Need help. Pros and cons of different states.

[Blarelli]

Any number of schools could work just fine for me. Prestige doesn't have much to do when it comes to dental schools either, Harvard is just in my price and stats range. There aren't a whole lot of people that can even name which school their dentist attended.
Guns aren't at the top of my list of concerns. It's actually pretty close to the bottom, but once the other things are taken into consideration (quality of school, cost of attendance, community, crime, cost of living, church, proximity to friends and famliy, etc.) there are going to be several schools that fall into the OK range. I'm sure the University of the Pacific dental school is great, and probably fulfills my other requirements, but I'm not going to live in California due to guns and other sociopolitical issues.

 

[earlthegoat2]

http://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/pdf/scorecard/2008/2008_scorecard_rankings.pdf

Here is a link for you. The lower the ranking the better the gun laws are for the state. God bless KY tied for last and my neighbor West Virginia tied for 2nd to last.

 

[mattman the gun fan]

from what i read ohio is very relaxed on gun laws than alot of other states. i just hope you like blazing summers and brutal winters (depending on if your in NE or SE ohio) . good luck on your pick

 

[cpirtle]

Whoa.....None of that is currently valid in Ohio...This is the year 2009, not 1996.
Statewide Ohio law has superseded all of those antiquated, goofy, and varied municipal ordinances of the past.
Ohio has no semi-auto bans, no waiting periods, we have open carry, CCW laws are pretty good, a "Castle Doctrine" is in place, etc, etc, etc.

Well, you may want to check on the status of Columbus, they passed an AWB which prompted the NRA to pull out the national convention. Although I have not followed it recently since I am pretty far NE I think it is still in place..

Also, we have a watered down version of the Castle Doctrine. I'm happy to have what we got but more work is needed there..

With the Lib's running the state, even with a strong pro-gun lobby I think we'll stay pretty static for a while and risk losing ground if we're not careful.



I would suggest getting Traveler's Guide to the Firearms Laws of the Fifty States, each state has a rating for how restrictive their gun laws are and there is a nice overview of the laws for both permit and non-permit holders. One of the best $20 I've spent and it travels everywhere I do.

 

[murphysteve]

University of Tennessee's dental school is actually in Memphis.... much different from Knoxville.

 

[doubleh]

I don't think I can recommend Texas. Yes they have CCW but it seems that 3 of every 4 businesses has that sign on the door stating that guns are not allowed on their premises and stating how long you will spend in jail and the fine you will have to pay if caught doing so. Not much use in having the permit if you have to disarm constantly to go into a business. No open carry either.

Texas has some other things to keep me from recommending it as a place to live but they aren't gun related so I won't elaborate.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I lived for a time in Las Vegas, NV. You are supposed to register your handguns with the LVMPD on arrival. NV is a "shall issue CCW" state, but you have to register the gun(s) you wish to carry on the permit - right down to a physical description and serial number - and must live fire qualify with each one. The cities of North Las Vegas (a place to avoid like the plague) and Boulder City have handgun prohibitions.

 

[djs764]

+1,000,000. If you care about your freedom and rights as a gun owner, hell, if you care about your freedom and rights as a human being, do not under any circumstances consider relocating to this Commie hell hole. Due to family obligations and a very good job I've endured this place my entire adult life and when I retire in a couple years I am gone, gone, gone.

I couldn't agree with you more....

OP, STAY AWAY from Mass. Been here my whole life and as above,cannot leave just yet as my job is the only thing keeping me here right now. As soon as the economy comes back my a$$ is outta here and will never look back .

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Alabama,open carry,loaded long guns in vehicle is okay. May issue CCW with only a background check,no training classes, no waiting periods,no fingerprinting. CCW is $20 per year. Mild winters but BRUTAL summers. Mountains in the north and sugar white beaches on the gulf coast. UA school of dentistry is top notch and UA at Birmingham is a top flight medical school.

 

[BullfrogKen]

Memphis is a terribly violent city. It consistently ranks among the top 5, sometimes peaking at the very TOP of the list of violence per capita. Of course one bonus is the chance to spend time with Tom Givens and his school at Rangemaster there in Memphis. But as a poor college student you might not have the money you're used to for your ammo budget.


Once you've crossed off the most undesireable places, like California or Massachusetts, I'd pay a lot more attention to the quality of the school, its alumni network programs, and other quality of life issues first. And keep in mind that many students do wind up working nearby where they went to school. The schools have established relationships with the community - and the businesses - they serve.

Pennsylvania has a school of Dentistry, as mentioned previously, and we suffer from "brain drain" here. As an example, Penn State's engineering program is widely recognized as a very good engineering school, and their graduates often find better-paying jobs outside the state and leave us to take advantage of those opportunities once they graduate. As a result PA has a very tough time finding engineers. Its not uncommon to see a company hire foreign-born engineers to come to work here in PA. We can argue that Pennsylvania is not a very business friendly state, and I'd agree that you'd be right. But the fact that companies from other states lobby, network, and attract Penn State engineering students is a testament to the quality of the school's program.

So I'd take a close look at where your school's graduates find employment. One hallmark of a good school and a good program is the demographics of where those graduates find employment. You might not be able to get really good statistics of where a school's graduates wind up finding work, but if you can that's something to pay attention to. If an overwhelming majority of the graduates wind up working in the state where they went to school, you should anticipate the possibility that you'll stay there as well. If the graduates of the school are much more dispersed, then you can have a little more assurance that the school's reputation extends beyond its locality and you'll have a better chance of finding a job where you want to, and not where to have to.