relocate for a hobby?

[crankbait2009]

Back in 2003, I left sunny San Diego and relocated to Cincinnati to be closer to my beloved Reds. 

We certainly didn't relocate for better weather. Prior to the move, we never even stepped foot in Cincinnati.  We didn't have jobs, didn't really have a place to live.  We sold the house in San Diego, packed up the Penske, and headed east.  Found an apartment online right before we left (with little research).  A week after we arrived, the wife had a job, and I got one about a month later.  Daughter was 7 at the time, and we enrolled her in school and all worked out.  A year later we bought a house.  We rolled the dice and took a gamble in hopes that things would work out.  To this day I have ZERO regrets and glad we took the leap.  Things worked out perfectly.  (That's a little story of my biggest risk.) (and yes, I am/was completely aware of how bad the team is/was ?)

Most people would relocate for warmer weather, family, work, etc.  (Not this guy ? )

 

Now that I am in to bass fishing (since 2009).  I see a lot of lakes/rivers scattered all throughout the country.  I see a lot of waters in the south.  Sure makes the wheels in my head turn.  Then I start asking myself, if I moved "there", would fishing be better, fish be bigger than here, and would I enjoy it more if I went to other areas/states/waters.  Now, I highly doubt I'd ever move to another state just for waters that I'd use for recreational fishing.  I made one drastic move for a sports team, don't think I'd do it again for another hobby.  (I don't think ?)

 

So I'm curious, has anyone else ever done something like this?  Would you relocate for a hobby that had no financial benefit?  But strictly for enjoyment?

 

[TOXIC]

I'm getting ready to retire this year so finding and moving to a lake house is priority #1.  

[ike8120]

34 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

I'm getting ready to retire this year so finding and moving to a lake house is priority #1.  

Let me know maybe we could be neighbors

[jimmyjoe]

5 hours ago, crankbait2009 said:

Would you relocate for a hobby that had no financial benefit?  But strictly for enjoyment?

   If I had a job with extremely high stress levels, and that hobby allowed me relief from that stress, then yes I would. But otherwise, no.     jj

[flyfisher]

Sure why not.  People move for all kinds of reasons and if said hobby is a high priority in your life then there is no reason not to move to a place that you can enjoy it as often as possible.

[roadwarrior]

17 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I'm getting ready to retire this year so finding and moving to a lake house is priority #1.  

I think that goes for a lot of us that are approaching or in retirement.

My daughter and grand babies are in Texas and we will be headed that

way in a couple of years. Anyone know if there are any good lakes to fish 

down there?

 

[Brad Reid]

18 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

I think that goes for a lot of us that are approaching or in retirement.

My daughter and grand babies are in Texas and we will be headed that

way in a couple of years. Anyone know if there are any good lakes to fish 

down there?

 

Texas and bass lakes? They are literally everywhere! Mostly LMBs and less so SMBs but still tons of choices. From my home on Lake Athens, itself one of the best bass lakes in Texas, I am 20 minutes from Lake Palestine, 20 from Purtis Creek, 20 to Cedar Creek, 30 minutes to Richland Chambers, 30/40 to several lakes in Tyler and Canton, an hour to Lake Fork, Fairfield, Tawokoni. Let's see the Neches and Trinity rivers. I'm getting writers cramp and have another 20 to go. And, I am 20 minutes away from Gary Yamamoto's private lakes! There are few places as loaded with good bass lakes as there are in Texas, more so to the east than west side, but you'll have no issues finding a great lake to live on if you move here!  Brad

[Choporoz]

18 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I'm getting ready to retire this year so finding and moving to a lake house is priority #1.  

+1....except I'm still about five years out....but looking at buying sooner 

[drew4779]

Having lived in Cincinnati my whole life, loving the Reds, and loving bass fishing... This makes no sense to me and yet makes perfect sense to me all at once.

 

My mind is spinning from this post and can offer nothing except... at least the Reds will be interesting this year and the bass have already started biting. 

