Thinking of moving to CCW state- need info from VA, PA, TN and now MN residents.

[chaim]

OK, I am still waiting on graduate school acceptances to know for sure where I'll be next year but I am leaning towards an online program to start with. Flexibility is the main reason (location, job, scheduling, etc). What that means is that I can pretty much choose where to go to live and I don't have to get there at any particular time. So, while I may decide on a regular school for the masters once I get my acceptances, for now I think I'll be doing an online program for at least a certificate and maybe my masters, thus I get to choose where to live based soley on where I want to be (well, and where I can easily afford to look for a job- i.e. it must be easy driving distance or where I have family).

There are no jobs here in the field I want to work in at the BA level thanks to the prior Democratic governor cutting state mental health services, so grad school or not (and guns or not) this might just be the right time to move. These states I'm considering are areas I've long been interested in, and the fact that they are CCW is just gravy, so to speak. I have family to stay w/ while interviewing in TN and MN, while Pittsburgh PA and Richmond and Norfolk/Williamsburg VA are both within a one day drive from here (and back if I start early enough). There are other areas, but they are just too far to go w/out someone to stay with so don't be offended if I'm not considering your state (TX is one place I'd love to live for example).

Anyway, do these states have waiting periods for new residents to get a CCW? I'm applying for a FL non-res permit, do these states allow residents of their state to carry w/ a FL non-res permit? For MN residents, since the law was just passed- when does it take effect and are the rules set yet? How do gun prices there compare to elsewhere (it will be cheaper than here I'm sure, but how much- should I stop buying guns until after I move the savings are so great)? Do you have any of the horrid laws I'm so used to in MD- one a month, waiting period, a list of approved guns, etc?

Non-gun related questions:
What are housing prices in Pittsburgh PA, Memphis TN, Norfolk/Williamsburg/Newport News VA, Richmond VA and Minneapolis/St. Paul MN? How is the job market? Does anyone know what the market is like for BA level mental health work there?

Last:
I was wondering if someone in those mentioned cities could perhaps mail me (Priority mail, the 2-3 day delivery, is ~$3-4) the Help Wanted section and maybe the apartment rental section of the papers from those cities, I'll be happy to reimburse you. Please PM me first so I can ok one per city and not have to shell out ~$4 mailing cost to two dozen people. I'll hopefully just need two or three weeks worth so I hate to subscribe to the paper unless I really have to (if it takes more than a few weeks to start getting interviews I'll subscribe to the local papers).

 

[sm]

chaim,
I considered a move awhile back. A thought , if I may. See the contact persons for respective states via www.packing.org. Very good info about local ordinaces, neighborhoods...and such.

Also I used Mapquest and similar sources to look at a map. Bunches of advertising for places to live. Chamber of Commerce really good about sending one info, and providing links .

I will say the folks in TN, KY and WV and PA real nice and helpful. Beautiful drive...all 980 mi of it...one way. OH nice people, gun laws, are not. With my 2 permits I was legal everywhere but there...but whom is?

HTH and good luck.

 

[chaim]

I am familiar with packing.org, it is a good site. I do know that TN and PA (and apparently now MN) honor non-resident FL permits. However, my thoughts were that states that have CCW permits probably expect you to get a permit there. If you have a non-res FL permit, and the state honors FL permits are there any legal issues w/ carrying on a FL permit in a state where you are a resident? Do they allow it but only for so long as it takes to get a resident permit in the new state, or would I be ok carrying on the FL permit indefinantly? I haven't really seen related info on packing.org.

(I hope that was all understandable- it is 4am so I'm kind or sleepy here).

Mapquest is a good source too- I spend a lot of time cross referencing places there to see where things are.

 

[sm]

chaim,
That's why I suggested the contact for a particular state. New updates do not always get on-line quick, intepretation can be as clear as mud.

Some states as you mentioned-funny-and the contacts informed me of little stuff not on web, heck even on the states site in regard to updates. AR still has not updated stuff in awhile, but we run about 6 months behind everyone anyway.

I'm in AR a number of persons have only the non-res FL. Do Not have the resident AR. I know personally they have not had a problem in various states ( umm well Illinois -but whom wouldn't, thats what lock-boxes and such are for). Most persons did this because they travel from here to FL...AR is not legal in Georgia for instance...can't get there from her type of deal. So a lot my friends are going the other direction--south. Non Res is a better deal for them, never a problem in AR--and not flagged on AR DL.

I do know that in PA all I had to do was pay ~$19, have someone vouch for me, see a sheriff, and I did not plan on showing my non-res FL. (this one is not flagged on DL, my AR is)--I wasn't even going to be asked to shoot...probably due to a vouch.

I carried everywhere except Ohio...kinda blew through there

Kinda a blurr from WV till I hit KY...made real good time...

 

[Guyon]

You can search a lot of classifieds online. For jobs in the Nashville area, check http://classifieds.tennessean.com/ I suspect other major cities' newpapers (Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga) have similar setups. No need to subscribe or even pay shipping.

