retirement locations
General Topic
looking for thoughts on locations for best fishing and hunting locations for future retirement
would love ocean fishing, fresh water, and deer hunting or elk hunting
thinking alaska is prolly best, but any other thoughts and ideas
for 3/4 I think your right with Alaska. however ill probably never move due to being in such a good salt water fishery in New England. 45 minutes from my house.
As much as I hate to suggest it.....Oregon or Washington.
Plenty of options on the Gulf coast.
SE AK would be a different level, weather, costs of living, travel, etc But your options to hunt and fish greatly enhanced!
South Dakota has great hunting and fresh water fishing, and low taxes.
Texas has it all. Check out, Holly Lake Ranch.
Yeah, trade places with a lib, we have too many of them in Texas now.
Alaska. Best move I ever made. I would research WY too.
Was thinking Arizona but not sure I can take the heat.
Consider cost of living too.
Alaska or Wyoming.
Then, spend time in the winters down in Central/South America for the fishing. I would not want to buy a place down south because I would want to do different kind of fishing every trip. Tarpon, snook, peacock bass, golden dorado, sea run browns, payara, sail fish, marlin, bone fish, rooster fish, etc, etc.
Take a look at Tennessee. Fairly low cost of living if you avoid Nashville. No state income tax. Deer, Turkey, Bear, Waterfowl, small game. Great freshwater fishing. Easy drive to the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic coast. Long, but do-able drive to the rockies for Elk.
I've thought about this a lot lately. I just recently hit my "magic number" where I can retire with no penalties for early retirement. I will likely work 3-5 more years to try and "pad" my 401k and try to make it financially more comfortable.
My first thought(dream) was Montana or Wyoming..............................................but then reality set in and I do not wanna be that far from family. (elderly parents and kids who will be just starting out on their own).
I've come to the realization that Western PA or "The Northern Tier" will be our likely retirement location since the taxes are much lower than here in Eastern PA, it is more rural with less "city-folk" moving into the area, with a more "country" setting, but still an easy drive to family if need be.
Our bucket list of places to see and experiences to have in retirement is long. My wife and I plan to upgrade our RV, so our retirement location will be wherever we travel to next in it.
Matt
2 plus years ago we moved to WY when my boss said I could teleworking. It was a safe dry run for retirement.
Now 1 year from retirement, it's become more of a when we move back than if we move back
We have some options to as out and it wouldn't be until at least 2023 to make a move, but its very much harder to be away from family, both kids and parents, and now a grandson with a other on the way
Not sure what the future will bring, but we love living here at the foot of the Bighorns
We moved from Mn to Colo after I retired. Much better taxes and weather., and the mountains. Had a great place, five acres, out in country. Two years later we moved back to Mn to be near our kids and grandkids. Family is important.
Montana has every species to hunt and best fly fishing in the US.
Kinda like Matt, I think I might get a nice motor home one day and try to do it all. (I’m a long ways from retirement, LOL)
Today is my first day of retirement. We settled on Sheridan Wyoming for a number of reasons. There is no state income tax or inheritance tax, the political environment aligns with our political believes, the scenery is incredible, the fishing is pretty good, and of course the hunting isn’t too shabby! The best surprise was that our neighbors are such super nice people and really made us feel welcome. There are lots of things to do near by and places to explore. All our family and friends want to visit.
Best of luck with your decision!
Someone mentioned Washington. You can fish the salt for salmon, tuna, cod, dig clams Etc and hunt elk,blacktail bear and cougar the same day or you can catch big trout , bass, walleye and hunt elk, mule deer,whitetail,, bear ,rouse, pheasant ,hun,rabbits the same day. Turkey in the spring. My uncle lives on the coast and as of last week he has 3 freezers full of fish elk , deer, bear ,birds and has kept over 200 Dungeness crab. He fishes the ocean every day the wind and tides allow and the rest of the time he is in hunting camp. The fishing and hunting are in decline but still good . Seattle area in a 75 mile radius is are progressive nutjobs but the rest of the state is red. It’s right in the middle for cost of living in the US. The west side has 300 grey days a year the best summers on the planet and less rainfall than Fla and HI. The east side is high desert 1500 to 3000 ft and 300 plus days of sunshine and really cold winters
I retired earlier this year and have been considering relocating to Washington or Wyoming for the reasons outlined above. First I need to burn some elk, deer and antelope points in NV before moving out of state. NV is great for what we have but it’s a limited opportunity state, even for residents.
