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Cruciferi
Guest
Here are two BIG reasons:
- To live closer to their children and grandchildren.
- To live in a “better” climate.
- Status
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Peebo
Guest
Snowbirds from northern states often retire to Florida, you actually base part of your lifestyle on where you live on politics?
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whatistrue
Guest
Can’t speak for anyone else, but in my case the premise of “leaving where you have spent your life” doesn’t hold true. I have only been living where I am now for less than 2-1/2 years and I have lived in more places than I can reasonably list here. Some reasons that I see for others include “better” climate, close to kids/grandkids, stretch the retirement dollars, fulfill a lifelong dream, and so forth. There are as many reasons as there are movers.
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RolandThompsonGunner
Guest
As people have mentioned, it’s often to be closer to kids and grandkids. For many people, that’s more important than the town itself.
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JanR
Guest
Phoenix, AZ gets extremely hot in the summer – temps often reaching over 100F.
I was once in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia in the middle of August. Not only was the humidity extremely uncomfortable, but the bugs nearly ate me alive. And Virginia has recently proven to be anything but a Republican state.
Here in north Idaho our region is called the Inland Northwest. Our weather is unpredictable. Some winters we have no snow at all, others we have several feet of it. I recall one winter where the temps plummeted to -40F. Nobody goes anywhere in that kind of cold.
Idaho is a Republican state, and voting is very simple, here – at least in my section of it. Simple paper ballots that you mark your choice in the box and turn the ballot in (when voting in person), or if you vote by mail, you do the same thing except that you also sign the ballot. Signatures are checked, and it’s very secure.
In the 20+ years we’ve been here, there hasn’t been any tornadoes, although there is the occasional micro-burst of strong straight line winds, and we do get hail storms. It’s not that tornadoes have never occurred here. We’ve heard a story about at least one that happened before we arrived. Tornadoes have occurred in all 50 states, so there are no guarantees.
A Republican state can still have patches of Democrat towns, ours being one, although it’s turning.
Do you like beautiful scenery? We have it, up here. But we also have wildfires.
There will be trade-offs wherever you go.
I notice one important thing missing from your list – friendly people. Some communities are extremely stand-offish, even snooty, especially if you’re from outside of the state. There can be extreme nepotism when it comes to employment, and you might find yourself locked out. Small town politics can be very exclusionary and yes, you will be discriminated against.
By all means, stay out of the Midwest. That’s tornado alley, where some of the worst ones frequently occur.
You may not find everything you want. It might be more practical to find a place that has most of what you’re looking for. I suggest lots and lots of research, and to not put all of your eggs into one basket.
Good luck, and God bless
.
I was once in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia in the middle of August. Not only was the humidity extremely uncomfortable, but the bugs nearly ate me alive. And Virginia has recently proven to be anything but a Republican state.
Here in north Idaho our region is called the Inland Northwest. Our weather is unpredictable. Some winters we have no snow at all, others we have several feet of it. I recall one winter where the temps plummeted to -40F. Nobody goes anywhere in that kind of cold.
Idaho is a Republican state, and voting is very simple, here – at least in my section of it. Simple paper ballots that you mark your choice in the box and turn the ballot in (when voting in person), or if you vote by mail, you do the same thing except that you also sign the ballot. Signatures are checked, and it’s very secure.
In the 20+ years we’ve been here, there hasn’t been any tornadoes, although there is the occasional micro-burst of strong straight line winds, and we do get hail storms. It’s not that tornadoes have never occurred here. We’ve heard a story about at least one that happened before we arrived. Tornadoes have occurred in all 50 states, so there are no guarantees.
A Republican state can still have patches of Democrat towns, ours being one, although it’s turning.
Do you like beautiful scenery? We have it, up here. But we also have wildfires.
There will be trade-offs wherever you go.
I notice one important thing missing from your list – friendly people. Some communities are extremely stand-offish, even snooty, especially if you’re from outside of the state. There can be extreme nepotism when it comes to employment, and you might find yourself locked out. Small town politics can be very exclusionary and yes, you will be discriminated against.
By all means, stay out of the Midwest. That’s tornado alley, where some of the worst ones frequently occur.
You may not find everything you want. It might be more practical to find a place that has most of what you’re looking for. I suggest lots and lots of research, and to not put all of your eggs into one basket.
Good luck, and God bless
.
