Considering moving from California to a Free State. Looking for advice, ideas, books, websites.

[No_glonks]

I would also consider quality of medical services and how/if state taxes retirement accounts/SS.

 

[Skilly]

Every time I watch the end of a Sean Ryan interview and he walks into his back yard and plinks metal targets with his guests and the latest Sig swag, I think enviously of Tennessee as an option. I have a Latina wife (US Citizen) and the area in general has been caught up pretty aggressively with ICE over reach which I am not willing to subject her to.

 

[Wolkenflieger]

I would also consider quality of medical services and how/if state taxes retirement accounts/SS.

From Grok:

"Yes. Eight states still tax at least some Social Security benefits for the 2026 tax year: Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont. The other 42 states and Washington, D.C. do not."

TN has no income tax at all.

 

[Wolkenflieger]

I've been everywhere, man
I've been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I've breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I've had my share, man
I've been everywhere...

Sorry, I couldn't resist. That being said, in my teens, I chose a career that had me travel all over this great nation and even outside of it. While there's plenty of places I wouldn't recommend, there's one shining example that I would: Oklahoma City. This was the final stop on my whirlwind tour of a career and the only place I've been that I would consider moving back to.

Follow along with me here: friendly people; low taxes; low cost of living & housing; common- sense crime laws; world-class venues for sports, concerts, etc.; amazing opportunities to enjoy the outdoors; culture; museums; history; international airport; constitutional carry. Including open carry. Including long guns.

Sure, it snows sometimes, and tornadoes are thing in the areas  around the City, but it was nothing this transplant couldn't handle. If it weren't for pre-existing commitments in CA upon retirement, I might have stayed.

I'll share one story, then I'll step down from my soap box: when it was time to buy our home here, my wife was working with some finance guy to get us approved for a loan. When she asked how much we qualified for, she was bowled over by his response. Without missing a beat, my small-town Oklahoma girl replied: "Sir, I could buy every house in my hometown with that amount of money; we won't need that much!" So, yeah, CA middle class is more like OK rich...

Thanks Jayson, I will definitely take a closer look at OK!

 

[Wolkenflieger]

Couldn’t agree more. Boise or the surrounding areas of, is definitely on my radar. People are nice, it’s clean, hardly see any homeless. Basically the opposite of California. Speaking of nice, I was driving in Boise when I was up there last weekend and I accidentally cut somebody off that was in my blind spot. We ended up being side-by-side at the next light, so I waved my hand in an apologetic manner. Expecting the middle finger as a return response, the person I cut off said to me said “ it’s OK, mistakes happen, have a great day!” I was floored. The rental I was driving did have an Idaho license plate. That probably had something to do with the other driver being cordial. I heard if you’re driving around in Phoenix with a California license plate, expect to be pointed out as number one (middle finger) everywhere you go.

Idaho is on the list I made of free states, so I need to take a closer look! Iowa too.

I know my CA plates may cause some trouble at first, and on a Tesla I guess it would depend on the person but conservatives shouldn't be worried.

Thanks!

 

[NeilDown]

Coming from LA, I'd recommend South Carolina as it's on your list.
The beaches in Summer are so nice and warm.

 

[Gawernator]

Every time I watch the end of a Sean Ryan interview and he walks into his back yard and plinks metal targets with his guests and the latest Sig swag, I think enviously of Tennessee as an option. I have a Latina wife (US Citizen) and the area in general has been caught up pretty aggressively with ICE over reach which I am not willing to subject her to.

Bro gtfo lmaoooo unless she's hanging out with illegals often there's 0% chance she has any interactions. There's 68 million hispanic americans

 

[No_glonks]

Coming from LA, I'd recommend South Carolina as it's on your list.
The beaches in Summer are so nice and warm.

My cousin lives in South Carolina, I was heavily considering moving there too. However I couldn't find job that pays more than a half I make here, and while nature is great (he is in Lexington by lake Murrey ) there is nothing there. When my wife searched Lexington on youtube the only video came up was grand opening of freaking 7-Eleven, with march band parade and festival

Found it:

 

[Wolkenflieger]

Bro gtfo lmaoooo unless she's hanging out with illegals often there's 0% chance she has any interactions. There's 68 million hispanic americans

Agreed. My girlfriend is Mexican and I have zero concerns about ICE. She's as American as I am. My heritage is Irish/Italian.

In fact, the Italians back in the day were sometimes called WOPs because it means, "Without Papers".

 

[Gawernator]

I lived in SC, the humidity was brutal. NC is really nice and green. I liked Virginia a lot but they're going through a democrat takeover

 

[Gawernator]

Agreed. My girlfriend is Mexican and I have zero concerns about ICE. She's as American as I am and I'm Irish/Italian.

In fact, the Italians back in the day were sometimes called WOPs because it means, "Without Papers".

The fear mongering and propaganda is sadly powerful. People acting like we haven't had immigration enforcement before 2024 lol

 

[swruger]

In regards to government overlords, Cato Institute, freedom index report, great place to start in regards to freedom and taxation, and other social and economic data. State by state comparison and rankings. Helps with my relocation criteria when we exit California, low total tax structure, high quality medical services near by, good international or great regional airport hub, college town for social cultural and sports activities, acreage home sites available 15 to 20 minutes from the urban core, good natural water resourced near by, great availability of outdoor recreation opportunities, etc

Best of luck to you, I thought I could find the perfect location, it took me a long time to learn there is no perfect location, every location has trade offs.

