[cpileri]

Soon I will escape the PRofMaryland! Given choices, I will seek a place I can thrive in. So I wonder...

Does the perfect place to live exist?

Please help me find this place!!!!!!!!!!

Let me clarify: this is to be MY perfect place, as you read you will see that some of these things wont matter a bit to others.

Here are the characteristics below. After that, any help naming the place would be great!

A decent Catholic community
Good schools, private or public OK
Homeschooling allowed

Shall-issue CCW ---and NO danger of soon losing it (i.e. I used to like Indiana, but someone transplanted socialists there and their gun laws,, etc are being challenged more and more. I want a place where majority opinion is so overwhelmingly pro-gun that that wont happen)

Class III/NFA ok

No 'no-knock' warrant/searches

Low amounts of biting insects
low humidity

Good ranges near residential areas
and/or allowed to shoot on your property (given space limits)
Good hunting/fishing/camping
low pollen/allergies (ha ha, thought I'd throw that in)

loose building permits, so if i want to landscape or paint my house, or do whatever I dont have to ask a gestapo-like homeowners association for permission

There, that about covers it! Anything I missed? :)
thanks,
C-

[Bill Hook]

No 'no-knock' warrant/searches

Dream on, as there isn't such a place anymore.

Otherwise, sounds like NM, AZ, NV or UT are places to start.

[chevrofreak]

Around the Billings Montana area.

[Pheonix]

Probably not what your REALLY want , but I'll bet "Wildcomelivewithmeinalaska" would love some company!:D

[cpileri]

Is there really NOWHERE in the USA where 'no knocks' are not allowed? (except in extreme cases, like pursuing a fleeing suspect into a building, etc..)

Yeah, my boss (wife) has already nixed Alaska.

C-

[Mark Tyson]

Why don't you just move a couple miles south to Virginia?

[TXBera]

The low # of biting insects and low humidity rules out Texas, we'd love ya to come and join us.

But hey we can't all be perfect like the PRK.:rolleyes:

[cpileri]

VA is too close, although if by some fluke Uncle Sam keeps me in the Capital area, i will move- already told my wife she can eith er come or not!~ ha ha. Still too near to avoid all the local politics, police poking the muzzle of a SMG in my car window lookign for snipers, and a governor who is a little wishy washy on gun rights.

But she does know how very much I loathe MD.

I have a buddy who is leaving VA specifically for the biting insect population.
He says his kids can never go outside: too cold in winter, and covered in bug bites in the summer- they cant even play in their own front lawn.

Maybe if I could move a little inland...

really, i could live with the bugs if everything else was in place!

re: texas. I am actually a TX resident, sort of (since i dont live there anymore). But my Home of record is TX. I liked the El Paso area, but didn't care too much for El Paso itself.

TX is not off the list- just dont put alot of stock in getting back there soon.

Any other places?

I hear North and South Carolina has some nice places I might like.

I basically want a place where my major complaints will be:"When is thsi rain going to stop?" or "Man, we sure could use some rain" or "Another price increase on my cable modem" or "What do you mean the range is closed at 0500?!?!?!"

Stuff like that.

[CRUSHER]

Kentucky has most of what your asking for

[NewShooter78]

Northern Louisian isn't so bad. It doesn't get too cold in winter, but there is that whole biting insect thing. You really can't get away from that anywhere you go. If there is standing water around then you will have mosquitos.

Your choices might also be limited by the type of work you do.

[Bill Hook]

Don't look to anywhere in the South if you want low humidity, other than Key West, perhaps.

As to no-knocks, it isn't just an issue by state, but something the federales might do, making the point moot.

[nhnativeamerican]

have you ever thought about New Hampshire. The bugs arent really that bad:rolleyes:

[Art Eatman]

Western Texas, once you're a bit west of I-35, has low humidity and fewer "biting bugs". Eastern or "wet" Texas is a different matter...

If you're outside the corporate limits of a town or city, and on an acreage tract, you can pretty much do what you want to. E.g., I built my house myself, without the need for any permits or inspection by any "official person". Bench rest on the front porch for my 100-yard range.

:), Art

[Lars]

I like Oregon. I have friends in Sandy, OR by Mount Hood that shoot in thier back yard. I live on the east side of Portland and have 2 indoor ranges within 5-10 min and 2 large outdoor ranges within 30-40 min. We have shall issue CCW and I got one for WA also. Class III is allowed, but I heard that there are a few counties where it is hard to get signed off on one. I like WA also but I think that you can't have all Class III stuff. I can be to the beach in 1.5 hours, to the mountain in less than an hour, Seattle in 3, Canada in a day trip. The economy isn't the greatest right now, but I have a feeling that it is like that in most places.