 

[Guyon]

Here's the Memphis online paper. Just click on "Classifieds." http://www.gomemphis.com/

Here's a list of all (or at least most) Tennessee newspapers online. http://newslink.org/tnnews.html

I'll bet that the other cities you mention have classifieds in their online newspapers.

 

[Majic]

Virginia does not reconize Florida's CCWs. The application for a Va. CCW asks for the length of stay at your present address and prior ones, but makes no mention of if there is a initial time period of living there. If you do have a permit from other states it becomes the needed document to obtain a CCW here, so no other proof is needed ( such as training or classes). You can carry open in Virginia, it may be frowned upon by society but it's legal except in a few isolated places.

For Richmonds classified sections:

http://classified.timesdispatch.com/

For the Norfolk/Tidewater area:

http://www.hamptonroads.com/pilotonline/

 

[Darrin]

Does anyone know what the market is like for BA level mental health work there?

For TN, does it have to be Memphis? Is "Middle TN" an option? If so, PM me, I can hook you up.

 

[mormonsniper]

Florida is not a bad place to live. Warm most of the year. With the aging population, there is a need for mental health professionals.
Like TN, no state taxes. Great CCW state. Oceans & springs galore (cave & open diving). A couple of good universities, great CCW state. Super fishing both fresh and saltwater. Great CCW state, 2500 golf courses :banghead:. Great CCW state. Beaches all over.

I work for the VA.

There are a lot of heathcare companies though. If you stay away from the big cities, the cost of living is decent.

Mormonsniper

PS: Did I say that Florida is a great CCW state?

 

[jacketch]

Richmond VA area is a great place to live; low cost of living and Virginia has actually seen a rise in the number of jobs. It's a mid-size town with most of the benefits and few of the down-side problems if you pick the right areas. Washington DC is only a few hours away for big city attractions and the beach and mountains are also close by. The climate is great most of the time with little severe weather in the winter and the usual hot, humid days in the summer. This is a gun friendly state with shall issue permits although there are some carry location restrictions. Unfortunately with the econony down in general you will find that spending for things like mental health services are down.
I have lived in larger cities and and smaller towns but find Richmond to be the ideal size for livability.

 

[Mikel]

Memphis has relatively low housing costs, and getting a CCW here is easy. The online downside is that you will most likely need the CCW, crime here is rediculous.

 

[Leatherneck]

Regarding Virginia: I suggest you check carefully what long-term job prospects exist in the mental health field. An article in this morning's Wash Compost alluded to relatively poor conditions in this state's nursing homes on account of Virginia's unwillingness to fully fill the void left by Fed.gov cutbacks. Other than that, it's a wonderful state, and the tidewater and Richmond areas have lots of good folks living relatively close to good jobs.

TC
TFL Survivor
edit to add: The recently passed state preemption law will eliminate, starting July 1, any pesky local restrictions on CCW. Except for restaurants that have a license to serve booze, and that one comes next. Pretty gun-friendly state, Virginia.

 

[MolonLabe416]

I grew up in Memphis. I've been mostly gone for 15 years, but still visit regularly to see friends and family. Memphis is a good place to be from.

Good news: Housing prices in Memphis are very low. Cost of living in general is very low. That's about it.

It is very, very hot in the summer. 98 degrees, 100% humidity, and dead calm, cold and wet in the winter. Not much snow, lot's of ice. The city completely shuts down if there is much ice as the only road clearing equipment are cinder/sand trucks.

Crime is off the chart. Check the eight index crimes on the FBI UCR.

If you go there, hook up with Tom Givens at RangeMaster www.rangemaster.com. He's an excellent instructor and runs a first class school. You may need it as, I belive that about 6 of his students were involved in shootings last year.

 

[narmer71]

Pittsburgh

In Pittsburgh you go to the sherriff's office they take your picture and give you the CCW. The length of time depends on how long the line is to get CCWs.

Given the field that you have selected, Pittsburgh is an excellent choice. The number 1 employer in the state is the University of Pittsburgh Medical center and the University of Pittsburgh is no 2.

Mental health care has been largely defunded since the 1980s but remains strong here.

 

[Bowlcut]

Best place I found for looking for apartments was http://www.apartmentfinder.com How I got my last 2 apartments. Not every place is listed but it really gives you a good choice of places. Plus they have a deal with Penske trucks to get 10% off....which made them like 50-100 dollars cheaper to use to move from Upper East TN(the tri cities) down here to nashville than any one else epsicaly U-Haul. What Id do is go over all the apartments in your price range and look for ammenities you like, then have a family member coment on location since you have people in most cities....as location is key espcialy in nashville or memphis, dont want to get in the bad side of town.

Darrin and I are working in a very very large mental health non profit corporation. Pay isnt the best but we are always needing new people as turn over is huge. We have tons of openings at any point in most any position that you can think of. Darrin can give you the hookup if you want Middle tn, we cover from the tennessee river over to about Cookeville now.

And this is a pretty gun friendly state. Not as open as some states but we do have it pretty good here. Our carry permit doesnt exactly state concealed so techincaly you can carry open if you wanted, but likely to get hasseled a bit. Only real resitriction is cannot carry in a place that serves alchol to be consumed...that and the usual school/federal/state buildings.