States with good laws, taxes, and with a little entertainment value

Ok I'll admit this first, I am not looking to go full on homesteader and completely fall off grid. My wife and I have decided that she will carry on working (as a nerse) and I will run the home farm. We will just expand with aquaponics in a greenhouse and maybe a little of the traditional farming too along with raising chickens, cows, pigs, meat rabits, and maybe a working goat or two. We don't plan on having a big operation but as far as the grown produce out of the aquaponics system we would like to be able to sell locally.

I have been trying to do some research on where would be the best place for us. What I want is to live more country and not near a city. I want the freedom of being able to do what I want for the most part but I don't want to have a 4 hour drive to get to town because of my wife working at a hospital or even for supplies for that matter. I also think that it would be a tactically sound decision to move somewhere where fresh food is hard to come by because of the climate such as a desert/arid area or someplace locked by geographical features like Sitka, Alaska.

I have actually really been concidering Sitka because it fits everything and Alaska is gun friendly for hunting and provides everything I stated above and has mild winters. But what I don't know is laws and taxes. I currently live in Virginia and I have been here for a little over a year and a half and holy cow can I tell you that I can't wait to get out. I can't remember a place I have ever lived in that I disliked more than here or even close to it. So where can I go that is the least restictive on you and at least somewhat allows you to be a small buisness in peace?

I was also looking at Different places in Oregon, everywhere from the west coast to even its desert to the east but I did find out that their taxes suck and are not good for small buisness. Or at least thats what I have been reading. But anyway, do any of you guys have any ideas of places that fit my criteria? Or maybe know something of Alaska laws and the pros and cons of living there? Lol maybe I will just go live in Canada? haha

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to permies Cameron.

I have spent quite a bit of time in Alaska (but never in Sitka). Great place in my opinion.

I know that there is no personal income tax in AK, but there is a Corporate Tax.
(They actually have a 'Perma Fund', supplied by the oil companies which gets paid to residents each year.)

There is no state sales tax, but many cities/counties do tax prepared foods.
Also, alcohol, tobacco, and motor fuels are taxed.

Only about 25 cities/municipalities in the state collect property taxes.
(And most of those exempt seniors from the first $150,000 of property value.)

Alaska is probably the friendliest states as far as taxes go.
They receive lots from industries, and have minimal services - they don't need much!

For an overview of the states taxes, see here: http://www.city-data.com/states/Alaska-Taxation.html

Cameron Schuckert wrote:Ok I'll admit this first, I am not looking to go full on homesteader and completely fall off grid. My wife and I have decided that she will carry on working (as a nerse) and I will run the home farm. We will just expand with aquaponics in a greenhouse and maybe a little of the traditional farming too along with raising chickens, cows, pigs, meat rabits, and maybe a working goat or two. We don't plan on having a big operation but as far as the grown produce out of the aquaponics system we would like to be able to sell locally.

I have been trying to do some research on where would be the best place for us. What I want is to live more country and not near a city. I want the freedom of being able to do what I want for the most part but I don't want to have a 4 hour drive to get to town because of my wife working at a hospital or even for supplies for that matter. I also think that it would be a tactically sound decision to move somewhere where fresh food is hard to come by because of the climate such as a desert/arid area or someplace locked by geographical features like Sitka, Alaska.

I have actually really been concidering Sitka because it fits everything and Alaska is gun friendly for hunting and provides everything I stated above and has mild winters. But what I don't know is laws and taxes. I currently live in Virginia and I have been here for a little over a year and a half and holy cow can I tell you that I can't wait to get out. I can't remember a place I have ever lived in that I disliked more than here or even close to it. So where can I go that is the least restictive on you and at least somewhat allows you to be a small buisness in peace?

I was also looking at Different places in Oregon, everywhere from the west coast to even its desert to the east but I did find out that their taxes suck and are not good for small buisness. Or at least thats what I have been reading. But anyway, do any of you guys have any ideas of places that fit my criteria? Or maybe know something of Alaska laws and the pros and cons of living there? Lol maybe I will just go live in Canada? haha

Thanks for reading!

Just got my place in Klamath County Oregon and I'm very happy with most of the circumstances, however I'm not trying to run a small business.. legally.

France
Stop laughing but its true !
Firstly Organic food is big here so selling your produce is not difficult . Every village has a market and many people try to buy as fresh and local as possible .
Secondly Laws and regulations yup we have them by the mile but I dont see much enforcement
Thirdly A national healthcare system
Fourthly 5 yes Five weeks paid holiday a year if you work is standard
6th reason mild weather
7th reason small farms are common and being a small farmer is respected
8th reason hunting is allowed Sanglier very popular as well as deer , Roe and "water deer " Lots of clean rivers too

My view Best spots In the west south of the Loire north of the Dordoigne.
There are also some vinyards I think .....
Lots of entertainment value

for example http://www.leboncoin.fr/ventes_immobilieres/493698080.htm?ca=18_s

David

Hey thanks John! You pretty much only told me exactly what I wanted to hear haha pure music!

