around and move back to Alabama where I have lived before. When I left S Dakota I should have turned left instead of right...
ReplyDeleteWe are in the process of removing the 4th generational roots from WNY to SD, Sioux Falls area.Coumo Sucks.
DeleteCederq, I thought you once said you had moved because of the weather? Thinking of moving to SD myself, any particular areas you'd recommend, for or against?
DeleteNice to see the comments here - we are on the 5 year plan to get out of Mordor. I grew up in AZ and So Cal. concur that Flag is cold. Flag, Prescott, and Sedona have been infested with "the Others" but the long-time locals are all in all good folks. Pine Top/White Mountains - think alpine meadows. very dry pine forests (fires are a bitch) but the horse country along the NM border is vey nice. work-wise, not much that I know of. "The Others" who infested PHX metro and Tucson have summer places up there I'm told.
ReplyDeleteCO, NM - beautiful, but a No-Go. I was in and out of those for over 30 yrs, and watched them tank. if you can go rural there, I guess it'd be a maybe. but the feces from "the Others" flows downhill into the local political stream, sadly.
Texas - my bride says no.
in the hunt - FL/Redneck Riviera area/panhandle, TN,KY, GA (leaning to hard no there), was looking at NC coast, but they've jumped the shark with the huge influx of halfbacks (those who moved south to FL/GA, didn't like the heat/folks or whatever and moved halfway back home to the N.E.).
assuming we are allowed to keep/spend our savings, we're looking at 2 small 'walk away' condos - one by the kids/grandkids, the other someplace with white sand/blue water and warmth for the winter. lock and leave when you want to/need to.
Hey Irish,
ReplyDeleteGreat piece!
I think it's all a matter of prospective.
Y'all gonna think I'm crazy but I am "retiring" in UPSTATE New Yawk.
It ain't that bad. We get 6-8ft snow on average every winter, temps in the teens to 40's and summer is very mild. It rarely tops 90°F and that's only in July. That's why they moved the horse racing up here from Belmont every August.
My bride an I, both from Queens, moved 5 hours north of the city in the late 80's.
While NY has it's left in the cities, we chose Saratoga Springs. Turns out my dad's cousin worked at the race track & he suggest we check it out. (Saratoga is "The Summer Place to Be" after Belmont and Lexington).
Best advice he ever gave me!
I know, I know...Toga is sooooo liberal.
Well, that wasn't always the case; back in the 90s.
As all the old, WW2 generation died off or left for FLA, the city turned radically left after 9/11/2001 with the advent of transplants (folks with means; unlike us cash-strapped newlyweds back in the day). These newbees, especially the ones moving in since 2012, are not the humble type; by any means. They sold their homes and bought twice that for half; up here. Not too bad.
The good: that property values are going up.
(For those of us with a good equity base; it's not too shabby.)
The bad: they can't help sticking their noses in other people's business; bringing their leftist agenda with them.
But why would I want to stay here?
Because, once you get your butt 15-20 miles outside the cities and especially outside the interstates, life changes; big time! The rural parts of New York is to die for. People are very right of center; redneck. When you get into the mountain regions; be it the Adirondacks or the Green Mountains of eastern NY & VT; expect to see rebel flags flying!
These so-called rednecks, trace their roots back to the Scotts-Irish hillbillies that founded this great nation. And they are not about to give it up. They love their trucks, their beer, their dogs and their shotguns. They hunt, fish, conceal carry and live within their means. 20-30 acres of inherited land and a trailer. Fine. They drive old Ford Super Duty trucks and the rust on the quarter panels is worn like a badge of honor.
These guys work. Construction in the summer, plow blades in the winter. And everybody belongs to the local volunteer fire department or EMS. They take care of their own. Oh, and they all listen to country music (some even have that Nashville twang!). And the rebel flag? It's a warning. It's about a lifestyle. It's the younger fellas saying; "Leave me be. Y'all don't like my flag? Now that's too bad for you."
Us older guys fly the Gadsden "Don't Tread on Me;" snake flag. We're Oathkeepers. And so is the county sheriff. And that's all you need to know. Most all the county sheriffs in UPSTATE NY are constitutionalists. I'm good with that. But NY is blue; you say? Some 50 out of 56 counties went red in 2020.
