In no particular order:

Colorado
Montana
South Dakota
North Dakota
Alaska
Wyoming

Please justify why

Slurred spelling, Colorado seems like an obvious choice for you...

You got me there. Damn fat fingers mashed the button before I finished typing.

Alaska. Because I love seafood, hunting and mild winters.

Wyoming
Montana
Alaska
Colorado
South Dakota
North Dakota

Alaska.

Mostly because it's the only one on the list with an ocean.

Wisconsin.

Thanks.

Wyoming.!

From what I understand about Wyoming and its politics, they're nothing but Okies who like the cold.

Runner up, Alaska.!

For reasons that Steelhead mentioned..

I am in Montana and that is where I would rather live.

There are parts of Wyoming and the western Dakotas I could see living in. But I would not prefer them to Montana. I only know of Alaska but I think there might be areas there I could feel at home and enjoy. As I get a little older, there are some areas along the Gulf that I might like to look into as well.

I'd be interested where those that respond live currently as a point of reference.

Alaska and quickly. The years are catching up with me.

Chose SD, just arrived.

Alaska, all the benefits of modern society and all the benefits of untamed wilderness. Within a 1/2 hour of my house I can go hiking, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, rock climbing, ice climbing, or go to the symphony, get a great meal etc. Hook the boat to the truck and I have two sea ports within 2 hours with world class saltwater fishing and a lifetime of islands and bays to explore.

Salaries in my field are the highest in the nation and the only taxes I pay in the state are for property tax.

I'd take Idaho over any on that list as it's one of the states that researched out as a good fit for my family, and it's one that we've visited and really like.

CO is becoming to Kalifornicated. Montana is nice. Can't see the Dakotas, though they wouldn't be a bad option. AK is AK, but not a good fit for the family. Of your list, WY would be the choice I'd make there.

If I could afford it, Alaska in the late spring thru early fall, then migrate down to Arizona for the winter.

Alaska (is like Texas)
Wyoming (Like Texas)
Montana (Like IT)
South Dakota (Bison)
North Dakota
Colorado Too much like CA

Colorado - Too liberal and too many hippies
Montana - Travis lives here
South Dakota - Too flat on one side, too 'urban' on the other.
North Dakota - Too flat
Alaska - Too far away
Wyoming - Laramie


Colorado - Great hunting and fishing
Montana - Great hunting and fishing
South Dakota - Great hunting and fishing
North Dakota - Great hunting and fishing
Alaska - Great hunting and fishing
Wyoming - Great hunting and fishing

Put Idaho in your list. Great hunting and fishing. Now, what's the negative?

South Dakota. Anywhere between Hot Springs and Edgemont.

This is all anyone needs to know about Idaho, in case any were thinking of moving here.

Potatoes?

Been there, done that and have several T-shirts. Lived in Rapid City, Brookings, and Pierre.

Pierre has the best fishing, west river has the best mulies, and Brookings has college chicks.

You weren't in SD very long if this is how you describe it.

South Dakota - Too flat on one side, too 'urban' on the other.

I got off of the train south of Denali Park one lovely June day, prepared to head east into the Talkeetna Mtns. There is no road there, the Parks Hwy lies many miles to the west, but an older guy had a cabin at the whistle stop. He came out and chatted a while, warned me about a griz that was hanging out on the north side of a nearby lake, and told me to camp and fish on the south side of it (Had fresh trout the next morning for breakfast). I remarked that he had a lovely home there but I wondered how he got in and out during the winter, and it surely made for a long lonely stay then. He smiled and said that he wouldn't know about that as he spends his winters in Hawaii.

In a state of disillusion.

Otherwise, as far from the liberal lemmings as possible. Wyoming is the least populated right?

How is it that you did not go back to AK after retiring?

WY is also a tax haven. The downside is cali-azzhats have run the price of real estate through the roof in the senic western area near the Winds.

If I wuz allowed to slaughter the farggin demorats, I'd stay right here and exercise my unlimited visitation rights to the rest of the country!!