The plan for the next year or two is to drive the beast in the picture around the US and Canada, towing a new Bronco (if I ever get it) and if we find a spot that’s perfect during our journeys we might relocate. We spent three weeks in Washington in May and central Washington, near Banks Lake, is definitely on the relocation list.
Someone above mentioned the great Canadian health care system. My friends in Saskatoon and Regina come to the USA for their serious health care issues. They have to pay cash.
Tilz. Banks lake area is gods country.
Wyoming summer and fall - Texas winter and spring.
Will stay a resident of Texas for the politics and taxes. Winters there, summers at my cabin in Colorado. And an RV to see the rest of the country. So kind of a 3 tiered approach.
Montana has every species to hunt and best fly fishing in the US.
Montana has every species to hunt and best fly fishing in the US.
Montana has every species to hunt and best fly fishing in the US.
The grizz would b my only hold up. I don’t want to get eaten while mowing my yard
If you move to cold, sparsely populated country, make sure the old lady's FULLY on board. Half the homes for sale where I live (including the one I bought) are on the market because the wife was tired of the cold, too far from relatives, too far from a Starbucks, etc.
I'm actually surprised how many people recommend Wyoming and Montana for the ideal retirement locations. Yes, they are wonderful states for outdoor enthusiasts during the summer and fall months, but the winters are long and harsh. I don't know about others, but my wife and I have become less enthusiastic about our CO winters, now that we don't ski as often. There's no chance we'd move to an area with even worse winters.
BTM also brings up an excellent point about our better halves. I twisted my wife's arm to move to the boonies of central Colorado 21 years ago. I think last year during Covid was the first time she truly appreciated living so remotely. Convenience to family, friends, groceries, shopping, restaurants, hair salons, etc etc...is often more important to women than they are to us redneck outdoorsmen.
Matt
If we have to base our home location on it's proximity to a Starbucks, I am getting divorced.
We moved to WY from NH. Winters are no big deal for us, about the same EXCEPT the wind, but actually have less snow in WY than in NH. With the exception of the COLD days (week of about -20 last winter), the days of 20 degrees just don't feel as cold here as in NH (unless the wind is blowing). For us, winters not an issue, just those damn family connections!
Another thing I heard when I moved to Wyoming: "If the weather was better here, this state would have a population of six million, not 600,000." So true!
As with so many decisions in life, trade-offs must be considered. I've never regretted moving here, but YMMV.
“If the weather was better here, this state would have a population of six million, not 600,000." So true!
As Bob H points out, the snow in Wyoming generally isn’t too bad, although the 31” with 60 mph winds we had in mid-March pretty well sucked! And it can certainly get extremely cold, but we just bundle up and deal with it. However, the one thing you never get used to is the wind. It’s just brutal! My long-time hunting buddy got married to a lady a few years ago that he knew from high school . She moved up here, but 7 months later she’d had enough. They now live back home in Tennessee.
GG hit the nail on the head. From May to mid-November or so, it’s great. However, late fall, winter, and early spring just isn’t much fun.
I'm a long long way from retiring but I'm about 99% sure I'm living the home I'm going to retire in. This is the general area where I was born and 80% of my family lives within an hour.
Why wait until you retire to move to a place you are happy with?
This pretty much sums it up! Ha!
