If you could pick one state to retire in

[Troubles Trees]

I don't retire for another 10 years but it is never too early to start looking and planning. I plan on selling my house here in NY and keeping the property next door to visit and hunt when everything I planted has matured.
Most of my life has been in NY with only Whitetails and Turkey to chase, and it is my lifelong passion to chase them, so it has to be a state that has whitetails and preferably somewhere that I will, just once, have a legit shot at a buck of a lifetime (160"-180" meets the criteria lol). We do have bears in NY but it isn't anything that excites me enough to chase around the state to be honest. I lived in Colorado a few years and would love to have a chance to chase Elk again someday, I have never had the opportunity to hunt Moose. I was 19 through 22 years old when I lived in CO, I had no mentor or clue how to hunt them, I wasn't even a seasoned hunter with whitetails yet being self taught with everything hunting. No joke, the first time I heard a herd of Elk bugling I thought it was someone that was screaming for help hahahaa.... So clueless back then, young and dumb but eager to learn and passionate about hunting.

I would like to stay to the eastern half of the US so friends and family can come play in my back yard and I can come home if my parents fall ill and need my help. Very PREFERABLY a Conservative state, half the reason I plan to leave NY is the liberal policies like free college for illegals the expensive taxes to pay for that crap (NY is 2nd only to CA for highest taxes), and the idiocy of our government products like "chicken wings aren't a meal", the un-Safe Act and NY'ers can't purchase shotgun primers online let alone bullets or gun parts. Poking around the web and places like the classified section here, I looked in well known whitetail states like Ohio, Iowa, and Illinois first but $250.000 is pretty steep for 70'ish acres lol I have only been browsing for a few weeks so maybe there are better prices in those states than I initially found. Mild winters would be a bonus but I'll take winter (not Minnesota kind of winter) over hurricanes, tornadoes, poisonous snakes and spiders :)

Figured I would throw it out here to get some opinions to see how you guys see it before I get to serious looking.

 

[DiSc0Rd]

I've been looking at Oregon. I'm in Illinois and I love my farm and my house but our state is broke, broken, and corrupt as can be. I believe the last 3 of 4 governers are in prison. Chicago makes all the decisions for the state as they have all the people. Oregon has elk, (my dream animal) deer, legal weed, and is gun friendly. Can't think of anything else I'd ever need.

 

[Peplin Creek]

Sounds like Kentucky could be for you. Whitetail, Elk...nicer weather

 

[Troubles Trees]

I've been looking at Oregon. I'm in Illinois and I love my farm and my house but our state is broke, broken, and corrupt as can be. I believe the last 3 of 4 governers are in prison. Chicago makes all the decisions for the state as they have all the people. Oregon has elk, (my dream animal) deer, legal weed, and is gun friendly. Can't think of anything else I'd ever need.

I assure you NY is equally corrupt, at least your state prosecutes them lol Cuomo started an anti-corruption commission but put an end to it as soon as Sheldon Silvers was jailed and things were getting close to Cuomo himself. Also NY is in the same boat with the state being ran with the NY City people in mind so I feel your pain there too bud.

 

[BenAllgood]

Kentucky. One buck state, beautiful country, great land prices and taxes, conservative for the most part, lots of deer, good big buck quality, and could still hunt elk in the right area and draw lucky.

 

[Troubles Trees]

Sounds like Kentucky could be for you. Whitetail, Elk...nicer weather

Kentucky looks promising, pretty reasonable prices for land there too. Good call.

 

[Buckly]

I think everybody in NY has your thinking right now. Lol. Many people have recommended Texas to me. Lots of varied areas. Pick your spot. Realistic that hunting would be la lease only deal. You don’t have to go that far South to get out of the weather. As near as Southern PA and the winters there would what I would call mild up here However I don’t know if PA is going to end up a liberal mess probably sooner than later if that’s a concern. Lots of people do a hybrid model of course. 6 months in a nice warm home State with low tax and a few months up North to keep your friends and family connections. I’ve been downsizing for some years now. Eventually I will get down to 2 acres and what I would call a cabin. Enough room and nice but easily winterized. Then warmth and better living in a warm area. I’m in a unique position that we have 10,000 acres of State land right around me to continue any hunting urges. Owning land here is just a tax burden really.

