Where to move to? Getting real? Rockets matter.

[gdjsky01]

I find now, I have to get real. Forget politics. Not interested.

Where in this country is a place where I can live 'less expensively' than California or New York and still find myself in a triangular area when getting to a few rocket launches month, given an hour or two drive, is possible? I really am no longer interested in Red or Blue. Just don't care. The country will carry on with out me. I am more thinking like friends, build rockets, maybe drive to a dark sky for a few hours of observing together etc. Just get along. Like 200 to 300k for a nice 2bd 2ba, 2 car plot.

No controversy. Just a 65 year old relic that needs to do this.

Ideas are welcome, please do not turn this into any sort of politics. (Admins pls note)

 

[bjphoenix]

I'm in the Dallas area. Our local NAR club has 2 launches per month. There is a local Tripoli club too but I don't know how frequently they launch. If you don't have to be in the urban metroplex you could find cheaper housing and less expensive living conditions.

 

[manixFan]

Texas is a big state, so close is relative. I live in the DFW area, and if I’m willing to drive 3 hours or so, I can attend a high power launch 3 times a month, depending on the weather. And Argonia is only about 5 hours away, which has Airfest each fall. Our local Tripoli club flies near Seymour, TX with a 32,000’ waiver. Add in Tripoli Houston at Hearne and AARG at Hutto, and lots of good opportunities to fly. The local NAR club does some high power, but to only a few thousand feet. They are mostly a model rocket club.


Tony

West Texas has some good dark sky areas – McDonald Observatory is a good 7 hour drive, but it’s at least sorta on the way to Seymour. And there is a great TRA club that out in west Texas.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Western Pennsylvania is certainly 'way cheaper than Cali, but we also have winter, lots of hills and trees, and the like. Still, we have several NAR and Tripoli sections nearby, including, I believe, Tripoli Prefecture #1 (Pittsburgh). Eastern Ohio isn't too far away, I'm about an hour from @Peartree.

I have a 4 bedroom house with a wood burning fireplace, integral 2 car garage, full basement and workshop under the addition, patio, concrete driveway, 5.74 acres with 2 natural springs, and I figure it'd sell for maybe $400K. Land is kinda steep.

You've been through a lot and I've had you in my thoughts a lot. I hope you find a good situation, and, more importantly, peace.

 

[jsdemar]

Post in thread 'If you moved, and wanted...'
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/if-you-moved-and-wanted.179416/post-2420677

Many houses in Las Cruces NM in your range.

3 launches per month, one local, 2 about an hour.

 

[gdjsky01]

Post in thread 'If you moved, and wanted...'
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/if-you-moved-and-wanted.179416/post-2420677

Many houses in Las Cruces NM in your range.

3 launched per month, one local, 2 about an hour.

Yes I am coming

 

[jsdemar]

You’re always welcome to visit.

 

[Cape Byron]

Oz is amazing, but the mean house price is near as spit to a million.

Bloody ridiculous. Kids growing up have zero chance of buying into the market.

Texas looks good to me, too.

 

[gdjsky01]

Thanks all so far. More pls. My clock is ticking. All I want is clear skies (most of the time), launch rockets a few times a month, and be able to afford the place. Dry if possible. Not humid. If possible.

NOT controversial. just have a decent life until its over.

 

[gdjsky01]

Oz is amazing, but the mean house price is near as spit to a million.

Bloody ridiculous. Kids growing up have zero chance of buying into the market.

Texas looks good to me, too.

I'd go in a MINUTE if there was a way.
Oz.... what a great idea.

