Greetings...If you are relatively unhappy where you live now for one reason or another and you could move somewhere else to live and bow hunt or fish for the rest of your life....where would you move??? Just curious !!!

If I were a young man again and had the choice it would be British Columbia. S

Do I still have to make a living or have I retired?

Iowa,we have big deer and the Mississippi River.Minnesota and Wisconsin are not very far. Lots of natural lakes there. JF

1/2 the year in Iowa and 1/2 the year in Florida.Reverse snowbird,my plan.

I am headed to Idaho for this very reason as soon as my youngest daughter graduates in December. Can't wait!

which states don't allow cross bows ? That's where I want to go.'

I live in tennessee and love it here. I love the mountains and we have plenty of game to hunt and places to fish . There are a few places I would like to see but I will never live anywhere but here in tennessee .

I might go back to the UP where I grew up.

OTOH, I love Colorado and it would be great to move onto the western slope and away from the hassles of living on the front range.

Neither is ever going to happen though I'm 70 and have all of my family within a few miles. I'd get bored with no grandkids around.

I loved the years I hunted in Wyoming...but I'll never leave Wisconsin.

Way out in Wild West Texas

Way out in Wild West Texas

Hard to say, Colorado is bueatiful, not sure I could take the harsh dangerous winters though, especially when im oldd enough to retire. My home state of Kentucky is pretty awesome, I would probably just stay here.

I'm quite happy in Pa. If I had to pick a different state, it wouldn't be based on the hunting aspect alone. No place in the midwest would suit me, so that's out. No Texas...the high pay for play state. I do like Washington state for the varied environments from the coast to the Columbia River Gorge...and on up on the eastern prairie. So likely it would be in that area...or around Sandpoint. I can find hunting anywhere in those areas.

I'm right where I want to be . In wild wonderful WV.,

Oregon. Next to Michigan she is number one in my mind.

You guys are all missing the boat!!!! North Dakota has it going on. The best Walleye fishing in the world. Waterfowl hunting second to none. Pheasants up the wasoo whitetail and muledeer. Oh oh I just spilled the beans----forget everything I just said we don't have anything!!!!!

I am really liking Kentucky because of the long bow season and beautiful public lands. I have thought of moving back to Michigan. When I was in my 20s in Michigan I always dreamed of retiring in the Upper Peninsula on a small patch of my own land, 15 to 20 acres. in a snug cabin. I have also thought I'd like to try New Mexico out. I would like to hunt the high desert before I turn 60. If I was a young man Alaska. If I was a rich man, Australia with frequent trips to New Zeeland.

Back to Montana for me. Ken

Northern Idaho

That happened to me when I was 28. I moved to Butte Montana. I came back to Ohio to open an archery shop. Once it was built up which just took a couple years, I sold my half out and moved back to Butte. I'm in Ohio now because I came back to help my parents and while I was here my chemical burns on my lungs from the military started giving me problems with my aging lungs and I couldn't breath very well at the higher altitudes. When I hunt the rockys now I carry oxygen in case I need it. If I lived there my lungs couldn't take the winters.

I live in NYC. I would move anywhere! Don't care where at this point.

This place in Bokor National Park in Cambodia. Lots of things to attract me there!

There are some of these there.

I had a great time living in Maine - I think I could enjoy it a lot again for a long time.

I would also be a reverse snowbird. There is hunting here in AZ. but tons of hunters as well. I would not mind a place in PA. to do the summers and fall.

There are many, many places I would love to visit....but I'll stay true to my name... I'm Southern and proud of it.....and we have some awesome hunting here in our state. Lol. I found this the other day and it sums me up pretty well.....don't let the "Belle" part of my name fool you. And if we say "Oh hellllllllll no" you had better be already running! Hahahaha. Marsha

I live in the 5th worst place to live in the US, according to the USDA. So, if I finally get out of here, I think I'd like to live in a warm southern state or maybe Southern CA. However, North Dakota, as crappy as it looks, attracts me.

Joe

I live in Canada, and there really aren't any good places. It is all a huge compromise.

