| Author | Message | ||
     Dcc46 |
I'm retiring in a few months at the ripe old age of 42 and i plan on moving west. I live in NY and i am looking foward to getting away from the congestion. I have been focusing mainly on WY and SD because they have no state taxes but i am open to other areas. i need to go somewhere family friendly (i have 2 teenagers), low/no crime ,and within an hour or so of a big city. I figured i would ask the people who know best what areas i should check out , and where to avoid.I plan on doing a ride to Alaska in June/July and riding thru these ares on my return and seeing them firsthand.I would like to be near Mountains (i love to hike) and some good riding. anyway any input is appreciated. Thanks Dave | ||
| Firstbatch |
Just finished a long trip thru SD, WY and a little bit of MT. With your criteria for wanting to be in a place where your kids would want to visit and be near a airport/city as well as no-tax I would be thinking Jackson, WY or Rapid City, SD area. Not knocking WY but other than the western area in the Rockies there is not much and the wind blows across that state something fierce. If you have the big bucks from retiring early Jackson will feel good. There is tons of "outdoor" activities to do in the Jackson area and of course the skiing is fantastic. It would be cool to live in the Teton range......spectacular everyday. And Jackson has jet service! Rapid City is a god sized city with and airport, etc and has the Black Hills and is a beautiful area. Easy distance to Denver and Colorado point south/west. Montana is just so huge your choices could be many there and several guys on Badweb live it everyday. I really liked Redlodge, MT just over the WY border. Small town all the way. | ||
| Itileman |
Let me preface this by saying that I'm 64, working as a remodeling contactor and tapering off into retirement. I live in Billings, MT, the largest city in Montana (all of 100k people). One of the little known facts about Billings and the Yellowstone Valley is that you can ride almost year round. I don't winterize my bike. It offers some semblance of "big city life" - I moved here from Minneapolis 14 years ago. Red Lodge and the Beartooth Mountains are an hour away, as are many outdoor recreation areas. Hunting and fishing are minutes away A move like this is culture shock, most restaurants suck, the number one rated pizza year after year is Domino's. There are no Nordstrom's, Sak's, Dayton's or upscale shopping venues for the female side of the clan. It's a stable economic market and there are some pretty good schools. If you're retiring - as in done working - Whitefish, MT would be a serious consideration. My oldest daughter recently moved up there and my grandsons are 14 & soon to be 12 respectively. Hubby is an orthopedic surgeon and the amenities the area offers are phenominal, especially for teenagers. Feel free to PM or email me if you have specific questions or want addtional info. There is an income tax, but no sales tax!! | ||
| Court |
I'll be tuned into this thread! We've been looking for a couple years although not in earnest. We live in NYC and have considered keeping a small apt in Manhattan and finding another place to spend the bulk of our time. Kids are long gone, 28 and 30, so schools aren't a factor. We're more concerned with garages (me) and plenty of room for dogs (her). My wife went to a financial conference somewhere in the West a couple years ago and someone was talking about a great place to retire and I think it may have been Whitefish . . . apparently there were lots of Ex-Wall Street folks. | ||
| Dcc46 |
thanks for the replies so far, i ruled out jackson ,wy as a little expensive no big bucks here(i'm just a civil servant, 20 years of chasing bad guys in the bronx) .i'm gonna do some research on redlodge , billings and whitefish. but keep them coming. hopefully next year when i pass thru i can buy the beer. Court , here's a pretty good sight for checking out cities to help narrow them down http://www.city-data.com/ (Message edited by dcc46 on September 20, 2009) | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
I rode to Glacier NP a few weeks ago and rode into Montana for the first time,loved it! I thought Missoula would be a great place to live.. | ||
| Hangetsu |
I'd have to recommend anywhere along the Front Range of the Rockies in CO. Ft. Collins, Loveland, Longmont, and Boulder are all great small cities to live in and the more burb-like communities south of Denver are pretty nice as well. If you're thinking of your kids, these areas are great. Education is good. There are many great state and private colleges and universities. Denver's now got culture that almost rivals larger metropolitan cities and perhaps the best mountain playground in the USA is never between 10 and 30 minutes away, depending on where you live. I came here in 1999 on a whim and could not dream of living anywhere else (in this country). | ||
| Bjbauer |
Dave, I am from Mitchell, SD. I am a bit prejudiced but we have a great state. I used to live in Montana, (Bozeman and Kalispell) a beautiful state as well to be sure. I think you would like the Black Hills area. Rapid City, Spearfish or Sundance Wyoming ( just across the boarder) come to mind. All of these towns are on I90 so it is easy to get on down the road if needed. My brother just moved to a place in the Hills near Deadwood. Comparatively speaking the real estate market is reasonable. Prices have held up surprisingly well considering what has gone on elsewhere but it was not so overinflated to begin with. An interesting fact about Rapid City is that it tends to have pretty mild winters as it is just on the edge of the Black Hills. Kind of like Denver as far as climate goes. I'm sure you have heard of Sturgis. I noticed you mention Whitefish, MT. We have vacation property there. It is a great area as well. A great ski hill Called Whitefish Mountain (formally known as Big Mountain) and is near Glacier Park. The winters are long there just remember and they do have an income tax. South Dakota has great hunting and fishing if you enjoy that. Good luck. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