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alcuin18
Guest
JanR, Idaho is actually one of the top places I am leaning toward, for the reasons you mentioned. Coeur d’Alene also seems to have a strong traditional Catholic culture, but I like the idea of Boise having city benefits with low crime. Do you think north Idaho has more crime, due to Spokane? And what is your opinion of Boise? I would appreciate your thoughts on these questions. Friendly people are important too; I didn’t list it because I am not extremely social, and where I live currently is about half non-natives, so it may not be as strange to me. God bless.
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Weave
Guest
If you like terrible liturgy Boise is your place. Spent 8 years there.
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Anne1964
Guest
Has anyone lived in New Hampshire? I love cold weather and the scenery looks beautiful in the photos I have seen.
I have read that taxes are high there, though.
I have read that taxes are high there, though.
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JanR
Guest
I’m not familiar with Boise.
We only live about 60-some miles from Coeur d’Alene. When Antifa or BLM attempted to bring in their people from Washington to do mayhem in CDA, the police and citizens were ready for them. They went around and removed the piles of bricks that had been set up in advance for throwing at people and property during planned demonstrations there.
There is some crime, brought on primarily by widespread meth use. But not nearly as much as in Spokane or other large cities. Wherever you go, there’s going to be some crime. The amount and degree of seriousness varies.
In the small town where we live, the judges tend to be liberal and there is little serious accountability. I read the courthouse section in our local paper each week, and most of the sentences are fines or 30-days with 29 suspended or 90 days with 89 suspended, etc., so offenders only spend a day or two of actual jail time. Rarely is there a serious sentence handed down, but that just applies to our community.
Conversely, the guy who murdered a local woman got 30 years in an Orofino prison. He has since been moved to a different facility.
It will depend on where you relocate to in Idaho. It is primarily a red state with a Republican governor and legislature, and most cities are also conservative. You will be safe in the more rural areas, providing you take basic, common sense precautions such as dead bolting your doors in addition to locking them.
You will find most citizens respect the 2nd Amendment, and aren’t hesitant to arm themselves. That is an important deterrent.
I will send you a private message regarding the Catholic church in my town.
We haven’t lived in Boise, so can’t tell you anything about that city.
We only live about 60-some miles from Coeur d’Alene. When Antifa or BLM attempted to bring in their people from Washington to do mayhem in CDA, the police and citizens were ready for them. They went around and removed the piles of bricks that had been set up in advance for throwing at people and property during planned demonstrations there.
There is some crime, brought on primarily by widespread meth use. But not nearly as much as in Spokane or other large cities. Wherever you go, there’s going to be some crime. The amount and degree of seriousness varies.
In the small town where we live, the judges tend to be liberal and there is little serious accountability. I read the courthouse section in our local paper each week, and most of the sentences are fines or 30-days with 29 suspended or 90 days with 89 suspended, etc., so offenders only spend a day or two of actual jail time. Rarely is there a serious sentence handed down, but that just applies to our community.
Conversely, the guy who murdered a local woman got 30 years in an Orofino prison. He has since been moved to a different facility.
It will depend on where you relocate to in Idaho. It is primarily a red state with a Republican governor and legislature, and most cities are also conservative. You will be safe in the more rural areas, providing you take basic, common sense precautions such as dead bolting your doors in addition to locking them.
You will find most citizens respect the 2nd Amendment, and aren’t hesitant to arm themselves. That is an important deterrent.
I will send you a private message regarding the Catholic church in my town.
We haven’t lived in Boise, so can’t tell you anything about that city.
M
MarysLurker
Guest
I am also interested in New Hampshire. There are two Cardinal Newman Society certified colleges there, so we are looking at those for our kids.
NH has no sales or income tax and a small tax on certain dividends. So the “high taxes” you have heard about refers to ad valorem property tax rates. From what I have seen, they are comparable to property tax rates in Texas (which does have a sales tax). Texas is not considered a high tax state so I don’t think NH qualifies as such either.
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GEddie
Guest
I’d suggest the area around San Antonio, Tex.
Museums and the like require a big city. Big cities are generally liberal places, and SA is no exception (the county votes blue presidentially
but the culture is generally conservative. South Texans love hunting, guns, etc.
Texas is almost as red as you can get. It last elected a Democrat Governor in 1990. It also has a State Constitutional amendment barring the creation of a state income tax.
SA is an archdiocese, and has Eastern Catholic parishes as well as other shades of Catholicism.
Crime conditions depend upon the area you are in. The outer suburbs are much more tranquil.
Two hundred miles inland and on no active tectonic faults, hurricanes and earthquakes are not an issue. Tornadoes do occur but are rare (decadally/ generationally.) Subzero weather has not occurred since 1899; the problem in South Texas is insane heat.
