What State

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Every year my wife and I work toward our goal of an early retirement and this year somehow, despite all the drama of late, we have managed to become almost debt free, empty nested, promoted at work, and have some good investments. Our two kids are stable and growing more so every day despite their young ages and being on their own. We have been spending time every summer in different states to try and figure where we might want to make our last home build. If you had to choose what would it be between Missouri, Colorado, Arizona,,,, almost anywhere in each state is a possibility.  If you are dead set on a state what would be the pros and cons such as bugs, heat, hunting, fishing, shoveling snow, politics, etc. 

currently I’m sitting here with no power since 530 and I’m a little tired of the middle of AZ. 

[DUG]

We're thinking of a 4 year stint in either KY, TN or NC. Then we'll stay if we like it, if not we'll move somewhere else. 

Hope your power comes back soon!

[Saguaro]

I think about this a lot.  I will have to be somewhere that has the outdoor features I like.   Some of those things sound stupid to some, but mean everything to me.  A few of those are Sandstone, Badlands, Piñon and Juniper, cliff rose, Cacti, sagebrush and Prairie dogs.  Those are just a few.  You can sum up those as High Desert places I guess.  But I always liked Springerville, AZ because it’s right near the Forest if I decide to do that.  I made up my mind I will need to be in the Southwest states to enjoy myself.  At least the four corners states.  Wyoming would be awesome except for the brutal cold.

[Curtis Reed]

Some states I would be happy to move to would be Arkansas, Missouri, Utah, South Dakota, Kentucky or Tennessee. South Dakota would be my personal #1 it is a hidden gem and will be discovered soon by the CA tards. It’s landscape is beautiful and sparsely populated. 

[muledeerarea33?]

Arizona or Wyoming. But if it was me I’d have land with a small house in each state and an RV to travel the country and Canada 6 months a year while I’m young enough. Then when/if I can’t travel like that anymore become a snow bird.

[stanley]

Between the three states you specifically asked about (AZ, CO, MO), I would stay right here in Arizona!

I have extended family in Missouri and it's nice back there, but I am a born and raised southern Arizona desert rat!!   I just love it here out west too much to settle in the mid-west.  Mountains, desert, and lots & lots of public land are just a few of the reason that the west will always win out over the mid-west for me.

So between Arizona and Colorado, still Arizona wins-out in my book.  Again, I'm a desert rat!  Went to college in Salt Lake, and then lived in New York City for a few years after that.  Enjoyed my time in those places, but found myself constantly missing Arizona (home).  Colorado is super nice, but I just don't like living anywhere near snow.  The diversity here in Arizona allows for living in the warm/dry climate, with the quick drive to the mountains too.  Lots of big game hunting, OTC deer, plus non-stop quail hunting from Oct through Jan!!!  Also proximity to beaches in So. Cal and Mexico is a draw for me (not everyone's bag...).

So in summary, ARIZONA!!!

S.

[yotebuster]

AZ would be hard to beat.  Rural AZ at about 5-6k to be exact!  The public land isn’t going anywhere in our lifetimes so you have that to fall on.   Cost of living is low and weather is nice.  Owning enough land in Midwest or eastern states to hunt on is extremely tough anymore and access issues are snowballing, even in my home state of ND.  I wouldn’t live in CO as I can’t stand the liberal govt, Utah has too many people that are too dang into hunting so even if you work hard you can’t get any solitude there.  NM is great but private land is the rule there.  MT is pretty awesome if you can stand the cold.  Particularly eastern and central MT.  

[AverageJoe]

Definitely NOT Colorado. That place is becoming a cesspool where they are giving up their rights rapidly. Missouri or Tennessee are the 2 i would pick based on where i have lived and visited, with Missouri getting the edge. Arizona sucks, cant wait to leave one day. My goal is to be able to make enough money here, and be gone by the time it becomes the next California, which it slowly is. Missouri has the nicest people i have lived with, hunting is plentiful, and you can buy a nice farm on 100 acres or more for less than a cookie cutter house in AZ. Has great fishing and still plenty of public land in Missouri as well. Doesnt get terribly cold, still gets 4 seasons though. 

[Edge]

You've got everything right here in AZ. Why on earth would you want to leave friends and family including future grandkids?

You also have this misconstrued concept you need ditch water for pasture. At the right elevation and annual precip (including snow) pastures of winter wheat, gamma and alfalfa for parking your mules on is quite adequate.

Then you can add Dry Land Farmer to your list of dubious nomenclatures, oh, and stop whining.

Perfect case of not knowing what you got until your gone.

[ctafoya]

My wife and I will be empty nesters this time next year and have kicked around the idea of going somewhere else. I had a thread on here a while back but i cant find it. I travel all over North America for work and have been just about everywhere. Everywhere had its drawbacks and advantages. There are defiantly more scenic states to live than here. Still, after all our searching I cant see being anywhere else but here. It gets hot, but we don't have natural disasters every few years. Winters are mild. We don't have bug problems. Phoenix is getting big, but the roads in AZ are better than most and not nearly as crowded as most other states. 

[Titanium700]

I think Arizona is about perfect.  But I could really get used to Idaho. 
Wyoming then Montana next. 
Colorado last on my list next to New Mexico. 

[knothead]

The grass is rarely any greener on the other side.  You like the western lifestyle and you live in Wickenburg! What could be any better than that?  I was born and raised here but I have lived in NM and TX and the entire time I missed AZ.  That being said, AZ used to be a great place live and raise a family but now everybody is from someplace else.  When they come here and make their living here their loyalties remain where they came from.  Have you ever noticed these people start every sentence with "Back home......"?  If back home was so great why did you leave?  I agree AZ is becoming more and more like SoCal by the day.  California is like a cancer as far as I am concerned.  Where ever these people go they try to change it to be like California.  Stay in AZ, just don't live in the valley.  Don't forget to buy your lifetime AZ hunting license before you leave.  My two cents.

Sorry for venting but I feel a little better now.  Good luck on whatever you decide.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Ya im feeling like AZ is heading fast to the liberal side but then again most states are. You just cant get away form the cities in each state dictating for us. Its a good possiblilty we will end up snowbirding here in AZ and Maybe Here and Colorado. We have been focused a lot on Colorado for the summers. We do love our home here and I think that would be our best bet. We are always watching and looking with no rush but we should be in a place to buy land soon so figured if there were some horror stories on some of our picks it would help to have first hand experience. 

I was born and raised here by the way.

Thanks for the discussion

[Hoss50]

My parents are leaving for Missouri tomorrow to look for a retirement house. They are tired of the heat here and can't afford Colorado so they are looking at Missouri. 

[tomuchworking]

Where are your kids? For me that would be the decision maker. As far from them as possible. JUST KIDDING.  I would be near or between them.