If you could choose land in states to migrate too

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Where~the~wind~blows

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As I have stated I have property up in PA, my taxes on the property is 1500.00 a year... which I think is cheap... would be less if it didnt have a house.

But I have been looking at other states to migrate to... I like PA May 1 to Nov 1... but I need a winter place to go to.... I have a horse to consider and I will never part with her so I do need a small bit of land for pasture for her. I like to fish, and I like feeling outdoors... so a minimum of 5 acres would suit me. but where to go? I like the mountains as well.....

just curious where people would choose to live and why....
 
You AND your horse can live in Florida for free* in the winter months.

The only catch is can only get a permit for 7 days and then have to move a short distance to another free campground. You will need Internet and a printer to print off the permit, which you need to display while in camp.

This is where I plan to spend the winter with a 15-speed mountain bike as my ride.

http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/camping.php
 
What suits us probably wouldn't suit others. Here is our plan. We are currently in NM. We will be heading back east to buy land. Based on criteria which we have given a lot of thought on. We have to be fairly close to a Sam's Club as Hubby's prescription meds are super cheap there and we like to shop there once a month. We need warm winters. We need more humidity (we are drying out in the NM deserts). We want to be within an "easy day's drive" of the coast (we figure 75 miles is an easy day's drive in the bus). We prefer to be in a smallish rural town. We are looking at the area between Panama City (FL), Tallahassee (FL) and Dothan (AL) if zoning and prices work out. We are looking for a piece of land that already has septic/sewer, electric and water run to it. A burnt house or dilapidated house/trailer would be ideal. We would build/remodel into a very tiny apartment with a large enclosed/screened winter patio area... what ever overall size needed to satisfy minimum house size zoning requirements (if they apply). We are going to combine our savings with my daughter's savings to purchase a larger piece of land than what we could have had individually. Then we split the land up into her section and our section based on percentage of money paid. After a couple of years when we get the FL place set up to how we need it to be, we hope to have enough $$ saved up to do the same in the mountains of TN. That would give us a cool summer place and a warmish winter place in two states with no income taxes.

I grew up like that. My parents had a home in FL. But back in the 60's/70's, the building dropped off in the summer to nothing. So my dad had several months with no income. He solved that problem by moving to a town in western NC where the nearest tile setter was over 60 miles away (they didn't want to to cross the mountain from Asheville) and 100+ miles to the south (Atlanta area). They had a mortgage on the house in FL but paid cash for the land in NC. The land was cleared and paid for by bartering (what we called "trade work"). My dad built a lot of bathrooms for locals who, up til then, only had outhouses or very rustic bathrooms. Dad found an old single wide trailer really cheap that he towed up to NC with his 3/4 ton pickup truck (1950's era mobile homes were towable with a truck). Every one thought we had money because we had a house in FL (winters) and a house in NC (summers). What they didn't realize is we had a small house in FL where Dad worked hard all winter for a tile company and on school holidays longer than 3 day weekends, the last day of school, we were on the road to NC (a 12 hour trip that we made in 10 hours or less) where we would roll into our home there in the wee hours, unload, go to bed for a couple of hours and my Dad got up and went to work for himself while us kids and Mom got the trailer cleaned up from sitting unoccupied and unpacked. We had no "spending money". No "loose cash". We didn't buy expensive clothes, new cars (always paid for with cash too so they were driven til they dropped), no week long "vacations". I think I got my work ethic from my Dad. at one point, my parents were worth over a million on paper. No loose cash. But when we added up their net worth (every thing was paid for) they were worth over a million. I took bookkeeping my first year of college and learned how to figure the net worth of a business and person. Their long term FL bank had turned them down for a small loan for a new work truck as a poor risk. They always paid off their small loans early. So we sat down and figured out their net worth. My Dad took the paper into the bank, the bank looked at it, the loan was immediately approved the loan that my Dad refused. He called the local bank in NC and got the money deposited to his account over the phone. Hard work, pay cash for everything, avoid debt, don't waste money on stuff you really don't need. That was how I was raised. It worked for my parents, it works for us. We just need a portable business. We are working on that.
 
