Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

What is a good Bass Fishing state to move to? I love California's Weather, but the cost of living here is out of control. Thinking to retire soon, what are your thoughts?

Somewhere around Charleston, SC.

Texas, of course.

You hit it right on the money Andy.
Texas is it for me....
I will be your neighbor some day Andy.... Then you will be in for it.

GA, Atlanta to be exact.

Maybe Clear Lake if I hit the lotto.

Sarasota, FL or Austin, TX. Below is an older article on the best places to live in the country. At the time some were pricey, but things have changed since then.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/

Tx for me.

Cool Springs Tennessee, gets cold but you need to learn to hunt.
One hour from Kentucky lake, Lake Barkley, Half hour from Old Hickory....Man I'm home sick

you guys should move now the way things are going whtas there to lose hurry please take at least 5 people with you hopefully bass fisherman crazy i remeber when i use to surf all the time and snowboarding hit the scene I was so happy i told everyone hurry hit the slopes one more wave for me. and my favorite saying save a wave burn a longboard

what are you suppose to do when its crappy blown out summer windswell and no swell has hit in 3 weeks?... You know you had a log in the garage.

I'd love to retire HERE! There's no place like home!

A state of intoxication !

Is Clear Lake a state?

like I said i was stoked in the winter, summer surfed early mornings and out before the crowd usually, but yes remember the ripple ripping summers too. no never owned a long board knee board not long board.

Texas, I love to hunt as much as fish. And if all else fails.....somewhere on the inside of the baja penninsula on the water (with or without my wife ).....dirt cheap and beautiful and the fishing is insane!

The Crystal Coast of N.C. the best of three worlds. Forest for hunting, Lakes for bass fishing, Ocean for surfing, fishing, and relaxing. Nice white soft sand and no sewage spills!

Ray L. wrote:You hit it right on the money Andy.
Texas is it for me....
I will be your neighbor some day Andy.... Then you will be in for it.

Come on Ray, with your mouth and my bad attitude I am sure we could keep things stirred up somewhere! LOL

knee board? Everyonce in a while theres this dude that paddles out at the river jetties that still rocks a knee board.. its comedy.. I use to paddle out 4 to 5 times a week, then i bought my 188. I took the log out to uppers two weeks ago.. gotta love that walk.

Texas! There are more lakes there than you can count.

Oregon!! Southern end!! around Coos Bay....gotta have my fresh and salt water, minus the humidity!! it would be a days drive to the Columbia river, and or Clear Lake!! Would love Texas, but I would want East Texas, and I don't think I would handle the humidity....too long being a desert rat!!!

I live in Texas now. I have been here for 3.5 years, long enough to finish college. I am originally from the Bay.
Texas is cheap and there are a ton of lakes. The deal breaker for me is the weather. It is anything but consistent. There are many days where you can't go outside; we have tornadoes, ice storms, downpours, hail, snow, crazy wind, and lightning. It is a mess and it changes daily. The best time of year is the Fall. The one consistent thing about the weather seems to be the wind; it is always windy.
The fishing doesn't compare to Northern California lakes either.The hunting is good, but that is mostly done on private land.
Also, property taxes are really high. I am not sure if they put a cap on them for the elderly or not. If you sold a house in CA and purchased a 300k house in Texas, you would be looking at over 6k a year in property taxes, depending on the town. Also, electricity rates and insurance are very high.
For me, I would like to retire somewhere in the foothills of CA. I like mountains and trees. I also like being close to the ocean and awesome bass fishing. Retirement is a long way off for me though.

Andy that is funny.
Man could we be hell on the water....

That's why TX is out for me and the Carolinas are looking better all of the time. Still gets muggy, but if you live near the beach, it's not bad. Absolutely beautiful states!

Peter,

Where are you at in Texas? Must be urban/college town.....cost just doesn't seem that high outside of the major cities.

I have family back there.

Thanks,
M.Lewis

I was born here and lived my whole life on the Central coast.I am going to stay here but move to the Sierra foothill's.

Below the snow and above the Tule Fog and plenty of big lake's close to each other to fish a differant one every day.

To many weather extreme's in some of those State's.

The state of Paso Robles. It's got everything I need fishing hunting alcohol my kids and my grandkids.
jb

The great state of Confusion, wait...I'm already there, but I still work.....someone wake me up.......

John

I have a feeling that I'm going to start seeing more Delta rats out in AZ over the next 1-2 years. There is a $.50-$.60 difference in the price of gas between AZ and CA. I was shocked when I drove out to CA for the FLW Series Delta as it took $100 to fill my tank whereas it's between $70-$73 to fill up out here in Scottsdale.

If you can deal with the heat and adjust to night fishing in the Summer it's a great place to live/work/retire.

What ever state brings back the McRib will be the state I retire in. I really miss the McRib...

The Black Hills of South Dakota. Tons of hunting and there are lakes
up there where you will rarely see another boat with MONSTER smallmouth and Walleye! We would winter back here in Texas. After the spawn, back to SD!

