Well Danny, I guess my job at the local utility along with family connections is what has kept me in the same area all these years. I have always enjoyed living near the water and upstate NY has the best fresh water fishing and recreational boating around. I have been traveling to the 1000 Islands to fish since I was ten. Although some of my family has now spread out around the country (including my Marine Recruiter son), my parents and in-laws are quite old and in need of mine and the wife's help. About ten years ago, we purchased some acreage on top of a hill along with a twenty year old house. I have spent most of my free time improving upon it. I can see Lake Ontario from my kitchen window along with deer, turkey, fox, coyote and countless birds and other animals. I have traveled to other states and find something beautiful about all of them. I go to Nevada every year to visit the city of sin/w3tcompact/icons/love.gif, and at one time considered buying a condo out there for retirement. But after a week, I am so glad to be back at my homestead /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif, that idea fades away. Our weather is moderated somewhat by the lake, but that same lake can dump some pretty big snowfalls on us. I would have to say, New England is appealing to me as well, but the harsher winters are not. My only complaint about NY is the left sided politics and high taxes, which usually do go hand in hand.