I've waxed poetic on the topic before, I see no reason to waste time rehashing what I already know. East river is indeed too flat, and west river has far to many government dependent 'undesirables'. One trip to the Rapid City walmart off of 'Rape street', which has since been renamed, will speak louder than I ever could. God forbid you go on EBT day.

Were I single I likely would have.

In order:
WY
MT
AK
SD
CO
ND

They are all really close and I ain't justifying 'nothin.

Idaho because its mountainous like east tennessee but without all the mexicans, and trailer parks and Memphis is over 1000 miles away. Lots of mormons though, that's a negative for me.

Wyoming. In particular the area around Elk Mountain. I really liked the area and the people I met there. Good hunting with lots of antelope as well as whitetail and muledeer. I didn't see elk while I was there but I understand they are around.

Ernie

Toss up between Montana and Idaho but since only one of those is on your list then Montana it is.

You asked us to justify our selection....

MT has and abundance of tree's and mountains that give you a scenery that you can't get in the other State's listed. Land is affordable and abundant.

The hunting and fishing avialable is second to only Alaska maybe....

The politics in all of the listed states are Conservative, except for Colorado, so there isn't too much difference there.

So it really comes down to scenery and climate...

Montana is a State of extreme's as far as weather goes, but there are pockets here and there around the state that offer pretty stable and consistent weather. Winter and Summer alike can be mild which means more time outdoors in comfort.

I really enjoy the view of the mountains and being surrounded by tree's for as far as the eye can see. Neither the Dakota's or Wyoming can offer that...

Colorado has too many California geeks. State is going down the tubes as well as the hunting and fishing.

Not as many as California has.

Still it has mountains, big mountains and still better hunting and fishing than the Dakotas.

Yeah, Alaska doesn't have any trees or mountains

touche!

I have a lot of ignorance when it comes to Alaska, mostly because it's so damn large!!!

There are two things that make me uneasy about what I've seen (admittedly on TV only) and read about concerning Alaska...

My impression is that without a mosquito net you can kiss your flesh goodbye (especially somebody like me whom they flock to), and prepare for days with either too much sun or not enough (land of the midnight sun and all).

Northwest portion of Michigan's lower peninsula. Somewhere within 50 miles of Traverse City.

Any of those on the list would be a six months out of the year proposition for me, I'd have to have a second home somewhere to get away from being landlocked. Yea, I know Alaska's not landlocked, but you're not doing a whole lot of swimming in the surf up there either and the short daylight in the winter does weird things to you.

Out of those states it'd be Wyoming or Alaska. The state taxes have a lot to do with those choices.

you're forgivin. Not all us are sitting around with a pipe and a Commodore 64 watching the squirrels rob the bird feeder. (No offense Kaywoodie)

It's a feat doing 80mph, stuffing a burger down your neck and shifting gears all while trying to start a new thread

Somehow we manage

First world problems

Funny, my bad, thought you meant East River was too urban and W River was too flat.
Grew up in Rapid and left there 15 yrs ago. As you describe,it had lost it's small town feel.

The bathroom in that Walmart you refer to, was the nastiest public bathroom I've ever smelled. The natives have that effect on such places.

BS,,,, Idaho sucks.
Nothing to do or see here, move along.

Matter of fact,,, it's so bad I'd recommend driving around ID if you're traveling to the PNW.

Anywhere there is permafrost, this is the reality. When the snow melts, the whole country is a mudpuddle, 'cause it can't soak into the ground. You'll have tussocks of tundra (walkin' on that stuff, mile after mile, is truly a treat) with ice-water between them, FILLED with some bad-azz skeeters.

As long as there is a breeze, and you can keep walking, you're golden, but when you stop, it can get headnet time PDQ.

Once the water dries up, so do the mosquitos mostly, by then there will be morning frosts soon, and the cycle begins anew.

You ain't drove across MT on I-90 yet, have you? It is dry as hell east of the Divide. Gets nice and lush, as soon as you top the pass and drop into Idaho.

Since no internet list is complete without someone going completely off of it...

I'd like to spend part of the year in Idaho and the other part in Australia. Despite the gun laws being a bit more restrictive than here, there's a whole lot of country there without many people. From the pics and experiences shown in the Australia forum it's obviously a lot more varied than a nice reef on one side and red desert outback for the rest of it.

