I'm looking to leave the Bay Area, but haven't settled on a destination yet.  Here are the criteria that I'm considering:

- Scenic mountain area
- Very gun/hunting friendly
- As little gov't burden as possible
- Reasonable property ownership cost
- Enough high-tech commerce that I could find a computer-related job

Having done a bit of research, the areas currently on my list are:

- Salt Lake City, UT
- Boise, ID
- Portland, OR

Given my criteria, I'm looking for suggestions.  Are there other choices that I've missed?

-kill-9

Montana and Idaho would be my first choices if I was moving out west-Utah would be a distant third. Cheap land, loose gun laws, and good trout streams.

I just moved from Portland, don't reccomend it at this time. The economy there is dying a slow death, rather quickly. Yeah, they have scenic mountains, but you can't use them, you might disturb an owl, or something. Hunting is a very big business there, so that's a plus. Gov't burden is there, the police arrested a guy for shooting back at a robber, because he discharged a firearm within the city limits. High-tech is there, but layoffs abound. Be careful, there are a lot of people out of jobs up there.

Thanks for the replies.  LongIsland, why place Utah down on the list?  The culture is a bit weird, but is there something else you're considering?

-kill-9

I would have to agree with LongIsland, Utah would be one of my last western states to live in. Way too much church control over the entire state. Unless you're a mormon, you don't have much say about what's going on. I'd pick Idaho or Montana, if you were looking for hunting opportunity, although I don't know if they have much hi-tech up there.

Utah is further down the list because Idaho has better (and more) trout streams. Nothing wrong with Utah, but I would rather live in Idaho.

Utah has some strange politics.
Our politicos are just about as gutless as they come, and TAXES, they've never seen a tax they didn't love all the while proclaiming conservatism and self reliance.
The land is beautiful and the fishing and hunting superb.