We have a tremendous abundance of wild life. Deer and turkey are big up here.
Fresh, farm raised food is on abundance. I order my angus steaks 50-100lbs at a time from a local guy and met the cows! Chickens are free range and delicious; pork -- forgeddaboudit! Best bacon in the northeast.
Anyway, point is: Get out of the cities!
And ya know what we call snow in the winter and black flies in the summer up here?
"Long Islander Repellent."
Ha, ha, ha!
You folks have a nice day,
TogaTony
PS: Read this...(thanks to Leigh)
https://www.takimag.com/article/a_brief_history_of_the_redneck_joe_bob_briggs/
We lived in North Creek about an hour north of Saratoga Springs back in the mid to late 80's before moving to Oregon. Loved the people there and the fishing and white water rafting were great. Some of the best walleye fishing I've seen. There was a small local pub called Basil & Wicks that was a great place to eat or just hang out. They wouldn't allow a NY Yankees game to be shown on the TV and had a picture of Mario Cuomo over the bar buried in the dirt up to his neck reading Plant Your Own Dope.
DeleteGood down to earth folks but they were trying to change a lot of that even back then. Agenda 21 was pushing to have a lot of the roads closed in the Adirondack Park area and they rezoned many areas to a 40 acre minimum for an individual house lot. Quite a few families there would gift 5 acres to their kids from their own property so they could build a house and they wanted to stop that and push folks into "planned" communities. I imagine that has gotten worse in the past 30+ years. I imagine Basil & Wicks has gone bourgie as Gore Mountain was becoming a ski area for all the city folks to flock to.
Still enjoyed living there and the people were the salt of the earth.Too much snow for my tastes. Here in the mountains of NC we will see snow a couple times a year for a short while and if you want to play in it a drive of less than 30 minutes will bring you into the higher elevations and snow.
Puerto Rico. 14 year abatement of US Federal taxes. Yes, Fed taxes.
ReplyDelete-26° F., right here, right now, on top of the world, North Pole, Alaska. It's 9:44 and the sun will start rising in about six minutes.
ReplyDeleteOK, OK, it does get a bit cool on occasion, though I've never seen the temperature drop below -62°.
Life's good atop the world.
James, I think I might go a little more South. :)
DeleteIrish
North West Central Florida
ReplyDeleteIf it were just me, I would opt for eastern Oklahoma or Kansas. I would pick a small town up-stream from "The Big City" where a creek enters a river. Towns like Eudora, Linwood, and DeSoto Ks or Siskatook, Sperry, or Cleveland Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteIf one is into hunting, fishing, good hay for the horses, rural way of life, decent cost of living: try Pleasanton or Ft.Scott, Kansas. Within 1-1.5 hrs of KC if you need/want to go there. Similar choices just to the east on the Missouri side. You can mind your own business and be a nobody or become mayor-your choice. Best thing: no obnoxious people from big city shitholes know about the area. Personally, if I had to do it over I'd shoot for Cottonwood Falls or Council Grove-a little west of the nearby 'big city' Emporia, of Horace Greeley fame. If you build, keep in mind there are tornadoes, so design and build accordingly. Quintessential small town America: Abiline, home of General/President Eisenhauer-on I-70 and close to moderate sized Salina.
DeleteNo one has yet mentioned Montana. We moved to NW Montana from NH (Portsmouth) in the 90's because the skiing was better (and the Massholes were beginning to overrun southern NH. Back then, the Winters were cold and the snow deep. Now very little snow and milder temps. We also are a firmly red state with a new Republican governor for the first time in close to 20-years. However, last year we saw a huge spike in people moving here from Cali, WA, and MN. They have bid up the price of housing here (especially in NW MT) and are pricing out the locals. Time will tell how this all sorts out. Still a nice place to live however.
ReplyDeleteWe retired to Lillian, Alabama. Like Mikey said Alabama is a well kept secret. Walking distance from Perdido Bay, 20 minutes from Gulf Islands National Seashore with my seniors pass costs nothing. Low taxes mostly Conservatives and only a half hr drive to Pensacola if we want a bigger town. One stop light, 2 gas stations, one bank etc. Bought an acre of land in the trees and built a house. very happy here
ReplyDeleteFloral city, Florida
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, how random is that?!
