What do you like about where you live?

[CBH Australia]

I live in the town I grew up in. I like it and the cost of living is affordable.
We have to travel to bigger centres occasionally but grew up doing that.
Both kids are in the city 6 hours away and we might find a smaller town nearer to them as we get closer to retirement.

 

[Tanks]

I think Arizona would be good.m; my wife loves off-road Jeeping and AZ fits that bill well.

Before heading to AZ, spend a bit of time there during the summer.

 

[odonata]

The things I like about Arkansas:

• Affordable
• Nice weather with four seasons. I prefer heat over cold so not much snow.
• Friendly people but not over-populated
• Good variety of hunting & terrain. Woods, delta land & hills.
• The ability to go from the city to the woods quickly
• I grew up in the swamps of Louisiana. I like the south.

Arkansas cons:

• It's landlocked. It's too far from the sea.
• I do enjoy the big mountains and expansive vistas of America's west.

My daughter is currently living on my sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay right now. When I retire in a couple of years, I'll be relocating to the coast for the next phase of my life.

Wandering for hours in the Ouachita Mountains with my pneumatic. I never saw another person.

In a soybean field near Cash, Arkansas

In the pine woods near the Arkansas River. I shot a deer with my Ruger No. 1A in 303 British a few minutes after I snapped this photo.

 

[Tusker]

I love the US to make money, but looking into relocating soon to my home country, Spain.
First, family is there and that’s not replaceable.
Second, cost of living is way lower than Miami, which is where I live now.
Third, life queality is higher (good food, cheap private health insurance, great domestic and international communications, etc). Plus flight connections to Africa are much better .
Fourth, hunting is great plus you can hunt all year around and permits can be dirt cheap.
Fifth, land is among the lowest prices worldwide. You can get 200-300 acres within 2 hours or a larger city for under $200k.
Sixth, great friendly people.

Bad thing is the new trend of woke people taking over the country, including politicians. Taxes are stupidly high, so forget about working because half of it goes straight to taxes.

 

[CBH Australia]

I love the US to make money, but looking into relocating soon to my home country, Spain.
First, family is there and that’s not replaceable.
Second, cost of living is way lower than Miami, which is where I live now.
Third, life queality is higher (good food, cheap private health insurance, great domestic and international communications, etc). Plus flight connections to Africa are much better .
Fourth, hunting is great plus you can hunt all year around and permits can be dirt cheap.
Fifth, land is among the lowest prices worldwide. You can get 200-300 acres within 2 hours or a larger city for under $200k.
Sixth, great friendly people.

Bad thing is the new trend of woke people taking over the country, including politicians. Taxes are stupidly high, so forget about working because half of it goes straight to taxes.

Spain was sounding like the go ahead nail you mentioned unreasonably high tax.
I still think it would be good that try the food and visit for a different cultural experience.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I’ve lived in 9 states, and there are more things that I dislike than like in all of them. As for here, there’s good bourbon, and my wife likes it. It’s also familiar as my family has been here for 200 years.

Otherwise, I would move to Namibia or something like that. I’m not a fan of other people, so low population is my preference.

@BourbonTrail
Like yourself I'm not a fan of bigger populations.
The area I live in was fine 24 years ago but has grown to the point I don't like it much now.
The main things keeping my wife and I here are her work and family. The other thing is neither of us are getting any younger and we have too class medical facilities within five minutes of where we live. Good doctors, hospitals and specialists medical practitioners.
Even tho the area has grown we are only ten minutes from great beaches and less than half an hour from great bush and 4x4 driving areas.
Good hunting can be had within a few hours from home ( finding the time is the hard part), good fishing and great friends
If both my wife and I were still in our 30s we would move to a smaller rural town in

Both my wife and I have moved around a bit over the years.. we were both raised in the South East (Tennessee).. I spent time in a variety of places via the army.. then lived in Northern VA / DC for a while.. then back to TN (the other side of the state).. and we've now been in North TX for the last 10 years or so..

What I like about DFW is also what I dislike in many ways...