Got an old high school friend that moved there several years ago and she describes where she lives like our old home town back in the 60's with a lot nicer pace of life. Australians by and large seem like fairly laid back folk as well.

Never been there yet but it's on the list.

Alaska will be the next to last destination for me, Lord willing.

Though, I wouldn't be all that sad if I only made it to Wyoming.

Colorado is the nicest on the list IMO. Beautiful, no bugs, great hunting with easily the largest elk herd of any state. People like to hate on metros, but Denver is pretty nice for a big town.

No way I'd pick AK. Too wet and buggy.

Black Hills are super nice.

Western Montana is great.

Parts of Wyoming are great.

Western ND was great but the oil boom has ruined the feel of the wide open spaces IMO.

I bowhunted Elk in northern Idaho once, very beautiful country.

As you say, it is a big state and there are tremendous differences in how good the good can be, and how bad the bad can be. The mosquitos can be absolutely ferocious in the interior and barely noticeable in coastal areas. Mosquitos don't concern me nearly as much as the no-see-ums.

As far as sunlight, I get to be a grumpy SOB from Thanksgiving to early January due to the lack of sunlight. The flip side of the midnight son isn't an issue to me. I think our long term plan will include ~3 months in the tropics for Dec-Feb.

Colorado's great if you're into illegals and tree fuggers.

Alaska Always wanted to go there and see it at least once.
Idaho been there 2 times to see my brother and sister.
Loved what little I saw.
Trapped here in Alabama !

Well, there's a lot of those just about everywhere now Hoss.

I shudder even thinking about 'that' restroom, if it can even be called such. Feces smeared across the wall, over six feet high, was the deal breaker for me.

This man speaks from experience. The terrain looks very unassuming but the trek is pure savagery; elevation be damned. The dentist looks to be a more palatable experience.

I've lived in ND, SD, and AK so my experiences do present some bias. 'Whyoming' was always the term I heard, and just driving through the state gave me the wrong impression. Perhaps that's the word-on-the-street up in the Dakota's.

I am surprised to see Wyoming so highly regarded; there could just be something to it.

As previously posted - IDAHO SUCKS!!!!

There is absolutely nothing to do here, no hunting, no fishing, no scenery, way too conservative for most people, winters are cold, summers are hot. Whatever you do don't even consider it as a candidate for relocation.

drover

Supposed to hit 101 around here today.


But it's a dry heat...

It's supposed to be 99 or 100 here, with stifling humidity

I grew up in S. Florida next to the Everglades - hot and humid but you got used to it. Spent some time in Alabama as well during the summer so I know what you mean.

Then I moved to Idaho. Actually hotter by several degrees but way, way drier. Every time I'd go back to Florida to visit relatives over the holidays as I stepped off the plane the humidity would hit you like a wave, and that was in late November or December.

Went back once in July. You forget what it's like to go from an air conditioned house to an air conditioned car and be sweating profusely in the 10-15 seconds it takes to get there.

Lived in Upstate NY for a couple of years. Bitter cold in the winter, just damp, cold, chill you to the bone cold. Same deal - it gets fairly cold here in Idaho, several days below zero each year but not too bad. Without the humidity it's definitely cold on the skin but not that through and through cold.


Give me dry any day!

It is definitely the humidity.

95 in the Twin Cities is hell on Earth compared to 95 in Phoenix...which is actually fairly pleasant.

Humidity can kill you dead.

Indeed, triple digits are very common in South Dakota.I would rather have a dry 100 than a humid 85.

yup... he must of missed this one I took last Monday ...

You would have both in SD.

W River 105 30% humidity
E River 85 90% humidity plus a few insects

Montana - late Spring, Summer, and Autumn for hunting and fishing.

Texas - Winter and early spring for the weather and to make a living and have great food.

+1 We're full of rednecks and freaks. There is program where qualifying candidates are allowed in if they provide voting records and forcibly remove liberals from the state at a 4 to 1 ratio.

Yep, Alaska has rain forests and deserts and everything in between.

SE still had 7 1/2 hours of sun in the worse of winter.

