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If I was 20 years younger, which I was when we moved here, I would have looked more inland and given the political
climate a closer inspection.

May not have been able to predict it 20 years ago. 20 years ago the anti-gun sentiment was not nearly as strong as today. I think the reasons antis are so strong today are:
1 - Several mass shooting in recent years resulted in people thinking with their feelings instead of their brains
2 - Big influx of people from liberal states
3 - 20 years of Socialist indoctrination in public schools
4 - Older generations are dying, some are moving to free states

I'm not seeing ANY trend in Idaho that even suggests "more liberals" coming in. The opposite in fact in the last 1/2 century.

I am sure some are moving there - there are so many Californians that they are moving everywhere; fortunately some long-time Idahoans are still having kids so that should be a plus for pro-gun rights. My wild guess is that it will be 10 or more years before they are a threat to guns within the state, hopefully longer. As you say, gun rights will still be in trouble if the antis take over the federal government again, and they will at some point.

Not sure what caused the bluish 1960s Idaho election map; maybe less radical anti-gun party, anti-war movement, bad R candidates??? What year was that map for?
 
We're bugging out in a couple of months for northern Nevada, cheap land and conservatives are welcome.

The local area may be good, but the state has gone blue, so be careful.
Legislature:

Governor:

Governor election - looks like Las Vegas is ruling the state, same as Portland & Seattle.
 
I moved after 26 years in Alaska to SE Idaho in 2002. Wasn't my first choice but that's where I got a job. Moved from SE Idaho to my first choice North Idaho in 2010 and I will move no more forever. The best thing is that the winter here is at least 2 weeks shorter than Alaska!;)

There are a LOT of Californians moving up here. So far, the vast majority of those I've met are very conservative and are here for the right reasons. LOTS of retired LEO's and firefighters. They are welcome. I live near Sandpoint which is a leftard haven but there are way more of us than there are of them.

Read a study recently that addressed the myth that Idaho was going blue due to all of the transplants. In fact the study found just the opposite - the Republican party in Idaho is growing and the dims are not. I think the harsh winters here are going to keep the state full of REAL people.
 
Last Edited:
Not sure what caused the bluish 1960s Idaho election map; maybe less radical anti-gun party, anti-war movement, bad R candidates??? What year was that map for?
I may have some insight on that. My nextdoor neighbor is 82 and an idahoan since birth. He's an ex Marine and the true definition of a good ol' boy. Just an all around good guy -- I'm fortunate to have him as a neighbor.
I was shocked to hear him say during casual conversation that he's a Democrat. He went on to explain that when he got out of the Corp in the 60s he became a steam fitter and joined the union. All his union coworkers were Democrats so he did the same. But these weren't today's radical leftists, they were Kennedy blue dogs.
I'm sure if I really pressed the issue and got him to honestly evaluate his political positions, he'd realize he's actually a Republican but I'm going to avoid political conversations for the sake of being neighborly.

BTW, he voted for Trump.
 
A lot of Californians aren't from California. Also, like Oregon, there are liberal hubs that rule the state, but the state isn't completely liberal. In southern Cal, only this past election did Orange county turn. Literally unheard of. It was a conservative strong hold but not necessarily republican. There was a lot of open lies that gave people excuses to turn. Dirty politics.

We saw that with K Brown. Dirty politics with a lot of outside money. It almost happened in Texas las election. It's up to the locals to retain their ideology by voting. I would love to retire in Oregon but the cost of living more than the politics will likely drive me out. Once my company cuts the cord I am literally looking for greener pastures. Arizony and Idaho are on the list.
 
This thread and my answer depends on $$$.

$ somewhere a bit nicer in Beaverton or Hillsboro.

$$ somewhere in my current area with no one within 5 miles of me.

$$$ somewhere on the Oregon coast.

$$$$ somewhere in the coast with no one within 5 miles of me.

$$$$$ somewhere near the coast with enough land to have my own shooting range and no one near me for 10-15 miles.
 
I may have some insight on that. My nextdoor neighbor is 82 and an idahoan since birth. He's an ex Marine and the true definition of a good ol' boy. Just an all around good guy -- I'm fortunate to have him as a neighbor.
I was shocked to hear him say during casual conversation that he's a Democrat. He went on to explain that when he got out of the Corp in the 60s he became a steam fitter and joined the union. All his union coworkers were Democrats so he did the same. But these weren't today's radical leftists, they were Kennedy blue dogs.
I'm sure if I really pressed the issue and got him to honestly evaluate his political positions, he'd realize he's actually a Republican but I'm going to avoid political conversations for the sake of being neighborly.

BTW, he voted for Trump.


Your neighbor is a member of the old democrat party, you know, the one that believed in America and was patriotic. That party is dead and gone.

Its hard for me to believe sometimes that Frank Church came from Idaho but knowing what I do about Alaska it is no surprise that Lisa Murkowski is from there.
 
Agreed. I just mentioned it as it might explain the difference in blue/red on the 2 maps. The state hasn't really changed as much as some of the definitions.
 
Have to quote my own post, I don't see the edit feature these days.