Wa state. I havw a place in eastern WA (sokane area) PLeanty of hunting and fishing. Then we are buildind in squm WA. boat in the harbor to head to the straights of Juan Defuca, alaska or south. WA coast has pleanty of elk and blacktail deer. Fishing salt is incrediable and stealhead are plentiful. (our winter place) Spokane is summer.
I'm happy to live in a fly over state. If I moved at retirement, it would likely be South Dakota so I'd at least be a little closer to the western states and lower taxes. But good ol' Iowa is hard to beat for good people and reasonable cost of living.
...and whitetails, if you're into that sort of thing. ;-)
Proximity to my family will be given much higher priority than hunting when/if retirement relocation is considered.
Midwest….you forgot to mention the fishing…..Oh, wait ;-)
Agree with all of Midwest’s assessments, plus would add that the political climate here also seems to be bucking the trend happening in much of the nation.
The fishing in Iowa? lol...Well, it depends on what you want to fish for. I have a friend who is a bit of an aficionado of flathead fishing. Rod and reel only, catch and release, uses and keeps bait the size most of us would fillet for dinner. Usually catches 100 per season. I really need to tag along sometime.
N Colorado. Lived here 32 years and not really planning on moving. Great 4 seasons weather, good hunting and fishing. 2 - 4 hours away from NonRes hunting in Wyoming, Nebraska or Kansas.
We wanted to retire on our place up on the Great Pen in Newfoundland but Covid ruined that idea. We are going to do the 6 month thing once this Covid crap passes, if it ever does, summers in Newfy, winters in Northern NH. I sugar in the Spring, still coach Spring and Fall, and run hounds in the winter. Our kids and grandkids are all working and busy with their families, so we only see them a few times a year as they are scattered.
" The west side has 300 grey days a year the best summers on the planet" If a grey day is grey skies and rain, I'll stay here where we have over 300 days of sunshine a year.
Peco , Yes 300 days with clouds and or rain. Winters in the high 40’s low 50’s ,I wear shorts year around. The cloud cover gets to people not born here. Summers are mostly sunny in the high 70s to mid 80s. We have two distinct climates in Washington because of the Cascade mountains. Western Wa is a temperate rain Forrest and Central and eastern Washington are semi arid mountains and high desert. It looks much like Colorado in the mountains down to the wheat covered plains in the east with 300 sunny days a year. It’s unique in North America and only exists from about the middle of Oregon north to about the middle of British Columbia.
Never understood those that dislike the winter. My “off season” (from hunting) is spent on the hard water. Could NOT imagine spending the winter any other way! ;-)
Winter in Wyoming? It's fine, really. Spring? Hold on to your hat -- you won't like it. Like others have noted -- it's not the cold, nor the precipitation. Neither amount to much for even the modestly hardy people. The WIND, though ... will induce psychiatric symptoms that a quite troublesome, unpredictable, and occasionally dangerous.
Hate to break it to all the married fellas, 90 percent of you will move close to where your grandchildren live. Proven fact backed with real estate stars.
Tip: get your kids to relocate where you want to be.
I would take eastern NC over any of those other sites. No elk but deer and gigantic bear. The red drum fishing is incredible. I like cold weather but not 8 months of it. Right now I live in Charlotte which is bound and determined to turn into Atlanta which is a joke. But I am close to mountains for trout and any terrain of deer hunting you want. I can be at the outer banks in 7 hours or New Bern area for great fishing. And most importantly I can be with my grandkids in 5 minutes.
We live on the Ia, Ill border (in Ia). Great fishing in Mississippi river. Great Trout fishing streams in N.E. part of the state & of course Whitetail. I've been to 15 different states bowhunting & lived in 6 different states at least a year or more. My home state is Ill. & glad I'm out but only 1 hour from home town.. Fairly close to all kids/G-kids & thats what is important to us.
