South Dakota?

Guy Miner

Guy Miner

Master Loader
Apr 6, 2006
17,880
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Wife and I have had about enough of Washington's crazy lefty government. 30 years ago when we moved here it was a beautiful state with a Democrat governor & legislature. But it was a good governor & legislature. We had open carry, good hunting, no obnoxious anti-gun laws. Property taxes were reasonable. Gas taxes were reasonable....

ALL of that has changed.

I think Washington is the only state in the nation to move farther left during the election last November.

We're about ready to end our 30 year Washington experience and move on. Looking hard at South Dakota. Ya, it's windy, gets hot, gets really cold. It's pretty danged flat compared to Washington as well. But... housing is considerably more affordable, we can probably buy a good place outright. No mortgage payments sounds good. Lower fuel costs. Cost of living in general is a fair bit lower than here in Washington. Legislature seems heavily conservative and unlikely to go lefty at all.

The hunting and fishing look really good too! Some of you know that my two biggest outdoor passions are pheasant hunting and fly fishing. Apparently both of those are excellent in South Dakota... Especially the pheasants! My bird dog got all excited when I told him that we might be moving to South Dakota. ;)

At nearly 70 years old I didn't expect to be moving again. This was our "forever" home and we've 30 years of memories, friends, history here... But we both find ourselves excited about going someplace new to us.

Any input on South Dakota? Hunting, shooting, fishing, or just in general?

Thanks! Guy
 
I thought the Eastern parts of Oregon and Washington were wanting to join with Idaho? I can understand your frustration Guy because we are in a similar state in BC. It's hard to deal with the big cities like Seattle and Vancouver and their lack of sense or character.

I would bet that there was election fraud in Washington state too so maybe give the Trump administration time to sort it out. In the BC provincial election there was obvious voter fraud and I have zero faith in the results we had in the fall.
 
gerry said:
I thought the Eastern parts of Oregon and Washington were wanting to join with Idaho? I can understand your frustration Guy because we are in a similar state in BC. It's hard to deal with the big cities like Seattle and Vancouver and their lack of sense or character.

I would bet that there was election fraud in Washington state too so maybe give the Trump administration time to sort it out. In the BC provincial election there was obvious voter fraud and I have zero faith in the results we had in the fall.
Click to expand...
We'd like to join Idaho, or form a new state along with eastern Oregon to get four more conservative senators...

But I don't think I'm going to live long enough to see anything like that happen. It's going to take decades I fear. So, Mama and I are done financing this lefty state. Our money isn't going to Olympia anymore... Don't mind paying my taxes to Pierre SD at all though. :)

Guy
 
Guy Miner said:
We'd like to join Idaho, or form a new state along with eastern Oregon to get four more conservative senators...

But I don't think I'm going to live long enough to see anything like that happen. It's going to take decades I fear. So, Mama and I are done financing this lefty state. Our money isn't going to Olympia anymore... Don't mind paying my taxes to Pierre SD at all though. :)

Guy
Click to expand...
Now, Guy, you might have to settle for paying less than you pay now:unsure:, and get more "FREEDOM."🤑
 
Guy Miner said:
Wife and I have had about enough of Washington's crazy lefty government. 30 years ago when we moved here it was a beautiful state with a Democrat governor & legislature. But it was a good governor & legislature. We had open carry, good hunting, no obnoxious anti-gun laws. Property taxes were reasonable. Gas taxes were reasonable....

ALL of that has changed.

I think Washington is the only state in the nation to move farther left during the election last November.

We're about ready to end our 30 year Washington experience and move on. Looking hard at South Dakota. Ya, it's windy, gets hot, gets really cold. It's pretty danged flat compared to Washington as well. But... housing is considerably more affordable, we can probably buy a good place outright. No mortgage payments sounds good. Lower fuel costs. Cost of living in general is a fair bit lower than here in Washington. Legislature seems heavily conservative and unlikely to go lefty at all.

The hunting and fishing look really good too! Some of you know that my two biggest outdoor passions are pheasant hunting and fly fishing. Apparently both of those are excellent in South Dakota... Especially the pheasants! My bird dog got all excited when I told him that we might be moving to South Dakota. ;)

At nearly 70 years old I didn't expect to be moving again. This was our "forever" home and we've 30 years of memories, friends, history here... But we both find ourselves excited about going someplace new to us.

