Where would you live/retire?
 

I have recently started to think about where I would like to be when I retire. Now I still have at least 16 years to go, but it is always good to plan ahead. I'm not looking to move somewhere permanently, just to buy some land to put up a comfortable cabin where I can spend part of the fall big game hunting and a little time in the spring to turkey hunt. Here is my criteria:

1. To have muliple big game species available to hunt (such as elk, mule deer, whitetail, turkey, antelope, bear, moose, etc.)
2. To be able to draw at least one tag a year or have over the counter tags available
3. To be reasonably close to open lands (National Forest, BLM, State) or ability to get permission from private land (even w/reasonable tresspass fee)
4. Not empty the bank in purchasing the land and building the cabin

Does such a place exist? Any suggestions as to what state, county, or unit might have something like this available? I have looked at several ranches which sell 20 to 40 acre lots in various western states. Some are on the pricey side and others seem to have too many rules (covenants) and restrictions for my liking. So what do you think?

. . . Rob

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Welcome to my life here in NW Montana. ;) Bobby

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Go west young man. Several western states would fit the bill. However Not as well as Alaska would.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Montana With out a doubt.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

not as many big game species in Alaska as would be available in a western state.

WA: mulies, blacktail, whitetail, bear, elk, cougar, moose, 3 subspecies of turkey
ID: mulies, whitetail, bear, cougar, elk, moose, antelope, 3 subspecies of turkey
MT: same (not sure on the turkeys)
AK: blacktails, caribou, bear, moose, muskox (?)

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I did think of AK, but I think that is too far for me to travel to. Logistics would be a nightmare and I would think the cost would be high (building materials, travel to get there, etc.)

I have looked at southern Colorado and like what I see, but some of the ranches which are selling have some mighty strict rules and building requiremements.

Ok, so I am hearing Montana. Which area of the state has the most flexibility. I know eastern has the Milk River and all those whitetails and southeast has the Powder River with whitetails and mulies. I would imagine you would need to head to the National Forest and mountains to get into elk. I would also think that most of the river bottom areas are private posted property.

What area (as specific as you can get) would you suggest?

. . . Rob

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

If I wasn't in the mountains of my wife's family origion, I'd settle in Raton NM. Just down the road is the NRA's Whittington Center, with world class shooting ranges. The Santa Fe trail runs right through the property. Elk, mulies, and antelope all within an easy drive.
Second choice, Flagstaff, AZ. Taking a back seat due to the population explosion taking place there.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Land in Alaska is not cheap, in fact it is very very very expensive. For all of its vastness, there is not much privately held land. Most is state, federal, or native lands. Also suitable building sites are limited.

As for hunting we have.

moose, black bear, grizzly bear, sitka deer, elk, dall sheep, mountain goat, wolves, wolverine, and caribou that can be hunted with a general tag. A hunting license for a resident is 25 bucks, tags are free except for grizzly, they cost $20.

Small game include sage grouse, ruffed grouse, ptarmigan (3 species), spruce grouse, snow shoe hare, sea ducks, puddle ducks.

Then there is the fishing.....

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Big Sky Country.....Montana! You have it all....elk, moose, mountain lion, bear, deer, sheep, goats, antelope, turkeys, pheasants, sharptails, huns, and lots of big trout. I lived there for almost two years and the only problem I encountered was not having enough time to do everything! Not having a job would have been perfect! ;) I wasn't that fortunate.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I am there! :)

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Rob,

Can't go wrong with central Montana. Not the most beautiful scenery in the state by far, but access to everything is at your fingertips. I personally like the Lewistown area. You're relatively close to the Missouri Breaks which are full of elk and mule deer, there are a lot of whitetails in the area, there are merriams turkeys all over the place, deer and antelope in the foothills, elk in the snowies, judiths and little belts. Awesome antelope country is a short drive eastward, and the rockies are a hop skip and jump (by Montana standards) westward. I can't vouch for other states, but Montana has plenty of BLM and BMA that is readily accessbile. I can't even remember why I moved from that wonderful place. Oh yeah...the job! [:'(]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I wouldn't move to Montana. It really sucks here. :D Do yourself and your friends a favor, tell everyone you know to stay away from this hell hole! ;)

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Absolutely true. You do not want to move here. Winters long and cold, no views, terrible hunting. Friends don't let friends move to Montana.:D

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

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RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

So the next logical question would be where can I find game population data by area/unit and draw data?

Does this exist on the F&W website? Things such as elk, muledeer, whitetail, antelope and turkey current populations. Buck to doe ratios and # of Bull elk per 100 cows? Number of preference points required to draw a tag, success rates, # of leftover tags, etc. Are there any over the counter tags in MT?

Thanks, Rob

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Salmon Idaho for me, its about 180 miles north from Idaho Falls where I live now. If there was work for me in Salmon, I'd be there right now. But for the time being I just visit a lot!

