One state I'd absolutely consider relocating to if we wind up leaving NYS is Michigan.
MI is an improvement over NY in every domain.
Far better gun laws, easier homeschooling, lower income taxes, lower property taxes -- but the climate and scenery is incredibly similar.
I enjoyed living in Sault Sainte Marie for a year back in 2020. It's a great community, the lakes are fantastic, the forests are lovely, and the soil was fine. Was an easy place to live for me -- if I blurred my eyes I felt like I was back home in NY because everything was so similar.
Yet you can actually carry a gun, and you pay thousands less in taxes year over year. I suspect if we moved out to the UP we wouldn't regret it one bit.
In American slang we often refer to money as “benjamins” this is a subtle reference to Benjamin Netanyahu, an American folk figure who takes all of our money
first date idea: we embark on an epic quest through the forested mountains to save the world from evil by tossing a family heirloom into a live volcano
Whenever a Really Bad™️ thing happens, the interpersonal Overton windows in your life (outside of the really bad thing circle) shift drastically
So if I joke, “thank God my best friend and I both have premature dad trauma”
Many would judge/pity, but (un)forch she gets it 💔💗
People go hiking/camping to get exercise and be in nature - to ‘touch grass.’ But the best part IMO is silence. We are surrounded in modern urban life at all times w/noise - radios, phones, traffic, people. It generates anxiety you don’t know is there until you’re away from it.
A lounging black bear in Yellowstone National Park. This cropped picture was snapped using a 500mm lens as I stood behind a ranger controlling the scene.
a fascinating thing about piloting an aircraft in MI at dawn/dusk is the significant possibility of hitting a deer upon takeoff or at landing, like you could genuinely just die trying to go on a lil sunrise joyride lol
we need more but better/smarter hunters in this state