I need help deciding where to move when I retire so anyone who doesn't know what the item below is please post where you live, what city and state. For those of you that do who know what it is please keep it to yourself. If you know what this is I don't want to live anywhere near you, I've seen enough of these to last 10 life times.

If there is one invention I could come up with it would be a time machine. I'd go back in time to when my ancestors came to this country and were standing at the bottom of Lake Michigan scratching their chins trying to figure which way to go. I'd come up behind them and give them a swift kick in the butt and tell them to go south, not north to the God forsaken ice box of the world. I am so tired of this cold. I've spent the last month and more fixing broken farm machinery, moving sick or dead animals, pulling tractors with fully loaded manure spreader out of ditches and off ice covered slopes in the middle of the night in sub zero temps. Also, my favorite, thawing out, in my shop, solid frozen manure spreaders. Any one have an idea what 5000 gallons of thawed cow manure smells like in a 2500 square foot shop? Not to mention what a mess it leaves after it thaws and fall off the sides of the spreader. I had a delivery driver drop off parts for my business, non farm related, who almost passed out from the smell.

Our ancestors were brave enough to cross the oceans in rickety old boats but not smart enough to figure out tat there is 375+ million square miles in this country, with a huge portion that never drops below 30°. My ancestors decided to settle in a place you freeze 5 months out of the year, cook 5 months out of the year with mosquitos the size of humming birds and if, that's "IF", you're lucky you might have a nice month in the spring and fall.

Before anyone suggests that I should move, I agree, but unfortunately before I had a chance to move I married a German farm girl whose families roots go back to the farm six generations back to the 1800s and there's no way of moving her to another part of the country. I've lived here all my life and really hate Wisconsin winters.

OK, to make this somewhat old Ford truck related, this climate really limits my truck driving season. I only drive the trucks during the somewhat livable seasons of late spring, summer and early fall, that gives me about 5 months of driving time, at most. That's if it's not too cold, too hot or too wet.

Now with saying all of this I hope to see you all here for Dairyland Truckfest in September

 

So, we'll put you down as a 'No' for the Department of Tourism spokesman opening.

 

Why do you think so many Canadians have second homes in warm places .

 

I lived in Wisc. myself, in Madison for a few years, had a job in the school system. Your post just cracked me up. I moved to Tucson, Az after that experience to continue my education, thank you. I'm from New England myself and thought those winters were bad. Ha, Wisc. winters are 10x worse. You can't be serious, you're wife won't go. I must say that the people in the upper Midwest are very friendly and easy to get along with and many of them retire to Arizona or New Mexico. I saw a guy with whatever that thing is in your post in his front yard with a sign "Never Again" next to it in Tucson

 

PM sent.
Depends what you want. Some states don't tax retirement. Into NASCAR? NC area. Some places have low property (residential tax) but make up for it with property tax on vehicles, sales tax etc. Where we are in VA is near the mountains if you want to go that way or Martinsville speedway. About 20000 in the county, sort of becoming a retirement area. We do have the seasons, with about 1 1/2" of s--w 2 wks ago which lasted a couple of days. Check online with different area newspapers to get a feel for the area. Could even check on real estate sites to get an idea of prices. Good luck.

 

I don't think so. At least my sales material wouldn't be very strong. Heck, I might even try to convince people to move to southern Illinois

I couldn't pry her away with a ten foot crow, not as long as her "babies" and the farm is here.

[quote]I must say that the people in the upper Midwest are very friendly and easy to get along {/quote]

We have to be friendly, we have no place to go to get away from each other but inside, it's either too damn cold or too damn hot and humid.

I figure I'd mount one of these on my truck and start driving south, when I'd get to a town and the locals would come out with a puzzled look on their faces and ask what it was I would know I have found my happy place. I'd put it in the middle of my front lawn as lawn art.

Got your PM, man if I could afford it and I was old enough I'd be down there next week. I just turned 50, I figure I will still have to work 20-25 years before I can retire. Actually, I figure I'll know when I can retire when they're rolling me out in a casket.

 

I opened this thread and knew exactly what he typed without even reading it. Let me guess--Wisconsin is too cold. His ancestors trekked across the continent and settled there. His wife's family loves it and they'll probably never move. Bob hates farming. He's getting tired of snow. He's gonna mount a big snow plow on the front of his pickup truck and start driving south. When somebody finally asks "what is that thing on your truck", he's gonna stop there.

So how close did I get? I'm gonna go back up and read it now.

Sorry Bob, I couldn't resist. Cabin fever is getting to all of us. Cheer up. It will be springtime soon. March or April for me. May or June for you.

 

Bob, I hear ya......it's finally above zero after a week of cold, snow and wind. Mid 20's feel like a heat wave.
The older I get, the less I enjoy winter....luckily, I have a nice shop to work in.
I have thought about moving too, got really mixed feelings on that.

 

You never know what you will find. B in Law liked where we are in Virginia. Found a 2000 sq ft double wide on a permanent foundation. 1 acre. Only thing he did was change the toilets for the ADA compliant taller ones, $30000. When he got his tax bill he found out he owns another parcel of about .5 acre. We bought our first place down here for $34k only .5 acre so we ended up where we are now. Wife wants to go back to NY, 2 sons and a daughter up there.

55* here now.

 

LOLOL. I'm rolling. That's the best laugh I've had in a while. Rep points given.

 

Bob the only problem with moving south is it takes a long time before you can talk to anyone. They are all very friendly but it's impossible to understand them if your from the norther Midwest It was at least six months that my wife ( she went to univ of KY) had to translate anything someone said to me. Now it's ok but there for a while I was really unsure. Have fun Ya'll

 

My translator fee is $100 per hour.

 

That's for sure. Got directions last week to pick up some items. M st was Elm St., knight st was 9th street, hine st was highland.
Before I came down here, a guy who comes down from NY to the NASCAR races at Martinsville, told me they're still fighting the Civil War down here. They see his truck with NY plates on it and they give him the finger.
Turns out it is really a one finger wave (index finger) with hands on the steering wheel.
Didn't have too much trouble fitting in , as ran across a few displaced NYorkers. Go into NC, there are a lot of NY people down there.

 

Sorry but there are to many snowbirds in AZ so we know what your pic is... but if you live in the valley you don't have to use one... But our summers are a dry heat... and I mean hot!

 

I live in Nirvana compared to many places...assuming that you ONLY consider the weather. When my son was 17 we took a trip to Nashville to visit my inlaws for Christmas. When we were putting the luggage in the trunk of the rental car my son grabbed the scraper from the trunk and asked me what it was. After I told him that it was a scraper and explained to him that it was used to remove the ice from your windshield, he looked at me and asked, "why would you put ice on your windshield?". That is how sheltered SoCal people are to cold weather!
I grew up in Ohio...that is why I live here now. The wife and I have threatened many times to move elsewhere and have looked at many cities/towns across the nation for a suitable area. Just about the time we decide, there is a hurricane, flood, earthquake, etc that sweeps through and there goes that place from our list. They say that life is what happens while you are making plans...I think that we are about "frog soup" by now although I am REALLY tired of living in such a liberal state. The only thing that I can recommend is that you make a list of what you MUST have and on it list everything you must NOT have...lists like this are tough if not impossible but it is worth it to at least give it some consideration.

Last night we slept with the bedroom window open, it's just after noon now and the temp is in the low 70s...if it weren't for that we'd be gone.