Doing a road trip back home

[07Negative]

Hey folks. I'm planning a road trip out to Iowa. I've kicked & screamed enough, that I think I got the mrs convinced to move. Outa CA! I was wondering if anyone in CO,UT, WY would be willing for us to camp out on your land if you got it to spare. Not trying to be a mooch. But I am looking to be frugal. I'm game for chores, working on jeep, cooking,etc.

Another thing I'd like to request from y'all. Is to help me in my defense to move. I've gotta tackle this with solid logic. So the firearms thing wasn't good enough for her. What else would you folks consider? I threw out education for our 2 year old. Cut & pasted multiple urls showing how horrible education is here. I did the same with crime. And for myself. I threw out there the lack of personal freedoms & taxes. Shit, that in its self has me sold.
I appreciate any & all adult comments.

[4.3LXJ]

I think one thing you need to consider is employment. The Dakotas are a shoo in for that. Winters are kind of harsh though. WY is kind of desolate in places. Better pick and choose carefully. Laramie is the only small city in the southern part of the state. CO is bad for guns, worse than CA

[Rocco83]

CO has legalized weed. Might be able to smoke her into submission? Seriously though how are taxes alone not enough to sway her? Liberals, earthquakes, wildfires, mud slides, Sons of Anarchy, Fresno, the Lakers, quality of air, quality of life, education, liberals, the fact the state economy is so shitty they consider releasing hundreds of thousands of criminals from prisons to take money from the penal system budget, UC Berkeley, cartel wars that threaten to spill over the border, liberals, rate of police brutality, liberals.

Really the only thing going for California is that it isn't Florida. Northern Cali has some nice rapids to hit. At least for me after living ever so briefly in Fresno in a relationship that died once I was chained in Cali. I see Cali as a state that can only be truly enjoyed by those who know that once their time is up there they get to return to somewhere less flashy and much more stable.

Either way, good luck convincing her to get out of there. To me Texas is the way to go. I'd give up a lot to move back to Austin if it was in he cards.

[Firemanray]

Come to Texas!!! Jobs, guns, jeeps all readily available. I think Rocco might have touched on the subject, but liberals would be my number one reason for leaving California. That and taxes.

[07Negative]

Steve: my uncle can get me a job in the fields in ND. My ultimate goal is to get back to farming. I always say I'm white. I'm from the cold. The cold doesn't bother me. How are the gun laws worse in CO? CA laws are pretty awful.

I love the state of CO. Some of the friendliest ppl I've ever met. Too bad a few bozos did what they did with guns. Bay Area has pretty decent air. Fresno on the other hand is a place I'm not a fan of. Rather dirty area in many regards. Texas air quality is worse in many places. I lived in Corpus for a bit. I liked it. I just can't do cities any more. UC Berk isn't so bad. Alameda county on the other hand blows something bad. I wish I had lived outside of the Bay Area since moving here. I've visited Steve up in Chico. I kinda wish I had that area as my CA experience.
There are some level headed democrats that I've come across. But too many mindless ones in masses for my likings. My great grand parents are still in MN on the farm. It's just not being farmed bc they're 98 & 102. Kinda wish Jesse Ventura was Govenor still. I've heard it's got quite liberal there too. But I'm sure each county is different.

[Rocco83]

Being ok with the cold is one thing, being ok with the cold on ND is a whole different animal. If you woman loves the Cali weather getting her to agree to ND would probably be a LONG SHOT. Good luck though. Ohio probably isn't on your list (so flat and sad here) but housing in the country is super cheap and we are over saturated with jobs.

[bad luck]

Hey folks. I'm planning a road trip out to Iowa. I've kicked & screamed enough, that I think I got the mrs convinced to move. Outa CA! I was wondering if anyone in CO,UT, WY would be willing for us to camp out on your land if you got it to spare. Not trying to be a mooch. But I am looking to be frugal. I'm game for chores, working on jeep, cooking,etc.

Another thing I'd like to request from y'all. Is to help me in my defense to move. I've gotta tackle this with solid logic. So the firearms thing wasn't good enough for her. What else would you folks consider? I threw out education for our 2 year old. Cut & pasted multiple urls showing how horrible education is here. I did the same with crime. And for myself. I threw out there the lack of personal freedoms & taxes. Shit, that in its self has me sold.
I appreciate any & all adult comments.

It depends on what route you take to Iowa, but if you come this way, you are welcome to camp in the back yard. We're about 30 miles south of I70. But if you have time, I would stay off the freeways as much as possible anyway. This is a pretty nice area, you might wish to spend a day or two here.
I grew up in Milpitas,and then near Salinas, but California was nice back then. I certainly wouldn't live there now. But it's the politicians who have ruined the state, the land is still some of the most beautiful in the country.

[4.3LXJ]

Steve: my uncle can get me a job in the fields in ND. My ultimate goal is to get back to farming. I always say I'm white. I'm from the cold. The cold doesn't bother me. How are the gun laws worse in CO? CA laws are pretty awful.


CO has been in the gun news even more than CA lately. They have a democratically controlled government and in the wake of Aroura shootings have been trying to outright ban guns all together. There was enough of a gun grab there that a major gun manufacturer, can't remember which one, left the state. There was citizen outcry over it and some recall elections. One demo left to recall, one of the worst and on the hit list and she resigned rather than face a recall. That little trick allowed them to appoint instead of elect a replacement. So the laws still stand for the moment.

[07Negative]

It depends on what route you take to Iowa, but if you come this way, you are welcome to camp in the back yard. We're about 30 miles south of I70. But if you have time, I would stay off the freeways as much as possible anyway. This is a pretty nice area, you might wish to spend a day or two here.
I grew up in Milpitas,and then near Salinas, but California was nice back then. I certainly wouldn't live there now. But it's the politicians who have ruined the state, the land is still some of the most beautiful in the country.