ICXC NIKA
Museums and the like require a big city. Big cities are generally liberal places, and SA is no exception (the county votes blue presidentially
but the culture is generally conservative. South Texans love hunting, guns, etc.Texas is almost as red as you can get. It last elected a Democrat Governor in 1990. It also has a State Constitutional amendment barring the creation of a state income tax.
SA is an archdiocese, and has Eastern Catholic parishes as well as other shades of Catholicism.
Crime conditions depend upon the area you are in. The outer suburbs are much more tranquil.
Two hundred miles inland and on no active tectonic faults, hurricanes and earthquakes are not an issue. Tornadoes do occur but are rare (decadally/ generationally.) Subzero weather has not occurred since 1899; the problem in South Texas is insane heat.
ICXC NIKA
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alcuin18
Guest
Any other opinions on Texas would be appreciated, it’s definitely toward the top of my list. Also, does anyone have an opinion on Wyoming or West Virginia?
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MarysLurker
Guest
I live in Texas. @GEddie gave you a description of the San Antonio area which is pretty accurate. I would add that the original Anglican Use parish, OL Atonement, is there as well.
However, Texas has a serious crime problem, especially in the bigger cities and along the border, SA being both. It is primarily for that reason that we are going to move.
I also think that Eddie’s assessment of the culture being conservative is, respectfully, dated. The traditional Hispanic family culture is eroding pretty quickly under pressure from secular liberalism. That is another reason we are moving. If we stay in Texas, it will be somewhere like Tyler where there is an amazing and strong bishop and Catholic culture.
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aroosi
Guest
West Virginia total Catholics are about 7% of the population. There is an area of WV relatively close to DC. Certain areas of WV are very poor (over 20% of people officially living below poverty level) and not very open to outsiders.
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Anne1964
Guest
I have a friend who lives in Charles Town, WV which is near Harper’s Ferry. IMO Charles Town is not an attractive town but it does have two Catholic Churches: one large newer church and a smaller chapel for the Canons Regular of New Jerusalem, which is an order of priests who only offer the Latin Mass.
Property is reasonably priced, particularly in the surrounding area. Harper’s Ferry is quite pretty.
Property is reasonably priced, particularly in the surrounding area. Harper’s Ferry is quite pretty.
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alcuin18
Guest
In light of this, as well as JanR’s comment earlier, what do you guys think are some of the areas of America that are friendlier to outsiders? I am from Georgia and I know that there is quite a bit of prejudice against southern people, as I’ve seen in the media and from out of state visitors, but I’m sure it isn’t like that everywhere.
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pnewton
Guest
The Hill Country area would be one primary spot, say west of New Braufels/ San Marcus. San Antonio has some traditional Catholic spots. I am considering it myself. The other one I am thinking of is Conroe or Hempstead, an hour or so north, east or northeast of Houston. Once you get that far from the gulf, hurricanes are not an evacuation event, and you still have Houston. The land in between is nice, but you get further from a major city, if that is an issue. Most of it was part of the original colonization from the U.S., where being a Catholic, or converting, was part of the agreement. Times have changed, but Texas is still pretty Catholic in some of these parts.
Oh, and East Texas if you are into woods.
Shiner has Shiner, but that can now be had lots of places.
I am 2-5 years out from this myself. I am almost sure I will move off the coast on retirement. Almost.
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aroosi
Guest
Find your own people. For example my husband and I are both immigrant, we decided to live in an area very diverse so that we don’t stick out too much and don’t feel outsiders. Also wherever you move find a community that may help you to build relationships. For example consider testing the waters with the Latin Mass Community even before moving in the area.
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MarysLurker
Guest
For the uninitiated, @pnewton is referring to one of the best beers in the world.
There are lots of nice little towns (like Fredricksburg) and many beautiful painted churches in the Hill Country. But there is also the most evil plant in the universe: ashe juniper, aka Death Mountain Cedar. Every winter this vile shrub tree spews toxic yellow clouds over an 800 mile radius of everything south and west of the Austin-San Antonio line. And the Hill Country IS that line.
If you have allergies to juniper, you can forget about enjoying the beautiful mild winters. And even if you don’t, you may develop them after a few years of living there.
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alcuin18
Guest
Thanks again everyone. Are any of you familiar with South Dakota, particularly Rapid City? It seems to satisfy practically all of my qualifications. It or Cheyenne, WY are two of my top candidates.
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