Question for our American friends

[spike.t]

now i am sure this will stir up some amiable competition over that side of the water

hypothetically if someone wanted to relocate to the usa which state has the best/most relaxed gun ownership laws, the nicest average year round weather and the nicest scenery/countryside?

 

[Upton O. Good]

The southeastern U.S. probably meets your needs best.

 

[gillettehunter]

Interesting question that may not have a definitive answer. Stay away from the NE, California and Illinois because of gun laws. Many of the western states have great gun laws, great scenery,but the climate is a bit more harsh..... One place to look at is the Clearwater river valley in Idaho. Outstanding scenery and good gun laws. Overall taxes are not bad. Decent hunting and fishing. Because of the low elevation the weather is quite nice. Orofino,if I have it right, doesn't drop below 0 in the winter or over 100 in the summer. Humidity is relatively low. Some spectacular mtns are close by. I go steelhead fishing there in the winter. Jan/Feb it still often doesn't go below 30 degrees.
Colorado has some exceptional scenery. Bit more trouble with gun laws. However, after this election and a couple of recalls some of the anti gun folks are learning the error of their ways. Climate is not too bad. Others will chime in with some good ideas. Bruce

 

[James.Grage]

Hi Mike,

That is a good question.
Climate:
For weather are you looking for a dry climate or damp climate?
The south west is a dryer climate where the south east is a more humid climate? does that make a difference?
So for Dry:
Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona. I'm leaving California out of the mix due to their gun restrictions.
Humid:
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas.

Average temps, you will have to look that up for your self to see what you could live with. the extremes being Alaska and a few northern states where it can get to -30 & -40 to Arizona where parts of it can reach 130+ in the summer.

Example: where i currently live it will have a few days in the 100's and will dip into the 0's or single digits for a few days. we may get a lit dusting of snow, however it melts with in a day or two and we are at 5,200+ feet above sea level. If i want to see snow i can look north and east to the mountain tops and see it.

Scenery:
All states have their places to see, and there fore are you willing to travel to the surrounding states.
So if you are sticking to one state only, then your choice would be Texas. However in my travels every state has it gem's to go and see. It will not take you long to see the major sites in most states, and you will then expand your travel plans.

Gun Laws:
All states mentioned are good, however they are all different.

 

[Royal27]

Did you get all of your Sable sold at SA prices????

Tough question and no right answer, although I would personally not go to California or the north east on gun laws and liberal views alone.

I live in Georgia now, but grew up in Texas. I think the Texas hill country is beaitiful, but not all do, very arid and rugged. Reminds me a lot of Zimbabwe actually. Anywhere across the southeast would fit all of your criteria though.

I'd also personally move to colorodo or wyomimg, but I don't mind the cold and snpw, so it all depends.

 

[bassasdaindia]

nice post Mike

 

[ActionBob]

South Dakota. No state income tax!

 

[gillettehunter]

I'm in Wy with no state income tax too. However neither of our fine states likely qualifies based on weather. Ours is not considered moderate IMHO. Bruce

 

[spike.t]

Did you get all of your Sable sold at SA prices????

i wish

 

[ActionBob]

In Minnesota and South Dakota our "average" weather is pretty great!

It's the darn extremes that cause the issues.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Flagstaff, AZ : It gets it's share of cold, though it doesn't last terribly long. The cold is due to it's high elevation, but this is also what precludes you from getting it by the heat AZ is famous for. Grand Canyon is nearby as well as other mountains. We Arizonans are quite proud that we're not California with its gun laws.

Boise, ID : Someone else also mentioned Orofino and Clearwater. They're a bit remote but it is beautiful there. If you want something a bit less remote, Boise is a good choice. It's a city, but a fairly small one. Lower elevation means the winters aren't so bad. But if you want a snowy mountain, it's close by. I lived in Pocatello which is a couple hundred miles east. Harsher winter due to higher elevation, but it lies in some of the best fly fishing for trout country anywhere in the world. Yellowstone Park is not far away. Idaho as a whole has a pretty low cost of living with very inexpensive electricity/gas prices. Property tax is as a percentage is somewhat high, but property values are very reasonable. And I rarely met an Idahoan that wasn't friendly. People there lend a hand when needed and do so happily. Summers in Idaho so long as there not having the off cold one are spectacular and arid. Yeah, I love Idaho.

