Best State to Live in ?????????????????

3

330-Trapper

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My wife and I are planning to move West... She is a Project manager in the Finance field and needs to look at Major cities near where we would live...like say a 30minute drive or less. I am more interested in getting away from Whitetails as my Only choice for Hunting here in Minnesota ...
We are doing our research So that We can make the Move in the next Year or Two ... I am interested in Idaho,Colorado,Montana, South Dakota (Rapid City area Only) Oregon, or any other Western States that aren't only Desert and cactus...

I was reading the posts about people moving to Alaska from Montana and found it Very enlightening to see all the opinions... and the different view points

If anyone could give me thoughts and advice on their State and what it's like to live there, Hunt there etc...

We are looking at things like the Weather also as Minnesota is Cold from mid October to March or sometimes april... and then Grey skys also seem to be predominent most of the year...

If you could add your advice I'd appreciate all comments
 
Utah.... good seasons for hunting elk and deer.

Great Limited Entry tags on elk, deer, antelope and the Once in a Lifetime species.

Reasonable cost of living and housing....

The center of the Rockies for out of state hunts to Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Mont., Nv. and Az. when drawn...

Great year round recreaction......

We are a clean state.....for raising a family.

Robb
 
I would love to try Idaho. I currently live in Washington and for sure beauty it's hard to beat but the cost of living has gone out of control the last 10 years. Montana would be another state I would be very interested in also Utah and Arizona.
 
Northern AZ, if you like living in Southern CA these days.

AZG&F is the downfall of hunting in Arizona!!!!!
 
Don't move to Idaho. Being able to hunt elk, deer, antelope, bear, mountain lion, turkeys, etc. and fish for salmon/steelhead every year is the pits. That being said, I'm thinking of moving to Montana............
 
I love the Black Hills area of SD so that would be on my list followed by WY. WY has many species to hunt with decent draw odds. All the states have pluses and minuses, good luck with your decision.

"Whatever you are, be a good one."
- Abraham Lincoln
 
Why did you leave California out of the picture. High cost of living, unaffordable housing, high crime rates, welfare state of the USA, english in the school system is now the third language as spanish is primary, no game management support, ocean and beaches are polluted, Disneyland is over priced and too crowded, the Steroid Govenator is a joke, and a trophy animal is forked horn blacktail. So come join the other 38 plus million!!!
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-23-06 AT 11:33AM (MST)[p]
California?...Oh and you forgot to mention world class salmon and steelhead fishing that starts in January & goes till November!
Otc blacktail tags with a two buck limit and public land access for Boone & Crockett class bucks.
Giant black bears.
Turkeys out the arse.
Incredible waterfowling and pheasant hunting in the Sacramento valley.
Great weather.
Great high country wilderness areas.
Beautiful beaches and coastlines.
Problem is we have that malignancy to the south starting just north if San Francisco.
Can you see a different perspective in these two California posts?
HH
 
Arizona is for sure one to look at. With seasonable cool temps up north to dry and warm or very hot down south. We have record elk and mule deer and one of the few states to be the home of the elusive coues whitetail. Alot of trout lakes and record catfishin is statewide. Thick pines to cacti and sand dunes in a matter of minutes. Arizona is full of wildlife and lightning storms that is undescribable. It would be worth a look. Good luck in findin a home.
 
The challenge with Montana will be the need to be near a city. That eliminates 2/3's of the state. Billings, Bozeman, Missoula etc would be your choices. Maybe Great Falls if you can convince you wife of living there.

If I didn't live in Montana then Wyoming would be the next state of choice, then Idaho.

Nemont
 
One thing you must remember...
It takes money to hunt. The more the better.
We would all love to live in a place in the country where we walk out the front door and start hunting with an over the counter tag.
(I had that luxury once)
A good income usually means living near a city or town.
A friend of mine lives in a bustling city, but only because he need to be close to his business.
( He must have it right, because he has all the sheep of the world, many 200" muleys and a ton of other B&C animals!)
Anyway, choose carefully, some guys live in these great trophy areas and will tell you how great it is, but cant draw a tag but every 10 years.
I keep busy year round with incredible fishing and when I draw those good tags, well I get after that in a big way.
I can count on deer hunting every single year within a few miles of my home.
Again, choose carefully.
HH
 
Denver or Colorado Springs has pretty much EVERYTHING you are looking for. Either way the front range of Colorado should take some looking into. I lived in Fort Collins for 7 years and cant wait to get back to CO. Not that I have anything against AZ but they dont compare in my book.