I'll go out on a limb here and recommend Park City UT. It's a ski town, so it isn't cheap, but there are some areas on the outskirts that are affordable (and getting more so, with the current real estate situation). Very good high school, excellent riding and skiing, the weather is hard to beat. Super abundance of twisties and dirt roads. 20 to 30 minutes from Salt Lake City and the airport. The down side is that it is in Utah, which can take some adjustment, but Park City is a bit of an island (think west Berlin in the 80s..) Other down side is that some parts of town are seriously expensive and there's a lot of wealth which means there can be some attitude, but my kids went to the high school there and came out just fine...as far as teenagers go | ||
| Dcc46 |
Bjbauer hows the hot springs area , that was one of the places in SD that had caught my eye. | ||
| Bjbauer |
It's on the south edge of the Black Hills. A smaller town but kind of cool. Has lot's of buildings that were made out of sandstone way back when. The area tends to be a little dryer and warmer in the summer than the northern hills area. We spent a weekend there a few weeks ago. My son and wife ran in a 50 mile ultra-marathon. No thanks! I was the support team. Anyway, it is close to both Windcave National Park and Custer State park. I would say you should get a good bang for your buck realestate wise in that area. If you hunt or fish it would be a good area for that as well. Take care, Brad Bauer | ||
| Jammin_joules |
Whether like myself, and it sounds like Hangetsu, moving here in 1999, or just passing through, be sure to stop into High Country Buell north of Denver on I-25. I too love the front range of Colorado and owning a Buell is ideally suited to the Rocky Mtns. We are a BWB sponsor and we race the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb with Buells in July. | ||
| Boixb12 |
I agree with bj -- South Dakota is a great place, but IMO the winter's can be absolutely brutal. Cold and windy. I have a place in Spearfish Canyon, and lived in Rapid before that, and it can be pretty harsh. I'd be glad to sell you a lot I have in Spearfish Canyon.  | ||
| Armymedic |
+1 on Skifastbadly. Utah rocks. Great roads, mtns, variety of terrain, Moab, skiing/snowboarding. Salt Lake is a good size city (not too big or too small) and the state has an abundance of open space. | ||
| Hangetsu |
SD - And if the winters don't kill ya, the food will.  | ||
| Dcc46 |
haha to funny seriously , i heard utah can be a pita if your not a mormon and i'm not looking to convert.as a conservative in ny for the past 41 years it would be nice to get along with my neighbors for a change. | ||
| Itileman |
You would like Montana, in spite of Max. | ||
| Armymedic |
Conservative? You'd fit RIGHT in here. I don't fit the mold of Utah and it's fine here in the city or Park City. Maybe some of the small towns that may be true. | ||
| Bjbauer |
If I was going to move again to Montana I would go to Bozeman. There is a lot to do there, it is a nice town and it has two kick ass ski areas close by Bridger Bowl and Big Sky, world class fly fishing and good hunting. Montana does have an income tax. If I was going to move to Wyoming, and I visit there a lot, it would be to Cody or Sheridan. If you have the time I would spend some time in all of the places you consider as possibilities as living there and just visiting are two very different things. I love the Flathead Valley (Whitefish area) but wouldn't want to live there again. I don't know if you have ever been to New Mexico but a recent visit made me want to check it out again. | ||
| Pilotjay |
As a professional traveler I am in Wy, ND, and MT (Montana?) every week. Sheridan is one of my favorite small towns ever, but is a little pricey depending on what part of town you live in. Cody and Riverton are very nice. WY has anti-meth billboards all over the state so I don't know how much of a problem it really is, but something to consider with teenagers. I feel that if they stayed out of trouble in the Bronx, then you've done your job and they will stay out of trouble anywhere. I also agree about Bozeman and Missoula. Both are great college towns right in the mountains. I wouldn't hesitate to move to either one. Santa Fe is also one of my favorite places to visit with relatively mild weather in the winter. That town has the nicest people and a ton of charm. Great food too. If you consider NM also check out Las Alamos, some of the best schools in the country (more Phd's per capita). I've recently read that Rapid City is one of the up-and-coming places to live. I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I did like what I saw. Also, the winters are not horrible considering that part of the country. I live in Denver and would also recommend Ft Collins, Boulder, Longmont, or Loveland. But all these are definately more crowded that the other mentioned. | ||
| Justintyme73 |
Another vote for CO here. I've lived here for just over 3 years, great riding, hiking, biking skiing. I live in Ft Collins and like the size of it. I come from a small town and Denver is a bit too big. Ez access to the mountains from anywhere along the front range though. | ||
| Maximum |
Colorado relatively sucks as far as traffic and taxes go...but right now it is pretty good place for professional sport teams (Rockies and Broncos). Seriously though...it's great place to live and ride! |