Lars

[WvaBill]

Put a plug in for WVa. Does have insects;humidity. Fits the others. especially the freedom to build, shoot, and pro gun.
Caveat--Good luck geting and affording a job. Jobs are not way plentiful, and the State extracts a high duty for the PRIVILEGE of working. A lot of berdering states will honor CCH--VA, KY,TN,.

[Pendragon]

We went through this when we decided to leave CA.

The problem is - CA literally has the best weather in the country.

We ruled out the arid states because my wife and son have dry skin and I havetrouble breathing when its so dry.

We finally settled on a humid area (San Antonio). Its not as humid as a lot of places - so they tell me, but its pretty humid.

Other than the humidity, lack of flowers and not knowing anybody, we like it pretty good so far.

[Devonai]

I'd have to say NH or VT. I'll be escaping MA soon for NH after years of detrimental politics (I still miss Ted Kennedy... but my aim is improving).

I don't know about no-knock warrants other than to say that in NH such things would most likely result in a "bad shoot;" and since I keep hearing about the occasional armed standoff in the state, hopefully such things are rare if not non-existant.

CCW? There to stay. You'd might as well try to move the Old Man of the Mountain (oops, bad example). Seriously though, you've got nothing to worry about. NH would sooner secede from the union than pull the CCW laws.

Class III? From what I've heard, it's a piece of cake.

[Werewolf]

Well except for the no-knock searches and low pollen/mold OK matches your criteria perfectly.

[cpileri]

Art, so when can I come visit! Sounds like you've got a nice spot.

re KY: I hear that because it is a commonwealth it has some unusual economic and social problems. Can you address this as a resident? See, I heard it from a KY resident but one who had been shot in the chest and flown 22-hours on a bumpy C-130 with a chest tube stuck in her side- she was probably a little edgy during our conversation.

West VA: tell me more about that!

Devonai, makes it sound nice. How's the weather compared to Alaska- the cold is why my boss nixed it. So any other cold place is pretty much out.

Pendragon (Arthur's father, right?), San Antonio is a place I could be stationed at- if there are openings and its pretty popular in my social-work circles. But I have been there, and its not bad. I'd want to be outside of town though. I think...

Keep it coming! this is great!
C-

[Marko Kloos]

the PERFECT place to live

Duloc.

[El Tejon]

Well, if it's bugs and humidity that you want then Indiana is your place and let me tell you. . . oh, wait, a tick, you said you couldn't handle them. Never mind!:D

[sm]

I don't think a perfect place exists. Unless you like Sir Thomas Moore's Utopia

Older gent and I visiting, talking about always working and not having money, he is retired and still has no money. His dad and grandad probably had the best deal for "supplimental" income...they made moonshine whiskey. He left the hills and lived in West Texas, wished he'd stayed.His advise to me, and especially with gummit meddlin , watching the "net ...quit school, quit work, go to west Texas and make "alternative fuels". If someone chooses to inhib because of taxes on package store stuff...so what.

Hey Art, your trucks need fuelin' up ? ;)

[cpileri]

Where's Duloc?

I have family in OR actually, one batch in Tigard near Portland; and another in Grant's Pass. So OR is also on the list, too.

The no knock thing isn't really going to make or break it for me. I dont ever anticipate having to deal with it. It just pisses me off that so much animosity and 'us-vs-them' attitidue and 'everyone is just an unapprehended criminal' exists in law enforcement that the police themselves wouldn't object to inappropriate use of such tactics. Says something about the community.

ESPECIALLY when they get the wrong house!

Burns me good to think now any clown can go to the costume and weddign dress rental store and dress up like a cop, barge into my house unannounced and I'm supposed to stop and think,"Hmm wait. They might be real cops at the worng place. I guess I'll hold my fire until we calmly work this thin out. Especially since I'll be up on charges if i kill a cop- no DA in the world will say I am justified."

Burns me even more that I could be blown away by real cops if i defend myself- and no charges will be filed as they were following proper procedure (except for the small detail of GETTING THE WRONG HOUSE); or blown away by crooks if I don't!

Grrrrrrrr!!!! Man, they just did that to a guy in Annapolis! That (fool white supremacist, but that's incidental to my point) guy who's home they raided and sacked while his wife was alone. Hacked down his front door with an axe because they thought he was dangerous- even though they said they knew he was at work! Initiated the 'no-knock' in the first place because he had guns- even though he wouldn't be able to dispose of them in the 2 seconds between the knock and the door opening. Grrrrr!!!! Man, this STINKS of abuse.