I'll be moving off of Long Island in the next seven or so years or so. My wife who is from venezuela has no family in the states so that won't be an issue. She doesn't wantto move to a colder area but will do it if we get a condo in Florida for the harsh months. She wants to be in the country but we need a good hospital since she has one of my kidneys. Right now we go into NYC which is at least an hour drive so I figure anyplace an hour or so out from a decent hospital would do it. I'm thinking Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, maybe even Northern Georgia, Southern Virginia or Delaware but I'd rather be in a red state and so would my wife. I figure out west is out since at retirement age I don't know if I want o be humping those mountains to hunt all the time even though I workout everyday.
moving away from family; kids, grandkids, parents, friends, etc.: that's the sacrifice, and a difficult one that has to be made. It can be hard at times but we are where we love to live, the stress of the rat-race would have killed us long before we were ready, because we are no where near retirement yet. We tired of living the rat-race out east and we are better for it mentally. pic off the deck
Chillkill, you forgot about redbelllied black snakes, King brown snakes all the other poisonous snakes, golden orb spiders, funnel web spiders scorpions, and all the other interesting creatures Queensland has to offer! That said, sure lots of cool critters to hunt, and those freshwater lobsters are to die for.
I’ve had lengthy discussions with a good buddy of mine about this topic.
We’ve come to the conclusion that a retirement spot needs to ‘check all the boxes’. These boxes can vary, but there are some that are important as you get older.
Good health care, weather, family, friends, hobbies, etc…
You just gotta know your boxes and check em.
My wife Tricia would love to sell the house and purchase a fifth-wheel with a super truck and travel the US.. Not me! I need a base of operation, a comfortable house, a garage, and mail box. Other than Colorado growing a lot, we live in a good town , Ft. Collins, (State politics sucks) good health care, etc, and just a hour or two from good fishing and good hunting in the mts, or out on the prairie, and a joining states. No doubt about it, making a major move needs to be supported by both mates and family. Sometime the pot of gold is right in one's back yard.
Mississippi, Louisiana, or Alabama. Plenty of deer. Fish the Gulf or the Louisiana marsh. Low cost of living. Nicest people in the world.
Or SE Alaska
Also consider your physical condition and age. Some of us aren’t in serious mountain hunting shape going into retirement.
Sold our house last year, bought a Ram 3500 dually to pull our 42' Cedar Creek Champagne 5th wheel. Now home is wherever we want it to be. The kids can't move back home if they can't find you.
Alaska. Best move I ever made. I would research WY too.
Not sure I’d move to Alaska after Frank. Frank have you left anything alive up there?
Chill kill, I’d come there in a heartbeat. Love Australia ! and all the Aussies that come with it! :)
Australia has plenty of problems right now.
Still sticking to Alaska as first choice and Wyoming as “plan B”.
Definitely not Maryland the land of high taxes and liberals.
My pick would probably be Montana..definitely not California, Mass
My first choice is the SW corner of MT with my second choice being the NW corner of WY.
I thought about retiring in Alaska. But I didnt want to have to buy a Boat... an Argo... an ATV.... an Airplane..... :)
Interesting comments above about Canada vs USA health care. I’m not an expert, but I have several friends in Saskatchewan that come to the USA for their health care. They pay cash for it. And my friends in Manitoba used to gig me about how cheap the health care is in Canada, until I ask them about their tax rate. In fact they are paying for the socialized health care visit taxes.
Not exactly current info, but about 25 years ago, Jim, an IL hunting buddy retired. He and his wife did the the RV thing for a couple of years, then settled in Grand Junction, CO. Loved and bragged about the hunting, fishing, interactive, cooperative Drs., healthcare facilities (he had health issues) and Grand Junction's relatively mild winters. His only complaint was the burgeoning population. (Hmm, wonder what caused that?) Jim lived there and loved the area until his passing about five years ago.
With current real estate prices in my target locations, I am on the side lines. With current insanity, it would not surprise me if we have a real estate bubble burst similar to 2009-2010. If/when that happens, I am hopefully in a position to purchase a place. If not, I am ok with staying where I am at. (As long as grandkids stay close!) I am not going to leave harsh climate to inherit a different set of problems.