DeleteI grew up in Floral City, heading south along 41 there is/or was a three hundred acre ranch with a white wooden fence along the highway....went to Citrus, joined the army out of and volunteered out of the Inverness..
..hell I even came back for a minute or two in the early 2 thousands as a part of the FCFD!
I supply the town farm there.Feris.Live in Plant city.
DeleteYou mean Ferris Groves, a citrus grove, though there are more than a few ranches there. Old man Ferris donated a building to the Bedfords who started the Floral City Fire Department back when it was all volunteer and Bedford senior kept a 1929 pumper there in the grove building(apart from the main complex). When I was there I was the Haz\Mat, Marine Safety officer (yes we had a boat) and briefly ran an engineering outpost from that particular Ferris building. We gave it back to Ferris when Citrus County went partial paid and took over all the outlying Fire Departments.
DeleteI also picked oranges with my brother one summer for 4 bucks a bin at Ferris Groves....4 bucks a bin! All day filling up a 4x4x4 bin, not my favorite work experience!
Eaton Rapids Joe probably meant Skiatook. That is where I am now and it is a really great place. Housing and land costs are very reasonable compared to the rest of the country. Folks are nice and crime is fairly low. Close enough to Tulsa or Bartlesville where you can get just about anything you need or want. Great hunting and fishing close by.
ReplyDeleteSix years ago my wife and I escaped the Peoples' Republic of Vermont, and retired to South Carolina. love the people, the atmosphere. I joined the all-volunteer State Guard and work hurricane rescue and COVID relief operations. We ran the numbers and the move was the equivalent of adding at least $1000/month to our income. And that was before the tax/energy cost madness in Vermont.
ReplyDeletewe're a year out. seriously looked at Texas. served a number tours in the state. hate that it's turning purple. like many states its the cities. totally agree with x about mt. pleasant, an hour east of dallas. too close for us. heading home. grew up in south dakota before seeing the world courtesy of uncle sam. going back the best governor of the 50. cold and snow doesn't bother us. absolutely have to get out of illinois
ReplyDeleteWell, it's about an hour and a half if you're driving 80mph.
Delete-rightwingterrorist
Hey Irish, A lot of good recommendations on the post. I've emailed ye and said I was from PNS, FLA in the panhandle and it sure ain't bad 'tall. You have a mix of conservatives and libs. The north part of Escambia county has property for horses and such. You can buy local grass fed beef, vegs, etc. The county commissioners don't mandate a mask, but the mayor of PNS does (jellyfish). I don't need to do business in the city limits. PNS is the city of 5 flags - Spanish, French, British, Confederacy, and the US. They changed the Confederate flag to the FLA flag recently (mucks). A town NE of PNS, Milton, FLA, still flies the Confederate flag in their city :-). I digress, but we are rich in history with forts to explore, a naval base that is home to the Blue Angels (2 shows yearly - one at the beach and one on the base). We are by the beaches of the bays and gulf, so there is local seafood that is divine. We are close to other cities for visiting too. River, bay, and gulf fishing. Excellent food in places. Oh, did I mention we live in FLA since it is the panhandle/redneck rivera/ALA east and people forget we are in FLA - DeSantis is our govna who is a DJT supporter and has said an FU to lockdowns (after initial wave) and we have a balanced budget and no state income tax - thankfully. We have minor league baseball and hockey to go to. We are the largest city in the state of FLA per capita for beer breweries and they all make very good beers. We have a few distilleries (Milton, Gulf Breeze, Brewton (ALA)). We have fests year round - arts, seafood, beer, jazz, foo foo, Bushwacker (invented in PNS), Greek, crawfish, Mardi Gras, and Christmas. We have in the summer months a monthly Gallery Night where they close downtown Palafox street for a few blocks on the third Friday of each month and folks are allowed to open carry to visit galleries, eateries, food trucks, bars, etc for a fun evening (not much this past year due to Corolla virus). Nature trails, hiking, canoeing, tubing, treasure hunts, and other events I am failing to place. Pensacola, FLA - Ain't it Great!