Iowa. Both of my own parents were natives of Iowa. They were refugees when they moved to California in 1941. Even today, I look at real estate offerings in rural Iowa. Some real bargains, but you have to think about weather some. Rural Iowa (and anywhere else rural in the US now) is not necessarily a calm, bucolic backwater isolated from time and crime. The meth trails from Mexico to Los Angeles continue on through to many rural towns all over the country. Small towns in Iowa are sometimes full of tweakers. Which means people skulking around looking to score anything via theft to feed their habit.

I forgot to mention. Re. some small Iowa towns (also Minnesota, probably others) with packing plants or other concentrated industries. These towns have experienced complete cultural change due to the immigrant labor influx to staff the plants. Some of these towns have the same population count they had 40 years ago. The difference being, about half the native population moved to cities for jobs and their numbers were made up in immigrants (legal or otherwise).
 
May not have been able to predict it 20 years ago. 20 years ago the anti-gun sentiment was not nearly as strong as today. I think the reasons antis are so strong today are:
1 - Several mass shooting in recent years resulted in people thinking with their feelings instead of their brains
2 - Big influx of people from liberal states
3 - 20 years of Socialist indoctrination in public schools
4 - Older generations are dying, some are moving to free states



I am sure some are moving there - there are so many Californians that they are moving everywhere; fortunately some long-time Idahoans are still having kids so that should be a plus for pro-gun rights. My wild guess is that it will be 10 or more years before they are a threat to guns within the state, hopefully longer. As you say, gun rights will still be in trouble if the antis take over the federal government again, and they will at some point.

Not sure what caused the bluish 1960s Idaho election map; maybe less radical anti-gun party, anti-war movement, bad R candidates??? What year was that map for?

The history of at least POTUS elections demonstrates a trend not dis-similar to the last 50 years and perhaps even BETTER today than in the past. Maybe 1 election was a 50/50 blue win anomaly. But aside from that 2016 was perhaps one of the best conservative Idaho elections in history. And again, 2018 saw huge pro-gun laws passed in Constitutional carry and castle doctrine.

Idaho Presidential Election Voting History
 
I moved after 26 years in Alaska to SE Idaho in 2002. Wasn't my first choice but that's where I got a job. Moved from SE Idaho to my first choice North Idaho in 2010 and I will move no more forever. The best thing is that the winter here is at least 2 weeks shorter than Alaska!;)

There are a LOT of Californians moving up here. So far, the vast majority of those I've met are very conservative and are here for the right reasons. LOTS of retired LEO's and firefighters. They are welcome. I live near Sandpoint which is a leftard haven but there are way more of us than there are of them.

Read a study recently that addressed the myth that Idaho was going blue due to all of the transplants. In fact the study found just the opposite - the Republican party in Idaho is growing and the dims are not. I think the harsh winters here are going to keep the state full of REAL people.

I have not seen the study but this has been my conclusion after a brief bit of research.
 
Hmmm well now.... I had been considering a move to Washington State before I retired... however following the political and demographic trends in Washington, I put that idea aside. Idaho, maybe, seems like it's still a Free state.. possibly Utah, still fairly conservative. But I don't like religion, sooo... If I were much younger I would consider a move to central or western Siberia, too old and physically unable to pull that off. When I was young enuff, anywhere in Russia (soviet union) was out of the question, anyway Im dyed-in-the-wool Yankee American and by the Grace of God will die as such....
 
Ya'll come, it's all good!




Current and future .......
 
and


not making any argument on this post yet find a bit of irony in my own unexplainable-yet-similar thoughts on the juxtaposition of such notions
I said I don't believe in "religion", not that I don't believe in "God", HIgher Self, Providence, or in any of the Nine billion names humans have used to describe that which is greater than ourselves.. it is religion I object to.. and why I wouldnt live in Utah, even tho southern Utah is a very beautiful place!
Sorry that I didnt speak more clearly..:cool:
 
Between Idaho, Utah, and Arizona, where would you move and why? Or other?

Asking for a friend...

Idaho has the best political climate for the moment, but everybody is moving there (Boise is the new Portland), so land/home prices are skyrocketing and the political climate is changing with the influx of liberal minded people. A lot of people say "go north Idaho", but I have to warn that the winters can get pretty harsh in that part of the world, and unless you can afford to live off-grid and be ok with getting snowed in for a month or two out of the year, it can be difficult to find a place to be. That used to be my goal, but I have pretty much abandoned the idea of going up there at this point. As one Idahoan news anchor recently put it: "If you are thinking about moving to Idaho, you can stop because we are FULL".

Utah has some weird laws, but in general is very conservative and a good place to be. A lot of it is desert-ish, but there are some areas...especially in the NE part of the state that are quite different terrain. I don't know anybody there so overall it doesn't work for me personally.

Arizona is interesting, I know people there and spend time there. It's generally very conservative (though overall not quite the same as ID, though that is changing. And you can get property cheap depending on where you look. The biggest down side is that it can get really hot in most places there in the summer. And water availability can be a problem. But it seems like people get used to the heat and it's possible to mitigate the water problem.

Honorable mention goes to Oklahoma. I have a friend that moved there a few years ago and loves it. He was able to sell his boring "3br 2ba house in the Oregon 'burbs" and buy a REALLY nice spread in OK. OK is getting more conservative by the minute (with their legislature passing great new laws) and the climate isn't too bad there except for the tornadoes.

Overall, not withstanding any other factors like nearby family or friends, I would have to recommend AZ as the top contender right now. There is quite a bit of cheap land available and it's generally a good place to be.
 

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