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I'm hoping to tap into the collective wisdom and experience of the board to get an idea about where I might like to move to. I'm 24, and have lived in Mass for my whole life- far too long. I'd really like to move in the not too distant future. I have a list of cities that interest me, based on what I have read, heard, or it might be a place that is geographically interesting to me. I'm hoping you guys can chime in and let me know your experiences in these areas. Specifically, I want to know stuff like the following: -How are the hunting (most important), fishing, camping, off-roading opportunities? -What is the vibe like? Is it a friendly place? Active? -Is the area mainly older people, younger people, families, a mix? How are the women? I know I could move out to ND and get a job, but I'd like to be somewhere where women aren't as rare as hens teeth... -What is the cost of living? -What is the job market like? My degree is in Economics and Political Science. I work in the Finance/Tech Trading/Hedge Fund world now, but I'm not married to that industry. Thinking about the oil & gas, PE, VC, resource/land management industries. -Any other thoughts, experiences or opinions you may have. Now I know it is a long list, but here are the cities I have been thinking about so far. I'm hoping to narrow down the list some, and then visit a few. -I am most interested in Colorado. Denver especially, but I am really open to anywhere in the state. -Charleston -Vancouver -Houston -Austin -Arlington, VA -Portland -Boise Any places I am leaving off that you guys would recommend? Any thoughts, experiences, or insight you guys have would be hugely appreciated. Feel free to drop a PM. Thanks in advance. ----------------------------------------- "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. -Henry David Thoreau, Walden | ||
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Denver! Great mixed fishing (cold, cool and warm water, no "seasons", its year round) Excellent off roading If you like hiking, there are 53 14'ers (peaks over 14k ft) It has been listed a few times as the 1st or 2nd best place in the USA for singles. The weather is.....quirky. It is generally extremely pleasant to be here. Its damn near ALWAYS sunny, we get over 300 days of sunshine. Keep in mind no one said it would be warm haha. Spring, summer and fall are to die for here. Winter is come and go....it can just be dry and cool, almost warm, or it can dump 3ft of snow in 2 days. December and January are just bitterly cold, especially the later half of December. It is very, very, very dry here. Coming from the east coast you'll probably deal with some nose bleeds for a month or so, but then you'll get used to it. A humid day for us is like 30% lol. The air is thin, so if you are an athletic person, that'll take a few weeks to get used to, you'll be out of breath very easily doing things like climbing stairs or jogging. The weather CAN and DOES change constantly sometimes, our motto is if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes , that just comes from living next to the Rockies. Again though, for the most part, its very pleasant. Extremely healthy atmosphere...really, there just aren't that many obese people around at all. Fairly friendly too, not an every person is going to say hi vibe, but you probably aren't going to get told to fuck off every time you make eye contact with a stranger. Job market is pretty good, the recession and crash didn't hit us all that hard to be honest. There is a good growth in the oil/gas market, especially in the shill drilling (spelled right?) This is the Napa Valley of beer! There are breweries and beer bars EVERYWHERE you turn, this town isn't much on the Coors and Bud. The food scene is starting to pick up too. People pays many thousands of dollars every year to come from all over the world to hunt. Elk, antelope, white tail in the 160-180's, mule deer, moose, mountain goats, 2 types of mountain sheep, some minor exotic hunting, more public hunting land then nearly anywhere else in the country, low (for residents) cost for tags. Some downsides, there are a FEW more single guys in the 20-40 age group then females. Housing is a wee bit on the high side, depending on what you consider acceptable housing. For a 1 bed in most of the middle to upper middle class areas around down town, expect to be paying in the 800-1000$ range. Traffic can really suck donkey balls, I don't think anyone ever planned on this city being this big, we have one big highway going N/S through the middle of the state, and it can come to a screeching halt in the mornings and evenings. But, if you plan your living location around your work, it shouldn't be too bad. Again, housing is pricey, but available. Where to live, would really depend on where you worked and how far you are willing to travel. Denver itself, as a "city" isn't all that big, but the metro area, what we call the "Front Range" is massive. I live on the north end of the Metro. There are a few other members here who are in the general area, but IIRC they mostly live more south, in the more expensive areas like Parker and Highlands Ranch. Either way, without traffic, there isn't a major suburb you can't drive to from the center of downtown within 30 minutes. Boulder is gorgeous, but stay far, faaaaar away. It is probably one of the most liberal, leftist, hippy oriented cities in the entire country. We call The Peoples Republic of Boulder, because it really should be its own COUNTRY. Its the CO version of Berkley. Another city worth checking out, which is extremely similar to Denver in almost every way, is Austin, TX. I'd much rather live there then Houston. For someone in your general age group, which I just recently left lol, I'd be putting Austin and Denver on the top of your list. If you want to know anything more specific, by all means man send me a PM. If you wanted to make a weekend visit to check things out I'd probably even be willing to be a tour guide. We need more people like you here!!! The Boulder Disease (extreme Liberalism) is starting to spread from the hills and infect the rest of the town. If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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I was 31 and in the same boat, I'll pm you my contact info. I moved to the Fort Collins area and LOVE it here! There are all sorts of opportunities here within 45 miles of Denver Drummond | |||