Its a huge city.. with everything you could possibly want/need from a city.. theres always something going on, somewhere to go, something to do, etc.. and tons of options... want to go out to eat? pick a type of food, and then pick from 20 different places all within a 10 mile drive of you... want to listen to live music? pick a genre, and then pick from 20 places within a 10 miles drive.. etc..etc..

theres also lots and lots of work opportunities (very secure job market), lots of social opportunities (if you cant find a friend or two to spend time with in a city with 7.5M people.. the problem is probably you lol)... lots of faith options (wasnt hard finding a church here that we really liked for example..)...

and its TX.. so as a rule people are friendly, gun laws are not insane, its reasonably affordable, etc...

but... its a huge city.. that brings all of the problems that all huge cities have... traffic is horrible.. crime can be very bad in certain areas.. I dont find large cities very "pretty".. in fact parts of it are downright ugly, dirty, and poorly maintained.. while you have a hundred options for anything you might want to do.. sometimes lots of options are a bad thing.. it certainly doesnt make things "simple" or easy..

and while lots of people creates lots of social and work opportunity.. it also creates lots of hustle, bustle, and chaos..

TX is also not the tax haven a lot of people think it is.... while its true there is no state income tax.. sales tax is on the high side.. and property tax in the urban areas is absolutely out of control.. wheel taxes are higher than most other states.. etc..etc.. TX definitely gets its money out of you...

While it is "hunter friendly" in many ways (disabled vets get free hunting licenses.. we dont have silly cartridge restrictions like "straight walled only" or "shotgun only", etc.. and there is a wide variety of game here.. its actually hunter unfriendly in many ways... there is almost no public land at all in the state and hunting is a big "business" here... youre going to pay a small fortune for a lease or access to private land if you are not a land owner yourself.. or youre going to pay fairly large sums for a guide/outfitter to hunt on private property..


We're (wife and I) now starting to look at what retirement is going to look like... we're empty nesters now.. and while she still works in an office setting, I've been working from an office in my home for the last 16+ years... we're looking at properties in several different areas.. but are primarily considering western AR, northern TX, eastern OK (where those 3 states all intersect).. and are also looking at some options in the Western US (but Im not convinced the cold winters wont get them eliminated from consideration)...

Our primary requirements are:

Affordable acreage.. that isnt "scrub" land... our intent is to buy +/- 100 acres... somewhere like the TX hill country where land can easily be over $10K an acre really isnt in our price range..

Low property tax rates (with 100 acres and a house and some additional buildings on the property, etc.. we dont want to get killed each year when the tax bill comes due..

We want to be rural.. but not out in the middle of nowhere.. in short, I dont want to see or hear another human if I dont make an intentional effort to do so... but at the same time I dont want to have to drive 45 minutes to get a gallon of milk or have to go 65 miles to get to a doctors office or a hospital or a dentist if I need one.. we dont plan on going "out" regularly.. but having shopping options, dining options, etc within a reasonable driving distance is important (we dont need a Macy's or Nordstrom 2 miles away.. but at least having access to a walmart without burning a half tank of gas would be nice)...

Since we'll both still be working.. and my work in particular requires a bit of travel.. we're going to need to be within reasonable distance (an hour?) of at least a national airport...

hunting/fishing/gun friendly is important... we wont consider anywhere thats going to make those sort of activities difficult..

Weather is a consideration... but only in the interest of avoiding extreme weather.. we'd like 4 seasons.. anywhere that is under snow 6 months out of the year.. or is blistering hot 6 months out of the year.. or gets an outrageous amount of rainfall.. etc.. is out of the question.. but if the area is known to be a little on the hot side, or cold side, or humid side, etc.. its not really a big deal..

@mdwest
We are going to tex arse in October and from what I have researched we will be driving around Dallas and Hooston as they are to big and don't really interest my wife and I. We found what looks a nice little place to base ourselves for a few days. Population 12,000, looks like great churches and places to eat and close enough but far enough away from Hooston for a day trip.

