water-streams-arsenic-map-usa

Where Is The Best Place To Live?

So, you want to know where is the best place to live in the United States? I recently received an email with this question, which included criteria ‘where water is good’, ‘hunting’, ‘not too cold or hot’, ‘good soil’, ‘etc,,,’. The person is relocating in a year, which is good in that there is plenty of time to figure it out.

The person is definitely on the right track in the process of determining their best place to live, because he is establishing criteria. This is the key! You must think it through, and not quickly. Take a long time to establish your criteria because you will not think of it all in one sitting, or even a few. During each ‘thought’ session, write down the results. It is important to write it.

Although the ‘etc,,,’ in the short criteria list is a huge gaping hole, at least the person started with several. Let’s look at them now…

 

Where the water is good. I suppose that ‘good’ is subjective. Lots of municipalities have ‘good’ water or good-enough water because they treat it. If you are looking for an abundance of water, there are states and regions that are more beneficial. Minnesota and Wisconsin have more than 10,000 lakes each – but many of them are iced over during their cold winter months. Most of the eastern half of the country is loaded with rivers and streams while the western half definitely has fewer – although still plenty if you choose it.

The following map shows streams and water-bodies of the US, as well as areas of high arsenic concentrations in the surface ground water.
water-streams-arsenic-map-usa

You may be concerned about water aquifers or drought conditions too.

From a survival preparedness standpoint, I would try and find a location that has a water source on the property like a stream, spring, or pond (or underneath, as in a decent and reliable well). Most all homes depend upon the municipal systems to supply water. It may be good insurance to have your own source too.

 

Hunting. About one-third of the nation is forested (currently about 747 million acres). Although there is game to be hunted beyond the forests, the following map of the United States forest cover (various types of forest trees are different colors on the map), shows locations (the forests) which will be more ideally suited towards hunting than non-forested areas.
forest-coverage-map-united-states

 

Not too cold or hot. This too is subjective. Some people prefer the cold to the heat or vice versa. Equally important are the temperature effects on the growing season, which is typically high on the list of priorities of self-sufficient survival-preparedness minded folks. The following map shows the maximum and minimum temperatures of the United States. July is chosen for the maximum temp. while February is chosen for the minimum.
map-of-maximum-minimum-temperatures-united-states

 

Good soil. Arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. There are vast parts of the United States that have poor soil for growing foods (desert and dry regions) without ‘help’ from us humans with things such as irrigation, treatment, etc. There are also many parts of the country that will grow food just fine, and have adequate natural rainfall to keep them growing. All soils require good management and replenishment, so even if you start with something good, be sure to treat it right with crop rotation as well as organic replenishment of nutrients. There’s lots of science as well as learning by trial-and-error to gardening…

 

The following map shows soil classified by their number of ‘agronomic’ limiting factors (green is better). The best soils for agriculture have no or few limiting factors.
soil-limiting-factors

 

There are many, many additional factors that will go towards your decision of the best place to live, including, population density, taxes, political views and state laws, cost of living, price to purchase, crime, hazards and risks such as earthquakes-tornadoes-hurricanes-flooding, etc.

The few factors touched upon here will hopefully set you off in the right direction of doing your research. First though, it is imperative that you write down the things that are important to you. This will help you more than you may realize…

 

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8 Comments

  1. Greetings to all fellow bloggers out there:

    The best hunting areas are not always in the areas marked by forested lands. The best hunting is around existing farms and ranches. Mature forests have relatively few things for an ungulate to eat. mature forests are great places to find shelter and bedding areas.

    Hunters and fishermen look for areas that offer 2 of the three things an animal needs in order to live. (food, water and shelter.) even then, we will place ourselves at the outer margins of the forest edge where the plowed field borders the brush and trees in order to glass for game. If you are positioned around the field edge and have a good idea where the local water sources are located, you should score well.

    Most frequently, the goal was to place ourselves in a location where we are in position to observe the animal moving from bed to feed or vice versa. If you move to a new location and you want to hunt, Rather than go to the woods, you may have better luck contacting a local farmer or rancher and politely asking permission.

    For 5 years, I hunted on a cattle ranch that allowed me to hunt 1 deer per year as long as I helped out a little on their round-ups twice a year. While the success rate in that portion of the state was only 6%, Me and my deer hunting friends were able to harvest one deer per year for many years. As I grew older and work became very steady, I started going with a guided hunting services. ( I now have more money than time)

    If you are retired or partially/seasonally employed like I was in my younger years, put that off work time to good use and do some pre-season scouting. Keep in mind the 3 thing deer or other critters need: food, water and shelter.

    Think beyond venison: I am a recent transplant from Kalifornia and if you are relocating to any of the southern states, You may be better off hunting pigs rather than deer and elk. Generally speaking, the bag limits are more generous, land owners are much more likely to give you permission and the meat tastes good. Pig hunting is the only thing I miss about moving to my new state of residence. (not a lot of feral pigs in Oregon)

    Where ever you move, be willing to adapt to change and local conditions. Just because you see antelope grazing in a field does not mean that you will be dining on antelope every year. I found out that the reason I was seeing lots of antelope in eastern Oregon was due to the very restrictive tag issuance by fish and game dept. The east bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area is loaded with many largemouth bass. It is a great catch and release fishery. But, there are health warnings posted for high levels of mercury and dioxin within the flesh of the bass. (Not what you want to feed to your pregnant wife.)

    Survive well to all and happy hunting.

  2. Luke I to fled Virginia. I am currently in South Carolina and the taxes are very low, no inspections and trailers do not need tags in this state. I have 4 vehicles, travel trailer that is registered and 5 acres with a 2500 sqft house and all my taxes a year don’t total $1300.00. Look towards McCormick and the surrounding areas heading toward Clinton and up towards Greenville. Stay out Columbia and Greenville if you can. But with in 40 min of each it gets country fast.

  3. Where do you think the best place to move in vermont is? If you want un-polluted water and are concerned about global warming?

    1. The best place in Vermont is across the border in New Hampshire.

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