Where do you live? And why?

[Nushif]

Oh man, I lived around Heidelberg, Germany, on the economy for the first 17 years of my life, then we moved to NH for a bit. Northfield, to be exact, where I signed up for Active Duty with the USAF ... Moved first to Texas, then to ... Texas, then to DE.
From DE I moved back to NH for about a month when a friend of mine said that OR is the place to be. Haven't left OR with any intent to stay away since then.

I have been a lot of places, and if someone were to hold a gun to my head and had me pick a 50 mile radius for the rest of my life it'd be Lanzarote or Corvallis, OR.

Not because of firearms or because of politics, but because of the culture. I hate the hustle and bustle and the "keeping up with the Jones' crap." I think at times I make a truly terrible capitalist at heart. 8)

Right now I am applying for an Operations Officer job with the Virgin Islands National Guard. 8)

[Hunter125]

Originally Posted by jim in Anchorage

FOID card to purchase a pellet gun? I had no idea it was that bad there.

Not sure about things like a Daisy BB gun, but for a higher end break action pellet gun it is required.

[r1derbike]

I live in northwest Arkansas. Spent some time in Annapolis and Hagerstown, MD, had my fill of D.C. and Baltimore. Full-circle. Good to be back.

[MSarge]

I live in SE KS in a county that has a total population of 2000. The largest town in the county has about 800 folks. I live at the south end of a town that has around 90 folks. Whatever gun laws there are in KS, we don't pay any attention to them here.

[Clayton86]

there seems to be a lot of New Yorkers on here and we all want the same thing...to get the hell out lol.

I was born and raised in WNY Lyndonville to be exact its a small little town smack dab between Buffalo and Rochester and right on lake Ontario. I'v lived there my whole life worth the exception of college in CT and Deployments but I don't really count either as I ended up back in my home town where cows outnumber people 3 to 1. I married a girl from my home town we've been married for 4 years this month and have 2 little boys. I love the area for the fact I have some world class trout and salmon streams in my back yard Oak Orchard river and Johnsons creek, Big bodied and antlered deer from the miles and miles of corn and soybeans, lots of big coyotes and fox, and big bass for northern strain and big ole pike and walleye as well.

How ever there are no jobs what so ever here some how I made 12k a year support a wife and 2 kids cost me some of my guns and toys but mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. We plan on moving to Texas after I return stateside from this deployment been saving up with the goal of getting out of NY and down south or the mid west preferably Texas though. I would love to move to Alaska but I hate winter especially after being in this Persian gulf(Kuwait) heat for over a year and there's no bass fishing in Alaska.

[45lcshooter]

Moved back to where my parents grew up because the grandparents are getting older, and we are a tight family. Plus its nice to be in the country, and have a 100yd rifle range out the basement door for plinking, sighting in, working on new loads. And the neighbor is from DC and he has 200yd range. its also nice to walk out the back door and walk 1000ft to my ground blind for hunting. I love the woods.

[Esoxchaser]

Motown. Why?
1) I grew up here.
2) My family is here
3) Some of the worlds best freshwater fishing is here.
4) I actually like it here. (Well the suburbs are cool. I work in the "D" and it is a crap hole, nothing like the city I grew up in in the 60's. & 70's))

[22-rimfire]

I live in TN because I like the South but I also enjoy the seasons. I came here for a job.

[Craig010]

I'm originally from Ohio but after 24 years service in the Army landed in Arizona. I don't always agree with the state government here, but I do love the gun laws. Been here 20 years now and doubt I'll move on. ~Craig

[dondavis3]

I live in Texas ... Darn glad I do -

Why?? Not enough space to name all the good reasons.

[Sniper66]

I was born and raised in Kansas and currently live in NE Kansas. Many parts of Kansas are low population density and great hunting. I shoot everything from squirrels on a 2600acre ranch in the NE part to p-dogs, coyotes, pheasants, doves, mule deer in the NW part. There are whitetails everywhere and lots of turkeys. It has what I treasure...lots and lots of solitude. The only sad thing is, we have lost our once abundant quail population.

[swiftak]

Rusthunter, I agree. The perfect retirement area is further north. And than further north of that.

[grock5k]

I live in Southern Maine. It's perfect! I want to go to the ocean 15 minutes I want to go to the mountains, 40 minutes. Boston is 2 hours south and miles of wilderness is 2 hours north.

[IDriveB5]

I live in Laurel, MD. Raised in Silver Spring, MD and I work in Rockville, MD.

Why? Well, I was born here and my family is here. Work is here, and I haven't lost my job yet during this Great Recession of ours. Thankful for that and it keeps me put. Great company.

I'd love to venture out elsewhere, maybe west or south, or both. Frankly, I'd be worried about finding steady income.

Despite the nastiness of our politics and the rat race here in the DC Metro, MD is a nice place that offers a lot, geographically speaking. There are also a lot of great things to do, with respect to the shooting sports, believe it or not. We've got something for everyone- practical rifle, 3-gun, F Class, benchrest, IDPA, CAS, everything. Its a damn shame that you have to spend damn near $600k to get a decent home in a decent neighborhood with decent schools that isn't a 4 hour commute to work.

