How many have relocated ?

[BirdDogWebb]

Just curious as to how many of you have moved to a different state or who wanted to and not done so.
If you did make the move what were the reasons? - job, family, hunting or just the “feeling of inner well being” lol
If you did not make the move , what were the reasons? - job, family, fear, ect…

I know BigFin and a few others have moved, along with one person from VA. I just can’t remember their names.
I remember reading (I think it was) DinkShooter wishing he had moved to AK.


For the last 13+ years I’ve been wanting to move to Montana,(or at this point , any area of the rocky mountains).

We sold the house in 1999 and I was thinking this is it…….. Well it didn’t quite work out that way.
Got a divorce in 2001.….LOL and after that I couldn’t put the kids through any more pain by taking them some 2000 miles further away from their mother. My daughter has now moved a couple of hours away and starting a family of her own. My son (at 19) still lives with me and has one more semester, with a job lined up after his schooling.

Even at my age (a couple years younger than BF) I think my Dad would be devastated if I ever made the move., even with me talking about it soooo long.
There is probably not a day goes by that I don’t think about moving to MT. Its nearly like a disease… a constant gnawing at your insides…
I do pretty good by staying busy (it takes it off my mind) and here lately all the puppy chores have really helped.
Some days it’s all I can do to keep from selling everything and hitting the road. For every one here (at home) that knows me, it wouldn’t be a surprise to them, for me to “go west’. Although there are very few here that understand why I feel the way I do,- about moving to MT. For the most part they think I’m crazy.

I made my first trip to the west in 2000- through the lower states and up through Wyoming and Montana.
It was much more greater that anything I ever imagined. After making the first trip and leaving part of my heart and soul in Montana, things where never the same here. I have made a few trips in the later years and it just adds to the longing….

I grew up hunting with my Dad, and for many years it was a great passion -an eat, sleep, and breathe kind of thing, more like an obsession. If the season was open I was in the woods. After leaving my heart and soul in Montana, I’ve nearly quit hunting here in Tennessee, except to take my dogs bird hunting. Even at that it s very disheartened ,knowing what it could be like in Montana or a western state. Even with my older dog Maggie, she was disheartened after her first trip as well. I look into her eyes and can still see the never ending, golden fields of Montana.

Man…. I need a tissue…..lol

That is why I don’t post any hunting stories……not much to post here in TN for me, when my heart is in Montana, unless it would be in the “good ol days”. Some day I will post a few pics there.

Today is one of those days ( it is gnawing bad ) I could easily sale everything and go west. But with the concern of my son and my father, it holds me back…………It’s like being torn apart, being pulled both ways….
I continue to have hope in moving but as I get older the glooming thought of looking back “wishing I had” is getting stronger…..

For those of you that live in the western states you are very fortunate. For those of you that have never seen the Rocky Mountain states, you should visit....

 

[schmalts]

I would like to move. I spend all my vacation going to another state and many times I think why not live there and vacation every weekend. I would have to move to a place with a little better winter climate than my current location as well.
What keeps me from moving is both me and the wife have good jobs, but we discussed again that if one of us would lose that job it may be time for a change.

 

[Big Fin]

It probably depends on each person. My wife and I came to Montana for a fishing honeymoon, at her request. Two weeks of a honeymoon here, and she stated this is where she wanted to live.

For me, I drew the lucky straw when I got married. A woman who loves the outdoors, understands my passion for the outdoors, and was willing to have our household take a 50% pay cut to come here. That was easier to do in our 20's than it would have been in our 30's or 40's, so we took the big plunge. If she was all about style, fashion, shopping, convenience, and things of modern suburbia, I would have been stuck in the big city, grinding away at the office, only to find myself financially set, but one unhappy guy.

It is not all roses to live in Montana, but if your priority is the outdoor lifestyle, I am not sure how you can go wrong with living in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Western Colorado, the Dakotas, or Alaska. If outdoors is not your priority in life, then it might not be for you.

I say that, as I know many people who have moved here for a couple years, thinking it would be all milk and honey. When moving here, they still had work commitments, family issues that might have followed them when they moved, money issues (pay and cost of living are out of whack here), or a multitude of other things that threw cold water on their dreams. After about three years of struggle, and not getting to hunt and fish every day, they moved back to where they had originally come.

The sacrifice you make for this outdoor lifestyle is not small. Financial, and otherwise. But, the places I mentioned above have the best that the lower 48 can offer, if hunting/fishing/outdoors is what makes you happy.

Sounds like you are torn between the priority of your family, which is probably the highest priority anyone can have. Won't be an easy decision, but needs to be your decision.

