Best place to live for herping and every day life

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

Post by Carl Brune »

I do think it is a healthy thing for people to experiment for themselves, trying out the big versus small city, east versus west coast, dry versus wet climate,... (skip the cold climate, lol). I don't think you can really know how you'll like it, until you try it for yourself.
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intermedius
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by intermedius »

I'd live in Flagstaff. Not too far from spots i wanna go, and its quiet and peacefull.
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by hellihooks »

I actually dream of being a hermit in a cave... live off the land, write philosophy/poetry... My luck... I'd be mistaken for Bigfoot, and shot. :roll: jim
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by jimoo742 »

Carl Brune wrote:I do think it is a healthy thing for people to experiment for themselves, trying out the big versus small city, east versus west coast, dry versus wet climate,... (skip the cold climate, lol). I don't think you can really know how you'll like it, until you try it for yourself.

Oh no... having lived in 6 states, and worked for periods in others, the best states / cities are often among the coolest (not really cold), like Burlington VT and Madison, WI.
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Brian Hubbs »

If I could live anywhere, and had the money to do it, I'd pick Arroyo Grande, CA. Perfect weather. Lots of habitat. Lot's of Cal Kings, pond turtles, and potential for zonata within 20 minutes. And, it's only 5 minutes from Pismo Beach and 2 hours from the Central Valley. What more could a kingsnake and turtle person ask for?
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Serpentes
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Serpentes »

Anywhere in the northern half of Australia. More reptile diversity than any other country. Great girls, great jobs and great political stability to cement the deal. In my yard in Brisbane I get a plethora of reptiles, from the charismatic carpet pythons, lace monitors, eastern brown snakes and water dragons to the less well-known species of reptile and amphibian. The further north you go, the better it gets!
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by StephenZozaya »

Serpentes wrote:Anywhere in the northern half of Australia. More reptile diversity than any other country. Great girls, great jobs and great political stability to cement the deal. In my yard in Brisbane I get a plethora of reptiles, from the charismatic carpet pythons, lace monitors, eastern brown snakes and water dragons to the less well-known species of reptile and amphibian. The further north you go, the better it gets!
Agreed. I can find 5 species of python, 5 species of Varanus, and dozens upon dozens of other things within a 20 minute drive of town. Three skinks, 2 leaf-tailed geckos and one frog are endemic to the immediate area (Townsville). I can hop in my car and drive to the arid zone within 4 hours for a weekend of chasing elapids and Spencer's monitors, and can be in tropical rainforest within an hour. Targeted herping can continue throughout the warm winter. It's pretty good.
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crocdoc
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by crocdoc »

AndyO'Connor wrote: If you could start fresh in life, no job, no family, and finances and credit in order, where would you live?
Have already done this, when I was a grad student, and stayed here, in Australia. As joeysgreen said:
joeysgreen wrote:It's a First World country, has a low population density (lower than Canada even), and the quality of life seems A+ from what I have heard.
Let's not forget that, at ~865 and counting, Australia has more reptile species than any other country in the world. Even here, in the middle of the country's largest city (and in a warm temperate area, rather than the tropics, to boot), I've counted more lizard species within a metre of the walls of my building than are found in all of Canada, where I grew up. I have friends that live in Cairns, north Queensland, and if contact with friends, family and a source of work were not an issue I could see myself living there.

Speaking of Canada:
gbin wrote:There are a couple of places in Canada that I'd seriously consider, too, such as Jasper or Banff.
I lived in Banff for a short while a number of years ago, working for Parks Canada as a Parks Interpreter/Naturalist. Aside from spectacular scenery, it was a great place for mammals, particularly large mammals (on many mornings, as I was leaving for work, I'd have to carefully walk around wapiti/elk stags feeding in my garden), but I could probably count the herps I saw on one hand.
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AndyO'Connor
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by AndyO'Connor »

Central/South America and Australia were childhood (and adulthood I guess) dreams, I just don't know if it is really feasible for a person with no college degree, not going to college, and certainly not unlimited funds. I've heard it is extremely expensive and difficult to immigrate to Australia?
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crocdoc
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by crocdoc »

Do you mean extremely expensive to immigrate or extremely expensive to live?