 

[teepot]

Come to Pahrump Nevada. The town is small. Just about 40K people spread out over 125 square miles. Land and houses are inexpensive. No State income tax. Most people by far here are retired. 2 tenths of a mile from me is thousands of acres of empty desert to fly on. The skies are dark. Very little light pollution. About 30 minutes from here is where UNLV holds their dark sky events. Tripoly Las Vegas is who I fly with. We fly off the Jean dry lake. Very very hard to lose a rocket out there. We hold two 3 day regional events a year. We have an away site with a 50K ceiling. At the lake bed it's 14, 400'. Weather wise the summers get hot. July and August temps can get to 110*. Sometimes higher. Our humidity is single digits. May and September is between the high 80's and high 90's. March, April, September and October we don't need much heat or AC. This winter we have had a few lows in the upper 20's. Next week it's going to be between 65 and 70. We get very little rain. About 4" a year. The airport in Vegas is an hour and 15 minutes from here. The middle of Vegas is about an hour and a half. BMS is here. No more HAZMAT fees. Lots of building supplies too. If you still want to work and can't find what you want to do here. Vegas is booming. I worked in Vegas for 10 years. I worked a 4 day week. The road to Vegas is mostly highway. Most cars do 80 in a 70 zone. At 80 the cops won't even look at you. That is if you even see one. Crime rate is very low. There are thousands of people that work in Vegas and live here. My last job was 55 miles from home and I made it in 55 minutes. When we got here in '91 there weren't even a million people in the state. Since the mass exodus of people from California started Vegas went from 200 000 people to over 2 million. Gambling is legal. There is a lot of empty space here. We have had snow in the valley maybe a dozen times in the last 18 years. If you want to see snow you just have to look at the mountains in the winter. Fishing and hunting are almost non existent though. We never plan to leave here.

 

[vcp]

Come to Pahrump Nevada. The town is small. Just about 40K people spread out over 125 square miles. Land and houses are inexpensive. No State income tax. Most people by far here are retired. 2 tenths of a mile from me is thousands of acres of empty desert to fly on. The skies are dark. Very little light pollution. About 30 minutes from here is where UNLV holds their dark sky events. Tripoly Las Vegas is who I fly with. We fly off the Jean dry lake. Very very hard to lose a rocket out there. We hold two 3 day regional events a year. We have an away site with a 50K ceiling. At the lake bed it's 14, 400'. Weather wise the summers get hot. July and August temps can get to 110*. Sometimes higher. Our humidity is single digits. May and September is between the high 80's and high 90's. March, April, September and October we don't need much heat or AC. This winter we have had a few lows in the upper 20's. Next week it's going to be between 65 and 70. We get very little rain. About 4" a year. The airport in Vegas is an hour and 15 minutes from here. The middle of Vegas is about an hour and a half. BMS is here. No more HAZMAT fees. Lots of building supplies too. If you still want to work and can't find what you want to do here. Vegas is booming. I worked in Vegas for 10 years. I worked a 4 day week. The road to Vegas is mostly highway. Most cars do 80 in a 70 zone. At 80 the cops won't even look at you. That is if you even see one. Crime rate is very low. There are thousands of people that work in Vegas and live here. My last job was 55 miles from home and I made it in 55 minutes. When we got here in '91 there weren't even a million people in the state. Since the mass exodus of people from California started Vegas went from 200 000 people to over 2 million. Gambling is legal. There is a lot of empty space here. We have had snow in the valley maybe a dozen times in the last 18 years. If you want to see snow you just have to look at the mountains in the winter. Fishing and hunting are almost non existent though. We never plan to leave here.

Sounds neet, I know I've been through there before. How secure is the water system?

 

[OzHybrid]

Hi Jeff
It's difficult when you get to a key point in your life to decide what to do.
Make lists with the positives AND the negatives for each choice. Don't forget about proximity to medical treatments, public transport, power, water etc.
Take time to discuss with family and friends.
Best wishes
Norm

 

[kjhambrick]

Jeff --

We're kinda-sorta 'stuck' in Round Rock, TX ( Austin Area ) for now so that our live-in granddaughters can attend school in the RRISD ( great schools here ).

But my wife, Steph and I used to think about moving to west Texas where we could afford a little land and where Steph's alergies would be a little more bearable.

As for me ... If I could move today, I would look seriously out in the country someplace around the Abilene, TX area.