Jeff
 
I live in utah, and would recommend, co, first choice, I like the Eagle- Vail area. then Idaho, poky or boisie, then Wyo,probebly have to be around casper for you.
 
I would agree on Denver or Colorado Springs.

The main reason is how close you are to so many GOOD units in other states you can scout ANYTIME, AND you can hunt your own state.

Archer
 
When you say "only Desert and Cactus" I asume you are talking about Wyoming because that is pretty much the only state not mentioned. I think many believe this because of all the movies with Wyoming in them and all pictures of Wyoming just show the Desert areas. Yes there are very dry places. Where I live, we get only about 4 inches of rain a year. But about 7 miles West and there are towering mountains that get 20 to 30 inches a year. Many places, like the northeast area of the state and far west mountain areas get lots of rain and are green also.

We have all sorts of hunting opportunities as well. Mule Deer, Whitetails, Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Moose, Black bear, sometimes Buffalo, Antelope, Turkeys, all sorts of upland game and waterfowl and small game. Many of our rivers are world renowned fly-fishing destinations for trout and we also have bass and catfish and sturgeon and salmon and walleye and more.

So i guess what I'm saying is that Wyoming is more than just Desert and Cactus. I live here and I hope that I will the rest of my life.
 
300wsm,
I think he was referring to parts of AZ, NM, etc...

Wyoming, montana, idaho would be my top 3 after Colorado.
Jeff
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-24-06 AT 01:16AM (MST)[p]HunterHarry, you and buncoboy make an interesting comparison and that got me to thinking about our Golden state. Yeah, there is lots that is screwed up in this state but: My son and I hunt blacktails 25 minutes from our home, on quality private land. We also hunt turkeys on that same ground and it's full of birds. We have tons of upland gamebirds ranging from pheasants to doves, quail and turkeys out the wazoo! A good friend of mine shot a black bear on his 10 acre homesite a couple weeks ago, and that bear weighed 412 pounds and the skull is 19 1/2". I'm buying bear tags tomorrow, as the guys on our deer lease have seen several nice bears this fall, just 25 minutes from home.

Fishing, my son catches stripers up to 35 lbs. just a short 15 minute drive from our house, and he catches lots of them. Salmon, he usually catches over 50 kings per fall (his biggest last fall was over 45 lbs.) and then switches to steelhead for about 4 months. Waterfowl, well I have to drive almost two hours to my duck club, but I've been hunting the same private land that we own for 30 seasons now and yeah, its pretty darned good. Trouble is, its expensive as hell to get into one of these clubs nowadays (think about buying a house, that kind of expensive) but I've been shooting there since the mid-70's. Saltwater, we are two hours from stripers, halibut, salmon, rockfish, dungeness crabs, abalone, and its only another hour or so to get to where you can fish for albacore. There is a quality archery range 5 minutes from my house, and a major shooting center with rifle ranges that include 500 yard silhouette, 100 to 300 yard benchrest and a 600 to 1,000 yard match range, as well as trap, skeet and sporting clays and that is 35 minutes from home.

Yeah, California is pretty screwed up in many ways, but I'm not too sure the hunting and fishing is one of them. Oh, and by the way, I live on the edge of a metropolitan area with a population of well over 1 million people, so you can actually earn a good living here too. That way, when you do draw a quality tag in another state, you can actually afford to take the trip.

CAElknuts

PS: The weather is better here too!
 
300WSM, Wyoming would be one of "my" top choices and like cohntr6 said I was refering to some other states... I have hunted Wyoming since I was 12 ... and again this year...

The two times my wife has come with me... there were extreme weather issues... rain/ gumbo / snow and Wind... so I know the variety of landscapes... but she dosen't see it through her limited View...

I think we need a road trip... with Major cities visited (for her) and also to see the different living and Beauty of these possible choices...

Thanks for all the imput... keep it coming!
 