 

[Troubles Trees]

I think everybody in NY has your thinking right now. Lol. Many people have recommended Texas to me. Lots of varied areas. Pick your spot. Realistic that hunting would be la lease only deal. You don’t have to go that far South to get out of the weather. As near as Southern PA and the winters there would what I would call mild up here However I don’t know if PA is going to end up a liberal mess probably sooner than later if that’s a concern. Lots of people do a hybrid model of course. 6 months in a nice warm home State with low tax and a few months up North to keep your friends and family connections. I’ve been downsizing for some years now. Eventually I will get down to 2 acres and what I would call a cabin. Enough room and nice but easily winterized. Then warmth and better living in a warm area. I’m in a unique position that we have 10,000 acres of State land right around me to continue any hunting urges. Owning land here is just a tax burden really.

All good points bud, where do you live now if you don't mind me asking? Texas is too far for me but I like their mentality and diversity of wildlife, I am thinking the "L" that Illinois and Tennessee makes as the boundry. If my parents are no longer with us here on Earth when I retire I could go further South and West but for now I have to keep myself closer for their sake.

 

[Tree Spud]

I don't retire for another 10 years but it is never too early to start looking and planning. I plan on selling my house here in NY and keeping the property next door to visit and hunt when everything I planted has matured.
Most of my life has been in NY with only Whitetails and Turkey to chase, and it is my lifelong passion to chase them, so it has to be a state that has whitetails and preferably somewhere that I will, just once, have a legit shot at a buck of a lifetime (160"-180" meets the criteria lol). We do have bears in NY but it isn't anything that excites me enough to chase around the state to be honest. I lived in Colorado a few years and would love to have a chance to chase Elk again someday, I have never had the opportunity to hunt Moose. I was 19 through 22 years old when I lived in CO, I had no mentor or clue how to hunt them, I wasn't even a seasoned hunter with whitetails yet being self taught with everything hunting. No joke, the first time I heard a herd of Elk bugling I thought it was someone that was screaming for help hahahaa.... So clueless back then, young and dumb but eager to learn and passionate about hunting.

I would like to stay to the eastern half of the US so friends and family can come play in my back yard and I can come home if my parents fall ill and need my help. Very PREFERABLY a Conservative state, half the reason I plan to leave NY is the liberal policies like free college for illegals the expensive taxes to pay for that crap (NY is 2nd only to CA for highest taxes), and the idiocy of our government products like "chicken wings aren't a meal", the un-Safe Act and NY'ers can't purchase shotgun primers online let alone bullets or gun parts. Poking around the web and places like the classified section here, I looked in well known whitetail states like Ohio, Iowa, and Illinois first but $250.000 is pretty steep for 70'ish acres lol I have only been browsing for a few weeks so maybe there are better prices in those states than I initially found. Mild winters would be a bonus but I'll take winter (not Minnesota kind of winter) over hurricanes, tornadoes, poisonous snakes and spiders :)

Figured I would throw it out here to get some opinions to see how you guys see it before I get to serious looking.

You are creating an Oxymoron there ... nothing like you are wanting will exist north of South carolina or east of Minn/Illinois in the next 10-15 years.

Forget your political wishes, your hunting desires, and your family and friends, there is a reason why folks retire to states with little or no income taxes. As you get older friends/family will change along with their political vies, and you won't be able to afford to own good whitetail hunting land. You won't find good hunting land for $3k an acre.

You won't be able to do anything you want without preserving your retirement investment. Learn to enjoy coastal tropical weather and fishing along with minimal housing standards (no property taxes), you can then hunt anywhere you want in north america for the 1-2 weeks a year.