OK, so I'm venting my spleen. I feel better, now.

But since the chances of either cops or criminals barging in on me are pretty remote, we can largely leave it off the list for discussion purposes.

Would be nice though.

OK, so besides the cops and insects does any other place sound nice?

Also, and i wasn't clear so sorry aout that, I am looking for a little more specifics: like names of towns and cities as well. Since a guy just can't decide to move to a state and leave it at that. Gotta pick a specific place. Anyone know of any nice communities like I need/want? anyoen actually live in one?
C-

[TallPine]

There ain't no perfect place to live.

If there was, everybody would move there and it wouldn't be perfect anymore.

Seems to me that anymore the worse the weather, the nicer the people. Most of the jerks can't take the heat / cold / wind or whatever.

[Morgan]

Colorado would be good. Shall issue, most everywhere has decent people. Excellent, semi-arid climate. Pretty good economy - what line of work are you in?

Wyoming would be great too, but a less robust economy, and if you want urban/suburban life Colorado would be better.

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's All-

Hey Tall Pine, I always thought that "Big Sky Country"
would be an excellent place to live; especially in the rural
areas as you could step onto your back poarch and blast
away?

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[cpileri]

Duloc: where Shrek lives. Ha ha, very funny.

Although i do have a thing for redheads (not the ones that spend half the day as an ogre though)
C-

[Art Eatman]

cpileri, are you retiring, or will you be looking for some sort of work? If the latter, what sort?

Art

[cpileri]

No, not retiring, continuing on.

In what?

Well fine, I dont ususally mention it but users of THR already know: I am an MD (in MD, ha ha hahahaha). So I'll be looking to work in medicine; anesthesiology to be precise.

i figure most areas will have some sort of job for a doc. least I hope so!
C-

[TallPine]

i figure most areas will have some sort of job for a doc. least I hope so!
Oh ... in that case, you can easily find work in a little rural town. Up here, all we can get are "immigrant" :rolleyes: doctors (Indians, Arabs, etc). But you'd have to settle for a lot less money.

======
Ala Dan:
Yeah, I like it here for that very reason. I have 40 acres with a big hill right behind my house to shoot into. :)

But some people wouldn't like it ... hot (90 - 110) in the summer, and cold northeast winds in the winter. Carharts are the state uniform.

Plus grasshoppers and wildfires.

"Culture" up here is basically hunting and HS sports.

I think you have to be a certain type of person to like it here long term, which is why most people are pretty decent (or else they leave after a short time)

TP

[dustind]

NH and Wyoming have a history of telling the feds to stay out. NH was chosen by the free state project. Home schooling is not great, nor are building permits, but they will get better, they are better than most of the country, top twenty atleast.

[twoblink]

I've considered Oregon, which I thought to be very pretty..

AZ is great..

But I will probably move to Vegas..

I've lived in the PR-NJ for 2 years ( you will quickly understand why it's the heaviest drinking state in the union if you live there)

And I've lived in the PRK (READ: Jerry Springer is the real governor there) for 20+ years..

So it seems all other states look much better..

[V-fib]

Western Michigan.

I shoot right out back on my own range. You can target practice in the National forest too.
My township doesn’t have zoning (you do need a permit for houses however)
Lake Michigan (beautiful sandy beaches) tons of inland lakes and rivers
Lots of national forest lands (thousands of acres)
All the doc’s at the hospital I work at love hunting and fishing the area (we use crna’s for anesthesia)
Easy to obtain CCW
Mosquitoes and deer flies can be pesky at times but nothing like in the UP
No poisonous snakes (yes there is the pygmy rattler but they are so rare you might as well say they don’t exist)
Lake MI protects us from the really cold temps in winter and the killer heat in summer. We get more snow but usually it’s the light fluffy lake effect snow.
Catholic churches in most of the small towns
Home schooling is common.

I moved to West MI from Detroit over 20 yrs. ago and never looked back.

:cool:

[Art Eatman]

cpileri, if you do get to checking out central Texas, take a look around Fredericksburg or San Angelo.

Fredericksburg has gotten quite gentrified with lots of antique stores. Got a pretty friendly gun store. 90 miles from Austin, about 75 from San Antonio. Deer hunting all over the place. Fishing in lakes isn't far away. Lower humidity than Austintatious or SanTone because of about 800 feet more elevation. Mild winters. Oak and cedar trees means it's green year-round. It's an old German-settled town, so it's clean and there's a generally negative attitude toward welfare.