My little half acre of Sloburban Hell here in north Florida runs me about $600 a year in property taxes, including the punitive quarterly payments for 'fire protection services' which is a gyp considering if my MobileHome (doublewide) caught fire it would be a scorched frame by the time the FD got here.
I am considering when I retire and my Mom passes (I take care of her) I may well junk out the MH and just keep the van camper here when I am not traveling, sort of a 'home base'. Property taxes should be reduced, I'd still have full utilities, a true 'home of residence', and my shop and storage buildings.
I have a good fishing lake seven miles down the highway, a good shooting range ten miles into the national forest, plenty of shopping and eateries. Lots of family on Dad's side nearby too.
Summers are hot and humid, so that's when I'd travel up to higher elevations.
I have thought of maybe getting a small bit of land in the north Georgia or NC mountains. But I'll check on that later.
 
I'd go to New Hampshire but I love snow so probably not an option for you. Northern Florida still has cheap land as does southern Georgia. In the middle of nowhere yes, but with a horse that would probably be OK.
 
I have Land in NH.....and go south or southwest in the winter.....the best of both worlds...I use NH as my residence
 
Alaska.

Southern California if there were no people.

Colorado.

Guerrero Mexico
 
are you looking to stay back east? if so I really can't help. on another note what kind of horse? do you ride? western or English? I have a horse too, that's why I ask. highdesertranger
 
I'd say Vermont in the Summers because it's really nice there and they are the only state that will have universal health care.
 
Mojave desert, or eastern WA.
 
No doubt, Arizona!! I love this place. You've got all climates within a 4 hour drive of each other. From big, beautiful Ponderosa Pines to gorgeous desert.

Your right on the Mexico border so you can get super-cheap dental, meds and eyeglasses.

This state thinks every AZ resident was born with the right to carry a weapon concealed, I think they're right!

If you buy land at around 6000 feet, you'll get a true 4 seasons, but none of them extreme.

I love Arizona!
 
If I managed to win green card lottery, my target is Corvallis. Second choiche is anywhere in Oregon, nearing the coastal region (so on the map, that would be on the left side of main highway, not the right, Bend, etc).

With public coast, lots of river, a big lake, lots of public land, mountains, I'd retire to Corvallis, Oregon.
 
highdesertranger said:
are you looking to stay back east? if so I really can't help. on another note what kind of horse? do you ride? western or English? I have a horse too, that's why I ask. highdesertranger
 

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She? is so gorgeous. I envy you. I did a lot of riding and owned horses as a teen but rarely get to anymore. One day I'll have another horse, until then I just get to look.
 
decodancer said:
She? is so gorgeous. I envy you. I did a lot of riding and owned horses as a teen but rarely get to anymore. One day I'll have another horse, until then I just get to look.

Thanks , she was the last thing I purchased with monies from my mom's estate, and the "first" papered horse I ever owned....
 
That's a really neat thread. Thx for sharing it!
 
CompassRose – Might I suggest Orange Beach, Alabama as a possible destination? It's on the coast, with beaches comparable to Panama City, but without the crowds of rowdy teen-agers. They cater heavily to snowbirds, so they attract a more mature, more affluent demographic.

And if you're unhappy with the desert dryness, I would warn you about the high humidity here in the southeast – I'm a Georgia resident, and I've struggled for years with mold/mildew. I have to run a dehumidifier all summer, which is a great way to boost your power bill. But the alternative is to have slimy, smelly mildew forming on all my stored possessions.
 
Dangfool, I'm a 7th generation Florida Native. I have also lived in FL and/or the Southern Appalachian Mountains from birth until 2009 when we moved out to this litterbox (and I do mean litter, NM is full of trash blowing everywhere). Although we were only in NM for about 3 months, then headed to Corpus Christi for the winter. Came back to NM in June 2010. We will look into Orange Beach, but "affluent" is not a description you can use with us.

PS. My daddy's people are from Douglas, GA and we have spent more than one summer in Cordele, GA. I know all about high humidity. You know all the jokes about Southern Rednecks and double/triple wides, junked cars? NM could give lessons! Truly the only place that I have seen three singlewide trailers squished together to make a "triple wide" trailer (on our way to vend at a festival in Mountaire). Lots of the single trailers squished together to make "double wide" trailers out here too.
 
The Tallahassee, Florida area is fairly nice. Housing market is slowly rebounding. We are some twenty miles from the coast. We have a Sam's and a Costco. Lots of shopping, restaurants, etc. And Florida has no state income tax. Tallahassee is growing, has two major universities, but still has smaller town charm.
Due to a geographical quirk we rarely are bothered by hurricanes and tropical storms. Lots of local campgrounds too, especially between T-town and the coast.
My best friend and hunting buddy is a very good local real estate agent, if you become interested in our area.
 
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