 

[schmalts]

I will add to Randy's post that for me one thing that has kept me from doing it is the fact I would hate to lose a 4 week vacation job only to move to paradise and start again with one or two weeks. It would be like having cake and not eating it

 

[Khunter]

I moved. After wrapping up college and starting a career I felt much as you describe and simply was not going to let the whole of my life be dictated by circumstance. Was not easy but has turned out well. The pull to live in the west exceeded anything that would keep me east of the rockies.

Sure sounds like all the folks in your life are pretty much on their own. And sounds like you are reaching for reasons to stay where you are instead of followng the dream (which is fine).

Everybody has many things that can keep them from what they want to do or even should do. And everyone has a unique answer for dealing with it. Some people are cut out for picking up and moving to a different way of life they know they are made for, and some are not, and then some simply get caught in the middle and really do not know what they truly value. Figure it out and do "it", whatever "it" is for you even if it means making peace with choices you make.

Sounds like you do not come out west to hunt? If so, why not.

 

[Dinkshooter]

You're not getting any yonger. If you have it as bad as you seem you will never be happy until you do.

Anywhere in the Rocky Mountain west is relatively expensive to live. I moved to Iowa from western Colorado for for 4 years. The first time I bought groceceries I thought the lady missed half of them and scurried out the door.

Iowa gave me enough taste of that flat land crap that I knew I would never live anywhere ever again without easy to obtain elk tags. There are definately trade offs, it is not all a bed of roses though.

I have a friend that was deeply rooted in New Jersey with family and all. He knew it would be hard but one day he finally had enough. Moved his family of 4 out west. He only made it to Spearfish SD. The other day his father said "You know your brother is gonna get everything when I die right"? He just laughed. Family can be a pain in ass sometimes. He can't believe it took him so long to get out. I think he still dreams of his highschool girlfriend Snookie

 

[BuzzH]

I will add to Randy's post that for me one thing that has kept me from doing it is the fact I would hate to lose a 4 week vacation job only to move to paradise and start again with one or two weeks. It would be like having cake and not eating it

I'd never have any job where I only had 4 weeks vacation...I just had to use 4 weeks of use-or-lose vacation....and I still have 6+ weeks right now. By the time hunting seasons rolls around each year I typically have around 450-500 hours of total vacation/comp time accrued.

 

[Mudranger1]

wow Buzz you are definatly in a group of less than 1% of workers with that kind of vacation. I moved last year from Florida out to Colorado. My ex wife moved my kids out here 3 years ago. After two long years seeing my kids basically during the summer and a few other school weeks I had enough. My entire family and everyone I know is in Florida. My mom has taken it the hardest and I get to hear about it every time I talk to her pretty much. Having you mom tell you how stupid you are when she has never said a bad word, now that was probably the hardest thing I have ever heard. All that being said, I love it out here for the most part. I was outdoorsy in Florida but this is something totally different. The only reason I would move back would to be with my family and I don't see that happening in the near future.

 

[mdunc8]

I moved out here after school and met my wife at the ranch we were working at. She decided she wanted to go back to school, so we moved back east for a couple years. It was pretty miserable and I didn't make it too long before I came back out for about six months before going back to school myself. We've been back out for about three years now, but I'm afraid my time is running out as we'll probably have to move in another year or two when I finish up with school. If I could find a position I wanted, I'd stay out here in a heartbeat. However, there's not too many options out here for me and my wife is extremely close with her family (I am not). It's been tough for her at times, but she's enjoying herself for the most part.

The one thing I do miss is hunting with my dad. He's getting a little older and can't get around very well anymore, so I feel guilty spending so much time out here hunting while he's stuck hunting the little piece of property we have back home by himself. I'm going to start building up points in a few states so I can come back out every few years to hunt if do have move. I don't think there's a chance in hell we're going to be able to sell our house anytime soon, so we may be stuck here whether we like it or not. If we do move, at least both of us will have our summers off, so we'll have a few months to travel.

Not being a parent, I can't tell you what to do. I'd imagine it would be tough to move that far away from the kids.

 

[lilbiggun]

We've been discussing moving from AK to somewhere around the KY/Tn area. For us its medical reasons. Were young but the cold is really starting to take its toll on my joints and my wifes medical issue is the same.

Everytime we start to talk seriously about it we will get out in the mtns or go for a drive or something and the thought of moving leaves our minds. We just keep alot of Aleve in the house for me and she has her own meds. 'sides it will be hard to find a job with good insurance that pays as much and will take a pre-existing case.

We like the KY area, my folks used to live in bowling green and when I would visit them, they would take me on "tours". I love the place.