[Jrob78]

3 hours ago, Brad Reid said:

Texas and bass lakes? They are literally everywhere! Mostly LMBs and less so SMBs but still tons of choices. From my home on Lake Athens, itself one of the best bass lakes in Texas, I am 20 minutes from Lake Palestine, 20 from Purtis Creek, 20 to Cedar Creek, 30 minutes to Richland Chambers, 30/40 to several lakes in Tyler and Canton, an hour to Lake Fork, Fairfield, Tawokoni. Let's see the Neches and Trinity rivers. I'm getting writers cramp and have another 20 to go. And, I am 20 minutes away from Gary Yamamoto's private lakes! There are few places as loaded with good bass lakes as there are in Texas, more so to the east than west side, but you'll have no issues finding a great lake to live on if you move here!  Brad

I love your enthusiasm Brad! I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic but you're right. You are in a great central location. I'm in Dallas and the fishing options within 2 hours of me are endless. 

 

Move from CA to OH for the Reds?!? Sounds crazy to me but I guess it worked out. OP has a very understanding wife! ?

[NHBull]

While my last move wasn't primarily for fishing as it does put me only a mile from work, being able to be fishing on one of New England's best fisheries in 9 minutes is a huge benefit ?

[greentrout]

texas has awesome fishing even in urban settings for the non boater ..... con .... crawling with people and will only get worse and you won't be the only guy on the lake ...

 

other southeast settings offer more laid back rural settings with excellent fishing and you might be the only one on the lake .... each to his own ....

 

good fishing ...

[Brad Reid]

9 hours ago, Jrob78 said:

I love your enthusiasm Brad! I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic but you're right. You are in a great central location. I'm in Dallas and the fishing options within 2 hours of me are endless. 

 

Move from CA to OH for the Reds?!? Sounds crazy to me but I guess it worked out. OP has a very understanding wife! ?

For sure on the sarcasm part . . . just bragging to any soon-to-be retirees really wanting to move somewhere with good weather, no state incomes taxes . . . and lakes full of bass and other critters.

 

And, essentially, year-round fishing. There are a few days I don't venture out when it is really cold or windy, but as you know, we are almost 24-7 365 days a year here.

 

Cheers!  Brad

[Hower08]

Moving for a sports team no way. Moving for better deer or bigger bass sign me up. 

[soflabasser]

I live in the Fishing Capital of the World so I have no need to relocate for my fishing hobby. Florida also has world class diving which is my favorite thing to do. Still plan on traveling to catch bucketlist fish but my favorite place to live will always be Florida.

[Oregon Native]

Moved to Tennessee to be with kids and grand kids from Oregon....have never looked back.  WHY..........

[NYWayfarer]

My child is my first priority with any move I consider.

 

My goal was to move to a good area before he was ready for school. Check. Done.

 

Second goal was to stay in that area so he could go from elementary to graduating high school in the same area. Check, so far, he is a high school freshman and we still live in the same area.

 

I remember relocating twice during my educational years. Once in elementary and once in high school and both times were traumatic. I vowed not to do the same to my child if I could help it. 

 

Next move will be wherever we retire. The other scenario would be to move wherever my son ends up if he eventually needs help with taking care of grandkids.

 

Family first, job, hobbies, etc. second.

[CrankFate]

When I retire I’m getting a bass boat. There’s nowhere to use one anywhere near here.

[haggard]

On 3/24/2019 at 5:45 PM, NYWayfarer said:

Family first, job, hobbies, etc. second.

Family obligations #1. Outside of that, relocating for a passion such as fishing, absolutely. There are two fishing friends in or close to my neighborhood who are in the process of doing exactly that, and in both cases there are no dependents, and in both cases, they sure put the work in and earned it.

 

[HeyCoach]

Y’all feel free to move to Guntersville. I need a guide. ?

