Quoted: Politically..well, the area I'm in is somewhat liberal; largly because Garrison Kielor used my town to base his Lake Woebegone stuff/Prairie Home Companion radio show on. Wish I had known that before I moved here, but it's still nice. The twin cities are the liberal bastion of the state, pretty much. Moving out to where I am, it gets politically conservative in a hurry. Hell, a local radio station's giveaway for christmas was a Remington in 7MM.  That's something you probably won't get in NY. The only reason this state turns blue during election time is because of the twin cities. The state isn't very populated, with the bulk of it being in or around Minneapolis/St. Paul. They go blue, the rest of the state goes red...yet oddly the state as a whole goes blue. Ah well. Oh, and forget about getting good pizza, good bagels, or finding a good hot dog anywhere. They cook the pizza crispy here, a thin crust, and cut it like it's a Sicilian pie..even when it's not one.   Yah, there are some flaws. They aren't enough to make me regret, or even re-consider, the move here. Oh, a word on speed limits: People here take them seriously. When the speed limit is 55, expect to never go faster than 53 if you're in/behind traffic.  I already have two speeding tickets One for 17 over (72 in a 55) and one for 12 over (again, 72..but in a 60). Same fee for both. When I was getting my 2nd ticket dismissed (speed limit changed to 70 less than 1/4 a mile up the road, the sign was RIGHT THERE, and I was scuttling out of the way of a nasty merge anyway), I heard a guy come up and ask about his ticket, because he was actually ticketed for doing 10 over. Where I'm from, that's alien..10 over, that's just stupid to be pulled over for...but here, I guess, they do it.  Just be aware..wherever you go, the cops might take speeding differently than they did back in NY. (Passing a speed trap doing 80 on the NY Thruway was relativly safe, so long as you're not weaving around in traffic...with the limit being 65, that is..never got pulled over for it.)

I am glad you are enjoying Minnesota.  I grew up there.  Are you in Stearns County?

There is good food to be found.  Some of it involves eating what the locals eat.  You can find excellent sausages (and sometimes good old-fashioned hot dogs) at local butcher shops in rural Minnesota.  Various types of local freshwater fish are good--smoked Lake Superior whitefish, pickled pike, etc.  Many small town restaurants have a terrific Friday night fish fry.  I miss those.  I also miss the higher quality vegetables and fruit available at the grocery store, especially in the summer.  

People in Minnesota are very law-abiding, including the speed limit and obeying litter laws.  It would not surprise me given where you live, if it was my cousin's husband who gave you the ticket.

GunLvr

TAG, cuz I want to get the hell outta
<---------------- HERE (People's Republic of)

Well, I'm going to be driving down south the Thurs. to next Tues., and was wondering what areas you guys think I should hit up in Eastern TN, Western SC, Western NC, and VA.  I'll probably post this in the hometown forums aswell, as maybe I can get some more imput.  Thanks guys!!


John

Quoted: Things that are an important factors to me: Jobs:  THere should be a decent amount of jobs, and well paying.  My plans are to relocate and get a job, and later open/buy a business.  Need good paying jobs to give people money to spend.

Upstate SC has a pretty good economy, and relatively low unemployment. SC's relatively high state wide unemployment is due to Columbia and the low country.

Climate:  I like a places that the sun shines, low humidity, and not too extreme high/low temps.  I'd prefer a cold spell instead of 2-3 months of heat and humidity.

We get alot of sunshine, but we do have humidity. I'm from Connecticut, adn no longer mind the humidity. Our winters average lows of around 20 degrees, for maybe a total of 10 days per winter. We have winter days that can get up to 50 - 70 degrees.

Nice.

Cost of Living:  I'd like to be able to buy a house on some property ( more acres, the better!!!) for around/under $250K.  $150K would be real nice.  Low taxes are also a must.

Very low cost of living.  Taxes are reasonable.

Location:  I like outdoors, and "exploring".  Mountains are better than the water for me.  I'd also like to be within 200 miles of a major city ( I'm still single, and would like the possibility of meeting a good woman).  Grand Junction is great for this, but I guess coming from the east coast, It's rather strange not having "woods" and "trees".

NC mountains are nearby. Kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, dirt bikes all nearby. Atlanta and Charlotte in easy reach

Some other factors that are equally important are the gun laws, and the politics of the state.  The above states are probably the top states that fit my criteria, I guess what I'm asking is for people that live in these ares to give me some feedback. Thanks John

Even Democrats in SC legalized Class 3 a few years ago. CCW is expanding. I'd rather have a SC Democrat that a New England Republican.

SC is turning Republican. TRUE Republican.

Quoted: Well, I'm going to be driving down south the Thurs. to next Tues., and was wondering what areas you guys think I should hit up in Eastern TN, Western SC, Western NC, and VA.  I'll probably post this in the hometown forums aswell, as maybe I can get some more imput.  Thanks guys!! John

Areas within a 30 minute driving distance of Greenville, SC, Asheville, NC & Gatlinburg, TN would be my picks.  Close to the city, but not too close.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Out of the states you mentioned, I'd go with Eastern TN or Northwestern SC.  Both have mountain lakes and a reasonable cost-of-living.  Southwestern NC would be my first choice, but that's not on your list. I've heard/read that NC is slanting to the liberal side ( Probable because of all the wacko people from the Northeast moving there).  Also, the gun laws, how are they?   Land prices are alot higher in NC. From what I know the gun laws are better in TN. Again overall, TN is the best choice.

We're sorry, at this time NC is full. Please choose another location or try again much, much later.
Thank you for asking. <eeeeeeeeeeeeeepppp>

nothing like seeing the rocky mountains with the sun trickling behind them, making an escape for the night................. aw hell, theres just nothing like the rocky mountains.

What, no Montana? That's cool. We have just over 900,000 peeps here. Good gun laws, awesome hunting, fishing and recreation, and no state sales tax.. so your money buys more. I can see why nobody wants to live here.

Yes, there are jobs here as well.

For a combination of sunshine and booming economy, take a good look at the CO front range area.  Specifically Colorado Springs area.  Last year I almost bought a 40 acre spread 30 minutes east of there, (near Yoder) with a brand new 2200 sq ft house on it, for $190,000  It is flat land, but still within 1 hour of the mountains/Nat forest land.  The population is growing exponentially out here, so job opportunities abound.

Alas, the commute would have killed me, so I settled on 1.8 acres for more $

South of there is cheaper, north is a little more expensive.  I travel all over the country, and honestly, the only place with better WX is Southern California ( but I assume you don't want to spend 3.5 mil and surrender your guns)  

If you take a trip out here, E-mail me, and I'll show you around if I'm in town.

I liked Colorado alot cause I like to snowboard.

Since its very expensive there I'd look into Utah (SLC area). And maybe Nevada (Would need to check their gun laws first though).



I like it out west, I also like the climate and the mountains.

If possible I'd say take a trip to each place you want to move.

Personally I'd pick Grand Junction (almost moved there myself). Or perhaps more in the Denverish area. There are tree's in Colorado, just Junction is more desertish.

VA is beautiful but they hate (I repeat) hate Yankees.  You wouldn't fit in.  Go with Tennessee.