I saw some pics of Idaho recently, they looked like high alpine, but apparently were much much lower, that is interesting when you get older. Wonder what it is like in that part of BC...

Montana

Raised there, been there, done that.

Now it's Adirondacks in the summer, Florida fishing and camping in the winter with long visits back home in Oklahoma off and on. Just talking this week about getting a little house in a small town in east central OK sometime real soon and go back where folks eat chicken fried steak and a roast big as the roaster costs less than $10. Already have a spot for a hole up on the "forty four" out of Bristow, but might go home sooner than I have to.

Pretty much only one more place I want to go and it ain't down here on planet earth.

Paul Brunner nailed it. Montana 6 months, New Zealand 6 months

Northern Cal, Sierras

Northern Cal, Sierras

Ive been to a lot of places to visit and have thought about this a lot.I'm kind of "The grass is always greener" type. When you get right down to it, my home state of Michigan has a lot to offer. At some point we may move farther north... or not:) Definately would like to spend winters in a warmer climate though these days. Nothing is carved in stone though, once I'm retired perhaps we will just chase the greener grass:)

Right where Ive Always BEEN Old Kentuckee anywhere here but a city !!!

Id stay right in Michigan, but would need to own 800-1200 acres.

I'm happy in SC. We have it all - long Deer season, the coast and mountains with some great rivers in between. We can actually catch Sea Trout in the morning and rainbow trout in the evening. We also have a fair amount of public land.

However, IF I was to move, (strictly talking about recreation and not about earning a living) Montana and Southern Alaska come to mind. I'm not sure how well this Southern boy could adapt to Montana winters though.

I like living in PA love the mts, (mts covered in trees)

If I were forced to choose another state I'd probably pick WV. I surely would NOT move away from the appalacian mts.

I HEART NY but I also love the west coast, Washington. I moved to Montana when I was 22, lived there for 10 yrs, and then went to WA/OR for the next 20. Then came back to NY - not a bad place at all as long as I'm 4 hours from NYC, I can handle it. :^) But its back to southern WA along the Columbia Gorge after I retire. The salmon and steelhead are worth eating there (delish), there are elk, blacktail, bear, cougar, sturgeon, lots of sheds, loads of fresh huckleberries this time of year in the Gifford Pinchot, and a bunch of wilderness to get lost in. And nice small towns and a couple clean cities (Portland, Seattle) to keep my wife happy and immersed in culture. It would be hard leaving here though, because it really is beautiful in NY and it is where my roots are. So I may come back here to die in the Adirondacks but first I need to get some more, a LOT more of the west including Montana. I need to catch a bull trout in NW MT. And I would like to moose and sheep hunt in AK, but probably not live there.

Marsha, that Mississippi description fits my NY wife, definitely not the NY description. No 'prissy' in her. Just a lot of the Ole Miss in her for sure.

I am most happy in a rural high desert climate. Winters are not too harsh, low humidity, no mosquitos or pesky little bugs swarming your head, lots of sunshine, usually lots of public land nearby, beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

I live in the high desert of Oregon. It is nice to drive to the coast for a visit. Idaho seems to have it going on in many aspects. Oregon and Washington have such unique climate depending on where you are.

I would stay right here in good old Georgia. Bluegills bigger than a hat and rocking chair deer. And we got RC!

I already live in Colorado, though it was much nicer prior to the pothead invasion, I still like it. I grew up in AZ and at times miss it. I will live wherever the beautiful woman that loves me as much as I love her wants to go. You can always dream of a perfect place, but if your heart is happy, you are already there.

Either Oregon or SW Colorado. Growing up in Texas in a family that hasn't owned much land, I want as much good quality public land around me as possible. Not many places in the East where that's gonna happen.

SW Colorado

Kentucky is a near parallel with Pa. as far as topography goes. I need my trees and my rolling ridges all around me. I rode a bicycle across the northern US in 1988. After I left the Rocky Mountains at Browning, Montana, everything looked alike until I got to Minnesota. I guess one could get used to places that have trees only along a river, but not me...I grew up right in them..literally. The grass always tends to look greener elsewhere, and I've been in 47 of the 50 states, so I can testify that what I have is as good as I need or want. Nothing any nicer than four seasons and tree covered forest.....very small towns and mountain valleys. By the way, the other three I haven't been to are Hawaii, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Not likely to get to Hawaii, but I can drive through the other two in a day's time and fill the list.

limbwalker, you come on up to CO as often as you can. I too could never afford land, so the land we ALL own is where I recreate----free of charge.