 

[Tree Spud]

I've been looking at Oregon. I'm in Illinois and I love my farm and my house but our state is broke, broken, and corrupt as can be. I believe the last 3 of 4 governers are in prison. Chicago makes all the decisions for the state as they have all the people. Oregon has elk, (my dream animal) deer, legal weed, and is gun friendly. Can't think of anything else I'd ever need.

Oregon & Washington are the emerging Illinois. Every liberal from california has moved there fleeing the mess in CA and are are now destroying those states like they did CA. ID is seeing the same issues.

In these 3 states where 2.5k-3k sq/ft houses were $125-$175k, they are now $350-$450k.

 

[SD51555]

I won't say where I'd go. There are already enough people there. I will say this, I'd go someplace low cost and enjoyable as far as weather, culture, and your outdoor passions are concerned. I'd rather retire fifteen years earlier and travel the sun belt in hotels and short term rentals than work an extra fifteen years to afford the $900,000 second home. The opportunity cost of a home half that price would afford a couple one hell of a luxurious winter tour. I know I could live it up on $55,000 for 4 months on the road.

 

[Mortenson]

Oregon & Washington are the emerging Illinois. Every liberal from california has moved there fleeing the mess in CA and are are now destroying those states like they did CA. ID is seeing the same issues.

In these 3 states where 2.5k-3k sq/ft houses were $125-$175k, they are now $350-$450k.

Sad to see. Those were tough states. Look at their origins. CA *ags really wrecked them.

IL has nothing worthwhile but a chance at a 170" and good farmground. I know most the older people around here, including my parents, head to FL each winter. SW states to some extent, but more of an unknown to the people I know.

 

[Troubles Trees]

You are creating an Oxymoron there ... nothing like you are wanting will exist north of South carolina or east of Minn/Illinois in the next 10-15 years.

Forget your political wishes, your hunting desires, and your family and friends, there is a reason why folks retire to states with little or no income taxes. As you get older friends/family will change along with their political vies, and you won't be able to afford to own good whitetail hunting land. You won't find good hunting land for $3k an acre.

You won't be able to do anything you want without preserving your retirement investment. Learn to enjoy coastal tropical weather and fishing along with minimal housing standards (no property taxes), you can then hunt anywhere you want in north america for the 1-2 weeks a year.

Kentucky and W. Virginia are within that range and I am finding lots of land around $1,000/acre compared to just a bit more north like Ohio and Illinois that are more like $3,000/acre.
My political idology is common sense. If we everyone in the state that is here legally gets free college then we could afford to let another 1% that isn't here legally also get free college, when we are just buying college for people here illegally as a form of virtue signaling it makes no sense to the people actually paying for it. To hold the ideology that career criminals will go to a gun store to buy a gun and pass a background check is not very common sense because that isn't where nefarious people buy their guns and ammo bud.
My mentality is more like an Independent than Conservative, small government, low taxes and let people decide for themselves how to live their lives.

 

[Buckly]

All good points bud, where do you live now if you don't mind me asking? Texas is too far for me but I like their mentality and diversity of wildlife, I am thinking the "L" that Illinois and Tennessee makes as the boundry. If my parents are no longer with us here on Earth when I retire I could go further South and West but for now I have to keep myself closer for their sake.

Unfortunately Western NY. Tree Spud has good points What you save in taxes and other costs can go a long way to opening up things you really want to do. at some point you may wander from doing a lot of hunting. It happens with age and things change. No sense in spending your saving on. Something that will be less in value as you age. Then warmth becomes more and more the important thing. Lol. And remember, time flies especially as you get older. You go from 60 to 80 real quick. 20 years fly by in a blink. And you will definitely think different at 80 I believe. Now if you make it another 30 years, by then everybody will have finally left NY and it will flip back to a rural conservative state And you can move back. Lol

 

[yoderjac]