Abilene is 'big enough but not too big' and one bonus, now that I am a BABAR, is that Abilene is 1.5 hrs from either Seymour ( TNT ) or San Angelo ( WTSV ) but it is still only 3.5 hrs from Austin where most of the family lives ( close enough but not too close )

But as I said, we can't leave for now and Steph is learning to live with 'Cedar Fever' and her other allergies in this area ...

Good luck, Jeff !

-- kjh( so many options out there )

 

[Antares JS]

It's probably a bit far for you, but the Delmarva peninsula has rural dark skies, at least some not-too-expensive housing, and MDRA for launching.

 

[MClark]

Gerlach, NV

 

[Scott_650]

We aren’t particularly close to dark skies - though the drive to SE Ohio isn’t really too bad and it’s plenty dark down there, and NC PA has some of the darkest skies east of the Mississippi (but it’s a real bear getting there) finding the right spot in the eastern end of NC Ohio puts you within reasonable driving distance of:

- Northern Ohio Tripoli’s site
- Tripoli Mid Ohio’s site
- Wright Stuff Rocketeers high-power site
- Pittsburgh Space Command’s site
- Tripoli Pittsburgh’s site
- SOAR’s site
- MTMA’s site

I’ve launched with all those folks except Tripoli Pittsburgh at their Dragon Fire site southeast of Pittsburgh and it’s been a hoot at every launch.

Plus the drive to Dayton, home of eRockets (and the Air Force Museum of course) is a doable day trip.

Before we ended up east of Canton my original idea was north east Wayne county but we couldn’t find anything we liked. For our pocketbook land and building was too pricey but coming from SoCal you’ll probably feel different

 

[David Schwantz]

Do NOT come to Minnesota

 

[NTP2]

I would recommend SW VA we have some dark skies and NRVR has a monthly event.
Ps it also has lots of hiking if you like that.

 

[kelltym88]

Come to Pahrump Nevada. The town is small. Just about 40K people spread out over 125 square miles. Land and houses are inexpensive. No State income tax. Most people by far here are retired. 2 tenths of a mile from me is thousands of acres of empty desert to fly on. The skies are dark. Very little light pollution. About 30 minutes from here is where UNLV holds their dark sky events. Tripoly Las Vegas is who I fly with. We fly off the Jean dry lake. Very very hard to lose a rocket out there. We hold two 3 day regional events a year. We have an away site with a 50K ceiling. At the lake bed it's 14, 400'. Weather wise the summers get hot. July and August temps can get to 110*. Sometimes higher. Our humidity is single digits. May and September is between the high 80's and high 90's. March, April, September and October we don't need much heat or AC. This winter we have had a few lows in the upper 20's. Next week it's going to be between 65 and 70. We get very little rain. About 4" a year. The airport in Vegas is an hour and 15 minutes from here. The middle of Vegas is about an hour and a half. BMS is here. No more HAZMAT fees. Lots of building supplies too. If you still want to work and can't find what you want to do here. Vegas is booming. I worked in Vegas for 10 years. I worked a 4 day week. The road to Vegas is mostly highway. Most cars do 80 in a 70 zone. At 80 the cops won't even look at you. That is if you even see one. Crime rate is very low. There are thousands of people that work in Vegas and live here. My last job was 55 miles from home and I made it in 55 minutes. When we got here in '91 there weren't even a million people in the state. Since the mass exodus of people from California started Vegas went from 200 000 people to over 2 million. Gambling is legal. There is a lot of empty space here. We have had snow in the valley maybe a dozen times in the last 18 years. If you want to see snow you just have to look at the mountains in the winter. Fishing and hunting are almost non existent though. We never plan to leave here.

And only an hour away from Death Valley and Red Rock. My parents live out there (although they are currently here in Cali for health reasons). If you move there Jeff, I will help you.

 

[kelltym88]

If you want to stay in Cali, maybe a nice mobile/manufactured home out in Hesperia or Apple Valley. Then you'd be minutes away from ROC.

 

[tsmith1315]

And only an hour away from Death Valley and Red Rock. My parents live out there (although they are currently here in Cali for health reasons). If you move there Jeff, I will help you.