 

[gunsgunsguns]

I’ve been all over TN from Nashville to Franklin to Chattanooga, to Knoxville, and man… I’m not sure what area of LA you’re in, but TN is a total dump compared to the parts of California I’ve lived in. Higher violent crime rate.


Why not move to a nice secluded part of Oregon, away from the craziness of Portland, and get a CCW. They have no gun restrictions, much greater natural beauty.

 

[decius_mus]

Property tax. CA property taxes are insane.

Insane in what way? Our property taxe increases are capped due to Prop 13. One of the biggest shocks people encounter when moving to a free state is that their property taxes are way higher over time as a result of not being capped.

 

[Wolkenflieger]

In regards to government overlords, Cato Institute, freedom index report, great place to start in regards to freedom and taxation, and other social and economic data. State by state comparison and rankings. Helps with my relocation criteria when we exit California, low total tax structure, high quality medical services near by, good international or great regional airport hub, college town for social cultural and sports activities, acreage home sites available 15 to 20 minutes from the urban core, good natural water resourced near by, great availability of outdoor recreation opportunities, etc

Best of luck to you, I thought I could find the perfect location, it took me a long time to learn there is no perfect location, every location has trade offs.

Fair enough, and there are a lot of perks that I don't care about. I also don't have kids, so no need to consider schools or colleges. I consider college towns a drawback of a sort if anything.

 

[Gawernator]

Insane in what way? Our property taxe increases are capped due to Prop 13. One of the biggest shocks people encounter when moving to a free state is that their property taxes are way higher over time as a result of not being capped.

Which creates a screwed up market where boomers and Gen X got cheap houses and pay little tax on their super expensive houses while younger generations have to then pay the huge sale price and full property tax.

 

[Wolkenflieger]

Every time I watch the end of a Sean Ryan interview and he walks into his back yard and plinks metal targets with his guests and the latest Sig swag, I think enviously of Tennessee as an option. I have a Latina wife (US Citizen) and the area in general has been caught up pretty aggressively with ICE over reach which I am not willing to subject her to.

Hickock45, Honest Outlaw, and other GunTubers got me thinking about my bucket list and "next home" goals, and I really want my own plinking range on my own land. That's the final boss of real-estate acquisition as I see it. I want to be able to step outside my front door knowing that I have a few acres (maybe 10 or so) to myself. Then, it becomes an art project. Plinking range, observatory, planters for the girlfriend to tend, maybe some fruiting trees, etc.

 

[decius_mus]

Which creates a screwed up market where boomers and Gen X got cheap houses and pay little tax on their super expensive houses while younger generations have to then pay the huge sale price and full property tax.

The negative externalities of an acquisition-based property tax system are well understood. But it's largely irrelevant to the point I was responding to: whether California property taxes are unusually burdensome for a homeowner compared with other states.

 

[Wolkenflieger]

I’ve been all over TN from Nashville to Franklin to Chattanooga, to Knoxville, and man… I’m not sure what area of LA you’re in, but TN is a total dump compared to the parts of California I’ve lived in. Higher violent crime rate.


Why not move to a nice secluded part of Oregon, away from the craziness of Portland, and get a CCW. They have no gun restrictions, much greater natural beauty.

I'm definitely more conservative (not far right, not religious right) but I imagine Oregon swarming with zany s and Marxists. I know this is an exaggeration. Also, when I searched for "Constitutional Carry States", OR wasn't listed. I don't imagine any 2A freedom in OR would last very long given how blue of a state it is, though I know it's not all blue. From my searches, OR is similar to CA with its gun laws or is heading that direction;

"Measure 114 Status: Ballot Measure 114—which seeks to require a permit-to-purchase, safety training, fingerprinting, and a ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds—has faced ongoing legal battles and court stays, with implementation timelines pushed toward 2028 or pending high court reviews"

This part is good though;

"Open Carry: Open carry is generally legal statewide for individuals 18 and older, though Portland and several other local jurisdictions prohibit carrying a loaded open-carry firearm without a valid CHL."

 

[Wolkenflieger]

Insane in what way? Our property taxe increases are capped due to Prop 13. One of the biggest shocks people encounter when moving to a free state is that their property taxes are way higher over time as a result of not being capped.

Sorry, I meant Homeowner's Insurance. I'll fix my original comment. This went WAY up (basically double) due to the incompetence of Karen Bass and her empty reservoirs during the Palisades Fires, which were more out of control than they needed to be as a result. Plus we had some insane arsonists adding to the chaos.

Spencer Pratt got pushed off the mayoral ballot somehow and I heavily suspect shenanigans there. Bass was even warned by the L.A. Fire Chief that those reservoirs needed light repairs (where applicable) and that they needed to be filled.

I see this mess as an extension of Newsom's gross incompetence and lamentable politics, and it's so bad it's criminal (in my view). It's the chaos of woke DEI ineptitude that CA voters keep voting for over and over, assuming no ballot stuffing/cheating which is probably happening too.

The whole thing gave me a bad taste in my mouth and made me yearn for non-DEI conservative leadership. I don't agree with conservatives on everything but we need people in charge who aren't grossly and/or criminally negligent.

I remember a time when merit mattered.