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Drummonds right, if you open up your sights a bit, there are endless opportunities. The area he lives in is pretty cool as well. I have many times considered moving halfway between there (Northern Co, or NorCo) and Denver, in the Longmont/Loveland areas. If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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If you're looking at the Denver area, look no further than Colorado Springs and surrounding places. We made the move over 5 years ago and love the location! Graybird "Make no mistake, it's not revenge he's after ... it's the reckoning." | |||
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First off, while there are a lot of men for the number of women in oil/gas country, North Dakota girls might be worth the work. Women in the northwest in general seem pretty independent and not especially whiny, compared with other regions that I'll avoid naming. Montana girls are not too far, if you're past the trifling stage. Either Portland should be all right, although both of them are a little wet and chilly. Hewlett Packard used to have a lot of stuff in Boise; Kermit didn't like it but he grew up there and didn't hunt or fish. IBM used to have a lot of stuff in Boulder, don't know whether they still to or not. Vancouver is out of my experience but you'd want to check on Canadian gun laws. Much of the south is private property, and I prefer BLM land for hunting. You might feel a little left out if you don't belong to a club that leases agricultural land. TomP Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906) | |||
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Billings MT, Sheridan WY, Bosie ID. Those 3 seem to meet what you want. All of them sure beat Mass. | |||
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As much as I enjoy welcoming new people to Texas, for the stuff you listed, the above two are not the place to go. Colorado will be a better choice. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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I live near Arlington, VA in Alexandria. for what you are looking for, go to colorado. i will be going there in 2 years myself when my job lets me work from home. teh day the paperwork gets processed is the day i get a uhaul and get the **** outta northern VA. however, there are lots of jobs here (though i'm not sure about your particular industry, i'm an engineer) and good money to be made and spent here. for what most people pay for a single bedroom apartment you can buy a very nice family home in most of the country. but, lots of people, lots of women of all types, this area draws people from everywhere, so you get a great mix. that is sometiems good and sometimes bad. but i have been here 5 years now, and i wish i could leave tomorrow. | |||
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Whatever you do don't come to Boise. The hunting is bad, the game dept. doesn't know what its doing. the weather is terrible, the women are ugly. the natives are unfriendly and worst of all Boise State has a terrible football team.  465H&H | |||
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"It ain't lion hunting unless you get stitches." - John in WYO "It became aquatic, briefly." Ann ~ Aspen Hill Adventures The bear has to touch you to hurt you. Don’t let the bear touch you. | |||
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While a lot of Californians have moved to Colorado, a lot have moved to Texas also. I have lived in Texas all my life and wouldn't live anywhere else, but there are drawbacks. Little Public Land, lots of folks in the Austin/Houston/San Antonio mega-plex, hunting lease prices are high, nothing worth doing is close in Texas. Also, the economic slow down is beginning to be felt here. Texas is normally six months or more behind the rest of the country and where we have fatred better in some aspects that has changed over the past 12 months. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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-Denver  -Charleston  -Vancouver, WA -Vancouver, BC -Houston -Austin -Arlington, VA -Portland -Boise Any places I am leaving off that you guys would recommend? Charlotte Spokane . | |||
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What Crazyhorse said about Austin and Houston +1. Those two aren't Texas. Neither is Dallas. Ft. Worth and San Antonio are though. The Hunt goes on forever, the season never ends. I didn't learn this by reading about it or seeing it on TV. I learned it by doing it. | |||
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Nevada, compared to Colorado or Idaho, more public land, better elk unless simply killing an elk is all you want, better mule deer and 3 species of sheep, and antelope plus mountain goats and now black bear. No wolves! Hardly any Texans or Californians compared to CO and ID. You can apply for tags in the next door states of Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Oregon plus Wyoming and Montana. Live in the north, stay away from Vegas unless you draw a desert sheep tag down there. I've thought of moving there from central Idaho. At least think about it. | |||
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I don't really see you jumping from computers to land management, the oil field might take you though. Land management working for the US Gov requires a degree, the whole process is pretty ridiculous. | |||
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Portland, Oregon suck's! Mostly tree hugging liberals and alot of east coast people here with there attitudes. Too many faggot's and dike's. Hunting suck's as well, mostly private lands unless you don't mind the 3 to 5 hour drive to BLM land for hunting access. Water and sewer bill is expensive. I am planning Colorado in a year. Great place for mountain biking in USFS and crabbing at thr coast. Alot of east coast politicans come to Oregon as a springboard into politic's and goven affair's and of course they leave there mess behind. | |||