I don't retire for another 10 years but it is never too early to start looking and planning. I plan on selling my house here in NY and keeping the property next door to visit and hunt when everything I planted has matured.
Most of my life has been in NY with only Whitetails and Turkey to chase, and it is my lifelong passion to chase them, so it has to be a state that has whitetails and preferably somewhere that I will, just once, have a legit shot at a buck of a lifetime (160"-180" meets the criteria lol). We do have bears in NY but it isn't anything that excites me enough to chase around the state to be honest. I lived in Colorado a few years and would love to have a chance to chase Elk again someday, I have never had the opportunity to hunt Moose. I was 19 through 22 years old when I lived in CO, I had no mentor or clue how to hunt them, I wasn't even a seasoned hunter with whitetails yet being self taught with everything hunting. No joke, the first time I heard a herd of Elk bugling I thought it was someone that was screaming for help hahahaa.... So clueless back then, young and dumb but eager to learn and passionate about hunting.

I would like to stay to the eastern half of the US so friends and family can come play in my back yard and I can come home if my parents fall ill and need my help. Very PREFERABLY a Conservative state, half the reason I plan to leave NY is the liberal policies like free college for illegals the expensive taxes to pay for that crap (NY is 2nd only to CA for highest taxes), and the idiocy of our government products like "chicken wings aren't a meal", the un-Safe Act and NY'ers can't purchase shotgun primers online let alone bullets or gun parts. Poking around the web and places like the classified section here, I looked in well known whitetail states like Ohio, Iowa, and Illinois first but $250.000 is pretty steep for 70'ish acres lol I have only been browsing for a few weeks so maybe there are better prices in those states than I initially found. Mild winters would be a bonus but I'll take winter (not Minnesota kind of winter) over hurricanes, tornadoes, poisonous snakes and spiders :)

Figured I would throw it out here to get some opinions to see how you guys see it before I get to serious looking.

Ten years may be too late to start planning! The closer I get to retiring, the earlier I wish I had started planning. I decided to leave the city, but stay in VA. I too am primarily a deer and turkey guy. We used to be a conservative state, but changing demographics have turned us blue as northern VA and a few other urban areas are now dominating. Outside those areas, we are a quite conservative state, so from a local perspective you can find very conservative areas but I don't see the state swinging back anytime soon.

Having said that, I love the hunting here. Unless you have very deep pockets or want guided hunts (not my cup of tea), you have to decided between a local or travel focus in retirement. I chose local. That does not mean I won't ever travel to hunt other species, but 90% of my hunting will be local. I made this choice in my early 50's and began to look to buy hunting property for the long term. One reason I like this state is the game department. I got well connected with them through teaching Hunter Education classes. I find them to be a very progressive department that does a very good job of balancing science and hunter preferences. Seasons here are long. Some small game starts in Sep if you like that, but October is our month of archery. You can archery hunt almost year round if a few counties near cities where deer numbers far exceed the cultural carrying capacity if you want. You can hunt with a more primitive weapon during any season. The first half of Nov is our muzzleloader season which generally corresponds with the primary peak of the rut. Firearm season begins in mid-Nov and lasts through the end of the year. You get 3 bucks east of the blue ridge but only two can be taken west of the blue ridge. I'm not familiar with hunting west of the blue ridge where deer numbers are generally lower, but there is a huge amount of public land open to hunting out there. I'm east of the blue ridge with higher deer numbers. Doe tags are virtually unlimited on private land and the state has a number of programs you can get in for managing deer. We don't have large deer or huge racks here, but that doesn't matter to me. Spring gobbler runs from early April through mid-May.

I've got arthritis, and cold weather makes things difficult. I love the climate here. We get significant seasonal changes, but the climate in central VA is pretty nice. We just had a week in the mid-70s and the week coming up is mostly in the 60s. We get some snow and ice, mostly after the season. Occasionally, we get dumped on but it is not the norm like when I lived in central PA. There is plenty of warm water fishing in this part of the state and salt water is not far if you like that. No limestone streams (got spoiled in State College PA), but it is a short drive to the mountains with plenty of freestone streams if you like trout fishing.

We don't have the lowest taxes, but not the highest either. We will be outside a university town that is quite liberal, of course, but has great medical care, sports, and services. We will be far enough out to be quite rural, but a short drive to services.

It is a good fit for me, but may not be for others. Best of luck in your search and planning!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Great question. I loved Virginia when I was stationed there for 4 years. Mountains, beach, history, farm land, great colleges, longer growing season, deer and turkey abound...always thought it would be a nice state to retire in. My civilian boss always invited me to his deer camp in the mountains near Staunton. God's country...and deer everywhere.

But I like snow and big mountains and skiing too much. I'd have to go west...always liked western Montana.

 

[Telemark]

I probably wouldn't limit myself to a state. I'd just search for places I really liked and go with something that ticked all the boxes. A retirement place should be a once-and-done purchase if you are planning to do habitat work. There are dream properties all over the country. If possible, I would probably buy property somewhat near my parents and make it into my dream place.

 

[FarmerDan]

NIRVANA. We all are looking for that one perfect spot! I guess it's possible if you have enough money. I can't seem to find that number.

Here we go. I'm about to make a lot of general assumptions and generalizations are rarely true. You'll have to roll this around to see if what I'm about to offer has any value.
I think I got this right, about your location TT. Upstate NY, right? I hope. I dropped at point at Ithaca. The red circle on the map is a straight-line 425 mile radius. That makes driving distance somewhere between 550 and 675 miles depending on the twists and turns. I'm assuming you might want to be within a "reasonable" drive of family and friends.

You can see what states are in the target, but I'd forget about states and politics. Let's not go there, or make it the final consideration.

Within a state you see counties. The population density is illustrated by color. The counties colored shades of gray to black are what I consider suburban / urban areas - population densities over 150 people per square mile. The darker the gray the higher the population. The greens are lower population density counties. The lighter the green the lower the number of people per square mile. The red counties (no politics here) are the lowest densities to the point where there's nobody there and nothing in the way services you might need (an assertion on my part).

I don't know if I need to go further? As you go one way you gain somethings and lose others.

What comes out of this for me, considering your criteria and spinning it to what I know and think I know (!) -
1. One of the most rural areas on the east coast I learned when I was 12-years old still applies. It's bordered on the south by I-80 and on the north by - I don't know what it's called now - The Southern Tier Expressway? On the west by US 219 (memory fails me), and of the east by US 15. It's cold and lonely there. I spent a year there one month. I love JUN - SEP! And there are spots with great deer hunting - and others not so much.

2. Although I would probably never live in WV (I've looked at land there, to confess) all those southern counties in the state have some appeal. Those two red counties you could probably buy cheap land, but it's nearly vertical.

3. In Ohio, just across the WV border along the Ohio River there are those green counties that are interesting. I've looked at land there. It's the right kind of mixed of land uses great for deer and deer hunting. Its rolling down the west slope of the Appalachians with places flat enough for decent ag production, but doesn't carry prime ag land prices. Still, I think you might be looking at a minimum of $3k per acres. Once you get much west of there it's corn/'bean ground and good luck finding land for less the $5,000 to $7,500 an acre for tillable acreage.

4. The circle hits it's southern tangent in central Virginia. Most everything inside the circle is extremely pricey. There's money and opportunity - and taxes. But if you slide south it's an entirely different world. There are many 150- 180 deer killed just inside and outside that circle in Virginia. We just don't talk about it. A lot of that land is in continuous forest regeneration. I'd guess - just a guess - that 15% of the 'forest' land gets cut every year. Makes for great whitetail habitat.

Good luck!

 

[Telemark]

Based on that map, Maine and Kentucky are my favorite options. Maine has some nasty winters, but I love the North Atlantic (I live over on the other side of it now.) Kentucky has excellent potential for growing just about anything you could desire, but it's a bit muggy in summer and there's nothing interesting in the area.

 

[Native Hunter]

Based on that map, Maine and Kentucky are my favorite options. Maine has some nasty winters, but I love the North Atlantic (I live over on the other side of it now.) Kentucky has excellent potential for growing just about anything you could desire, but it's a bit muggy in summer and there's nothing interesting in the area.

That's correct - there is nothing interesting in the area. Better find another place......