Go to where the money is...

[hank4elk]

Lotsa $ does not buy happiness or life quality. IMHO
I know and have known many very rich, totally miserable people. Miserable in many ways....
Life quality can be as easy as waking up in a good place.
Smart life choices early can lead to a good life and retirement(whatever that means) at a time in life you can enjoy.... what is left to enjoy.

 

[Recurve62]

I'm now almost 51, when I was young enough to go, I was too dumb. Now that I'm smart enough, I'm too old and stuck here for nine years, two months and five days more.

 

[Bulldog0156]

Not much left to say, everyone has pretty much said it all: money isn't everything.

 

[Matt/VT]

Good info here, I am in the throws of something like all of this at age 39.
If I can recommend a couple books, read 'Your Money or Your Life' just for the way to look at things with regard to trading your life energy for cash. Then also read 'Start with Why' about finding your 'why' in life, move forward with purpose.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Money? What is that? I moved to MT when I was 24 and newly married. My experience has been I've always been able to pay my bills and keep my nose out of the water by being flexible with what I do. I'll never go on expensive family vacations or retire young on the money I make from construction, but it's honest work and my schedule is flexible. Plus, I've got hunting and fishing opportunities literally out my back door that costs some of my friends on here thousands of dollars to experience what I can for the cost of a tank of gas.
It's all about priorities and what's right for you and your family. I decided several years ago that I'd rather struggle to make a living in a place I loved, with a lifestyle I loved, than to make a lot of money in a place I can't stand. It has it's own stresses for sure, but I'd do it all over again if I had the chance to choose. I watch my friends back east work hard all year to be able to afford to come vacation in Montana. I get to have the same experiences any time I want to leave my doorstep.
Having said that, I place a much higher priority on having a flexible schedule and experiences than I do on "things". If you are the type of guy that values toys and needs a lot of "stuff" to feel fulfilled, the west is probably not going to provide that.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

Just get going! There is no amount of money that can buy peace of mind. If you can't hunt from your house you live in the wrong house. My opinion...

 

[teej89]

THanks for the input everybody! It seems the decision is basically unanimous, I was just afraid of making a wrong decision against my dads advice that I'd end up regretting. Not that I doubt my dad's advice but I've seen him in his life and it always seemed like he wanted to hit restart, not with kids and what not but career and where he lived. So that made me reconsider second guessing his advice and with all of your statements I think we're going to make the leap!

 

[jlmatthew]

One thing nobody mentions, if you think kids are in the future, just consider that you'd be a long ways away from any support from your families which basically means no relationship with grandparents, cousins, etc.just something to consider.

Another is the entire west is growing and all the problems that come with it. Where I live in Colorado Springs, it use to be a great place, but now its about 10 years past that and just a crowded pain in the a$$. Its very hard to get away from crowds anywhere now. Just last weekend I went grouse hunting and I couldn't get away from people, not just other hunters, but folks out and about, and this was in places I use to NEVER see anyone

 

[MN Public Hunter]

I believe you need to be where you are most happy, but how do you know you will be any happier in AZ? You may hate it and now not having jobs or having jobs and making $25,000 less per year where the cost of living could be higher is for sure a leap of faith. If you hate the area / state you live in I can see moving, but if you like it, why not just move closer to work to cut the commute? Most of us if not all of us drive hours to do outdoor activities so I would not even consider that an issue. I hope you're happy where you land and can really live with $25,000 less a year as that is a lot of money by my standards.

 

[----]

Another is the entire west is growing and all the problems that come with it. Where I live in Colorado Springs, it use to be a great place, but now its about 10 years past that and just a crowded pain in the a$$. Its very hard to get away from crowds anywhere now. Just last weekend I went grouse hunting and I couldn't get away from people, not just other hunters, but folks out and about, and this was in places I use to NEVER see anyone

There's more folks in Colorado Springs than there are in Wyoming. Lots of places where you can still get away from people.

 

[teej89]

I believe you need to be where you are most happy, but how do you know you will be any happier in AZ? You may hate it and now not having jobs or having jobs and making $25,000 less per year where the cost of living could be higher is for sure a leap of faith. If you hate the area / state you live in I can see moving, but if you like it, why not just move closer to work to cut the commute? Most of us if not all of us drive hours to do outdoor activities so I would not even consider that an issue. I hope you're happy where you land and can really live with $25,000 less a year as that is a lot of money by my standards.

I only live 8 miles from work lol if I move any closer I'll be way downtown where you don't even have green space. We're not going to make a leap, we're going to visit AZ a couple times and determine if we could live in it and where we'd like to live. If it's not for us we'll disregard it and move along to another state.

 

[teej89]

One thing nobody mentions, if you think kids are in the future, just consider that you'd be a long ways away from any support from your families which basically means no relationship with grandparents, cousins, etc.just something to consider.

This was a big thing for me also... I'm only 5.5hrs away from family and I talk to my mom and dad every day but I only see them maybe 3-6 times a year, christmas, thanksgiving, easter and maybe 2 more times for niece/nephew birthdays. And by seeing I mean I roll in around 11pm when they're asleep we hang all day saturday and then I'm leaving sunday at 10am to go back home. My dad told me that if I go to AZ he WILL, not that can he, but he will be staying with me the month of january for OTC archery deer lol they're both retired and well off with money so I don't see them flying to AZ as an issue, and the flying is almost the same time elapsed as driving to columbus from PA, almost.

 

[Pagosa]

If your going to move do it when you have a young family or no kids. It's much harder to adjust when you have older kids. We moved to northwestern Montana in 2013 when my kids were 6 and 3. It has been a blessing, but jobs are tough. In some areas of MT, WY, and ID expect to make 30-60 less. I've never seen money bring happiness.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

One thing nobody mentions, if you think kids are in the future, just consider that you'd be a long ways away from any support from your families which basically means no relationship with grandparents, cousins, etc.just something to consider.

This is a really good point, and one that is much more important to me the older I get. We used to live 10 hours from my brother. Now we live 30 minutes away. If you are more than about 7 hours away from family, it's makes it much more difficult to go visit.

 

[CwNova]

I'm a bit younger than you (25), although I was born and raised in Prescott up until 18. I have spent two years in Flagstaff, two years in Phoenix, and now two years in Tucson. Let me know if you have any AZ specific questions.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I was just afraid of making a wrong decision against my dads advice that I'd end up regretting.

Unless the decision results in death, jail, or divorce, there aren't many "wrong" decisions in life.

I've lived my life in direct contradiction to the advice of my parents, and I haven't regretted it one bit. Life is about experiences, not stuff.

 

[Jwill]

A good hunting buddy of mine and his wife moved to the Phoenix, AZ area a few years ago and they love it.

 

[LuketheDog]

I'll throw out the "money doesn't buy happiness" just because I didn't see it stated above yet. You don't have kids, you don't need a big house, and your dad's priorities don't have to equal yours. Plus, just about anywhere in the West>other places in my book...I left California for Colorado when I was 27, your age, and I will never leave the Rocky Mountains...