Best place to live for herping and every day life

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Rags
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Rags »

I am firmly in the Australia camp here. The wildlife, including the herps, is amazing. The countryside is stunning and the people friendly. The cost of living is slightly higher than other places but consider where you are living.

To narrow things down further I really liked the area around Brisbane in Queensland. For me one of those big detached places looking out to sea at Hervey Bay would be fine.

There is a downside here though...Australia is such a long way from anywhere else. I could only relocate to the other side of the world if able to do it 35 years ago. At that time my family was young enough to adapt to the change and they would all have grown up in Australia. To up sticks now would just be too much of a problem. Leaving behind family, especially the two new grand children who arrived in 2012, would now make a life in Australia unworkable. For that reason I would have to choose somewhere closer to home.

Best place to live for herping and every day life
...

For me it's Croatia. At the risk of sounding like a Croatian tourist board advert, good standard of living, beautiful coastal areas and islands, plenty of wildlife and not too far from home.
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The Real Snake Man
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by The Real Snake Man »

I'm pretty happy with where I'm at: the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. As long as you know a friendly rancher or two, you should be able to herp to your heart's content. Also, the conserved lands out here are great for herping, the best for birds, and the best for butterflies (if you like 'em). Most times of the year I can find lizards, and there are a lot of specialties down here: cat-eyed snakes, speckled racers, black-striped snakes, Ruthven's whipsnakes, Mexican treefrogs, burrowing toads, cane toads (native), white-lipped frogs, mesquite lizards, you name it. The only downside is the lack of salamanders, but with two types of siren, a good old ambystoma, and the black-spotted newt, it's not too bad. Heck, we even have gators down here. And don't forget ocelots and jaguarundis.

As far as living goes, the weather never becomes unbearably cold, so the herping season doesn't really ever end. Northerners might come down here and need a jacket maybe once every two years; the locals have their jackets on when it's in the low sixties. As long as you can tolerate hot, hot summers and not too much rain, the weather is great. Residential property is dirt cheap, and you're not far from a great beach and decent bay fishing to the east and bass fishing to the west. There are downsides, of course. We don't have a serious violence problem, but Mexico is right next door and cartel issues turn up all the time. The schools aren't great and the students aren't dedicated, and the drivers are idiots. But I love it here.
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

I've got to admit, TRSM, I've been to and through south TX plenty and would never happily move there. (No offense intended; it's just decidedly not to my tastes in a number of ways.) But you manage to make the area sound surprisingly attractive, even to me! If you ever need a letter of recommendation for your local Chamber of Commerce... :thumb:

Gerry
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DaneConley
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by DaneConley »

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The Real Snake Man
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by The Real Snake Man »

gbin wrote:I've been to and through south TX plenty and would never happily move there.
Yeah, it's not for everyone. I guess it's easy for me to overlook a lot of issues as a high school student, I don't have to be out and about too often. But if you're ever back in the area, let me know; maybe we can go speckled huntin' out at Sabal Palms or something. - Gene
Zombie_Kid
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Zombie_Kid »

I'd say any state that offers coastal plain, piedmont, and mountains within a fairly close proximity ie. nj,va,nc. It gives you great diversity and access to many cities. I grew up in sj I have the lines right here, mountains in 2 hrs, plus Philly, Atlantic city, and NYC fr night life. We already have enough people ere though. Oh and living can be expensive.
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Serpentes
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Serpentes »

Hi All,
Here's an example of what I have to suffer: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=14561

Tim Jackson also posted a great thread from just up the road from where I live: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... 59#p138159

I think it's an OK place to live and a decent place to herp in SE Queensland, but there are better places in Australia!
Coluber Constrictor
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Coluber Constrictor »

The Gulf Coast region has excellent herping, we are pretty much spoiled as far as diversity, and you can herp year round (January is pretty much the off season for snakes though). That said, sometimes I'd rather live somewhere with a more temperate climate, and a more temperate, uh, political climate :lol:
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DracoRJC
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by DracoRJC »

DaneConley wrote:
roosters977 wrote:I would not know what to pick. It would definitely be a area that I have old memories in, like Gloucester VA.

:thumb: I live on the other side of the York River and I love this place, the area is a great place for a herper to grow up in.

If anywhere I would choose where I currently am. Southeast Virginia has plenty of parks and a diversity of species. There is miles and miles of swamp, fields, and forests. I spent my days growing up in York, where I could find Ratsnakes, Cottonmouths, Racers, Watersnakes, Kingsnakes, Hognoses, Snapping Turtles, Box Turtles, Pond Turtles, Ambystoma, and so much more without ever getting into a car. I can and do go herping everyday without spending a penny in gas.

Now that I am older and travel a bit more I still like that area. I enjoy living here because I can drive a couple hours west and I am in mountains, I can drive a couple hours south and I am in the NC sandhills. Plus there are many other herpers in this area that I am friends with. I am content where I live and don't plan on ever moving.
Don't plan on ever moving?? I guarantee you won't say that in 10 or 20 years :P Gotta see the world bro! If I pull off the career goal I'm shooting for I was gonna hire you as one my herp keepers out there in Texas lol
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krisbell
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by krisbell »

I have to also weigh in for the Australia vote - particular mid- to north- coastal Queensland. English-speaking (not essential but a definite bonus), incredible herp diversity, great climate, easy going lifestyle, an economy that seems to be immune from recession, plus Mrs Macs pies!!

Just to take Townsville as an example (though anything from Brisbane north largely fits this description) - 300 days a year of sun (and when it rains it properly rains which is a hell of a lot of fun too) 5 minutes drive from the beach, 30 mins drive from rainforest, 4 hours drive from arid outback, a boat ride to the great barrier reef, loads of reptiles, jobs, girls, outdoor bars, fishing, deserted beaches, I could go on.....
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

DracoRJC wrote:Don't plan on ever moving?? I guarantee you won't say that in 10 or 20 years :P Gotta see the world bro!...
I feel the same need to explore and always have, but I must admit, my siblings and their families all still live within 10 miles of where we grew up - and they're all adamant about keeping it that way, too. Go figure. :?

Gerry
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justinm
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by justinm »

I would say Southern Illinois or Eastern Missouri or then Western Missouri if I was doing a move for herping. Both areas are beautiful, full of herps, mild winters, and huge diversity of herps. Best of all you're very central to the entire continent, so doing a major roadtrip is doable to almost anywhere. Besides then you wouldn't need to fly to hang out with me anymore. Doing it that way you can herp nearly year round and still do trips to the Southeast for peak times, and trips out West for peak times. Barring that if I was single I would likely go to Oz.
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Martti Niskanen
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Martti Niskanen »

Easy. Central Finland.
No, wait....

I'd happily go live in Malaysia or Australia if given a chance (and a visa).
Reptiluvr
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Reptiluvr »

I just had this hypothetical conversation and so I thought I'd chime in my picks.

Costa Rica/Panama
Australia (damn their carbon footprint though)
coastal FL/CA/GA
several Caribbean islands (not as good for the herp diversity usually)

Asian cultures have never caught me like Latin cultures have, otherwise some tropical Asian countries might have made my list.
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Fieldnotes
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Fieldnotes »

If I could aford the $5 dollar a gallon of gas that will be reaching well over $6 in the more remote areas I could go herp'n every day in California.
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