Colorado: Other than Denver, there's not too many places I wouldn't live there. But cost of living is higher and you will have some winter weather. Spent a few days in Ft. Collins once, I really liked it there.

Appalachian country in east Tennessee, western North or South Carolina. Summers will be humid but temps won't be too hot. You will have wet winters with occasional snow. But this is really pretty country particularly in the fall when the colors change. Tennessee has fairly high sales tax and I think property tax too, but no state income tax offsets that.

The midwest has it's places. But generally speaking the winter's are pretty harsh and so are the summers.

 

[ActionBob]

In South Dakota their ideas for gun control are to hold a steady aim and slowly squeeze the trigger.

 

[tarbe]

I have lived from northern Wisconsin to South Texas and from Virginia to California. Several places in between.

My wife hates the cold, I hate heat and humidity.

We both hate big government and high taxes.

We both like low population density.

So after many years of debate, we bought our retirement land in Ozark County Missouri (just north of the MO/AR border).

YMMV

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I have lived from northern Wisconsin to South Texas and from Virginia to California. Several places in between.

My wife hates the cold, I hate heat and humidity.

We both hate big government and high taxes.

We both like low population density.

So after many years of debate, we bought our retirement land in Ozark County Missouri (just north of the MO/AR border).

YMMV

My wife and I honeymooned near there. Look up Jasper, Arkansas. A cabin overlooking the Buffalo River. Nice country there!

 

[spike.t]

interesting googling some of the mentioned places. orofino and ozark county look nice, flagstaff area as well.

 

[spike.t]

annual average weather in orifino and flagstaff looks acceptable but says ozark gets humid in summer, prefer dry heat. any specific counties in texas?

 

[Royal27]

annual average weather in orifino and flagstaff looks acceptable but says ozark gets humid in summer, prefer dry heat. any specific counties in texas?

There are a lot of counties in TX that I would like..... Kerr county (kerrville) is right up there for me personally. If you want to get way out there I like little towns like juction, sonora, and ozona. I think Ozona is in Crockett county if I recall correctly.

Look up Austin and Ozona on a map. I like all of the area between those two and it is definitely dry! Not true desert maybe, but not far from it.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

annual average weather in orifino and flagstaff looks acceptable but says ozark gets humid in summer, prefer dry heat. any specific counties in texas?

So you're not giving serious consideration to following your ancestors footsteps and revolting against the monarch and becoming a colonist/yankee are you?

 

[sestoppelman]

I used to live not far from Orofino. Weippe, up in the hills above it. The Clearwater River area can be quite cold in the winter. We had 30 below O one winter I was there. But it is over 3000' elevation. And yes it is beautiful country. I would mention Washington state as a nice place. We have perhaps the most temperate climate in the lower 48 in that at least on the west side of the Cascade range, temps over 100 are rare and temps below O are virtually nonexistent. Snow also is rare though today we have had some snow around the area, but not where I live, right on the water near the San Juan Islands between Seattle and Bellingham. Our gun laws are not very restrictive here at least until the stupid voters of this state passed an Initiative (594) a few weeks ago that will require a background check for ALL gun sales. Even between to individuals outside of a store or gun show. ALL sales are now subject to it. Plus an increase in the waiting period as well. However we do have a strong state pro gun Constitution. I think in time that 594 will be tossed out by our Supreme Court as being too invasive, vague, unenforceable and just plain stupid. One can only hope. All in all I would not live anywhere else, though I once considered moving to Montana, but the older I get the less attractive the weather extremes appeal to me.

 

[spike.t]

So you're not giving serious consideration to following your ancestors footsteps and revolting against the monarch and becoming a colonist/yankee are you?

nah just something i have wondered about with the different gun legislation in different states, as to which would be the best to live in if someone who is into guns fancied moving over there. mind you after checking the prices of houses in orofino and flagstaff they are cheap compared to here. you dont get much here for the equivalent of $800,000 to $900,000 , and you really need to be looking at over a $1,000,000.00 ...............here is a link to an estate agent a friend owns here http://www.thompsonestates.com/