Don't move to AZ. Way too hot. Way too many hunters already. I would try any other state....I must be from Arizona =)
and, all the hunting in AZ is terrible. so if you don't live in AZ, no sense in putting in for ANY az hunts. (i need as much help as i can get to draw a tag. haha
 
BUNCOBOY DOESN'T KNOW THE SAME CALIF. THAT I LIVE IN. THERES ALOT OF HUNTING & FISHING TO DO HERE. BUT THE LIVING YOU CAN MAKE HERE WILL AFFORD 2-3 OUT OF STATE HUNTS EVERY YEAR. IN THIS STATE ITS NOTHING TO MAKE 100K A YEAR WITH A DEGREE, HELL -MY WIFE MAKES 75 K TEACHING 3RD GRADE A YEAR. THE WEATHER/SUNSHINE IS A HUGE DRAW...WHEN THE ROCKIES ARE SNOWED IN ITS 60-70 DEGREES WHERE I LIVE/ AND SUNNY. BIG MOUNTAINS/ BIG STATE. KALI OFFERS ALOT...YD.
 
Hunterhairy & Yukondull, should have talked slower, did not mean to go over your heads. Read the fine print slowlllly. At least I invited 330-Trapper!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
And you can hunt Black Brant in California. Don't forget about Brant! And Aleutian geese. Name one other State you can hunt Aleutian geese in!

In reality, if you don't have private land to hunt, blacktail hunters only average about 15% hunter success:( They sure are challenging though.

The down side......you have to mow your lawn year around!

Eel
 
buncoboy (22 posts)
Oct-24-06, 04:30 PM (MST)
23. "RE: Best State to Live in ?????????????????"
Hunterhairy & Yukondull, should have talked slower, did not mean to go over your heads. Read the fine print slowlllly. At least I invited 330-Trapper!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually for the person who wants to live in the mountain west there are certainly better choices than California, I just get real sick of people jumping on the California bashwagon.
I live a pretty incredible outdoor life here in Cali.
I see a lot of Calibashers lumping the southern and northern part of this state together and most have never known the good things that are avaliable in this state.
There are damn few places that will go up against my salmon and steelhead fishing.

Eelgrass, yes a 15 percent average might be about right the key word is average.

My motto is "Average effort nets average results"

Oh yeah, here are those California trophy forkedhorns.
http://www.blacktailcountry.com/html/fieldphotos.html
 
Jeez, I forgot all about Black Brant. Talk about a fun hunt! You're sitting on Morro Bay along the shoreline in 70 degree sunshine and shooting these little geese that think they are teal. The biggest problem I've had with brant hunting on Morro Bay is the kayakers who paddle through the decoys. Humboldt Bay is too cold and foggy (but great dungeness there).

As for Aleutians, we've got a bunch of them within a couple hours of Sacramento. Lots of specklebellies too, and they're great over decoys and on the BBQ.
 
AMEN to California but I don't like to be called part of a malignancy, theres plenty of outdoorsmen and women in so ca and as many have said its a terrif place to make big money and hunt out of state . Did someone mention yearround pig hunting with no bag limit plus coyotes and bobcats ,
 
AMEN USA.....I DO HUNT HOGS,CATS, & YOTES 8 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR, GREAT FUN. SEEMS EVERY WHERE I HUNT THERES ALOT OF GOOD BASS PONDS TOO. YD.
 
Provo, Utah is pretty good, if you like big muley bucks and big time college football.
 
330-Trapper,

Are you glad you asked?

Lots of opinions and all have there good points. You mentioned South Dakota and I think it has its good points too.

The Black Hills have a unique feel. If you have visited and spent much time in the Hills you probably know about it. I dont think you would find any suitable location east of this area. The west truly begins in the Black Hills.

Lots of deer and elk. Lots of turkeys and mountain lions. Very accessible which some would consider a drawback since there really insnt much wilderness.

Rapid City is the largest for a long distance in any direction and may be too big for some.

The weather is suprisingly mild. Its gets cold yet always seems to warm up. The Hills have much milder weather than the prarie only a few miles out.

Whatever you do try to spend as much time before commiting.