Here's the view from my side porch, late evening a few days ago.

Larry, I like living too much, I don't think I could handle being in the same area with a cat like that, I know we have panthers and mountain lions, but them guys are huge and dangerous, plus I can't run as fast as I used too.

I'll stay in Florida with the Panthers, Gators, Crocs, Deer, Hogs, pythons thanks to the morons, and a lot of fishing....wing

I like where I am at in Colorado, just north of Westcliffe. My wife and I explore other places to live. We like northern Michigan and the U.P. but I despise the humidity. We have been in Pburg Montana all summer and like it here a lot. We have lots of stuff and I suddenly don't want to move when I look around the house, garage, out buildings and property.

I loved my upbringing in Pa, beautiful country. I live in Colorado for past 20 years and feel the same, I really like Washington State, But if I had my choice, it would have to be B.C. in specific the Kelowna area. I like the laid back lifestyle in this portion of Canada as well as the terrain, scenery, and the hunting is spectacular.

I love VA but for hunting I would like to live in NM.

Perfectly happy just where I am, Clark Fork, Idaho.

Smack dab in the middle of the imaginary 5000 acres I bought with the imaginary money I have right here in Indiana. I'm too old to climb mountains and run after exotic game so I'd be happy to just get lost here and visit those other beautiful places. There's enough game to keep me happy here and I don't really have the desire to kill those other animals anyway. Nothing against any one who does kill the other animals. It's just not my thing. I would be happy just to visit and view other animals in their natural habitat.

I am so glad I posted this question. I LOVE reading all the responses!!The more the merrier !!! Thank you !!!! Buds...Whitie

limbwalker, where is that? ;^) ...Standing right next to that Vista Point visitor center...

Beautiful spot George!

I guess I'm happy right here in VA as I don't have any plans to move.

Here...

All in all it is hard to beat Southwest Colorado. No hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods. We have 4 seasons but not the humid heat or bitter cold of many places. Lots of blue skies and sunshine even in winter. Very few of the bad things like snakes, ticks, chiggers etc. In over 55 years of hunting I have never seen a snake or have been bitten by a tick. I usually lay down on the forest floor and take a rest after lunch, while hunting, without the slightest worry of being hunt by something. We do have flies and mosquitoes. Add all the millions of acres of public land with great hunting and fishing and its really hard to beat.

I would love to move back to the Couer d'Alene/Spokane are. They have it all up there.

Nice looking country limbwalker, but actually there is a lot of public land in the east.

Many people don't realize PA has millions of acres of public land some of it very large continuos tracts of 200,000+ acres.

WV also has quite a bit as well as VA.

NY state boast the catskills and Adirondack mts. The Adirondack public land is bigger than the Yellowstone, glacier,grand canyon, and everglades combined It is in fact 6 MILLION acres. I would say that qualify's as a lot of public land... lol.

And then there is maine, there is some serious woodland up there.

Had a guy hunt with me from Colorado, we were hiking up the side of a mt along the Juniata river. At one point he stopped, hanging on a small tree trying to catch his breath. He looked at me gasping and said..."I didn't realize you had hills like this in PA"

I just smiled and said...."I figured you didn't, that's why I brought you to some place easy."

We don't have the elevation or rocks and cliffs, but lots of folks don't realize what is actually available here in the east.

Even folks that live here.

Funny how the Georgia boys have kept their mouths shut. Yeah, it's that good down there.