David, France would be really cool. The whole area would offer so much in terms of entertainment and I could always save a little money and backpack to anywhere and have a blast doing it. Yea I know that wouldn't be good for the farm but thats what kids are for right? haha. But I don't speak french, and what are the gun laws? If I can't have my AR-15 then its a no go lol. I am not willing to part with it. I always thought europ was all about anti guns and it was illegal to own them. I would hate to have to shoot someone for trying to take it away from me lol.... but alas I am ignorant on the way of life over there. On the other hand, however, 5 weeks paid vacation time for the miss would be outstanding and I have heard that the healthcare is cheeper out there (but isn't that just paid for with the taxes?) and I do like mild weather. Oh and the best part is is that I absolutly love cheese haha, I hear you guys are loaded with cheese But back to the other hand I wonder if they would force the laws more strictly on me because I would be an "outsider" to their country and customs....

For Europ I have been to Greece and Italy and I liked both, but Italy seemed to be the most racist country that I have ever been to. France has a reputation for really disliking us Americans and after my visit to Italy I am not sure I would like to see what happens when you go to a country that is already stareotyped for it haha. I think I would blind into the enviroment better if I chose to stay in the states just in case something happens with the way we live in this world now....

One caveat with Alaska:
Though you pay very little in taxes, a lot of those savings are offset by the higher cost of almost everything.
Very little is made in Alaska. It all needs to be shipped in, thus adding to the final cost.

In the "Inside Passage" (which includes Sitka), there are no roads in from the outside world.
Isolated villages that depend on outside shipments year round.

But then again, perhaps somebody with a good flock of laying hens might be one of the most popular guys in town.

EDITed to add: Alaskans have 'an attitude': It is America's last frontier, and they all seem to develop a very independent attitude. As long as you are not harming anybody/anything, they pretty much don't give a damn what you are doing. A very refreshing change from 'down here', where everybody seems to want to have a say in your every action.

Hi Cameron
Dont believe the hype
Hunting is very much alive here in France but it may not be the same sort of hunting you are used too because we dont have your wild open spaces. Unlike the UK hunting is a mostly blue collar rural pastime and the local hunt organisation is usually a very important social part of village life . Getting a gun permit involves a whole load of paperwork but if you are a citizen of good standing ( no convictions for drugs violence etc and your doctor says you are not bonkers) have land and are a member of 'the hunt' then you are likely to be able to get a gun . Usually a shot gun for pest control and possibly something larger for Deer /sanglier ( wild pig ).
Pistols and anything other than bolt action forget it . The view of most people here is that a good hunter does not need semi automatic stuff and that they are for killing people.
Hunting if often done as a social activity with beaters driving the prey to the hunters and after, a good meal and share of the spoils for all . I am told there are districts in NE france where there are a shortage of hunters and they are activly looking for more.
There are seasons for most things ranging from rabbits , coypou and other vermin 400 days a year to Bears , where all 12 of them are protected with big fines and the threat of jail if you kill one .
France has a form of national health service where healthcare is paid for by a form of taxation effectively . Why you folks in the USA dont get one like the UK or France or Canada is beyond me. I was told the UK spends 8% of its GDP on health care France 9 and the USA 11 I figure someone is taking a lot of cream over there . Or would they rather have you worried about loosing you right to own an AK47?
I accept racism is an issue here in europe mainly older folks and the stupid frankly, the younger people seem less effected by this blight and I have great hopes for the future . Plus the french have an attitude and belief that there culture is the worlds best . The english solution to constantly pull their collective legs bemuses them.

David

PS there is no cheese shortage

John Polk wrote:Alaska is probably the friendliest states as far as taxes go.

I've been to Alaska several times and the one thing that strikes me most is how friendly everyone is. One has to be careful when striking up any conversation because you might get invited to dinner!

I went to bed one night in a hotel in Anchorage. I was awakened next morning by dogs barking. Lots of dogs barking. I went outside to go to the airport and there were dogs tied to everything, hundreds of them.
This really cute girl was working with her dogs and I asked what was going on.
The Ididirod race was starting and I was going to miss it.

I tend to go by a broader definition of the word tax.  Often there are hidden taxes or cost of living issues. Then there is the question of taxes for who?

AK certainly has low taxes, but there is the issue of price of many items when compared to the lower 48.  I was speaking with a business owner in TN, and I was amazed at all the inspections he had to pay for that didn’t exist in some other states.  I once spoke with a lady who had moved from California to Georgia with a son who has a disability, services that the state used to pay for now had to be paid for by her. Illinois certainly has an income tax.  I have not been directly affected by this tax for many years.  Some of my neighbors constantly complain about it.

I would toss available wages into this equation.  The cost of taxes and goods might not mean so much if well paying jobs are readily available.

My suggestion is that for any state ( and county) you are considering moving to, consider the sum total off all the positives and negatives as they impact you.