I know it's rather premature, but I like to plan well in advance. I'm looking for a place to live. Currently, I live in Arizona. I'm enlisted in the USMC, hope to be going to basic around January. While it is possible that I'll make a career of it, most likely I'll be in for four years. I'll either be trained as a armorer (ie gunsmith) as my MOS, or I'll use the TAP or GI Bill to attend a school for it. Either way, I'm gonna be trying to go into the gun business. I had always planned on ending up in northern Arizona. Pretty country, good climate(not as hot in the summer, but not freezing in the winter), cheap land (forty acre parcels from $15,000), close enough to my (and my wife's) family for visits, a LOT of gun related industry, and I've always thought of AZ as home. But lately I've been seriously considering the advantages of Alaska. Let me lay out my reasons.
1) CCW law. Vermont carry if you want, and a permit system if you need reciprocity. Lovely.
2) Taxes. It is my understanding that Alaska has the lowest combined state and federal tax burden of all fifty states.
3) Wilderness. I grew up in relatively undeveloped country, and I really, REALLY, REALLY hate the city. A house is bad enough, but living in an apartment makes me feel like Agent Smith from the first Matrix. "I must get out, I must get free."
4) Self-sufficiency. Everything from home-schooling our kids (when we have 'em), to supplementing our diets with hunting, fishing, trapping, and planting, to living off the grid for things like water and electricity.
5) Less government meddling. I don't know for sure, but I've always heard that Alaska is pretty low on the bureaucrat-o-meter.
I've got some reservations, tho'. Finding work is a biggie. I don't know if I'll be able to handle the cold, but since there is a decent chance I'll spend my tour in Russia I guess I'll find out . I have no idea what land costs, and there is always the fear that the NPS will confiscate it to preserve an endangered species of rat or something.
As I said, it's a few years off yet. There are other states I'm considering (Texas, Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire), but so far Alaska is way out in front. I'm really just looking for resources to use as a jumping off point for research. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
1) CCW law. Vermont carry if you want, and a permit system if you need reciprocity. Lovely.
2) Taxes. It is my understanding that Alaska has the lowest combined state and federal tax burden of all fifty states.
3) Wilderness. I grew up in relatively undeveloped country, and I really, REALLY, REALLY hate the city. A house is bad enough, but living in an apartment makes me feel like Agent Smith from the first Matrix. "I must get out, I must get free."
4) Self-sufficiency. Everything from home-schooling our kids (when we have 'em), to supplementing our diets with hunting, fishing, trapping, and planting, to living off the grid for things like water and electricity.
5) Less government meddling. I don't know for sure, but I've always heard that Alaska is pretty low on the bureaucrat-o-meter.
I've got some reservations, tho'. Finding work is a biggie. I don't know if I'll be able to handle the cold, but since there is a decent chance I'll spend my tour in Russia I guess I'll find out . I have no idea what land costs, and there is always the fear that the NPS will confiscate it to preserve an endangered species of rat or something.
As I said, it's a few years off yet. There are other states I'm considering (Texas, Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire), but so far Alaska is way out in front. I'm really just looking for resources to use as a jumping off point for research. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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