Folks Of Interest Old car friendly places to move to?

I've also heard the Carolina's and Kentucky are the places to be as far as car related life goes. Many factor's to take into account. Cost of living, wages, local economy, weather, state and government influence on our hobby (i.e. rules and regulations), and on and on..I don't recommend coming back here a third time..it's like what Einstein said, "What's the definition of insanity?, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome". Nuff said.

 

Texas is a great option , houses are affordable , labor pool , medical , shipping ports , diversity , tax incentives....left ny 3 years ago....sorry I didn't leave 20 years sooner , no one busts my balls for not not wearing my seat belt .....got tickets up north all the time for that nonsense...

 

Oh , did I mention my 200 amp shop .....

 

I haven't heard Montana or Wyoming mentioned. I have a condo in Bozeman and am always tempted to stay there rather than return to SoCal. I am also interested in Wyoming because it appears to be the second rated place to retire based on taxes and cost of living. Montana has no sales tax and Wyoming has no income tax. I really like Cody, WY and there seems to be a good car culture but I am still an outside observer.

 

We're freakin' neighbors, man! Did you happen to check out the PepperTree Frosty show here in town, last Saturday morning? It supposedly pulled 700 cars! There's also more young guys around than you probably realize, I believe, but I get what you're sayin'.
Head up to Smell A next weekend for the GNRS, and you'll notice plenty of younger folks along with the graybeards. If you want some decent female companionship, virtually any college town will meet your requirements. You have CSUSM within a few miles from you, right now.

 

Driving to California when I was a kid in the 80s St. George was a little burg... You wouldn't believe it now... It's huge .. There has to be quite a bit of employment there now I would think... I have heard that Utah is a little standoffish to outsiders though[/QUOTE]

Standoffish? That's just a rumor started by them damn outsiders!!!

Mick

 

Minnesota has been really good for me, this is my 6th year here, love it!

 

North Carolina!!! The Great Smokies, beautiful beaches & a little bit of every thing in between. NASCAR shops have brought a lot of talented young guys that have shops all over the state. Year round car stuff from Asheville to Charlotte to Raleigh. Just a couple of days drive!!

 

Wyoming is pretty neat , but sparse, if your not a cowboy , or employed at a truck stop I'm not really sure what you would do for work I think the wind howls through there at least 364 days a year, I hear great things about Montana but I honestly think if I were to brave the cold again might as well go back to Minnesota where my family is from

I have tried hangin out by csum before ...I just feel creeper/wolf , southern California girls are a different species altogether with even more
idiosyncrasies than the female species of other areas, i have yet to figure them out ... i do know the dollar has even more significance to the so-cal species however...I missed the pepper tree too and I live close, do you drive your avatar car around much? I don't think I have seen it

Standoffish? That's just a rumor started by them damn outsiders!!!

Mick[/QUOTE]

Sure it's not a rumor started by the residents to keep those " damn outsiders "away?

 

get map of US and just throw a dart - seems every place has people that love and others that hate it

 

Tennessee seems to have plenty of work and car activities. Just leave the California in California .

 

I grew up in cornfield country southern Minnesota , both pairs of grandparents were farmers , other than my Yankee accent the south might seem familiar to me....

So how well are your organic/ vegan grocery stores stocked anyway?... Where is the nearest yoga studio?

 

Anyone else ever notice how many letters "vegan" and "vagina" share?

 

I'm watching this thread closely. I relocated from SoCal to Norcal a few years ago so I could be close to and help my aging parents but when they are gone the door opens for another move. I can sure understand Thirtytwo's thoughts about California in general; the Late-Great Golden State has everything - high housing costs, oppressive traffic, high taxes, shrinking number of jobs for skilled labor. And if the recent State-of-the-State message is any indication we can look forward to more taxes, a new $65 car "fee", and higher gas taxes to pay for what our already high gas tax should have been paying for all along. Did I mention insufficient water to support the ever increasing population.
The wife and I have been looking at moving to Oregon but this thread is enlightening, we may thin out the projects some and head south/south-east.
In my travels to car events in the mid west and south east there is a tangible atmosphere of camaraderie and hospitality that is definitely lacking in California.

 

Think outside the square, beautiful New Zealand. Huge hot rod scene here. I often bump into Americans that have moved here. However after living in California for a year some years ago, it would be hard to find anywhere with a better climate or car scene than that.
Russell

 

Oh, believe me, Nashville has them. I think you would fit in here just fine.

 

Actually KC is car friendly if you can live with the yearly safety inspection (there are ways around that or so I have been told). I would look in the burbs for a place to live and make sure that there is no HOA, they can be a pain in the butt.

lots of work if you are a good machinist. Wages for machinists are pretty good and cost of living is way below what you are accustomed to. I own an acre in Raytown, less then 140 no HOA and 3% more of less. My garage is small but I could certainly have another one if I was planning on retiring here.

 

I lived in nor-cal 2001-2005so cal 2005-2006 SoCal again 2010-now
I liked the people better as a whole in nor-cal but the surroundings in so-cal can't be beat, but I have noticed a huge change from 05 to now in California .. And not for the better..

I didnt think y'all still claimed Nashville as part of the south still !