El Campo Tx looks just what we want to get a taste of Texas before moving on to other parts of the USA
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I’m in Idaho and like the proximity to a lot my favorite activities. The people are generally nice and I am lucky to have gotten a house before it went completely nuts.

Things I don’t like:

The sheer number of people moving here is largely ruining what used to be a slower pace of life. There is no ‘pole pole’ here anymore.

The over-densifying of housing is just adding to the issue. They are trying to keep up with demand but filling former fields with condos and quadplexes. We are being inundated with the same old chain restaurants and stores and our former personality is being largely homogenized with every other developer-dream city. It has become The Tragedy of the Commons. The reason it won’t stop is comparatively speaking, this place is still quaint compared to where folks come from.

I have met and like plenty of Californians but there is indeed a type that comes here and loves nothing more than to a) tell you they are from California and b) tell you how much they preferred X Y or Z back in California. This is not a joke. People from Texas, Washington, etc who move here seem to never have this quirk. They just move here, assimilate, and go on with their lives.

I told my wife the other day I now understand the older guys I knew as a kid who wanted keep moving away from the encroaching masses to find some peace and quiet.

Not sure we will retire here. But not sure where we would go either.

@baxterb
In a few words that's call progress.
I don't like it but have to suffer it as well.
Even my old home town in the bush has gone to shit so would never move back there.
As we age medical facilities trump other things in the area unfortunately.
Progress really sucks but unfortunately it's inevitable.
We have people that come from another area with number plates on their car saying ( inset name) the place to be. They then complain about where they are. I just tell them to shut up and F#@K to where your number plate says is the place to be. No political correctness from this old fart. If'n they want it sugar coated they can see a pastry cook.
Bob

 

[Philip Glass]

In thinking about retirement and where I’d like to spend the majority of my time when I don’t have to work for others. Many states/areas come to mind. So, I’d thought I’d ask you the same question.

1. What do you like about where you live?
2. Where will you retire? Why?

I make a living working here (Ca) with my day job. I’m from here (native born and raised). I will likely keep a place here due to family and personal business obligations, but I won’t need to be here full time.

I love California for a lot of reasons:
1. Weather
2. Beauty and diversity of scenery. Mountains, ocean, bays, rivers, lakes, desert, microclimates in Northern Ca, perfect year round weather in San Diego, snow skiing in the Sierras, Lake Tahoe, etc…
3. All different types of fishing.
4. Bird and game hunting.
5. Culture - Not too important to me.
6. Lot of Family and friends here.
7. Personal history and memories of growing up in a small town 25 minutes from SF or Napa Valley…

Don’t like:
1. Expensive to retire here in general.
2. Politics.
3. Homelessness and the impact to daily life.
4. Anti hunting & anti fishing.
5. Gun control laws.
6. Housing costs.
7. Taxes are high.
8. Crime.
9. Environmental movement and their impact.
10. Traffic.

California Is just not the same place I grew up in… I’ve had a residence and business in Reno/Sparks since 2002 and like it there for many reasons, but it’s starting to change. It feels and looks more like Ca. That is likely due to the influence of people leaving Ca and coming to NV! Now I’m starting to look further. Looking for more space, friendlier people, more conservative politics or just less political influence, sportsman friendly, cleaner and more peaceful living. And, retirement friendly!

Thanks in advance…

As a born and bred Texan I could go on for hours!

 

[3chunter]

SC is the #1 state people are moving to for two years running. Born and raised here but the county I am in is democrats and has the highest taxes in the state. Still cheaper than most places though. I would say upstate SC would be hard to beat for retiring. I will be retired here because I have some land and access to more land. Other states I would not hesitate to be in…
Oklahoma panhandle
Texas
West kansas
Rural Missouri
Rural Kentucky
Rural arkansas
Nebraska

SC doesn’t have ducks so that’s a con. Unless you own a plantation on the coast. Not many do.
We are 1 hour from the coast and 3 hours from the mountains if that’s your fancy.
I would like to for 1 duck season travel and move with the ducks in central and Mississippi flyways. Probably will do it when I retire.
I also would like to spend a season out west just exploring and hunting.
Also would like to spend a month in Africa. Will probably do that too.