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Yup don't want to move here. It's not all thats it's cracked up to be. I'd stay away unless you like:D

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Ya may think i am weird but i would stay right where i am in Saskatchewan, elk, deer, bear, moose, waterfowl and upland all in 1700 acres. Sure the elk and moose aren't monsters but still alot of fun to hunt, wouldn't dream of hunting any place else.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Rob check the Montana FW&P web site, they have alot of data on there. As far as tags, if you are a resident you can hunt just about anything. You should also look into Wyoming and other western states.

My brother lives in central MT and I take hunting trips out there, I like out there alot, I hope someday to live there.......time will tell!

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I live in Centeral MT and to tell you the truth it ain't that great,I would look at moving to Colorado or Cleavland.:D

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I can see you've never been in Cleveland when the river was on fire. [&o]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

If you want to hunt and cach some fish then Iceland is the place!:)
In my area we have one of the biggest population of greylags in the world plus alot of other waterfowl! Seals you can hunt for free all year around and we have too many of them! Reindeer in the fall and Arctic fox and rock ptarmigan in the winter plus all the ducks and seabirds!
You pay once a year 20-30$ for general hunting licence on ALL species exept reindeer!

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I will retire in 3 years. There will be an opening with my company in New Mexico early nest year. This is where I plan to set up my lawn chair and beer cooler. [8D]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Utah, Wyoming, or Montana. White mountains of Arizona would be another choice.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Rob I made the move 18 months ago. From Northfield Vt. to Wy. Best thing I ever did. There is more room than you can imagine. Try imagining driving from Montpeiler to Burlington and not seeing any houses, only antelope and cattle. It takes some getting use to. The best way to describe it is the opposite of VT. Sunny most of the time and very dry. Wyoming has the fewest people and lots of public land blm and national forest. Wy also has lots of elk antelope and deer. Tags for residents are over the counter. Propery costs about the same as Vt. taxes are way cheaper. Hope this helps. Just so you know I was born and raised in VT, I'll never live there again.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Alaska in the summer and Mexico in the winter. The best of both worlds.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

You really don't want to move to Montana. To cold, many freakin Californians. Hunting and fishing is terrible. You have to drive for hours just to get out of the town. :D

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

There are a lot of ex Californians everywhere you go. When we landed here we knew it was the right place because my wife told a lady in Wally's she'd lived in CA for 32 years, and the reply was, "Oh, you poor thing".

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I see california tags moving in all around and bringing their Hilliary ideas here and wanting to change it here like it was back in california, just don't get me started on that one as this california newbie here in our small towne of 1500 people is running for mayor, he says he's going to clean up towne. I see him in town at times and at the NRA banquet for the past two years and the only way he can retire here is because I know that he has suied people and businesses in the past. [:@][:@][:@]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

If you are lucky he's got that money cause he sold a house in Orange County, which is where all the "conservatives" lived. :D If your not lucky, he got rich in Hollyweird. [X(]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Hey Outwesthunter,

Does your Mom and Dad work at National Life? If so, I work with your Dad. Small world isn't it!

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

121553,

I am sure we could swap stories for hours about how the Cali's are messing up our great state. I have a buddy over in Helena whos family has owned a dairy farm for well, way longer than I have been on this earth. A California couple bought the land next to them and asked them to shut down their farm because they didn't like how it smelled.[:@]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Yep them's the people who live on the ocean side of the Great San Andreas fault. The sooner it dumps them into the Channel Islands the better! [8D]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I wouldn't mind moving to the Flagstaff, Arizona area. My wife has family in Tucson so we would a lot closer then we are now. They get snow in Flagstaff, I got to have some snow. I live in Syracuse, N.Y. and we get more snow then any city in the world with a population of 100,000 people or more! 30 to 45 minutes north of Syracuse is the Tugg Hill Plateau. Its the snowest place in the country east of the Mississippi River with annual snow falls of 200 to 400 inches. They measure the lake effect snow by the foot up there, and the snowmobiling is awesome. So I think Flagstaff would be nice.

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Sounds like BC, Canada might be the place for you!

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Even more than Buffalo? [:-]

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Buffalo isn't even in the top 10. They do get a lot of snow in Buffalo, but not as much as Syracuse. Buffalo gets more snow earlier in the "snow season" then Syracuse, but by mid-January Lake Erie is usually frozen solid and they don't get the lake effect snow that they do earlier in the season. Lake Ontario Never freezes solid so Syracuse and the rest of Central New York get hammered all winter long!

Check this out. Our average snow fall is right around 120 inches a year, so this must be a little old! The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place cities are pretty small.
http://www.joson.com/gen-infor/snows.htm

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

Tennessee

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

funny 1950 kid thats the same state the wife and i have been thinking of...lol

RE: Where would you live/retire?
 

I live in Washington state and I'm getting out. Too many people. I've hunted Montana and Wyoming and if you fellers that live in those states think you have a lot of hunters you should see it here. I'm taking a trip to Montana soon. Can't stand to be away from those mountains that long. I'm kinda retired now.