18+ Content Warning

By clicking Enter, you confirm you are 18 years of age or older and agree to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws.

Notice: Any content or member activity - including anything you may buy, sell, transfer, or discuss - must comply with current and upcoming laws.

Members are encouraged to stay informed: California Firearm Laws: 2026 Outlook & 2025 Recap . Responsibility for compliance rests solely with the individual member.

What's new
  • Welcome

    Welcome to CAguns

    Join California’s gun owner community. Create a free account to join discussions and explore member features.

    Join freeLog in
Rost Martin R1MF comes to Califnoria

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

DIYPSCM said:
Just sold my house, making plans to move to Arkansas. It's the exact opposite of Kalifornia in almost every way.
Click to expand...
I grew up in Arkansas, I hope you are going to be in Fayetteville area, there is literally NOTHING to do in the rest of the state. Not to mention OP, AR and TN are incredibly hot and humid states in the summer, and equally as brutal when it's cold and humid.
 
osideflyer said:
I grew up in Arkansas, I hope you are going to be in Fayetteville area, there is literally NOTHING to do in the rest of the state. Not to mention OP, AR and TN are incredibly hot and humid states in the summer, and equally as brutal when it's cold and humid.
Click to expand...
Plinking on your own property is a whole lotta something to do!
 
Sheepdog1968 said:
A book I like is called Strategic Relocation. This book looks at a variety of natural and nuclear disasters, as well as the politics, tax rates, & second amendment friendliness. Well, worth getting a copy.

My short list is Prescott AZ, the Reno NV basin, and the only one I haven’t visited yet is the Treasure Valley area west of Boise, ID. I’m 58. Need to stay put till 62 so my daughter can finish high school. Also keeping close eye on Prop 40.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up on the book. Just ordered it and looking forward to reading it.
 
Skilly said:
For a time, I lived within a couple of miles of the tri-fecta, chicken farms, mushroom farms, and a Sriracha processing plant. Nothing like a smell that you can taste at the same time.
Click to expand...
I stayed with my buddy in Arkansas when drove from NYC to LA long long time ago, smell was brutal.
Just like caw farms on I5 between Bakersfield and Fresno
 
No more paying $1400 for P10C ported is a win

I jest. I wanted to leave CA for WA a few years ago because I love that rainy and gloomy weather but then WA got more retarded than CA in some aspects.

I hope you find a nice place to go!
 
JackRydden224 said:
No more paying $1400 for P10C ported is a win

I jest. I wanted to leave CA for WA a few years ago because I love that rainy and gloomy weather but then WA got more retarded than CA in some aspects.

I hope you find a nice place to go!
Click to expand...
Haha, guilty of overpaying for PPTs! Thanks!
 
Skilly said:
bubbles are always funny to point out from the inside of your own. Not pointing at you from my own bubble with this statement, but recognizing that there are a few of them and like it or not, we all live in one. They all feel crowded and informed full of like minded people and It sounds like yours has video games for entertainment too, so thats fun!
Click to expand...
Don't you f'ing "mid" me like that lmao
 
Personally I wouldn't move to Reno. The barren hills when the snows melt aren't great. Too used to green and tree covered ones I guess. Then the city itself is just kinda depressing. I visit several times a year for gunshows. Boomers glued to slot machines at every hour of the day or night and all the homelessness kinda dampens the mood.
 
shroom said:
Personally I wouldn't move to Reno. The barren hills when the snows melt aren't great. Too used to green and tree covered ones I guess. Then the city itself is just kinda depressing. I visit several times a year for gunshows. Boomers glued to slot machines at every hour of the day or night and all the homelessness kinda dampens the mood.
Click to expand...
Those just sound like the fruits of freedom, son!!
Poor decisions and addictions for profit.
 
A lot of great advice across the board!

Things to consider:
1. Taxes on SS and retirement income - obvious reasons
2. Town/city population - small towns have its charms but also consider fitting in to community
3. At that age- distance to healthcare facilities. Check what clinic/hospital specialties
4. If planning to purchase RE, do your research!!! (Water/access/electricity/land history)
5. Access to airports local vs hubs

Etc. best of luck in your future endeavors!
 
If it were just me, I'd be somewhere else. My wife wants to stay though, we're in a corner of the state where it's not as expensive as the big urban areas, and perhaps above all else it would take a couple years just to untangle all the stuff and divest multiple properties. So I just keep telling myself I like the coastal weather and try to ignore the nanny state and the command and control mentality. Personally I think the founders got it right with the checks and balances concept, and one of the problems here (and a few other places, and this is independent of political party) is the one party veto-proof majority and the resulting absence of any checks and balances.

I did consider a couple of relocation offers late career though, so gave it some thought and did some research before concluding that for me it was five years too late to justify a move. You've already read some good ideas, things like know which handful of states tax social security, and you've already thought about climate. I'd say keep doing what you're doing, and when you've narrowed it down to a few places that seem like they might work, go spend some time there. Long enough to get to know the neighborhoods, and to meet and talk to some locals. Look into basics like how available are the things you need/want, how easy or hard is it to get a building permit to do some work on the house, and so on. maybe go whatever time of year is the worst weather for that place, see first hand what you'd be up against. At least two acquaintances left here and moved to disaster-prone places and took serious house damage in the first year from flooding and a tornado, respectively (look at the FEMA floodplain maps before buying, not as much you can do about the second one).

A good resource for a deep dive on specific places is city-data.com, lots of detail.

There's probably no such thing as the perfect place, and there certainly isn't one that's perfect for everybody. You should be able to find one that fits reasonably well for you, though.
 
No_glonks said:
Just stay away from chicken farms. Far far far away.
Click to expand...
Takeo Ischi Japan GIF by The Gregory Brothers
 
Don't bail on california unless you have to. Find a rural community that shares your same values and embrace all the things you're looking for. That's what my wife and I did and we love it. Went from oc in socal the western rural foothills in eldorado county and it's great. Sure you can't open carry but getting ccw through eldorado county is pretty seamless. Got 18 acres with newish built house (2017) and adu that my dad lives in for well under a mill. All four seasons, no humidity in the summer. Have a range on the back half of my property and I go shoot whenever I want. Sure it's still california, but it's easy to forget it is unless you go to sacramento where you're quickly reminded. Not gonna lie, we've wanted to make the move but there are few places in the world that have the weather and beauty we have. Plus we need to good principled people to stay in Cali to try and keep it somewhat balanced. Just gtfo of LA County whatever you do.
 
Jdsonit510 said:
Don't bail on california unless you have to. Find a rural community that shares your same values and embrace all the things you're looking for. That's what my wife and I did and we love it. Went from oc in socal the western rural foothills in eldorado county and it's great. Sure you can't open carry but getting ccw through eldorado county is pretty seamless. Got 18 acres with newish built house (2017) and adu that my dad lives in for well under a mill. All four seasons, no humidity in the summer. Have a range on the back half of my property and I go shoot whenever I want. Sure it's still california, but it's easy to forget it is unless you go to sacramento where you're quickly reminded. Not gonna lie, we've wanted to make the move but there are few places in the world that have the weather and beauty we have. Plus we need to good principled people to stay in Cali to try and keep it somewhat balanced. Just gtfo of LA County whatever you do.
Click to expand...
Great post! How is it your property can have a range? Sheer size and/or special zoning? Did you have to build berms, or more likely you created the range around natural barriers?

This is a good idea. The outdoor range where I'm a member is private property technically so it's a similar legal arrangement I'm sure.

AFAIK you can legally open carry on your own property. I could do that where I live.

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom