Letter Re: American Redoubt Relocation Climate Questions

James,
My question is on the American Redoubt.  It’s late in the game, but I’ve got to get out of Southern California.
 
What do you think of eastern Montana as a place to settle down?  Are the snows as bad as the Western part of the state?  My parents used to have a place 7 miles outside of West Yellowstone, and they said it was the coldest spots in the continental U.S.  Is the eastern part of Montana like that?
 
I’ve been watching what’s going on in America, and even I’m getting shaken.  I need to go where they won’t allow Obamacare, where they won’t allow Obama to take our guns, and where land is dirt cheap.

Let me ask:
 
        -Montana?
 
        -Wyoming?
 
        -Texas?  (In the North, I don’t like the demographics down south)
 
        -West Virginia?
 
        -Vermont, was it Vermont that nullified Obamacare?
 
        -North or South Dakota, or perhaps Idaho.
 
I think I’ve got a few friends convinced to move with me, so we can be each other’s backup.
 
I’ve been reading your blog for years; you and Karl Denninger are the two I rely on for this crisis. Thanx for your time, – Tina F.

JWR Replies:

To begin, West Yellowstone is fairly high elevation, so that makes it atypical of the region.

Eastern Montana has some problems:

It is plains country, so it is prone to drifting snow.
The winters are brutal.
It is DOWN WIND of the Malmstrom AFB missile fields.
It is DOWN WIND of Yellowstone and the potential supervolcano. (Yes, I know, “Once each 10,000 years”, but…)

I prefer Northwestern Montana and north Idaho, because they are WEST of the Great Divide, and hence have a milder climate.

My book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” has my detailed locale recommendations.  That $28 book will save you a couple of hours of phone consulting time (at $100 per hour.)  But some of that data is also available free, here.

My top choice is the vicinity of St. Maries, Idaho.  That valley has a much more mild climate. And there is great shopping just an hour away in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane is another 40 minutes beyond.)