If I could move anywhere right now I think it would be Pocatello. Lots of hunting and fishing close, conservative area, just enough in that city and surrounding area that you’d not really lack anything. If you need a big city SLC is only a little over 2 hours away. You would have to forgo the ocean fishing you mentioned.
Whether Canadian healthcare is better or not, I dont want Socialized healthcare. Only way that type of system woks is high taxation..just the nature of the beast. Canada sure has some beautiful country though
Potro, that would be hardly ever any snow ! :-)
Kodiak AK! ocean, streams, deer, elk, bears, Mt Goats
I am born and raised in Portland Oregon. It would be pretty tuff to beat for a place to live.
For the last couple years there are random nightly community "campfires" at the downtown Federal Ice building, or the Federal courthouse down town, or multiple other random locations on regular basis. There are also flashbang, at lazer light shows at these common events.
With the fires burning at the Ice building, Federal Courthouse, or Police stations, and all the tents/zombie motor homes in almost every public space, the city has a nice "campground" feel to it.
Also the DA in Portland declines to prosecute most property crimes, so you have the freedom to do whatever you want without fear of arrest and prosicution.
The city has also defunded millions from the police department. The gun violence taskforce was disbanded, just as shooting have skyrocketed. Now the City of Portland appears to be a great place to get some target practice in with your rifles or pistols. We had 12 seprate shooting, with 150 recovered shell casings friday night and saturday night. No need to drive all the way up to the mountains to do a little target practice.
As far as I can tell with all the above mentioned things going on in this city, it would be a great place for an outdoorsman to move!
I am 54. My wife and I retired in June. We packed our bags, left Massachusetts and moved to Montana.
I think you have to be realistic about what you can do. I am in great health right now but I know things at this point can turn on a dime. I had plans for a 100 acres and doing gentleman's homesteading. But one of our main considerations when making our move was access to decent healthcare. You have to be able to get to a good hospital. You do not want it to be far, just in case repetitive trips are required in the future.
We ended up purchasing a "temporary home". It is a small duplex in a neighborhood. We ended up owning both sides. They were going to be rentals once we found our forever home. But then something happened. We actually like it. It is small, low maintenance, and everything is just two minutes away. And it is still a small town. It's almost like Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show. And here is the kicker.... I am fishing the Yellowstone River in five minutes. I have access to other world class rivers, unlimited mountain creeks and lakes, and national forest all around me to hunt. The mountain biking is world class as well, and I have a mountain to ski in the winter. oh, and then there is the backcountry skiing as well.... pretty much endless options.
I never in a million years thought this would be the place, but I think it just may be. Convenience and good healthcare, while not needed just quite yet, is something my wife and I will really appreciate in years to come.
So find that place that ticks off your hunting and fishing needs, but consider the conveniences of life the become more and more important as you age.
I’m 33 but buying my vacation/retirement place next summer in southern Wyoming
I like living in BC, we've been here 12 yrs, got dual citizenship, etc. Hot summers, decent winters etc. Wife loves the gardening (250#s of watermelons this fall, great apples, cherries, veggies, etc).
And we have 15 huntable big game species, but unfortunately very few bow seasons. Mostly hunting in rifle seasons with my bow....but you can hunt Stone sheep (or Bighorns), Canada moose, Mt Caribou and goats every year for a $25 - $80 tag each. 4 species of deer, 2 species of elk, tons of black bears, etc.
I find the health care OK. C-19 did and continues to mess up the border.
bowhunt- I think job as Chamber of Commerce President is secure! lol!
I wish my daughter would take your post to heart. She has applied to dental school in Portland and Seattle. (Among other schools) I think she did this to accelerate my expiration date.
Kanye is selling his place near Cody. His loss is your gain.
A friend here (MA) recently bought property in Tennessee, plans to build his retirement home there. Lower costs, good hunting and fishing.
I've moved all over this country...my choice would be a different planet!
