I relocated to boise from the southeast after researching it for a couple of years.Looked at colorado wyoming montana utah idaho and decided on boise over colorado springs,co. because it is less populated.
The economy was just starting to slip so my timing wasn't too good -i'm back in the southeast working until this spring then i'll be moving to western oregon somewhere ? still not sure where.
From a midwestern/southeastern point of view -the hunting is so-so -there are thousands of acres of public land to hunt -it's either barren wasteland or straight up and down.
I have walked/hunted the owyhee desert for many miles and very often not see a single game animal -every once in a while you will see a pronghorn or deer .Sage sparrows and cattle with a jackrabbit/coyotes here and there.
Wyoming and montana have much higher game populations as far as where i've been -also utah gauging from passing through the northeast corner has a lot more deer.
All five of these states are expensive to live in and have low paying jobs although now you can say -pretty much no jobs generally speaking.
You will not be welcomed with open arms -people in idaho have a way of life that they are use to and are tired of newcomer after newcomer.
In talking to ppl about idaho i was told the winters are mild -buloney- snow high winds etc. ain't mild to me.
Summer time expect 90's 100's quite often and wind blowing fine dust basically no rain.The lack of rain and greenery is what i don't care for -they call boise the city of trees -yeah if you plant it and water it.
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A place with good hunting has no economy.
Name your poison.
BMT
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This is pretty much true except for wyoming but the ppl in wyoming are the least welcoming from what i have seen.
I went praire dog hunting/relocate researching there and laughed my butt off at the real estate prices -a single wide trailer [old] in the middlle of nowhere for $110K !
From what i have found about these five states -salt lake city ,ut would be the best bet.
It has all the things you mention plus a pretty good economy etc. but this research is 1 1/2 too 2 yrs old -so take it w/a grain of salt.
The western u.s. is nothing like michigan or ohio where i'm originally from if i were you i would travel there and spend a little time before just striking out.Go in the hot or cold months and see what the weather and so forth are really like ,ppl who have lived in the mountains think places like the valley [boise treasure valley] are mild.Summer time can be just as hot as the southeast but without the humidity.
Western oregon and washington state APPEAR to be very nice -green -moutainous -huge forest -elk -bear -cougar etc. about 10-12* warmer across the board in the winter than boise.
Do some reading at city-data.com -pretty good place for researching -although the kind of ppl you will get opinion from aren't ppl like here at the fire.
People will say that mormon and latter day saint folks aren't too welcoming unless you're one of them -somewhat true but no different than anybody else.
I have met great ppl everywhere that i have ever been -things are what you make of them -good luck !-Mike