The Grand Junction area of Colorado is also very nice. Great hunting, mild winters and growing economy.

Good luck
 
Big time college football in Provo...? As opposed to WA, OR, or Cal? Or Boulder? Or Boise?

Anyway, trying to stay focused. To me, there's a big difference between the Rocky Mtn. states and the Pacific states. If you're interested in being around the ocean and fishing for migratory fish, you need to be on the coast. Overall, the Rocky Mtn. states probably have better big game hunting. All the same species and opportunities in OR, WA and CA, but there are more B&C class animals taken from the Rocky Mtn. states. Of course, only on the west coast can you hunt all three major deer species, and two elk species. And at least in WA, you can hunt those every year. AZ has some of the biggest elk, mule deer, coues deer and antelope around, but you can go years and years without getting a tag to hunt any of the above. As you might guess from my handle, I apply to AZ every year for coues deer (among other species), but I'm lucky if I get to hunt it every few years (at least with a rifle).

I live in WA, and I'm admittedly biased to the range of outdoor pursuits we have here. But I've seen HunterHarry's fishing pics, and can tell you it must be pretty darn good where he lives in CA too. Either that or he's a magician with photoshop. ;)

A compromise might be somewhere like Idaho, where you can be within 5 hours of saltwater, but you still have good, relatively uncrowded hunting opportunities. Idaho is one of the few states (the only?) where you can hunt mature bull elk every year over-the-counter. Idaho also has relatively good steelhead fishing (it's great, if you ask someone from ID). And Boise is a growing business center. It's not on the coast, but if you want less expensive living and fewer people, that would probably be my choice.
 
It is interesting hearing everyones opinions. As I said in a similar post, it is tempting to base decisions on hunting and fishing. Of course, they do play a part.

Having said that, I look at schools for my kids, cost of living, population, projected income in addition to HUNTING and FISHING.

I live in Utah and believe it is a great state. I actually live on the Wyoming border and could easily choose to move there. Both are great states, but I like Utah a little better.

As far as hunting and fishing, it would be hard to beat Idaho. My wife is from Idaho Falls and I really like that area. Great elk and deer hunting, fishing, waterfowl......

I think you can be happy in most, if not all western states.
 
Piceance... Yes I am very Glad that I asked... I have checked the threads 4 times a day since I posted...

I am Very interested in Several of these States that you all have talked about... wondering about why you can't hunt elk every year as a Resident in all of the States out West... I thought that you had to draw only if you were a Non-resident.

I didn't know that Some states weren't OTC for residents.

Thanks for all the reply's and keep them coming... I am soaking up everything.
 
Re the OTC question, most of the western states have gone to permit only for elk and largely for deer, for both residents and non-residents. I'll let others give you the specifics in their states, but I can give you the basics for WA and AZ.

In WA, with some exceptions, you can rifle hunt elk OTC but you can only shoot spikes. You need to draw a permit for branch antlered bulls. If you archery hunt, you can shoot spikes and cows, but again need to draw a permit for a bull tag. AZ is even more restrictive - I don't believe there are any OTC elk hunts, rifle or archery. That surely helps AZ manage for trophies, but it also means there are residents who don't draw a bull tag for 10+ years (rifle or archery).

In WA, there are various OTC rifle deer hunts, but the OTC mule deer hunt only lasts 8 days (whitetails are running the place over, so you get more opportunities). In AZ, all rifle deer hunts are permit only. You can draw an unpopular hunt pretty much every year, but the trophy units can take a long long time to draw. Archery deer is OTC in both states.
 
I live in Arizona, and the summers are hot as hell,it is hard to get drawn for a hunt,there is killings ever week in town, there is a water shortage, no grass,you have to drive 50 miles to see a tree. other then that its a great place to live. If I where you I would move to Washington State.
 
If you like mule deer, Rio Ariba county New Mexico has more B&C bucks in the books than any other in the nation. The mundy buck has the largest gross and net main frame in the book(15 inches net over the world record Buris buck) and one of the widest at nearly 50 inches.

Son of the south
 
Thanks for ALL the reply's... my wife Brenda and I have very much enjoyed reading them...

Anyone else care to join in and tell us thier Good and Bad moves ?
 