Any input on South Dakota? Hunting, shooting, fishing, or just in general?

Thanks! Guy
Click to expand...
Best of luck to whatever you choose. I lived in Oregon for 35 years and Wyoming is the second state I've resided in. I do not see myself ever going back to Oregon, in sprite of the beauty and hunting/fishing opportunities there. The schools went downhill and my children had access to extracurricular activities they never would had in Oregon. The outdoor activities here are pretty spectacular too. To your point, it's cold and windy, but we've made a life here that works for us.
 
Well, I can't speak to the pheasant and trout situation, but "Guntucky" has some pretty good deer hunting opportunities. Winters are fairly mild, especially compared to SD. Property and cost of living is relatively low, and it's quite red outside of a couple urban areas. Come on down!! 🙂
 
Guy I’ve hunted South Dakota many times, it’s great. Been a couple of years but when I was last there you could get permission on a lot of private ground later in the season.
We lived in North East Oregon, about a half hour out of La Grande. To the extent possible we, as a county, ignore Portland and Salem. Catherine and I gave strong consideration to Montana a few years ago but opted for part time in Arizona. I also get a minimum of 4 weeks in Montana every fall.
While I have long lamented the impact and the Huberis of the blue 1/6 of the state and am more frustrated with the lack of voter turn out on the east side. Had all of the registered republicans turned out during the last election we would not have the governor we have now or be fighting measure 114 to keep it from becoming law. We are our own worst enemy.
As to joining Idaho. I’m not convinced they want us, doing so would take a super majority vote of the state legislature in both states and be approved by congress and not vetoed by the president or overturned by the Supreme Court. It ain’t going to happen. Ag is Oregons top income producer, that money comes from the 30 counties that are always voting red. Not a chance in hell the blue counties/state legislature let us go.
But, Oregon is no where near as bad as Washington. I worked up there 20 years, just over the hill from Guy. Retired and left the day after my retirement party.
Good luck Guy, I think you’ll enjoy the Dakotas, I know I have every time I’ve been over there.
 
In my lifetime, California, Oregon and Washington were all conservative states. Logging, agriculture, military bases, ship building, commercial fishing, manufacturing... Good hunting and fishing...

And yet I've seen them slide left, left, left... We left California 30 years ago - and I was a 5th generation Californian! We owned property, we had businesses, we spent our lives there. Now, I rarely even visit the place, then only to visit family.

Washington was, 30 years ago, a decent west coast alternative to California. Was.

So, we're moving eastwards, somewhere to retire. Looking forward to being surrounded by pro-American, conservatives who share my values.

Guy
 
Guy,
We've driven through SD many times over the years, but haven't stopped to hurt or fish, usually just passing through. But the Black Hills really surprised us with how pretty it was and the wildlife you can find there. Gets busy with a few bikers in August. Not sure what area you're looking at but I think the Rapid City area has a lot to offer
 
Oh My. I am in self imposed exile here in Commy Sota. Job and life obligations and health probably mean I will stay here in Mn until I'm dead. I get across the border every chance I get, still. Family is mostly still there and Wyo. Had one cousin who moved back from Calif. many years ago. I have been in MN for almost 40 years so I cant give you too much current advice. Would leave in a heart beat but no work for me and it would probably require a divorce. PM me if you want more info. Yes, places are cold and winter can be long. But there's lots of public land still and the most beautiful country anywhere. I guarantee if you spend an afternoon looking for pheasants or prairie chickens along the river. There's probably more hunting opportunities in Wyo. but SD does get the nod for Pheasants and waterfowl. CL

Added some old video to this post too... of course it focuses on the "tourist" parts of the state but its a good representation of all over. The video is 25 years old- so things have changed some - in places.

 
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Have traveled through SD couple of times and liked the lay of the land. Friend of mine and his wife were campground hosts few years ago in SD and he was amazed at the amount of public land available for hunting and fishing. Talked of all the opportunities. Even got in with local guys who took him on ringneck hunts. Saw lot of pictures. It would be hard for me to leave WV but I think SD would be a good landing place. Wish you and your wife the best on your move. If you want to come further east your welcome in WV. We are red(y).
Dan.
 
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