Ga November til May for hogs, small game, Woodcock, big catfish, costal fishing, deer (be nice to spend October there for the deer hunting but I like birds too much). And though I hate to admit it, south of Watersmeet MI (Michigan for the most part sucks and I live in the nicest part of the state!) the rest of the year so I can Musky and Bluegill fish, have good bird hunting, a good chance at a bear tag and maybe a deer. We do have the best walleye fishing in the world (sorry North Dakota) and the best smallmouth fishing but deer hunting is only OK and it's not easy to get a bear tag anywhere except the western UP. Woodcock and Grouse are fair to good, depending if you have good spots away from the crowds. Trout and Salmon???? Hate the taste so why bother but some guys like PB&J.

I'm lucky enough to travel a fair amount around this world and I've come to the conclusion that it's best not to own a home again once I my kids move out. Rental homes are cheap if you look around, just stay mobile with no commitment. I can rent a home in SW Kanas for Dec, Jan and Feb and hunt quail for $1000 a month for example. I'll be in NW Montana next week for Sharptails, a nice cabin for $700 for the two weeks. Last week was on Lake Vieux Desert in a real nice home for $78 a day. Beats a hotel, a camper or a house payment. I will still run up to BC for spring bear, Montana and Kansas for birds, Texas for hogs but I'm fairly set on Costal Ga and western UP.......for now.

I would stay in SC as long as I could never have to get on I85 around Greenville. Even though I live in Greer the areas around Greenville are getting TOO developed ,hence TOO many people and cars and it's only getting worse.

I am with 4Nolz, currently live in Florida, just got my youngest settled in college and thinking about being a reverse snowbird.

Colorado or Nebraska for August-December. Maybe stay through Spring gobbler season then back to Fl.

Seriously considering being a migrant for a few months each year to try places on. Maine, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska...

I'm with codjigger on this,,,BC all the way.

Oregon coast

Bob - thanks for the invite. I plan to do just that. Wife and I plan to retire there, and I'm heading up for a two-week hunt in about 10 days. Can't wait.

Trapper - that photo was taken from an overlook on the historic highway East of Portland. It's called Portland Women's Forum. You can find more info on it here:

http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm? do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=119

I was fortunate to find it that day. Still one of my favorite photos of that area. So many great memories from that trip. :D

I am glad so many people like where they are. It is good for them, and California is getting crowded in some places. But I go to other places.

But I am surprised that there is little mention of the Great Basin region. That is the vast area between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Wonderful dry climates, blue skies, most game species, few neighbors but fine ones. - lbg

Trapper, that's the Cascade Locks below on the Columbia.

Yeah, Cascade Locks and Bonneville Dam is right there past that rock sticking up in the distance. The rock is Beacon Rock, the remainder of the lava that was inside a volcano that eroded away.It is several hundred feet high. I have been to that Womens point too and actually I commuted to Portland for 15 years along I-84 below the points from Hood River, OR and White Salmon, WA. There are elk on the flats below and that sandy beach in the picture sticking oht into the river is Rooster Rock park, a nude beach..hahaha.

longbowguy, we were through the Great Basin area in May...Rt. 50 going toward Kalifornie. Our trip this year got us into all the states we had not been to before so it was more or less a circuitous trip, but a nice one. The basin was fogged in pretty well when we stopped at the National Park visitors center. That stretch of Nevada was pretty desolate but I loved the little towns along the way.

I've been across and around the Columbia River area many times and it's always a vista no matter where you see it from. There is so much beautiful land in this country to see, and I'm sure it all is awesome it its own way to those who live there.

White Mtn /Lakes region in New Hampshire. Where I am from .

White Mtn /Lakes region in New Hampshire. Where I am from .

Just got home from 10 days in SW Montana. If I were to leave my area of central Minnesota, the short list would be simply going to NE Minnesota along Lake Superior's North Shore, or it would be to head to Montana. Having grown up amongst oak covered glacial moraines, the mountains hold a certain magic and fascination for me. We were fishing on this trip, but saw tons of game and had some very close moose encounters!

This is pretty country too.

Yukon Territory!

Tough question. Been a lot of places. I don't think any one place year round. Temperature extremes can suck in just one place. The south is amazing until july and august. Yuck. Alaska is awesome as well as BC. Its just that the winters, if you are inland from the coast can get rough.

Probably SW Montana. Maybe the I90 corridor from Livingston to Missoula. I heard its getting liberalized somewhat but the winters are a little milder. Good fishing. Good hunting.

Pennsylvania is heaven to me after spending eight years ( in other states and overseas ) away from home when I was in the Army. When I see the Laurel Mountains and Chestnut Ridge I know I'm home. Love Pennsylvania in the fall.

I mentioned earlier that I'm a Wisconsinite and plan to stay.

I should have added that I have many activities beyond archery and hunting, and 'Sconnie fills the bill.

Weather extremes...yeah...but great folks, great golf, good (once great) whitetail hunting, lots of trad shoots, varied terrain, Packers, Badgers, Brewers...works for me.

White Mountains in eastern Arizona. The biggest elk in the world, beautiful lakes and creeks, and plenty of elbow room. Just a short drive to the desert to thaw out during the winter.

Heat, that's a nice area too. Just don't tell too many folks. ;)

Love it where I am, but maybe spend even more time above the bridge. SVH

I like living here in Southern WV. It has a lot of what I look for. Best Small mouth fishing going as far as numbers. Good hunting and decent fishing. However, drugs here are bad. If not for my church ad my family, I'd be gone.

I'd like NC if not for the pay to play mentality of hunting ground. Lease prices pushing $20/acre is something I just wouldn't do if I had the money. However, the fishing is GREAT!

I'd consider VA if I were staying in the east. But, since it is a retirement thing, I'd take Western Colorado, Montana, or Idaho. All have great hunting, fishing, trapping opportunities. Getting away from people would be easy enough. I find I want to do that more and more the older I get. People wear me out.

I'm a hunter, a fisherman, and as much a trapper as time will allow. So, hunting, fishing and doing things outdoors is what would drive my choice. I could see myself right now walking back down some game trail in the Rockies, after hunting some elk this morning. Trying to decide which wallow or water hole I was going to set for the midday lull and evening hunt. I imagine that after setting a while, I'll take me a little siesta. Or, I might go try to kill a Mule deer or bear while waiting on the evening prime time. When I killed my tag allotments, I'd go home and get ready for the rifle seasons and laying some steel. Soon enough if the Lord will's it, I'd be trout fishing. Life is grand. But, I imagine it would be even more grand if I lived there. God Bless

Sadly, WV, drugs are bad everywhere, but I believe if more people shot bows and hunted they wouldn't be nearly as bad. People seek an escape and the great outdoors is the best drug going. I thank God it's the first one I tried because it hooked me from a young age!

Reckon I'll just stay here. Huntin, fishin, mountains and valleys but would like to head north in July and August though.

I love WV but..... I dream of living in Alaska, Montana or Idaho, would not mind Maine either. Like I said though, the mountains of WV ain't bad.

This is behind the house, 9 acres, where deer regularly pass on the trail, grouse, rabbit, and turkey frequent. I COULD stay living in CNY and just travel to hunt every year, public land in the west, and to fish salmon in WA or AK. Its a pretty nice base camp I'd say. Just a bit far to elk spike camp. But I think in five years, it will be relocate time to WA. Maybe.

Because WA kinda looks like NY, but it has these. Occasionally a real big one. This is just a baby. Now if they were to relocate some of them to NY, I wouldn't have to go anywhere...but I don't expect that to happen. DEC has said NO.

So for now, I'll have to settle for this heaven on earth across the road.

I'm quite content here in WI. Very good deer and bear population. I love hardwood ridges and cedar swamps. And my entire family lives here.

Except for the first 4 yrs in Tex, I grew up in Illinois. But I would like to live in mid-coast Maine. I like the 4 seasons, and I like cold weather, just not all yr.

George- When you hit Minnesota, if you were on I-90, you came with 1/2 mile of my place. We're farm country but also oak savannah. Before settlement, it was an area of mainly bur oak trees and grassland, thinning as you headed west. I believe it is less than 10% of the country. A rare and neat ecosystem! If it wasn't for the farmers, it would be spectacular.

Joe

Where I live in western New York the terrain is just like the picture that Kodiaktd posted. Sadly a group looking for a quick buck is trying to have 600 ft wind turbines put on top of the hills. It makes me sick,

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