 

[Bambistew]

Don't wait another day! I grew up in MT moved out of state to Maryland with a woman. I lived there for 8 years, 3 longer than I agreed too. I hated just about every minute of it. About 2 years ago I got the chance to move where ever I wanted... Due to he big D... I ended up here in AK and haven't regretted it fo a second. I may have got to spend a little more time hunting in MT on average but I will NEVER trade OTC deer/elk tags in MT for sheep and moose hunting up here. I'll probably die in AK.

People come to my back yard for once in a lifetime hunt/fishing trip. We call it a good weekend.

 

[BirdDogWebb]

Some pretty interesting stories.

My last trip was eastern Mt., near Baker, chasing sharpies. Each year after that it seems like my hunting plans where over run by other plans - trip to Oklahoma to pick up a pup- trip to Missouri to pick up a pup- trip to Florida, & Georgia for a horse trailer and a not so good relationship sucking my wallet dry...lol
This past fall I was really close to pulling out, with the old slide in camper and all the dogs.......but then decided to give up my "hunting funds" to help my son on schooling...maybe next fall.

 

[choc dogs]

Moved from my home state of Utah to Oklahoma when I was 22, (running away from an ex girlfriend). While there I got married, had kids, the whole thing, including a divorce.Every summer I remember thinking that I live in a country where I could move, and live anywhere I want, and what the hell was I doing living in a place with no mountains, crappy weather, although wonderful people. I always promised myself I'd move "when the kids are older" and in the process I remarried, and had another child.
This time I was fortunate enough to meet a woman who had lived outdoors, and understands my passions.We waited till my oldest young child had started her own life, and then we moved to the Boise, ID area getting me closer to my aging parents, my wife's parents, and most importantly, our child closer to grandparents, so they can watch him grow. It was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made, to leave my grown kids, and start over. I took a real money pay cut of about 20%, but have built it back to some extent, costs versus salaries in this valley are a little out of whack,
I still miss my older kids every day, and spend some of my vacation time every year visiting them. One of the good things I did when I lived there was purchase a lifetime license, so when I get back there I can fish or hunt without out of state costs, it's still a great way to catch up with what's going on in people's lives, whether it's family or friends I talk to.
It's a tough thing to do, but for me, I think it was the right choice, good luck with yours.
Walt

 

[Summitthunting]

Moved from Denver, CO to Trinidad, CO for gunsmithing school, then moved to Cody,WY for a year to work for Ballard Rifle and Cartridge. After a year in paradise Ballard moved to Onstead(detroit), Michigan and with my firstborn on the way, we decided to move back to Denver. We live close to both sets of grandparents which is nice for the kids, I have two boys now, but not a day goes by that I don't think about moving back. My wife was always very supportive of all the moving, but she wants to stay in Denver for a few more years for the kids. I joke that I'm doing time in Denver, I can't wait to move back to wyoming, montana, or idaho. Our plan is to do it before the kids get into school, the grandparents won't be happy. Sometimes you need to live the life that you want, not the life that they want for you.

 

[Gerald Martin]

I moved from Virginia to Montana just before getting married. My wife was from MT. Before we got engaged, we had the little " where would we live?" discussion. I asked her if she liked MT. She said she did. I said "Good. We'll live in Montana." Took about 20 seconds for us to make that decision. I haven't regretted it since, but it is a bit hard being 2400 miles from my family since my Mom is no longer able to travel due to medical issues.

As Randy and some others mentioned there is a finanicial sacrifice in moving west. If its the outdoor lifestyle you're wanting then its worth it to move. If its just to be closer to better hunting, it might be better to keep a good job and use vacation time to hunt.

From the tone of your first post I think you've already made up your mind where you want to be. It's better to move and if it doesn't work out in several years move back east, than it is to grow old in a place you don't want to be and never get to see for yourself what its like.

I can appreciate you not wanting to put your Dad through pain by you moving away. But killing a lifelong dream just to do what you think will keep others happy might not make anyone happy in the long run.

Figure out the logistics and go about it in a sensible manner and make the move. Your family will adjust. Life ain't all about comfort and stability.

 

[T Bone]

Idaho is where I grew up. Love it there. Mountains, biggame, clear running rivers, steelhead fishing, blue turf, hot women, etc....

In 2001,my wife and 2 small kids took a great job with great promise in Reno, NV. Loved it there and added one more kid (#3) to the nest. NV trophy quality big game, excellent chukar hunting, amazing coyote calling, the wife could go on shopping trips to Sacramento or SF, I could be salmon fishing in 2 hours.......life was great. After 4 years, my job was relocated to Las Vegas. What a crap hole. I thought insanity was a sure thing with the heat, crazy high real estate prices and the general slime feeling of Vegas, so I started looking for a different job.