ReplyDeleteThe first rule of fight club is SHUT UP. Just do the math and research ...you will find them, then shut up about it. Every dick liberal who has ruined their state has sold their 1950's quality home for a small fortune and is moving to YOUR state to screw it up. I did this ten years ago and hit a home run. Do you really think I'm telling.....ANYONE. This is why were good at meme's and poor at winning. Think.
ReplyDeleteMF
How about a hint MF? Just a little one?
DeleteTo bad there isn't a John Steinbeck to write about people from cali using the "Mother Road" to escape.
ReplyDeleteLeaving upstate NY for west Virginia. Taxes are killing us.
ReplyDeletehttps://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/most-republican-states
ReplyDeleteWell, I know people are leaving Michigan, but it remains home for my family. The wife and I have a place "up north" on the south branch of the AuSable river (nice trout stream), trout will not live in dirty water, so our drinking water is great (ALMOST make me forget to have a drop of the pure, ALMOST). We have four seasons, which some of us like. If you are adventurous, we have snowmobiling and ice fishing in the winter, a lot of great breweries, and some OK wineries. Bavarians in the heart of the state (Frankenmuth), Automotive museums in the Detroit area, and the Democrats are more of the big union types than the Bernie Sanders types (Although, our Governor is an idiot) Not saying any of you should move here, but we're OK (and have lots of water)
ReplyDeleteI understand it, I can't fault it. I live in one of the 'outbound' states. I get why people, want to leave, are leaving and don't hold it against them. In my case though... it feels like giving up, I may be the only one left in the state eventually but I'll go down swinging.
ReplyDeleteLocation is helpful but it is not the whole story. Freedom is not found at a place you go to, it is a thing you first aspire to, then take action on, and then become. If your ass is in a vice because of debt or a bad relationship you won’t be free even if you live on your own private island. If your of the right mindset and behavior you can be relatively free in the hive of Manhattan. Location matters, but you matter more. Good luck,
ReplyDeleteA.C.
As a long time Colorado dude (mother grew up on a ranch on the Western Slope-but that is a different story) I can suggest you look at Pueblo West, about an hour's drive from Colorado Springs. Or, anywhere in nearby Fremont County. Good people, decent weather, and a good home base if you want to RV or travel. Make sure you understand your health care situation. If healthy, great-that gives you more flexibility in where to locate. If not healthy and that is a leading factor in your life, then availability and quality of services is high on the list-whether you know it now or not. From my perspective, health care is going downhill fast, and with dirty old joe things will get a lot worse a lot more quickly.
ReplyDeleteIf this will be your last move, chose wisely, take your time, do your homework. Maybe best to rent an RV and go live in a couple of your top choice areas for a couple of weeks, just to check things out and not be rushed.
Good luck and don't forget: Friday is Titty and Beer Day!
As a 4th generation Californian, I'd like to point out that most of the people leaving are carpetbaggers who fled their home state after messing it up. Don't ask them where they came from, ask them where they were raised. Different story. They're a roving plague, worse than locust.
ReplyDeleteSo, find somewhere that is close to two hours drive from any major city, and you'll probably be okay. You'll need something toward the south for the upcoming cold spell, and somewhere with year-round water. Not too rocky, because you're gonna need to learn to grow most of your own food. Neighbors should have horses and tractors. Probably want somewhere that requires four-wheel drive at least when it rains, and a southern exposure. A good clue that you've found it is will be terrible to nonexistent cell service, but tolerable internet. One of the states highlighted (not in red) on your map will work. Stay at least 300 miles away from the coast, and preferably as close to 2000 above sea level as you can get, but not past 3500 feet (remember that bit above about the upcoming cold spell... it's going to be beyond epic). Once you've figured it out, I'll be thrilled to call you neighbor... and friend.
ReplyDeleteGood advice except for one thing. I agree that it's going to become cold and dry, but not within our lifetime. Perhaps within our grandchildrens' lifetimes. So unless you're planning a giant homestead for the benefit of future generations, you might be worrying a bit too much.
DeleteWar, political instability, and the Yellowstone caldera are all likely to be bigger concerns than climate within this century. Besides which, humans (families and clans) tend to do okay during cold periods, it's civilizations and societies that suffer lack of economic development.