I don't know. Planning a cross country road trip next year. Hopefully I'll find something.


Jim- thanks for starting this thread.

[jim in Anchorage]

I want to thank everyone for all the replies. This has been fascinating. Seems to me like we should all get together for a where do you live thread shooting match and barbecue.

And thanks to Robert and Justin for moving it here. It would been been buried where I originally put it.

[medalguy]

I've lived in most of the southern states at one time or another. Finally made it to Texas where I lived for about 45 years, retired and moved to New Mexico. The weather here is soooooo much better, no humidity, have 4 actual real seasons, imagine that. Fishing and hunting are great, gun laws are great, weather is great, taxes and cost of living are great, gun shows are....well, good. Lots of public land to use for whatever shooting I want to do. What's not to like?

I'm a little bit surprised, really maybe not, by all the New Yorkers and Californians who want to move. My advice to you is to find a gun-friendly place and move there. Life's way too short to live in an overly restrictive place. Get out and have some fun.

[Okiegunner]

I am an oil & gas landman, so I have to move around quite a bit.

Born in Oklahoma (my home and my home base is still there), worked and lived in Okla., North Dakota, Montana, Kansas, New Mexico, West Virginia, Ohio and Texas.

I currently work in Ft. Worth, TX, but commute back home to Okla. on most weekends.

Thankfully all of the states I have worked in have been reasonably "gun" friendly.

[sedona]

I live in Tulsa,Oklahoma.It is a pretty city and we have the wannamecher gun show twice a year.It is 11 acres of guns and i can spend all day there.The summers do get hot and humid but the winters aren't bad like the north.Unfortunately like the man from Kansas the quail numbers have really declined.I would probably live in Oregon or Utah if i didn't live here.

[newfalguy101]

small town in south central Nebraska, moved here from a smaller town 35 miles away just over a year ago.

Been in Nebraska since summer of 1980, cuz my parents wanted to be closer to my grandparents........least thats the "official" version of the story

[Patriots & Tyrants]

I live in Illinois; a little to close to Chicago for my taste but this is where I was born and where I lived for 3/4 of my life. That said I plan to move just across the border to WI or a bit further out from the city in the next 2-4 years.

I have visited a lot of places; Lived in Florida for 7 years and would go back if I could find a job that would let me maintain the same quality of life but thats not an option right now.

[USAF_Vet]

Born in Oklahoma, grew up in Kentucky, stationed in Japan, California, Germany and Turkey, and reside in Michigan.

I live here because it is where my family is from. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all still live here.

[VPLthrneck]

Born and raised in MT (about 90 miles northwest of Yellowstone NP), and grew up on the family farm and ranch there. We lived 15 miles outside of a town of 1200 people, had 2 miles of river front, and 3000 acres to run around on. At 17 I joined the Marines because I wanted adventure and to see all the exotic places that my dad and brothers saw when they were in the military. What I saw was MCRD San Diego, Camp LeJeune, NC, Okinawa, and 29 Palms, CA. Got out of the Marines in 1996 after my 4, and moved back to MT. Just in time for the job market to take a down turn.

I spent 4 years of doing alot of different jobs in both western and eastern MT, northern MN, and worked on a custom harvesting crew in SD. SD was ok, but we traveled from the Red River valley of TX/OK to far northern MT, so I got to see alot of this great country of ours! In early 2000, I joined the Navy and spent 9 years between WA and CA. With some side trips to Pensacola, Biloxi, and Japan.

When the military began a round of cutbacks a few years ago, I got out and moved to AZ for school. Because what I have chosen for my profession, the choice fell between Flagstaff and Phoenix when it came to getting a degree. I've traveled through AZ in the past and loved the contrast that this state has in its natural beauty from north to south; and also all the history here. The ultimate decision came down to which city had a community college that offered an Associates degree that would feed into my Bachelors. That decision made Phoenix my choice. Growing up it was a 30 minute drive to town. Now I live 20 minutes from work and school, a 5 minute walk from the cigar shop, and with in an hour's drive I can be at some of the best hiking spots in the Sonoran Desert! And being at the southern most edge of Phoenix, it doesn't feel like I'm living in the city.

Now that I'm down to the last few months of school, it is job searching time and even though I'd love to stay in AZ, anywhere east of CA/OR/WA and West of the Mississippi River (with a few execptions) is fine for me. I've learned that one can't compare one part of this country to other parts of it if it is going to be used to call something "ugly", "beautiful," or any other descriptor. Every place has its own uniqueness that makes it what it is. So I'm fairly content with anyplace I live.

What makes living here enjoyable is:
The Office:


The Classsroom:


And time off of course:

[Johnny Dollar]

A fine,enjoyable post with very cool pictures. Thank you,Leatherneck!

[1911inAK]

Fairbanks, AK. Because, well, it's Alaska!

[jim in Anchorage]

Fairbanks doesn't count. Seen -50 yet?