Part of the plan is to stay off major interstates. You get to see more by staying off the interstate. I haven't planned a route yet. But so far I'm thinking cut through NV, UT, CO. Go north to WY & MT. I'd like to get in a little bit of wheeling. Especially UT & CO. I personally want to go to Glacier National Park. I want to meet the oldest Forrest ranger there & looks like some great kayaking. Oh and my G/F hasn't been to Yellowstone for gosh sakes!
Thanks for the invite! I'll keep ya posted!

[07Negative]

Being ok with the cold is one thing, being ok with the cold on ND is a whole different animal. If you woman loves the Cali weather getting her to agree to ND would probably be a LONG SHOT. Good luck though. Ohio probably isn't on your list (so flat and sad here) but housing in the country is super cheap and we are over saturated with jobs.

Ohio wasn't on my list mainly b/c of unfamiliarity. However, one of my favorite authors and farmer influences in Gene Logsdon. And he's in Ohio. I highly recommend his book, "Holy Shit." Its a great read.
Why do you say sad?

[Rocco83]

It might not be so bad in southeastern Ohio where they hills, but I'm from the Northwestern part. It is all completely flat and nothing but fields for miles. Probably a lot like Iowa actually. It is at least 90 minutes to a big city if you like entertainment - sports, theatre, museums, ect. Out where I live the only enjoyment is from guns, mudding, and bars. You mix alcoholics with big trucks and guns and wild things can happen.

It is enjoyable for some, not all. If I want to wheel it is a few hour drive at least to get there.

Other than that our job market is ridiculous. Lot of jobs around me start in the $17-20 per hour range with no schooling or job experience and go up from there. A 3 bedroom/3 bath house on a wooded plot with a few acres can be had for sub $75k price range. The best thing give noticed living out here compared to cities is that we see a whole lot more stars than they ever will each night :)

[slvmart]

If you haven't been to Yellowstone for a while, plan ahead. I was there for the 1st time since before my son went into Grade School, last year. So it was maybe 20 years ago. When we were there in September, when he was little, it was great. Hardly anyone there, relative to where you are. Last year at the same time of year, it was like being in Vegas. I'm just glad we had brains enough not to go in Summer. Must be all us ready to retire, or retired Baby Boomers, with nothing to do.

But more to the point, make sure you have reservations set up way ahead of time for the campgrounds.

[07Negative]

It might not be so bad in southeastern Ohio where they hills, but I'm from the Northwestern part. It is all completely flat and nothing but fields for miles. Probably a lot like Iowa actually. It is at least 90 minutes to a big city if you like entertainment - sports, theatre, museums, ect. Out where I live the only enjoyment is from guns, mudding, and bars. You mix alcoholics with big trucks and guns and wild things can happen.

It is enjoyable for some, not all. If I want to wheel it is a few hour drive at least to get there.

Other than that our job market is ridiculous. Lot of jobs around me start in the $17-20 per hour range with no schooling or job experience and go up from there. A 3 bedroom/3 bath house on a wooded plot with a few acres can be had for sub $75k price range. The best thing give noticed living out here compared to cities is that we see a whole lot more stars than they ever will each night :)

Dude, I love hearing how things are in different places. Especially economics and living situations. $180K bought me a 10th of an acre in the most dangerous part of East Oakland. If you're bored, Google Seminary Avenue. Its freakin narly!
But anyhow. It seems like a nice combination of wages and cost of living where you're at.
Sadly, the drunk, testosterone driven, recklessness behavior with firearms is why us "normal" people are stereotyped against.

[abebehrmann]

Really the only thing going for California is that it isn't Florida.


Hahaha. I thought the same thing about Florida until I moved here. In all honesty, it's pretty damn nice. Weather's beautiful pretty much every day of the year. No state income tax or property tax on your vehicles. You can get your vehicle licensed without a emissions OR safety test. Gun laws are pretty lax. You can legally drive your Jeep on the beach in a lot of places. Very little rust on vehicles unless it spent it's life right next to the ocean. Very little segregation, so no really terrible neighborhoods. Most places have nice affordable housing. State-wide law banning breed specific legislation, so you don't have to worry about moving somewhere then someone passing a law that says your dog is illegal. If you can get over the crazies, it's a great place to live.

[Rocco83]

We have income tax, but other than that we can check all those boxes except the rust part. The shit they put on our roads could rust wood. Florida to me just seems like where old people from the north go to die. We just had two guys from work up and quit, sold their houses and moved to Florida after this last big snow we had. They finally got tired of bad weather I guess.

I always bitch about Ohio, but from all the places I've traveled I really can't complain about anything here being terrible. Family who visit us in the summer complain about the smell of cattle, hog, and chicken manure to us though from here that is what money smells like so it doesn't bother us. Weather wise you could do much better. Other than that you could do much worse. If you aren't sure whether you want a Cherokee or a buggy to wheel in, driving on the roads during winter up here for a few yeas will make that decision for you :P

[07Negative]

People always seem to complain about weather. I don't understand it. There are clothes for these things. And if the weather is that bad. Much of the town closes down.
The smell of the slurry is the smell of money. Sadly though. Its horrible land management. Even if that farmer is making the gas into fuel/energy.
Joel Salatin uses a technique that I love the title of. Something like a biological mass diaper. Then lets his hogs go through it in the summer, after it has decomposed to healthy levels. They throws the rest of it on a manure spreader and takes it out to the fields and spreads it. It's how you build soil essentially.

[Rocco83]

Towns here don't close down. People are used to the weather well enough. Even on Level 2 emergencies they drive through it. 4x4 and trucks are all most the people around here drive. Local government is crazy off they think they can stop the farmers from going to town for their usual in the mornings.

Soil here is amazing haha