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And this guy is from the east coast. BEST POST OF 2012! | |||
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Wyomings full! | |||
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John you were close. CSU is in Ft. Collins, CU is in Boulder  If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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Having lived in Houston and in Denver I have to say that this rating scale you have here is | |||
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Oops, my bad. He doesn't care. He's looking for women! "It ain't lion hunting unless you get stitches." - John in WYO "It became aquatic, briefly." Ann ~ Aspen Hill Adventures The bear has to touch you to hurt you. Don’t let the bear touch you. | |||
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My first thought was Denver but double dittos on Fort Collins. I lived there before joining the navy. It has about every thing you want. The hunting, fishing & camping is all good. It is a college town so it has a younger vibe to it. Also being a college town there are a lot of young women. You should be able to find something in your field. People do live there & commute to Denver. The cost of living is not unbearable but higher than I am used to. If you find work in FC but don't like the cost of living you can consider living in Cheyenne WY and commuting. Many people do that. We even have some that do the reverse & work in Cheyenne & live in FC. Wyoming has some of the best hunting, fishing, & camping of anywhere. Another area you might find something you like is Laramie WY. The vibe is good. Lots of young folks. UW is a university that attracts people from all over the world. It is a great jumping off place for FC or Cheyenne. In a lot of ways it is like a smaller version of FC. I love to see people come to this state & enjoy their self. My advice would be to come out to the area on a short trip & see for yourself. ****************************** There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor polite, nor popular -- but one must ask, "Is it right?" Martin Luther King, Jr. | |||
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Whoa, let's slow down on this Colorado thing. My biggest question for you, StormGSP, where would you say you fall on the political spectrum, Left, Right, Center? With you having been raised in MA, I'm a bit worried. Colorado is already overrun with Lefties. Idaho has a greater percentage of public lands than Colorado; Portland has better fishing and waterfowl hunting, and a pretty big Elk herdto boot. | |||
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I really appreciate all the constructive input, advice and PM's, keep it coming! You have given me a lot to think about, and I'm hoping to mix this in with some first hand visiting. For those that think everyone from the East Coast is gay and liberal, travel more. Come to Boston, its a great historic city with quite a bit to do. First whiskey is on me. The town I am from has 1 stoplight, houses from the 1600's, and plenty of farms and woods. You might even like it here. As far as my political persuasion. This is my vehicle. Guess.  ----------------------------------------- "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. -Henry David Thoreau, Walden | |||
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The west is VERY different than the east. most westerner's are quite friendly but we tend to get pissed off at east coasters? Do you know why? cuz they drive like poop and decide they know everything. There's an expression in Montana "thanks for the advice, we were doing fine before you got here and we'll be doing fine after you leave". It would work in any state out west. The west (CO, WY, ID, MT, UT, TX, NM, NV etc) is just freaking enormous and people from the east simply don't get that. You can drive all day looking at the same mountain range and never get there. You don't sit in a blind out here, you stalk, for miles and miles. It's incredibly dry (10-20% humidity is typical) and the weather is unpredictable. I love the west, I'd live no where else (I did my time on the east coast) and I'm a Colorado native, but it's being ruined (is ruined IMO) by either coasters. Come with a great attitude and a willingness to see that perhaps people who live wherever you go know what they are talking about and you'll do much better. Come with the typical Boston/NY/Philly attitude and you'll find it difficult going. BTW, in response to an earlier post, Boulder is NOT Berkley It's strange and bizarre and overrun with liberals, but there are over 10,000 NRA members in Boulder county. Brian H Longmont CO | |||
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Aurora was pretty nice until it and Denver grew together. To me, Denver is like a smaller version of Los Angeles with all the politics and nonsense but minus the good weather. . | |||
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Boulder COUNTY, and BOULDER, are 2 different places, I think someone living in Longmont would agree  I almost moved to a Boulder county city a few months back, but it didn't end up working out. Dang shame too, my favorite fishing spots are mostly in the Boulder/Longmont area If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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. ONe of my memories of Denver occured a few years back, I was going on a guided elk/,mule deer hunt out of Collbran, east of Grand Junction. Lora had rode up with me and stayed a couple of days, then I took her back to Denver so she could catch a flight back to DFW. We planned things out so that we would have enough time to stop at Look Out Mountain and visit Buffalo Bills grave site and the museum there. While we were viewing the grave, we looked out toward Denver, and we could see the buildings at DIA (Denver International0, but all we could see of Denver, was just the top few fk\loors of the tallest buildings, because of the smog. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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Amen, twice on this topic I have been impressed by what folks have written. The top 3 post of all time are written by you folks above. If you come to the West to tame it, f-off! The bastard developers beat you here 30 years ago. If you come to the West, to change it you can go back to wherever you lived before here. If you come to the West to defend it from all those who are doing the above your welcome to stay. Just don't say Cah, Bah, Hahbah, or dooryard! | |||