[soflabasser]

Last weekend I went surf fishing somewhere in Central Florida. I noticed that over half the cars parked in the beach had out of state license plates. Seeing this reminded me how fortunate I am to live in Florida and how miserable it has to be to live up north where people are willing to drive +1000 miles to seek warmer weather during the winter. Florida is truly a paradise for those who enjoy the outdoors and I do not blame the tourist for coming in droves to Florida every single year.

[NYWayfarer]

On ‎3‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 12:02 AM, soflabasser said:

Last weekend I went surf fishing somewhere in Central Florida. I noticed that over half the cars parked in the beach had out of state license plates. Seeing this reminded me how fortunate I am to live in Florida and how miserable it has to be to live up north where people are willing to drive +1000 miles to seek warmer weather during the winter. Florida is truly a paradise for those who enjoy the outdoors and I do not blame the tourist for coming in droves to Florida every single year.

It's not all bad up here in the North. We have skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating, snowball fights, etc.

 

Another perk is no gators. And no bugs or lawn mowing from November till April.  

[A-Jay]

On ‎3‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 12:02 AM, soflabasser said:

Last weekend I went surf fishing somewhere in Central Florida. I noticed that over half the cars parked in the beach had out of state license plates. Seeing this reminded me how fortunate I am to live in Florida and how miserable it has to be to live up north where people are willing to drive +1000 miles to seek warmer weather during the winter. Florida is truly a paradise for those who enjoy the outdoors and I do not blame the tourist for coming in droves to Florida every single year.

No doubt.

Sometimes they flock to FLA - 

And sometimes they flock out of FLA . . 

A-Jay

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, NYWayfarer said:

It's not all bad up here in the North. We have skiing, snowmobiling, ice skating, snowball fights, etc.

 

Another perk is no gators. And no bugs or lawn mowing from November till April.  

You got muskie, smallmouth bass, and other fish I enjoy catching but that's about it. How was your most recent trip to Florida, did you enjoy it? Any bass over 6 pounds? Would you consider retiring in Florida? I know I will never consider retiring up north since I like seeing green trees, open water 365 days a year, and catching big bass whenever I want without leaving my home state. I enjoy seeing alligators, iguanas, and other reptiles when I fish so that is a big plus for me. With that said I would still consider visiting up north for bucketlist fish and try ice fishing but never live in the frozen north.

54 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

No doubt.

Sometimes they flock to FLA - 

And sometimes they flock out of FLA . . 

A-Jay

I have lived through Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Wilma, and other hurricanes. It is not bad if you have a well made house and prepare in advance which is very easy to do. Beats living in a place where it is cold +9 months of the year and nasty, windy, cold, snowy, frozen lakes for +6 months of the year. Besides hurricanes rarely hit South Florida and where you live it gets hit by dreadful winters every single year. Saw in the news that there where storms with hurricane strength winds+lots of snowfall up north recently, that is even worse than a hurricane! We rarely see tornadoes and that seems to be common in some states. No drought either unlike other states, just lots of green plants everywhere and world class fishing both in freshwater and saltwater. Are the lakes still frozen in your area? Its late March already, open water can't come soon enough!

[NYWayfarer]

5 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

You got muskie, smallmouth bass, and other fish I like to catch but that's about it. How was your most recent trip to Florida, did you enjoy it? Would you consider retiring in Florida? I know I will never consider retiring up north since I like seeing green trees and open water 365 days a year. I enjoy seeing alligators and other reptiles when I fish so that is a big plus for me. 

I have lived through Hurricane Andrew, Wilma, and others. It is not bad if you have a well made house and prepare in advance which is easy to do. Beats living in a place where it is cold +9 months of the year and nasty, windy, cold, snowy, frozen lakes for +6 months of the year.

Loved it. I visit Florida every year for vacation since the 70's. My grandparents retired and lived there until they passed.

 

Nice place to visit. I am not a big fan of the heat. Don't think I could stand it year round.