San Angelo is a bit more of an agricultural-business city, with a good bit of hunting and fishing nearby. It's a good jumping-off center to tourist around west Texas. I've met a couple of gun dealers from there at shows; good folks.

Art

[wingman]

Well, doc, if job hunting is no problem or retired always look for an area of
low population, slow growth in past 20 years. More people =problems= crime=
more laws=less freedom.

Not to disturb my fellow Texans but I fear we are heading down the road
of calif. to much growth too fast especially in the central texas area.

[cpileri]

We have friends who live in Bode? (Bude?) , which is outside Austin so say they. Where is Fredericksburg, TX and San Angelo relative to that?

I do feel that wingman has a point. Certainly, many social scientists feel that increasing population density is an independent factor in crime. Too many people in the closet at once.

Still, I do like TX. Its on the list.

I will start looking into these towns,etc now armed with the names etc.

Thanks!
C-

[TallPine]

low population, slow growth in past 20 years.
That would be eastern Montana.

Net loss in population between 1990 and 2000.

Check out:
Glendive
Miles City
Circle
Forsyth
Roundup
Baker
Ekalaka

[wingman]

We have friends who live in Bode? (Bude?) , which is outside Austin so say they. Where is Fredericksburg, TX and San Angelo relative to that?

"Buda"(I lived there at one time) is a very high growth area(hays county is one
of the top growth areas in the us.)

Fredericksburg is about 75 miles west, very pretty city but too close to Austin
for me. You need at least 150 miles east/west of 1-35.

[WilderBill]

What Art said.
Also, check other places in the Hill Counrty around Fredrickicsburg.
Bandera, Leaky and Dripping Springs come to mind.
There are a lot of "wide place in the road" spots that may not even be on a map.

[MaterDei]

TEXAS.

cpileri, you can probably gather from my screen name that I'm Catholic. :) I'm also a homeschooler of 6 children. We live in Houston but some of your criteria would leave the southeast corner of Texas out. Particularly the bit about the humidity and the biting insects.

Somewhere near San Antonio would be good probably. The humidity is lower there but unless you go way west you're not going to get away from biting insects. Besides, in Texas the further you get away from biting insects the closer you get to biting reptiles and stinging insects (scorpions). :barf:

I don't know how Texas scores on the Class III/NFA ok and no 'no-knock' warrant/searches requirements.

Regarding homeschooling. No state better than Texas that I'm aware of. We have homeschooled here since 1991 and have never had to do a single thing to satisfy the state. The only state requirements that I'm aware of are that you must be able to produce attendance records if asked (duh, you're HOMEschooling) and you have to teach some form of good citizenship BS or something or other. I figure taking my kids to go shooting almost weekly fulfills that requirement. There are LOTS of Catholic homeschoolers in the Houston and San Antonio areas nowadays so therefore there are lots of support groups as well if you're interested. PM me if you want more detailed information.

MaterDei

[Futo Inu]

I'm condidering Utah, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Alaska. Alaska has taken a lead, considering its Vermont carry and proximity to BC Canada. Really, it's probably gonna depend on the career/job availability situation a few years down the road.

Can anyone tell me - what other places are as ski-resort-abundant, and robust/large economy as Salt Lake, Utah? Because I fear that SLC might start to lean anti-gun in the future, as all big cities eventually do, it seems, unfortunately. Also, where are the most SWFs? :)

[TallPine]

Also, where are the most SWFs?
Nursing homes :D

[wingnutx]

AZ fits your bill at least as well as any.

[HarryRod]

I would say North Alabama but your low humiditiy and no insect rule would be shot all to hell.
I swear one of these days i think the skeeters are just gonna carry me off.
Of course i you are willing to brave the super skeeters we have some of the most beautiful women anywhere in the world....imho.

[Futo Inu]

OK, Tallpine, allow me to elucidate. SWFs under 35 who with attitudes not far from that of Tamara's (looks too). ;)

[El Tejon]

SWFs in Alaska?!?!:eek: Those are called albino bears.:D

[Dave R]

Idaho meets all criteria, if you live outside Boise, Twin Falls, Ketcham, or one or two other places with rabid homeowner associations. That's not a problem, as all those places have rural ("unincorporated county") areas within a short drive.

Good skiing, too. Boise has a resort 45 min from downtown. Good night skiing. Frequently leave work 5:30, grab quick food on the way, and ski 'til 10pm.

Sun Valley and other resorts within a few hours.

Dunno if "no knocks" are legal, but there's never been one to my knowledge.