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I personally love Texas. Our economy leads the nation now and has for 3 years, largely/soley due to the oil play in the sourthern region of the state. Our women are second to none, people are friendly (until you insult us) and there is plenty of hunting (you just have to look/pay for it). Austin is weird but very nice, Houston is crowded and inconveinient but very nice, San Antonio is the biggest small town you'll ever go to, Ft Worth and Dallas are great large cities but come with the draw backs of any big city. Bottom line is you can fish the coast year round, be at any lake or hunting lease with in minutes of any of our cities, there are lots of business opportunities (especially south in the oil fields), great looking women, reasonable politics (if there is such a thing) and using SW Airlines you can get anywhere in the country in 2 hours for cheap. I love it here. Perry | |||
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I love it here also, but for the parameters the guy listed, Texas is not all that great for a lot of what he listed, and has been stated by others and none just about Texas but most of the west distances traveled to do stuff have to be considered especially if gas prices are going to keep climbing that will play a major role. Folk in the DFW metro-mess travel on average drive 100+ miles one way to find a deer lease, in turn that lease is going to run $1500.00 or more per gun if it is just a mediocre one a good one will cost $2000.00 a gun and higher, plus it is usually pretty hard for someone just coming into the state with possibly no established social group to get in on an established list. As I said in my first response I enjoy and Welcome new people coming to Texas, but they need to know both the good and the bad. Texa is a great place, but it does have its drawbacks. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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I love it here to, never really wanted to live anywhere else, but truth in advertising dictates that the not so good aspects, especially for new folks that have never been here, and are looking for certain things, need to be discussed. The sheer size of the state and with the high and rising fuel prices and the parameters the OP listed, Texas is not going to be the best place for him. Anyone coming from someplace where there is any amount of Public Land to hunt/fish on, will be disappointed with Texas. depending on where the person lives there might be some Public Land within 100 miles and there might not be any Public Land within 200 miles of where they are living. Texas is the greatest place on earth as far as I am concerned, For Me, but not everyone want the same things that I do. I just think from stormsGSP post Texas, especially the towns he listed would not be the best choices. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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Don't forget to look into crime rates. | |||
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I live near Boise, moved here from Illinois when I was 28 and single. 71% of the state is owned by the Feds or State. 1.3 million population. Cost of living is reasonable, if you stay away from Sun Valley. Four seasons. Politically conservative. Top Ten NCAA football program. Lots of pretty young ladies. Widest range of big game animal hunting in the US. Crime rate is low, not much of a drug culture. | |||
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"Houston" is a city but the Greater Houston Area encompasses several adjoining cities which are nothing like Houston proper. Some are great places and you're in close proximity to the better things to do in Houston. It takes a while to learn where not to go or live. Actually, you want to stay out of Harris County as well as Houston. Likewise, Travis County as well as Austin. But if you live nearby you can go into town for fun and leave the hippies to pay the high taxes that support your nice night out. Sort of reverse welfare. There really is a lot of public hunting in Texas. 1.5 million acres by my recollection. I don't know why people think otherwise. I guess they don't try hard to find it. Good fresh and salt water fishing. Not much cold water fishing but hey, you got to have a reason to go on a road trip, right? "Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson. | |||
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..of butt-ugly women. I saw prairie dogs I'd rather kiss. "Experience" is the only class you take where the exam comes before the lesson. | |||
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musta been visiting Baggs, Wyoming | |||
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Spot on! Houston is the corporate hub for the oil and gas work further south, good looking ladies about, coast is under an hours drive and lots of hunting opp. around. Don't rule out Texas just because Crazy Horse lives out in the most arrid, remote part of the state .Perry | |||
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It's all right here in Boulder. I live in the county, work in the city and grew up in rural Western N.Y. I love it out West. You might too. Lots of natural beauty around here, the 2 legged kind and the mountains. Feel free to ring me up to chat. Steve Bertram | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Thinking of moving- could use your input.
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