Thinking about packing up and moving.  Why?  Because I can.  I can get work with my company in almost any state, and I want to live somewhere warm and class 3 friendly.  I will be finishing college wherever (love ASU girls), so thats a consideration, studying history and real estate marketing.  
BTW, I am used to a very low cost of living here in Springfield, so thats a minor consideration as well.  If I am spending over $600 a month in rent then I might as well stay here and buy a house.  Insight into rent costs appreciated.  

So....residents of TX and AZ and anyone else who can offer a suggestion, release the hounds!

You won't get much for $600/mo around Houston if you are renting.  OTH you can buy for less than that.

Rip

You should be able to get an apartment for $600 in Austin or nearby pretty easily.  Better live near work, tho, the traffic here is seriously fucked up and they could give NJ a lesson on building roads slowly.

A house that would cost $300,000 up North would cost you $100,000 in the Dallas / Fort Worth Area.

We are free on top of that.

Come to AZ!

You can get roommates and really bring down your rent.

ASU GIRLS ROCK!!!

Texas has so many colleges and universities to chose from that aren't in any of the God-forsaken mega metro areas.  Tyler in East Texas has UT/Tyler as an example.  If you want dry, go west of I35.  If you want trees, east of I35.  If you want mountains, go elsewhere.  But if you like hill country, go west of Austin (a liberal Sodom and Gomorah) and San Antonio.  If you want bare-nekkid prairie, look at the Panhandle.  If you want coastal plain, we have hundreds of miles of that.  Do a Google for Texas college and universities and you will be amazed.  Texas has three university systems:  the University of Texas System, the Texas A&M University System, and the Texas State University System.  Plus, there are many private schools (but there won't be bargains there).  

Texas is a shooters worst nightmare. You can have all the guns you want but nowhere to shoot them.
Unless of course you want to pay $10 to shoot and $7 per extra gun at a gun club. ALL the land in texas is private. Not a single shred of public land to shoot on. There is enough barbed wire in texas to go to jupiter and back. Then if you're lucky enough to know someone that has land to shoot on its most likley many miles away.

I vote for ARIZONA if you like to actually shoot your guns.

$600 a month rent wont put you in a very good part of the Phoenix area.

Quoted: Texas is a shooters worst nightmare. You can have all the guns you want but nowhere to shoot them. Unless of course you want to pay $10 to shoot and $7 per extra gun at a gun club. ALL the land in texas is private. Not a single shred of public land to shoot on. There is enough barbed wire in texas to go to jupiter and back. Then if you're lucky enough to know someone that has land to shoot on its most likley many miles away. I vote for ARIZONA if you like to actually shoot your guns.

You got that right. I love being a Texan, but it absolutely sucks trying to shoot somewhere. Hell, I live in Lubbock, you could shoot your M109 Paladin out here if all the stinking land wasn't owned by land hogging farmers.

Thanks for the input.

Yeah, I have a 2bdr, 1 1/2 bath that I rent for $400 a month, and its two minutes from work.  Not too shabby.  I would be taking a promotion to move, so the income would go up, therefore I can factor in another 50% or so for rent.  

Getting a roommate is a tricky thing.  I have to trust them around my guns, and not to fill my place with hippies who will steal my guns.  

Living in a bad part of town isn't the worst thing that could happen to me, but I DO NOT want a ghetto.  I prefer not to have to use my guns in any social circumstances.  

AZ sounds like it has a few advantages.  I know that all class 3 stuff is legal there, as well as automatic knives.  And the girls....holy shit.....I love the Playboy Girls of the PAC10 issuee, though the Big 12 isn't all that shabby either.

Deserts are what I like the best, deserts with rocks (for my Jeep).  Skiing a whole lot more is on my list of things to do before I become financially responsible, and AZ is closer to some good slopes.  Should I get my Espanol back up to speed before coming out that way?

... Go to Texas, we're getting crowded.

Just kidding

... One thing I recently found out, to my amazement, is that Texas is not an NFA friendly state.

Quoted: ... Go to Texas, we're getting crowded. Just kidding ... One thing I recently found out, to my amazement, is that Texas is not an NFA friendly state.

Texas is not the gun friendly state EVERYONE thinks it is.

Quoted: Quoted: ... Go to Texas, we're getting crowded. Just kidding ... One thing I recently found out, to my amazement, is that Texas is not an NFA friendly state. Texas is not the gun friendly state EVERYONE thinks it is.

Well, seeing as I am looking to be moving to the great state of Texas here soon, can someone tell me what's so unfriendly about it?

Yeah, I'd like to hear it also...

Quoted: if all the stinking land wasn't owned by land hogging farmers.

Do you know where your foo ................................ah fuck it.  

Quoted: $600 a month rent wont put you in a very good part of the Phoenix area.

While hicks abound in east mesa, I pay $535.00 a month for an one bedroom, two porch place with walk-in closet.  The complex has three pools and a private movie theater.

Can't speak for Phoenix itself, but if you're willing to drive a little out of town you can do well for less than $600.00 per mont.

Mike

Quoted: Quoted: ... Go to Texas, we're getting crowded. Just kidding ... One thing I recently found out, to my amazement, is that Texas is not an NFA friendly state. Texas is not the gun friendly state EVERYONE thinks it is.

Speak up.  We're all interested to hear how it's not gun friendly.

CHL: Check, though the license is a bit on the expensive side.
Open carry: only on private property
NFA: Full-auto and supressors are legal provided you have federal tax paperwork.
Gun shows: Got plenty of em and the big show in Oklahoma if you feel like crossing the state line.
Public land to shoot on: The range out near Huntsville, and private land is cheap if you know where to look, especially in West Texas.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

Tucson:  Cheap rent, low pay.

Nice place to live, though.

Class III, legal open carry.  CCW isn't onerous.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: ... Go to Texas, we're getting crowded. Just kidding ... One thing I recently found out, to my amazement, is that Texas is not an NFA friendly state. Texas is not the gun friendly state EVERYONE thinks it is. Well, seeing as I am looking to be moving to the great state of Texas here soon, can someone tell me what's so unfriendly about it?

I don't understand what is unfriendly about it.

Get your butt on over here...after the Election of course!

We sure as heck don't need the same crap going on again!

BigDozer66

Texas is gun friendly.  It's some of the Local Law enforcement - Class 3 requirement, that aren't.  

Texas is hot, but Satan summers in Hell and winters in AZ.  
Friendliest women in the world live in TX.  Find an attractive 40 yo woman in AZ and I'll bet she's a transplant - no offense guys.

Quoted: Texas is gun friendly.  It's some of the Local Law enforcement - Class 3 requirement, that aren't.

Incorporation fixes that problem.  

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

I live in North Phoenix, right by the 101 loop.  My apartment is about 4 years old and I pay $650 a month for a one bedroom.  I live in an ok part of town.  In my complex Ive never felt the need to be armed (even though I always am).