Origionally When I graduated highschool my goal was to retire by 40 (if I lived that long!) I watched most of what I worked for slide away in 2008 , I lucked out and bought good here so if I cash out now I potentially can buy a place cash... I still won't be able to retire by 40 but semi-retire doesn't sound too bad..
. I want to find a couple acres and a place for a decent size shop, close enough to a good size city but far enough people arnt angry with the white trash guy with all the broken cars .. I'm 50% country and 50% city slicker

I have no doubt I will miss alot of California , but my goal is to make a move I won't regret.... If that makes any sense?

If I made 6 figures here I wouldn't think about leaving, I think the quality of life I can have for 15-20 an hr someplace else would be equal to a 6 fig income here though

 

Is New Zealand not as strict as austrailia? I did look into that a little bit

 

A machinist worth his salt makes 20+ and 25-30 isn't unheard of. Hell I got a friend that is just an electrician at the Ford plant that makes 6 figures.

According to the fed Calif has a 30% higher cost of living than here. And you are correct I have been in and out of here for 40 years give or take and I always miss home still.

My retirement place is 2.5 hours from here and we refinanced the wife's '05 Silverado to buy it in '10. granted the house was a wreck and I am still making it livable but I have a 15 year old 30x40 with 16 foot ceilings in the deal.

I had a meeting with a couple of old friends (breakfast and chat) on a trip home about 3 or 4 years ago now and the oldest and wisest said, "get yourself a place in the country or come live with Z and me, do not grow old in that city." The burbs are fine, KCMO or KCK are not places for older people but the burbs are just fine.

 

Strict in what way? If you mean running hot rods on the road, there is a process to go through but I don't think it is as strict as Aus. Bringing a finished car over that you own should be easier to certify than scratch building a car here. If you have a trade getting employment should be easy.

 

kingman arizona zoning police have gotten on my @ss twice... and I live in a poor area down by the tracks. me... yeah... after I liquidate I'm moving to Mexico. I can't enjoy the cold anymore. probally tijuana down to ensenada.

 

I use to spend summers in Portland, Oregon and winters in San Diego. Was great for a single man interested only in partying but when I decided to be a functioning part of society, I moved to Omaha, Nebraska. My brother lived there and said the economy was strong with good schools, plenty of work and money to be made.
I moved to Omaha and have never had a problem with finding work. Great place to raise kids too. Yeah, the winters are cold and the summers are hot and humid but there is a great hotrod/custom scene here and housing is reasonable and available. Taxes are high but there's no fender law here. Being right in the center of the country, everything is fairly close. I'm not recommending it, just telling you how it is here...one of the fastest growing places in the US. Between Lincoln and Omaha and surrounding bedroom communities, we have about a million people. Some say the San Diego zoo is the best in the US...some say our Omaha zoo is. Just sayin.

 

I like where I live but I need to get out of Connecticut! (Taxes and Malloy) We looked at Tennessee (Knoxville Area) and liked it. Lots of Hot Rod people and some old friends.We will see what happens this year.

 

San Diego would be the best place on the west coast if you got rid of half the people. I get to pick

 

I'm gonna follow this thread because I'm rowing the same boat.

Wish I could find an old fire house or service station.

 

What NZer's don't seem to realise, and what a lot of Australians seem to forget when they talk about car rules (as questions on the HAMB) is that Australia has states and states administer car registration. Different states do it different ways, what flies in one state may not fly in another and so on. It's not 'in Australia...' per se. Approval to import a vehicle of any kind is a Federal matter though.

I should add that I too am responding to Rct98's "strict in what way?" question, but I think we both assume you mean what you can build and put on the road.

 

Sorry I meant letting people move there , have heard they are strict in who /how they let you in

 

I want to second Alabama, but a little farther south. I live in the adjoining county to Tuscaloosa, not a lot going on here, but housing is a lot more affordable, and unless you are in town, no strict zoning regulations or hassles. An easy going, slower pace of life, but still within commuting distance of Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa has a BF Goodrich plant, two roofing plants, and numerous supporting plants for the Mercedes plant in east Tuscaloosa county. Also a lot of loggers and several large trucking companies have Tuscaloosa as home base. And Tuscaloosa is home to The University of Alabama, need I say more about good looking females?

We have all four seasons here, too. One thing about it though, it never stays real cold or real hot for very long at a time. Sure we have a spring and fall severe weather season, but on average, it usually only amounts to a few days a year, and seldom affects a large area. It is bad if it affects the area you are in, but every area in the country has it's down side.

A good machinist or anybody with a specialty trade can just about name their salary. In my county, the last automotive machine shop closed a few years ago, so if a person had the skills and his own equipment he would have the market cornered.

As far as car stuff, lots of small shows in the area, a couple of nice 1/8 mile dragstrips within an hour or so drive, Talledega is only about two hours away, the beach is about a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive, the Smokey Mts are within a days drive. Cruisin' the Coast in south MS is also about 4 hours away, as is the Emerald Coast Cruise in Panama City FL and the Bama Coast Cruise in Orange Beach AL.

Low taxes here, and no titles required on anything over 35 years old! No state inspections, either!

 

OK. It's skills based. Generally speaking, people with trade qualifications are in demand. But that's something the Department of Immigration's website probably has all kinds of information about. They have lists of qualifications/skill sets that they would want people to bring to the table. You can't just come and live and work here because you want to. Unless you're from New Zealand