Don’t forget BMS is right there, too. No hazmat on anything!

 

[Tech 68]

Jeff, I think Pahrump has a lot going for it...
You're 65, and a quick look on the web shows 55+ communities there. Couple of good reasons for considering that. Easier to make friends in your age group and less likely (hopefully) to have nitwits for neighbors.
No state income tax.
You've been spoiled launching at Lucerne and Aerial Acres... here in Central Texas it's always a question of the wind and how far away the tree line is. And the weather here is something to take getting used to.

 

[jkovac]

I find now, I have to get real. Forget politics….

Ideas are welcome, please do not turn this into any sort of politics. (Admins pls note)

Good for you for knowing what you want to do and taking the leap to make it a reality. I wish you the best in your search and will be watching this thread to see where you land.

Not sure how high of a waiver you need, but if Black Rock is calling you, maybe check out Cedarville, CA.

 

[sghioto]

Colorado!!!!! I live near Woodland Park, CO
2 launch sites within a 1.5 hr drive.
Pueblo flies twice a month all year.
Hartsel once a month April thru November with 2 day launches twice during the season.

 

[David Schwantz]

Lucky you. We had 4 launches this year

 

[boatgeek]

Consider SE Washington or Eastern Oregon. Relatively dry, relatively dark skies, TCR and OROC launches, including 40K waivers at The Brothers. There are public observatories in Sunriver OR and Goldendale WA. I don’t know about housing prices in those parts of the states, but those tend to be less if you’re not in a tourist town. Paging @rharshberger …

 

[bad_idea]

Texas is a big state, so close is relative. I live in the DFW area, and if I’m willing to drive 3 hours or so, I can attend a high power launch 3 times a month, depending on the weather. And Argonia is only about 5 hours away, which has Airfest each fall. Our local Tripoli club flies near Seymour, TX with a 32,000’ waiver. Add in Tripoli Houston at Hearne and AARG at Hutto, and lots of good opportunities to fly. The local NAR club does some high power, but to only a few thousand feet. They are mostly a model rocket club.

Specifically, if you locate near I-35 south of Fort Worth, you're probably a little over two hours from Seymour (Tripoli North Texas, 2-day launches Jan-April, 3-day launch in May), maybe 2.5 hours from Hearne (Tripoli Houston, Saturday launches around 10 months of the year), about the same to either field of AARG (Saturday launches monthly), and about 1.5-1.75 hours from Gunter (DARS, Saturday launches monthly).

DARS cancels often for weather, Tripoli Houston and AARG cancel sometimes, and TNT nearly never cancels, though sadly had to this weekend, but aside from makeup days, these launches all fall on different weekends, so there are frequently months in the springtime when it's feasible to launch every weekend. Where I'm located, the drive to Gunter is a little shorter and the drives to the others a little longer, but I still consider myself very fortunate to have access to all these clubs (and I'm a member of all four too).

And also, as Tony says, Argonia isn't all that far, plus there are clubs in Oklahoma and in San Angelo that I've not yet visited but which aren't all that much further away than what I consider to be my four "local" clubs.

 

[jderimig]

Livingston county NY. You know the area. COL is very reasonably and housing is very affordable. Weather Dec - Mar, well you know....

Geneseo (MARS) and Potter (URRG) are about 45 minutes apart. In the Finger Lakes region. Beautiful summers, low crime and low local (relative) taxes. Between the clubs, 2 launches a month from May through October.

 

[bschultz32]

In her recent State of the State speech, Michigan Governor Jennifer Whitmer touted Michigan as a highly affordable state that is becoming more so. That's debatable, of course, but Michigan does have several functioning TRA prefectures, including Michigan Team-1. When Team-1 flies at Birch Run, the allowed altitude can be over 17000 AGL. When I watch the evening TV news I'm pummeled with natural catastrophes elsewhere in the USA, but I often think "Damn, I'm glad to live in good old catastrophe-boring Michigan". Food for thought, gdjsky01, you could do worse . . .