Where do you want to retire?

[JHbowhunter]

53 years young, still have a decent corporate job where I get to work from home Monday's and Friday's then 3 days in downtown NYC. I like where I live now - and other than the traffic, taxes, and douchebags, there is still a lot to love about NJ.

I love walking out my door to bow hunt. It's decent hunting - with a legit chance at a P&Y buck coming along once every 5 years but a 115-120" buck is realistic every year.  I have other private spots within 10 miles to hunt as well, some with even bigger bucks. PLENTY of public land should I ever wish to try deer hunting there.   Lots of bears around too - but not for me. Close to lakes and trout streams, and love the Spring Shad run on the Delaware. Should I choose to do small game or waterfowl, I have some good spots nearby.  I can be Saltwater fishing in about 90-100 driving minutes time.

 

That being said - I can't see retiring here. Taxes started just under 10K in 2002, and are now over 13K and rise every year.  My mind often wanders to that "perfect" retirement home...  Well I don't think that exists because it would be something Utopian like this:

 

"A nice country-style home with an open layout with a huge family / trophy room and hearth, built on 100+ of acres of my own land with multiple 150" bucks roaming around, and potential to grow a 200" buck. A deep-water dock on a salt-water waterway near great inshore fishing and also be within a 90 minute boat ride of open-ocean pelagics.  Look out one window for a water view teaming with fish, look out another view at a beautiful food plot loaded with Whitetails..  No humidity, no bugs, no hurricanes. "

 

Ok - well that DOES NOT EXIST so what next?

 

I keep thinking one of the Coastal Carolina towns, like Manteo in NC, or Beaufort in SC...   Have the boat, have the water view...  Unfortunately humidity, bugs and hurricanes come with that too. (and possibly gators and cottonmouths too).

 

That leaves the only option for deer hunting to be more inland. I suppose there is some good lease land available as well as land to by for hunting - possibly even put a small cabin.   SC or NC for deer?   I know the taxes in SC are just ridiculously low compared to NJ... I am seeing big, new homes on a waterway, 3000+ square feet, 450-600K with taxes between 2 & 3K... 

 

Then there part of me that yearns for major whitetail property in the Midwest. Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio.    Or what about Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and hunt for even bigger game?   I would miss the coast and the fishing though, although certainly the trout fishing in the more Western states could fill that void. I don't think my future partner in crime would want to live West or Mid-west though...  

 

 

What say you?

 

 

[Hunter115522]

Some real good points there JH.. I'm only in my early 30's, but I too talk about retirement plans with the wife all the time. My idea of a good retirement setup is very similar to yours. Want to be able to walk out the back door and hunt. Being within an hour or so of the ocean is important. Would like at least 30-40 acres of my own land. Low taxes, and a pension friendly state would be a plus. A lot of guys I work with seem to retire over the border into PA. I guess that's a decent option. I have also thought about New Hampshire, Maryland, and Tennessee to name a few. I guess I'll just have to see where life takes me!

[not on the rug]

I like a lot of what you're saying Jack.  For me, it's either going to end up being Colorado/Wyoning/Utah, or maybe Texas/New Mexico, or maybe somewhere in land, on the big island of Hawaii.  No deer hunting, but lots of bowhunting for hogs.  

 

Honestly, i am tired of winters, tired of snow and tired of losing half of the year.  I like being outdoors and active and not ever feeling the feeling of being cold.  I like the fall, but I don't like what happens after the fall.  

 

I would love to go southeast, but I'm not interested in hurricanes.  I would love to go to california, but, california is wrought with earthquakes and more liberals.  

 

For me, this isn't about retirement though.  I'm thinking that this is my 5 year plan.  

[GhostBear]

Retirement? What's that! I'm going to have to work till I die doing it.

[Rusty]

What's retire?

 

My plan is to drop dead while I'm working.  That's all I can afford.   

[GhostBear]

What's retire?

 

My plan is to drop dead while I'm working.  That's all I can afford.

 

ha! I doubt I can even afford that!!! Lol

[JHbowhunter]

What's retire?

