"Da Chief" wrote in message
.. .
I am soon to retire (end of the year), in fact two years ahead of my
schedule but right on time according to my employer. Anyway, I am looking
for that one ideal place. Ideal being large cheap property, "country"
location, sufficient home, garage for truck and boat, nearby deer
woods/bird
fields/bass fishing. So my question is this: If you were to retire today
and
could go wherever you desired in the continental U.S.A., with the above in
mind, then where would you go? You may respond directly if you wish. Thank
you.


I'm biased, of course, but I personally like North Carolina. Land around the
metros (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Wilmington,
Greensboro/Winston Salem/High Point-Triad Area) can get pricey, but NC is
still predominately a 'green' state. Lots of outdoors areas not developed as
of yet, lots of lakes to fish, streams and rivers too. We have parts of
several different mountain ranges through our western half (including Mt
Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi), and of course the
Atlantic ocean and our barrier islands, and a handful of coastal sounds
along the eastern portion of the state.

I've traveled a lot of the US in my 35 years here on Earth, and have had
several chances to move to Michigan, Arizona, Texas and even Gerogia, but
I've never found a place any more to my liking than good old home. Weather
is nice basically year round, with our major worry being the occasional
landfalling hurricane during the late summer and fall. Otherwise, my usual
advice to anyone looking to come here asking about the weather is that one
could basically golf here year round if they didn't mind it being a little
cold from January to March. Same for bass fishing, the water hardly ever
gets below 40º and fish can be caught year round. My largest, personal best
bass came in late February in 41º water, and tipped the scales at just over
10lbs. Not that that has any bearing on where you want to live. ;-) One
jingle used in advertising our area hits it right "I like calling North
Carolina home" and a lot people do. Money Magazine usually rates the
Research Triangle area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area) one of the best
places in the USA to live (schools, amenities, per capita income, etc).
During the late 1990s and up until recently, census numbers had 10k people
per year moving to that area. The only drawback I've seen has been that the
DOT can't widen all the roads fast enough to handle all the people, but
they're working on it all the time. We apparently have more improved road
surfaces in our state than any other state outside of Texas...go figure.

If I *had* to live somewhere other than NC, I'd have to go with Tennessee.
It's similar enough to me to NC to be tolerable, it just doesn't have the
Atlantic ocean as an eastern boundry like we do. Depends on whether or not
you want easy ocean access whereever you end up I guess. If money is an
issue, we do have a state income tax, and I know some states don't (Florida
for example) so you also have to figure that in as well.