 

[steve white]

@BourbonTrail
Like yourself I'm not a fan of bigger populations.
The area I live in was fine 24 years ago but has grown to the point I don't like it much now.
The main things keeping my wife and I here are her work and family. The other thing is neither of us are getting any younger and we have too class medical facilities within five minutes of where we live. Good doctors, hospitals and specialists medical practitioners.
Even tho the area has grown we are only ten minutes from great beaches and less than half an hour from great bush and 4x4 driving areas.
Good hunting can be had within a few hours from home ( finding the time is the hard part), good fishing and great friends
If both my wife and I were still in our 30s we would move to a smaller rural town in

@mdwest
We are going to tex arse in October and from what I have researched we will be driving around Dallas and Hooston as they are to big and don't really interest my wife and I. We found what looks a nice little place to base ourselves for a few days. Population 12,000, looks like great churches and places to eat and close enough but far enough away from Hooston for a day trip.

El Campo Tx looks just what we want to get a taste of Texas before moving on to other parts of the USA
Bob

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen Sounds like you are in a good place as it is, given overall balance of priorities. Hope you enjoy your stay in Texas. Unfortunately, I'm in one of your drive around areas...

 

[steve white]

Before heading to AZ, spend a bit of time there during the summer.

Yep, I hear AZ folks aren't even scared of Hell--they heard it was a "dry heat" just like AZ...

 

[baxterb]

@baxterb
In a few words that's call progress.
I don't like it but have to suffer it as well.
Even my old home town in the bush has gone to shit so would never move back there.
As we age medical facilities trump other things in the area unfortunately.
Progress really sucks but unfortunately it's inevitable.
We have people that come from another area with number plates on their car saying ( inset name) the place to be. They then complain about where they are. I just tell them to shut up and F#@K to where your number plate says is the place to be. No political correctness from this old fart. If'n they want it sugar coated they can see a pastry cook.
Bob

I am willing to accept natural progress, but when progress starts to look like pure economic greed and exploitation of a limited resource that has negative consequences for both the people and area under the guise of “giving people what they want,” that’s when the frustration sets in.

Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon now…

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen Sounds like you are in a good place as it is, given overall balance of priorities. Hope you enjoy your stay in Texas. Unfortunately, I'm in one of your drive around areas...

@steve white
And what area is that mate
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I am willing to accept natural progress, but when progress starts to look like pure economic greed and exploitation of a limited resource that has negative consequences for both the people and area under the guise of “giving people what they want,” that’s when the frustration sets in.

Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon now…

@baxterb
In our area it is growing faster than infrastructure to support it.
Just in my street they are putting granny flats in back yards everywhere just to capitalise on lack of rentals, greed. There's limited parking to start with and they increase the problem. More interested in money than anything else.
Bob

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Full disclosure: I just saw this thread and haven't read all of it yet.

I live in Alaska. Rural Alaska. Many of you can probably come up with a list of a lot of good reasons to want to be here, and you wouldn't be wrong.

I will say only that I am an introvert at heart, and almost nothing brings peace to my soul like camping, hunting, and fishing in truly wild, remote areas. I have that right outside my back door.

The negatives would be a fairly short list, and frankly I wouldn't want to list some of them anyway: I don't like to peddle in the cynical or the negative.

SW Alaska has been home for almost 30 years. I am quite happy with it.

September: moose, bears, and more spawning silvers and Dollies than you could possibly count or catch. What's not to like?

 

[steve white]

@steve white
And what area is that mate
Bob

Dallas--you know, home of the Cowboys....give a ring if you can while you're here!

 

[CoElkHunter]

I live in California and love and hate the state for the reasons Nighthawk mentioned. The weather in Southern California is about as close to perfect as you can find. Sunshine most of the year with mild temperatures but for a hand full of days above 90 degrees each year. But as Nighthawk mentioned the politics and cost of living are total crazy. I am already retired, but when my wife retires in a few years I can see us moving to the Reno/Sparks area. Maybe even a bit south like Minden/Gardnerville NV.