In March of 2005, we moved to Rapid City, SD. Kind of where the West meets Midwest. Added one more kid there (#4). Had a great time hunting deer, lopes, and absolutely loved the bird hunting......still, every year, I missed elk hunting and real mountains. The Black Hills are nice, but there are way too many roads and fat assed ATVers where they shouldn't be. Walleye is another thing I liked about SD, couldn't catch them on anything but worms, they eat great! Winters were eternal there. Work started getting whacky. I travelled frequently for work to Montrose, CO and took a liking to the place. In spring of 2010 my 2 GSP bird dogs, "Bonnie" and "Clyde" died unexpectly....and while struggling through that....started thinking of a move back to mountains. A job offer came from Montrose, CO and we jumped. Sure miss those goofy dogs.

Real mountains, multiple elk tags every year, big bucks behind every tree, clear running streams and rivers with trout so big they have shoulders, small town feel, hot woman, adapting to life with less money (but still enough) and a not so nice personal vehicle, new pup, kids are adapting well. Closer to family in Idaho and UT. Ya, I'm loving this place. BTW, we figured out what caused kids #1 - #4 so we're done now.

Tough situation you're in. My vote is take action and make the move West happen. Best of luck.

 

[----]

This post makes me thankful that I was born and raised here. It'd be a tough situation trying to move out here.

Also growing up in a part of the west that has a really messed up cost of living/wages ratio has adjusted me to the 'poverty with a view' that's so hard for most to swallow.

 

[dcrow02s]

As a child my family frequently moved, which helped me understand that no matter where one lives there family remains connected (for some they may find this unfortunate). In March I moved my little family (wife and a 4 & 1yr old) to Great Falls. My first child was born in FL in 2006 no family around both from Central IL. When the housing market crashed work was non-existent and we moved to IL for two years while I attended grad school. I really disliked IL and had no intention of staying in the state after graduation, however, my wife's entire family lived there. This was the most difficult persuasion that had to be done, and let me say it is a work in progress. Don' tknow if I will ever get along iwth my father in law again.

In 05 my mom and dad relocated to Helena for employment and we had visited on several occasions. My love for MT, the idea of low population, mountains, rivers and the abundance of wild life that could be found within it all was all I needed to convince myself that was where I wanted to be. After attempt to get a job all over the country I was afforded the opp. for a position here in GF.

We love it here. The past summer we spent time visiting different ranges, parks and events around the state. This fall I chased my first elk as a resident of the state and shot my first mule deer. As others have stated with commitments such as work and family I would say my time in the field was somewhat limited this year. I had my boat on the Gates all summer long but only took it out a handful of times and would definitely say my time on the rivers was much less than I would like. One of the most influential variables was the amount of family that came for visits. They consumed many weekends.

We really enjoy it here. I will tell you last Feb we visited friends in Northern Co and after two weeks in MT followed by the few days in CO we were amazed at the difference in the amount of people. Place really grew since even the mid 90s when I lived there. Which can probably said about anywhere that has a stable/growing economy.

Don't know whether I have really provided you with any good advice as much as more of my experience moving to MT. I work in public assistance and would encourage you to make sure there is work where you are looking or make sure you have some idea of the how you will make it work. I have seen over and over folks sitting in my office with nowhere to turn and they moved for jobs they thought may be here. Given your situation you may be able to come without a job lined up - for me this was not an option. The cost of hunting does not change except for the price of nr/r tags and distance of travel associated with getting to the game. Best of luck-

 

[tarheel]

Grew up in Eastern NC with over 300 years of family history and some pretty deep roots, got acquainted with CO in the service, married a Denver girl and returned to CO to finish out my enlistment. Got into the private sector, Fortune 500 company, moving and shaking in downtown Denver, hunting and fishing from the Comanche Grasslands to the far northwest corner; did it all. Then I realized that my kids were nearly in their teens and had only seen their grandparents 7 or 8 times in their memory, so I gave my wife the option of going with me or staying in Denver; she came along willingly (hates snow). My intent was to return to the west when appropriate, had two opportunities to transfer back to CO with 10K moving allowance, but my wife's reply was "I don't care if I never see another damned flake of snow".
So there we are, my wife loves it here, I have a loyalty and love for my native state second only to that of my country, my kids adjusted and were educated here while adopting the culture and history of their ancestral home, so I guess my toes will point east in the sandy coastal plains of the "Old North State" when the time comes, but I still keep a Mason jar full of sagebrush buds and leaves on the mantlepiece so that when the call gets too great I can uncap it and take a big nose full and be OK for a while.

 

[noharleyyet]

We 'relocate' to NM and Co for vacation as often as possible. My kids still talk about all our summer and ski vacations spent in parts of both states....awesome memories that I love to hear them recollect

Wife and I used to talk about retiring in the mountains but I'm afraid I'm not getting her very far from our children and grandchidlren now.