 

My plan is to drop dead while I'm working.  That's all I can afford.   

 

I was thinking you would probably die when one of your methodically stacked woodpiles falls on you      So yeah - no point in planning for retirement  

[Ms Grit]

Someplace where nobody can find me . . .

[dlist777]

I actually hunted whitetail in SC this summer.  In about 1/2 of the state, whitetail season starts on 8/15 and you can use a firearm.  The rest opens 9/15.  It's weird hunting whitetail in 90 degrees with a center fire rifle.  But, it was neat to do something different.

 

Obviously, you have a great chance at a velvet buck.  But the buck quality in SC is actually pretty poor.  As I understand it, until recently, they had no limit on bucks at all.  This year, they put in the following limits:

 

Residents - 3 bucks no restrictions / 2 additional bucks with either 16 inch spread or 4 points on one side.

Non Residents - 2 bucks no restrictions / 2 additional bucks with either 16 inch spread or 4 points on one side.

 

They actually limit doe hunting quite a bit.  I'm not sure of the details but when I was down there no does could be taken at all.  I think they have doe days later in the year.  So, you're not going to see a lot of big bucks down there.  Now, if you like hunting hogs or gators, they have a lot of those.  You can hunt hogs at night during some parts of the year.  Gators have some type of lottery system. 

 

Land is plenty and leasing big tracts is probably pretty cheap.  I think if you were willing to lease and manage your property, you could probably grow pretty good bucks.  

 

Don't know anything about NC.  

[Haskell_Hunter]

I am never going to stop working, it's just not in me.  If my wife lets me, I'm going back to NH.  Mountains, oceans, forests, and valleys all within 90 minutes of each other.  Boston is the largest "city" nearby, which is fine with me.

 

No income tax in NH, no sales tax.  Their property tax is lower than NJ (which isn't tough to do).  Constitutional carry.  Big libertarian and freedom movement going on there.  If it ain't posted, it's huntable.  And far fewer people than NJ.

[JHbowhunter]

Someplace where nobody can find me . . .

 

Not even the kids?

 

My buddy just came back from a giant brown bear hunt in Kamchatka.  3 hunters, 3 bears and ridiculous fishing. He got a 10 1/2 foot bear, estimated at 1,500 lbs. So there,  I found your perfect retirement destination. Close enough to Siberia, that nobody will ever find you.   You are the bear whisperer...  You will have a lifetime of bear fat to make candles and lip balm with.

 

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1920&bih=956&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=kamchatka+peninsula+giant+bears&oq=kamchatka+peninsula+giant+bears&gs_l=psy-ab.3...16862.20045.0.20474.12.12.0.0.0.0.138.866.8j2.10.0.dummy_maps_web_fallback...0...1.1.64.psy-ab..2.1.103...0.0.8Fy4NhcJV-M

Edited September 28, 2017 by JHbowhunter

[JHbowhunter]

 I retired 3 years ago(at age 50) from my primary job, ....

No wonder there are no deer left in zone 5!!!!

[Woodsman416]

My wife wants to move out west, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, she has a "horse problem". I think more towards where I want to be for the next 20 to 30 years, I'm 54 now. I think, for me, the laurel highlands of northwestern Pennsylvania or the northwoods of northern Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine would be right.

[rocky]

I am in the same boat. My wife wants to move south because of warmer weather to play with all of her horses, and taxes. I like the fishing, crabbing, and hunting that I have here. Learning it all over again for a new area would suck, but doable. I hunt the midwest every year but it is way too far from the ocean to live for me.

[JHbowhunter]

My wife wants to move out west, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, she has a "horse problem". I think more towards where I want to be for the next 20 to 30 years, I'm 54 now. I think, for me, the laurel highlands of northwestern Pennsylvania or the northwoods of northern Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine would be right.

 

Damn if she would take Montana, that Milk River valley area always looks appealing... Great whitetail hunting and good mule deer too...  I am surprised you wouldn't take that over the areas you mentioned.