Best place to live?

W

Win97

Member
Hey guys, I may have my wife talked into moving to a new part of the country after I retire in February. If you could live anyplace you wanted for the best hunting and fishing where would it be?
 
Win97 said:
Hey guys, I may have my wife talked into moving to a new part of the country after I retire in February. If you could live anyplace you wanted for the best hunting and fishing where would it be?
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Hey WIN, make sure it is somewhere that momma can be happy too. No fun coming home with limits and lunkers if momma is down in the mouth.

The Black Hills are pretty cool. The state has elk, antelope, muleys, whitetail and multiple species of upland birds. Lunker walleyes in the Missouri too. See 500,000 snow geese in the spring and fall duck and goose mecca in the NE. That's just a start....
 
Currently... South Dakota for me. The choice may change as I travel around the country. I'll tell you one thing, I want to have a good view, good hunting and a TON of monitors in front of my face where I retire. I would like a custom nook/computer/office room with a great view.

I found this on the internet... is this webguy or what?!

TVC-Deskside.jpg
 
Outdoor Life

Outdoor Life Magazine had an article last year about the best cities for an outdoorsman to live. It would be worth reading if you're serious about moving.

Most outdoorsmen I know get an RV when they retire. Then they can live anywhere.;)
 
Thanks for the ideas. I have been coming to South Dakota since 1985 and pheasant hunting and I LOVE it, but may be to big a change for my wife. I was thinking southern or western IOWA. Still trees but within eight hours of some of the best hunting of many things and also closer to family.Ohio has changed to much for me. Alot more people and too few places to get away. Hunting has changed to. We had a lot of quail until the blizzard of 1978, now we have none. Turkeys are here now as well as good deer numers.Pheasants have been up and down, mostly down. I did take four this year and decided that was enough for the area that I hunt. Thanks again.
 
Now Win97 don't be coming to Southwest Iowa and taking all my hot spots. There's plenty of deer and turkey. The pheasant population is good. The far South would have huntable quail. Plenty of bass, bluegills, and catfish. Some WALLEYES and CRAPPIES. Lots of mushrooms. Lot of good people but no place is perfect. Far Southwest has good duck and goose hunting. Hope you make it to Iowa.
 
Check out Spearfish SD.
 
MN

Everyone is forgetting the obvious choice...MINNESOTA! I'm in Central MN and can drive 2 hours South and be thick into pheasants or 2 hours North and be thick into grouse. 3 hours West and I'm in SD or ND.

Or I can just drive 15 minutes out of town and hunt deer and turkey.

Or I can hit up one of our over 12,000 lakes for phenomenal fishing (we call it The Land of 10,000 Lakes because we're so modest :) ).

You want trees? We got trees. You want farmland? We got that too. Outdoor living at its best! Sheesh, the state should hire me as a recruiter :D

Sure is damn cold, though.
 
Well I agree T,O. It's not bad. The hardest part of living in Douglas co. MN is decideing where to fish. 250 + lakes with clean clear water. and birds in the back yard. I am only an hr from the Dakotas but the Quail thing is a bit far. Waterfoul, deer, fishing, pheasants, grouse,turkey,bear,partraige, With thousands of acres of public land to enjoy. Plus the urban area to keep the other 1/2 happy. You know malls and stuff. The cold just allows you to enjoy the great second to none fishing in your Ice pallace.:10sign:
 
TO, agreed, but MN REALLY needs to work on the tax and small business situtation & laws vs. SD.

When I ran into Mary Kiffmeyer at a cell phone store a few years back when she was the current secretary of state, I went off about the small business situation. She was very receptive and nice to talk to. MN really needs to work on making it a small business friendly state. They really make it a pain in the ass vs. (example SD).

Anyway... MN is not that bad, but I sure like no seasons for walleye in South Dakota. Maybe multiple residencies if you have the cash!
 
I was born and raised in MN. I left in 1970 due to my work. When I retired, All my family lived out here and it is hard to get that far away from them. But I will agree MN is a great state and if the hunting and fishing was as good as it was when I lived there. Boy I envy you guys.
 
What you MN guys NEED to remember, [other then talking cold]:eek: IS! That it is a whole lot easier and cheaper and you are a whole lot more welcome, say if you live in surrounding MN states to come to MN to fish the many lakes then it is for you MN guys to say go to ND and Hunt anything. or SD, IA, Or heaven forbid Canada.

What I'm trying to say is Move West, get the the benefits of being a resident out there and fish and hunt all you want in MN and be welcomed. You know? MN loves the $$$ don't much care about other issues.
 
MN is not a bad place at all. But, you forget the big cancerous growth in the middle of your state called Minneapolis. Before long it will affect the whole state:D
 
Well I am 2hrs west of the metro and can make a decent living and as far as the metro coming this far I don't think it will happen.The one nice thing is I realy don't need to go to the Dakota's and don't. I have not been there for several years. The bird hunting is just Great around here now.Includeing Ducks Geese and snow's. Even when walleye is closed for a couple months you still have great pan fish, Nothing wrong with 10" sunnies or 14" crapies. During the off season of bird hunting you can visit one of the several game preserves. I don't think anywhere in the state you have to drive god I would guess more than an hr to go to one, I have one 1/2 mile from the house. But YES the TAX issue is horrible I am a self employed contractor and I deal with it every day it sucks. :cheers:
 
I'd suggest South Dakota if pheasants are your number one game bird. But in addition to pheasants there are deer (whitetail and mulies), elk, antelope, turkey, grouse and some great fishing. If you are concerned about your wife you might look into some place in the SE part of the state close to Sioux Falls. And the big plus is NO STATE INCOME TAX!

I grew up in Minnesota but have been in SD for over 30 years. I'm retired now and staying here.

Good luck with your decision.
 
The state sales tax is 4% and most municipalities add another 2% so the total average sales tax is 6%. Local sales tax can vary on certain items, that's why I said the average is around 6%. Unlike Minnesota we pay sales tax on everything including food and prescription drugs.

Licensing vehicles has to be among the cheapest in the US. Annual fees of $60 to $80 will cover most vehicles. And when you purchase a vehicle the sales tax is only 3%. Car insurance is generally cheaper out here too.

Real estate taxes are on the high side. Example: last year my house was assessed at $177,000 and my taxes were $3,500.
 
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