Oregon would be my pick, I have lived in Utah, Id, Ca. all are great in there own way but Or. is home and there is OTC tags for rosevelt elk and blacktail deer. Duck hunitng is good-great depending where in the state, and great fishing. And no it does not rain in the whole state. But Not to many B&C Mule deer, me and my familey like it alot.......
Good luck
CW
 
Being from Washington, and thinking that this is one of the prettier states with Rainforest,desert,mountains and hill country, I would shoot for Idaho. I'm guessing Boise for your finance type stuff. I'm thinking Cour de lene since I'm in the medical field. You can always live in Idaho and work in Spokane. Fishing is probably also one of the best in the west from Salmon and Steelhead with the Columbia to the SOuth and everything coming in on the west side. Cost of living bites, liberal politics bites, no trapping because of the latter really bites. No hound hunting because of those same liberals. My guess would be Idaho. Just like Washington there are whities and Mulies, and moose etc. Better draw odds than Utah, and you wouldn't be as roped into your religous preference without starting a war on here. You also have all of the oppurtunities with BC up north.
 
The Golden State. I am a minority or I guess you can say majority now and I agree we have some major problems in this state that need to be addressed but this is probably not the forum for that. I partially agree with CAElknuts you can make a great living here which affords you the oppurtunity to hunt some of the best private land hunting anywhere but this state does not do nearly enough to improve its biggame wildlife resources on public land. California has the potential to be The Hunting State. Not enough of us hunters and outdoors voice our opinion when it counts.

You guys need to consider Sacramento, Ca (I live in San Jose). The housing is still affordable, the salaries are just below that of the bayarea so still some of the highest in the nation. You can be up in the Sierras in about an hour chasing mulies or black bear, or fishing some of the high mountain lakes. In 15-30 minutes you can hunting pheasents, wild turkeys, quial, dove, some of the best waterfowl hunting in the lower 48 or hooking onto a stripper, largemouth or salmon running up the Delta. In anywhere from 1 - 3 hours you can be on the coast chasing Blacktails, wild pig, steelhead fishing, salmon, crab, abalone, etc.

It is the only state to have 3 species of elk (Tule, Roosevelt & Rocky Mt.) with all 3 being represented in the B & C. It has 2 species of deer (Blacktail & Mule Deer - Rocky Mt & Desert) with California dominating the B & C with Blacktails.
We have a healthy black bear population, some of the biggest desert bighorn sheep in the west, pronghorn antelope, bison, wild pig, coyote, bobcat, quail, turkey, dove, pheasent, chukar, geese, unlimited species of duck.

The possibilities are truley endless. But then again you probably should not consider California so I don't have to compete with another hunter. Ha Ha.

Califhuntn
 
I guess am confused. I keep hearing the money is great in Kalifornia.... I have one question. How can you afford the housing? I realize the wages are better, but how can you afford to buy a house?

I have looked at some areas. Most of them, you can't touch a house for under $300,00. I must have chose the wrong profession lol....

Maybe some parts are a lot cheaper????
 
woody,

Don't know where you got that price range, but it sure isn't around here or anywhere else I know of. Maybe up in a rural area in NoCA but I don't know of any other places.

The bad part is that it takes both a husband & wife to work full time and give no attention to children in order to make and pay the bills. BUT, I see people everyday driving around in these high dollar SUV's so guess they are doing it somehow, but most likely so much in debt they will never get out.

Unless you grew up here or have a BIG BUCK job then CA is not the place to come to live. The climate is good and lots of things to do and places to go and the hunting is great too, to some extent. I know of people I went to school with a long time ago who have left CA and now can't afford to come back.

Brian
 
Wyoming would be high on my list... BUT ... the wife!
When we were married about a month I had this bright Idea to bring her along to Ucross Wyoming to show her my favorites in Life... Wyoming, Muley's, and Antelope... I told her with blind faith that it would be "chilly" in the mornings, and t-shirt weather by noon... and that we'd stay a couple days to fill out our tags and enjoy the campfire together at night.

The experiences I'd had there at that Camp from age 12 to 20 were far different from what I would actually be showing my new Wife... to say the least!