Wrangell is definitely doable.

Depends on where you live in South Dakota. "The land of infinite variety." And what's wrong with flat anyway? Though we do have some change in terrain here. Nicolette called it Coteau Des Prairies - hills of the prairie. Glacier leftovers, makes for some nice lakes.

Wyoming (freedom but harsh winters)
Montana (No sales tax , but rent instead of buy)
Colorado (Great weather, great mountains, too many liberals)
South Dakota (Only 1/8 the state worth living in)
Alaska (Too far from family, great everything except winter)








North Dakota (Are you kidding me?)

Just a couple hundred miles north of right where I am now

You forgot to include pics of Idaho's Grizzly Artificial Insemination Team (mauled and chewed-up of course), and of Jackson the smartass-jackass.

Wyoming or Spudiho - places to live; truly CONSERVATIVE politics abd VALUES, right to work states, cold enough to keep social entitlement parasites at a minimum, and of course GREAT GUN LAWS and excellent hunting and fishing and rural life.

Here's a better list:

States with no income tax:

Alaska
Florida
Nevada
South Dakota
Texas
Washington
Wyoming

States with nearly no income tax:

Tennessee
New Hampshire

I'm not paying ANY state income tax in TN. I don't know what the "nearly no" is you stated.

We do have a really sjhitty sales tax here, nearly 10% after individual counties are allowed to tack on another penny per dollar

1. Tennessee

Tennessee has no income tax but does have a "hall tax" -- that is, a 6% tax on interest and dividends, which is specifically allowed by the state constitution. Tennessee also has a 7% sales tax. Income taxes are a contentious issue in Tennessee. The state constitution gives the government the right to tax property as well as income from stocks and bonds, but it does not mention personal income. Every so often lawmakers try to institute an income tax, as the constitution does not specifically bar this. This November, Tennesseans will vote on an amendment to the state constitution to ban any future taxes on payroll or personal income.

While Tennessee has no income tax on wages, if you are a retiree living off of dividends and interest income, you should think twice before moving to Tennessee for the tax benefits. In 2011, the average per-capita state and local tax paid was $2,777, according to the Tax Foundation -- the second-lowest in the U.S.

Jumping to the end to reply and will go back and read the rest. Eastern South Dakota is the only one on that list that I have been to, and I can't see living out the rest of my days there. The people were very nice but the wind blows too much for me. I will live out the rest of my days here in Arkansas. miles

Alaska, I think the reason is obvious.

Well I would say Alaska, first. I lived there and should have never left when I did. Second choice Montana for the fly fishing thou I could give the Black Hills of South Dakota some serious thought, excellent trout fishing and will plenty of pheasants to shoot. The problem is most of the places I would like to live are not much for making a living. I don't like towns that have more that 600 people living in it. Now to retire to one of these places well that is a whole different story. Mainly I am happy with the trout fishing near my place and the deer hunting that can be had, other that being the Second worse state in the Union. Its not bad in my little corner of Connecticut.

Namibia, Africa

Went into that bathroom today and it was so clean that I was tempted to pinch a loaf, in hopes it would keep the riff-raff out of the Black Hills. ;-{>8

Fraid you ain't ever gonna be happy, George.

Already live here...occupancy is full.. no vacancy.

I may be the only one, but out of your list, I'd pick NoDak. There's room to spread out, good folks, taxes won't kill you, the economy is booming, and there is plenty for the outdoorsman to do. It's flat, but not Nebraska flat.

I go out nearly every year for ducks and pheasants. I see deer everywhere. People are damn friendly, but also have the sense enough to leave you alone too. Winters are harsh, but that doesn't faze me anymore. And all the western states are within a days drive for more hunting.

Holy [bleep], you don't even know your state's laws. Hell, I've only lived in TN for the past 2 years and I know about income taxes in the state.

Shameful.

Colorado, by far.

She's a changin at an incredible clip, but those are the reasons I used to live there.

I'm with Charlie Foxtrot. I've lived in all the states listed by the OP except Alaska and Colorado, and have spent considerable time in both of those.