John Barron wrote:The state of Paso Robles. It's got everything I need fishing hunting alcohol my kids and my grandkids.
jb

Is hunting alcohol a hobby, or a full time job?

I live in Dallas, but I have been all over this state chasing bass. I have fished Falcon, Choke, Rayburn, Toledo, Fork, Chambers and others. I could only live in a few areas in Texas. Austin, Dallas, and close to Choke Canyon (not far from San Antonio) would be the only places I would consider living out here. I would say East Texas too, near Rayburn, if I didn't have to deal with East Texans - they are a different breed altogether.
You are right that you can buy a house for much less than 300k. It just seems that most people that move here from CA have a hard time buying a house that cost much less than that though.
Insurance and utilities are still really high compared to CA. If you live out in the boonies (unincorporated area), property taxes will probably be cheaper, but you will not be close to hospitals, shopping, etc. The school taxes will still be really high. Property taxes here are ad valorem; they are based on the property's current value, so they increase every year.
I really just don't like the weather here.

Texas does not have a PERSONAL income tax, also property values
are much lower here in TX. In fact a $500,000 home in California will cost you around $300,000 here in Texas. We have 3.79 acres
near San Antonio with a factory, home and plenty of room for expansion. The property was purchased for $150,000 back in 93.
It is valued at $250,000 today. Our property is less than 2 miles
from I-10, 28 miles from San Antonio and 42 miles from Austin.
I don't think you can buy something like this out in California for
$250,000. Dallas has ALWAYS been the armpit of TX, and I should
know since I am a native Texan. Our taxes, electricity, etc, are CHEAP compared to the Dallas metroplex. San Antonio is a GREAT city with lots to do, and plenty of GREAT FISHING within driving distance, both saltwater and freshwater. The main drawback down
here is the heat in the summer and our open borders.

I would argue that Houston is the armpit, maybe Brownwood or Zapata. Here in Allen, we have some of the best public schools in the state, little to no crime, and everyone is friendly; we don't even have section 8 here.
Income Taxes are unconstitutional in Texas. For retired people, I would be more concerned with the ad valorem property taxes. These will continue to go up to compensate for not having a state income tax. With income staying constant in retirement, property taxes can become a huge burden.

It is nice to see you here Lane.

In the state of Texas property TAXES are FROZEN at the age of 63.
They do not go up for the elderly. Dallas is too far from the gulf for
me. Lake Conroe is near Houston and has some BIG FISH, but I like
it down south. We don't have to worry about our lakes or bays being closed either. Down south, they welcome bass and saltwater
fishermen, even in Zapata!

"The state of Paso Robles. It's got everything I need fishing hunting alcohol my kids and my grandkids. "
jb


John, I am already here my friend...all I need to do now is retire

North or south carolina, plenty of fishing with some pigs, and could throw a jig all year round.

Peter Lloyd wrote:I would argue that Houston is the armpit, maybe Brownwood or Zapata. Here in Allen, we have some of the best public schools in the state, little to no crime, and everyone is friendly; we don't even have section 8 here.
Income Taxes are unconstitutional in Texas. For retired people, I would be more concerned with the ad valorem property taxes. These will continue to go up to compensate for not having a state income tax. With income staying constant in retirement, property taxes can become a huge burden.

It is nice to see you here Lane.

I have a novel idea, Pete. Why don't you move back to California?

I have a better idea all you texans keep on bragging , please try and take at least 2 million people to your great state, a year from ca.

Ya know, they really try to sell you on Nevada, and while the weather 9 months outta the year is great here's some things to consider.
1. The crime rate here is outta control

2. They sell you on the fact there's no state tax, but the jump in your car insurance rate will have you wishing you were back in California. Supposedly we are 2nd in the nation behind New Jersey in insurance rates.

3. The summers will kill ya. Last summer here we had 88 days of 100+ degree days with no relief at night. AC runs 3 months outta the year.

4. And most important if you have kids, Clark County School District is also one of the WORST in the country. Not to mention it seems everyday we hear of someone bringing a gun to school.

In general, after living here for 2 years, I've summed it up this way. This area is GREAT for two types of people. The young college student, and the old retiree. Well, and maybe those from other area's of the US who got tired of shoveling snow!!!!

Hey Hippie, How about we do an exchange. Texas will ship you
2 million illegal southern exchange students, and you can ship us
2 million hunters and fishermen! Sounds like a fair deal to me!

I will be moving back to California... eventually.
For now, I am moving to Phoenix very soon. I have a great opportunity at a large accounting firm there. When the time is right, I will be back in CA.
I like living in Allen. I would recommend it to anyone moving to DFW. Like I said, good schools, low crime, nice people, great parks, etc. The weather will definitely be a shock for someone from CA though. All the other stuff is minor compared to the weather. When I was flying back from Phoenix the other day, I sat near a woman that had moved from Santa Cruz to Richardson, TX 20 years ago. After 20 years of living here, she still isn't used to the weather. The extremely low cost of living is enough for many Californians to put up with the comparably bad weather. In fact, many of my neighbors are from different parts of CA.