It started with Wind, then rain, then GUMBO which made her stay in camp by the fire so as not to have to walk like herman munster on Gumbo-stilt shoo's knocking off mud every 20 steps... then While in Camp it started sleeting, and the Temp dropped way, way down and stayed there... the Snow came and She Burned down the 100 year old leaning outhouse near our line shack just to keep warm by the fire... She had the fire and my Ruger 10/22 to keep her company and when the 2000 rounds of rimfire ran out and the Blizzard lasted 3 days she had had enough... The lopes were nothing but Wired from the wind and we did everything we knew of to fill out (which we did) then we left.
So needless to say, Her view of Wyoming and mine are Quite different... the only hope for WY and us moving there revolves around a head-hunter offering us the right amount...and if the Area we choose to live in has Some tree's or Natural beauty to it... I would live in Wyoming in the Sage foothills... but it would take a lot of Green$$$ to change her mind....

21 years later I still wonder what I was thinking to bring my new Bride to hunting camp and make promises to her about Wyomings weather???
 
calif is a great state to live in except for all the political garbage and silly needless rules and regs,,, if you consider calif this you should be aware of, there is a HUGE illegal alien problem from mid state south, if you have kids this can be a problem in how you choose schools, and its really screwed up the medical end (just dont go to emergancy room at a hospital unless youre dying) i live in a middle of the state by YD actually and the things you can do here are pretty much limitless, 30 mins from mts, couple 3 hrs from coast, 3 hrs from mickeys house (kids):)not to mention tons of hunting and fishing,, live here and make money then retire to another cheaper state :) weather wise if a commute is in the works , we do have FOG and i mean FOG :) and its hot in the summer, but i work outside :) but home is anywhere you hang your hat right? :) good luck
 
>>>>Problem is we have that malignancy to the south starting just north if San Francisco.



HH, dude,,,,,,,,, ouch ouch ouch lol i'm a growth? lol a tumor? shessh just saw that ,,,,, pbthhhhhhhhhhhhh
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-29-06 AT 07:12PM (MST)[p]son of the south, how many of them B&C entries are picked up by Robert Seeds. How many of the rest of the entries come from the Jicarilla?
 
I've also heard Denver is awesome for work and better for recreation. However, I will say this, SLC has been given unique brand name because of the presence of the LDS church. The truth is that less than 40% of residents in the SLC valley are LDS and of the 40% that are they are only 70% active in their attendance. So if you are not a "Mormon" you will not be the minority.
The economy is as hot as it gets in the old USA and we have every convenience Denver does. Our home prices rise 16% per year and our unemployment was announced yesterday at 2.4%. You can also be in Olympic style skiing in 30 minutes from the downtown area. Park City is amazing. SLC valley gets hot in the summer but you would not believe how green and fantasticly Alpine the canyons can be on the Wasatch. The Avenues area of the city is so green and nice that you would not know you lived in a dry state. There is a reason so meany people are moving to SLC right now (in record breaking droves).

I can sit in my office and see peaks reaching 11,500 ft right now that are covered with snow and I know there are bucks up there pushing 30". World class resorts, more National Parks than any of the other lower 48 (second only to Alaska) and what a diversity of terrain from red rock cliffs to 13,500 ft basins in the Uintahs. And for those of you who like it, Las Vegas is a short drive or only a 1 hour flight for $99. House prices in the small town I live in rose almost 20% last year. That means if you had a $200,000 house you would have made $40,000 in appreciation last year. Yeah, it's pretty nice around here. Come on over and visit.

SLC is Salt Lake City, Utah, and LDS is Latter Day Saints (official name of the Mormons).

Check out what it looks like here in the mountains with these local pictures taken recently.

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=546609&nid=313

click on the photo gallery and check them out.

"One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
 
Thank you to all Members who added their part to this thread... It contains a lot of good things which are helping us in a decision... a lot of it will ultimately be decided by the Headhunters and offers presented for jobs... land prices, and Hunting opportunities will all be weighed in.

Thank You, Scott Balts
 
Black Hills South Dakota Resident in the park Elk Great waterfowl hunting great deer hunting tons of turkeys.
Close to Wyo. MT. CO. for the outstate hunts. Housing cost should be about the same as Minnesota.
 

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