North Dakota is by far and away the best. Plenty of hunting and fishing, lots of jobs in the right areas, cheap housing in others if you don't need a job, plus they speak a kind of English. The climate is astonishing in its variety, which as we all know is the spice of life.

George_in_SD: My choices in order of preference:
#1: Montana
#2: Montana
#3: Montana
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

1) Alaska half the time Montana the other half.
2) Alaska
3) Montana

Great hunting, fishing, trapping, whitewater kayaking, snowboarding, and easy enough travel to world class mountain biking.

South Eastern Idaho is full of Mormons. So if they bother you don't move there. Not so intense in the rest of Idaho.

A little too astonishing, particularly in winter. (We'll skip spring flooding on the Red - Grand Forks particularly.) Can be astonishing here too but not as often or for as long a stretch.

In all honestly having lived in many places across the U.S. I've found I love four distinct seasons. But the people are the best, which extends northward too. Low population density and those "astonishments" contribute I suppose. Have troubles and Pierre will help when they can but your neighbor will be along soon.

give me a pond and a place to shoot without someone yelling at me, summer highs of 75, a shortage of liberals, and shopping fairly nearby for my wife - I'll be happy

Wyoming
Low population density
No state income tax
good outdoor recreation opportunities

Colorado.

It's a fun state.

I'll pick:

Montana
Idaho
Colorado
Virginia
Vermont

And, great beer!

Living in the east - where I'm at - East Tennessee.

West:

Colorado - away from Denver
Idaho - could live full time in the southern part of the state pretty easy
Wyoming/Montana - in the 'warmer' parts. Really liked Bozeman 10-15 years ago but not too sure now a days.
Arizona - could deal with Flagstaff area - at least 8-10 years ago when I used to go there.

Ideally, I'd like a summer place in the west - Colorado, Idaho, Montana/Wyoming in that order. And a winter place - East Tennessee, western NC. Mountains needs to be in both equations.

The kids at the high school just down the street from my house used to recite the pledge of allegiance in arabic.

"One nation under allah."


^^^ That's fun.

New Mexico

Wow George! I didn't know you were that unhappy here. Indeed our Walmart, like most, illustrates the worst part of the Hills. Though I don't feel that's a true snapshot of what living in the Black Hills is like. All the places I've lived in the world have had some amazing attributes as well as some shi-tty ones. You've got a good list there. None will be perfect. I plan to stay in the Black Hills for another 3-5 years and then move to WY. Maybe sooner. I like the tax advantages and the option of an elk tag most years. Hope you guys come out for a visit sometime soon.

Bob

Now wait a minute there Keith. You said you'd still let me in! Don't close up yet.

Bob

I have friends in Wyoming that say when anyone dies we should vote to see if we let in another one. Oh hell who left the gate open? Ya too windy here, winters are mild! I mean bad. Wyoming just a place to visit in the summer time.

Where I am in Maine

Wyoming
Montana
Colorado Idaho
North Dakota Utah
South Dakota
Alaska - Only this low because I'm a bit too old to move there.

Lotta room in Wyoming around Keith.

Already live there.........okay I'd like to change my grid coordinates to about 800 miles north, but living in a remote wind-blown, rain-soaked schitthole in AK is better than anything the L48 has to offer.

Fending off Moose

Bob, Pops and I are long overdue for a hunt up that way! I've still got preference points for West river, and IIRC East river as well. I've talked at length in other threads about hunting, fishing and generally living in SD. Overall it was a very positive experience, but were I to do it over again I would gravitate more towards Spearfish for West river. Rapid City has a rather epic walmart experience that has yet to be bested across a ten state sample. The walmart is a thoroughly unpleasant place, but it doesn't speak to the entirety of the state.

Good for you.
The grass isn't always greener.
I'm happy right where I'm at.

Regardless of what they say, the bitter truth is, everyone's right where they choose to be.

they always vote with their feet!

Sycamore

I'm there, reason.........I dont get fu-ked with.

May have a chance of moving to NC, Winston/Salem area[Kernersville] If that doesn't work, I'd love to retire in southern Idaho; right around Rigby. Talk about two different areas! Hoping Idaho wins out.