Well, I too grew up in Southern California and left in '89 and moved to what's now Colocalifornicate. CA actually wasn't bad at all when we left. We moved for a better "quality" of life and now many of the problems that CA had/has are here. And until recently, I would go back there every two years to see my now deceased parents and my two brothers who still live there. I saw a change over those years with every increasing traffic, crime and population explosion. When we lived there, our commutes to work became every increasingly long. This was due to not being able to afford to buy a home close to where we worked. Mine was ONLY an hour and a half but my wife's was TWO to THREE hours. Remember, this was in '89. There was no "working from home" options then and I think many of those now viewing at least So. CA as a good place to live either work from home and/or are retired and don't have to commute half their lives to and from work. It's easy to look through "rose colored glasses" when you don't have to partake in the mess that was and continues to be Southern California.

 

[brym427]

I live in Central PA and I don't think there's anywhere else id like better. I have over 400 acres of farmland and 200 acres of mountain land in a area that is pretty built up. It's private and privacy is worth more than anything else today. While having the privacy I can drive no more than 25 minutes and be at almost any mainstream restaurant or store. We also get all 4 seasons

 

[Russ16]

Honestly not much for me. I live in the DC area but only because it allows me to make a living that lets me do the things I love that aren’t here.

I’ve often thought about what it would be like to move and will someday. But right now being here finds my hints everywhere else.

Here, the traffic is terrible I have to travel a good distance for any real shooting, there isn’t even really a decent gun store or reloading component store anywhere nearby. I took up gold just to have a way to get outside and walk a few miles on the weekend.

Yes we have nice museums and such but be seen those get the last 20+ years.

Sorry to be such a downer. But as a guy who grew up in Texas east of the Mississippi feels pretty claustrophobic. Hopefully this helps some of you appreciate where you are a little more.

 

[Woodcarver]

Well, I too grew up in Southern California and left in '89 and moved to what's now Colocalifornicate. CA actually wasn't bad at all when we left. We moved for a better "quality" of life and now many of the problems that CA had/has are here. And until recently, I would go back there every two years to see my now deceased parents and my two brothers who still live there. I saw a change over those years with every increasing traffic, crime and population explosion. When we lived there, our commutes to work became every increasingly long. This was due to not being able to afford to buy a home close to where we worked. Mine was ONLY an hour and a half but my wife's was TWO to THREE hours. Remember, this was in '89. There was no "working from home" options then and I think many of those now viewing at least So. CA as a good place to live either work from home and/or are retired and don't have to commute half their lives to and from work. It's easy to look through "rose colored glasses" when you don't have to partake in the mess that was and continues to be Southern California.

So it was YOU that started the invasion of Californians in the early to mid 90s!?! Yanno you left the gate open behind you!!! Seemed like every other vehicle we saw had CA plates on it in those days as Colorado Springs became the new Silicone Valley.
Colorado is the 8th state I've lived in, and the 1st I got to choose to live in (Dad was a Marine pilot). Still like living here, although I'd rather a return to the politics 20+ years ago instead of the BS being shoved on us by the flake in the Governor's seat leading the dark blue House & Senate.
Only real complaint is that it's getting too crowded for my tastes, even out here on the prairie. When I arrived 42+ years ago, once the ridge east of the Springs was crested, it was a black void at night. Just a handful of sodium lights dotting the landscape. Now, it looks like a city. Fortunately, my house backs up to a large sandcreek, with state trust land and a sod farm to the east, so I can shoot in the backyard and not see the crowding in of homes. Good chance I'll be putting the house on the market if/when a big box store lands in Ellicott, and look to buy towards the eastern border or even in west Kansas. Bonus is that will put me closer to my son and his family who already call western KS home.
Hard to beat the access to hunting here, and the view of Pikes Peak with a fresh skiff of snow on her. That view never got old driving to work in the morning. 300+ days of sunshine coupled with typically mild weather (short episodes of extreme cold in the winter, short sessions of extreme heat). Usually we have all 4 seasons; sometimes in the same day! lol