It's difficult to immigrate, yes, but expensive only if you have a lot of stuff to move :)

In the grand scheme of things, Australia isn't as 'extremely' expensive as everyone makes it out to be. Sydney is definitely very expensive, particularly the property market, but that's because it's a large centre so housing prices are up there with other large cities elsewhere in the world. It's expensive because a lot of people want to live here (that's how markets work), so it's important to remember that a lot of people want to live here for a reason :)

There used to be a huge difference between Australia and the US when it came to buying things like electronics, camera gear etc, but that's evened up quite a lot over the past few years through a combination of Australia's economy coming out strong after the global financial crisis and the introduction of an across the board GST (goods and services tax) rather than a ranked sales tax system. I used to wait until an overseas trip before buying large items of camera gear (as it used to be half the Australian price in the USA), whereas now it's usually not worth my while as the difference isn't that great.
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by condyle »

Im sorry but I ignore everything good or bad for the herps here in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

crocdoc wrote:I lived in Banff for a short while a number of years ago, working for Parks Canada as a Parks Interpreter/Naturalist. Aside from spectacular scenery, it was a great place for mammals, particularly large mammals (on many mornings, as I was leaving for work, I'd have to carefully walk around wapiti/elk stags feeding in my garden), but I could probably count the herps I saw on one hand.
Yeah, the lack of herps would be a shortcoming - but one I could readily accept in order to live in such a beautiful, wild place! ;)

Coincidentally, I came very close to moving to Australia a couple of years ago, to take a good job offer there. (So it sounds as if we have similar tastes in places to live. :beer: ) And had I done so I suspect I would have been happy to stay there forever, assuming they'd have been happy to have me that long. But I would have been primarily located in a fairly remote place (Dubbo) where there were virtually no prospects for my wife, and she said even if she found satisfying employment there she'd still want to move back "home" after a few years. I still wonder whether we made the right choice...

Andy, the last advice I have to offer is that you should bear in mind that it's not necessarily clear whether a place is right or wrong for you until you've actually lived there at least a while. When I first moved to AZ, for example, I really disliked it because of the heat (this MN boy wasn't expecting 115F in the shade the day I arrived in Tempe; I actually had plans to live in my van until I found a job and scraped enough money together to get an apartment :shock: ). Then I lost weight and otherwise adapted to the climate, and moreover found much of what there is to love about the desert southwest (and there's a lot!). Too, if it turns out that a place really isn't for you, you can always relocate again. So pick a place that intrigues you, and take the plunge!

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

Post by VanAR »

NW Arkansas is a surprisingly good choice as well. Good towns, cheap living, lots of friendly people. Good herping nearby and you're within a day's drive of most of Texas, Kansas, the Mississippi Valley, Snake Rd, etc., and 2 days of AZ, FL, etc.

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

Post by crocdoc »

gbin wrote:But I would have been primarily located in a fairly remote place (Dubbo)...I still wonder whether we made the right choice...
Dude, Dubbo? You made the right choice.

As an expat/transplant/immigrant myself, over the years I've met a lot of people that have come to Australia from elsewhere. One thing I've noticed is that the people who haven't made the decision themselves (such as the partner of the person that got the job here, as in your wife's case) always take longer to settle in. In my opinion, Dubbo would have been a huge ask on your wife. Not only would she have wanted to move back home in a few years, but she'd have been reminding you about it incessantly during those few years.

(my apologies to Dubbo residents reading this)
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by SnakeDude »

Otero Co, Colorado. :D

Duh.
KEAC
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by KEAC »

I love this thread and emphatically agree with Chris M.'s statement:
There is also a big difference in where "doing what you love, but getting paid less" and "making good money but being miserable" on the job-satisfaction continuum. Consider "don't HATE my job, but it's not really my passion; however it gives me sufficient time and/or money to pursue what I LOVE" as on option.
That being said, if I could go back, I would sacrifice a little finance for something I love most. I agree with Stephen Zozaya and Serpentes, but I think I would prefer something in between Townsville and Brisbane. Maybe I need to explore the area a little more eh, Stephen. :D

I love the coastal Guanacaste area in Costa Rica and as stated by others, there are many ex-patriots to make the transition nice. I lived in Arizona for 10 years and I would steer clear of Phoenix after witnessing all the changes, not positive! I wish I could move back to Southern AZ and open a winery in the Sonoita area when I retire. Opening a cocoa plantation in Costa Rica would be awesome too. That's cocoa (chocolate), not coca (cocaine), for those about to comment. :lol:

Definitely stay out of Southern California for all the non-herping reasons......

All spots mentioned are great for herping and I guess I'm just fantasizing now, while I run on about these places, since the wife won't leave So. Cal. anyway. :x

Later,
Darin
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

I thought I'd revive Andy's recent thread to share some relevant news that just took me by surprise:
    • "A poll released Wednesday of nearly 150,000 people around the world says seven of the world's 10 countries with the most upbeat attitudes are in Latin America.

      Many of the seven do poorly in traditional measures of well-being, like Guatemala, a country torn by decades of civil war followed by waves of gang-driven criminality that give it one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Guatemala sits just above Iraq on the United Nations' Human Development Index, a composite of life expectancy, education and per capita income. But it ranks seventh in positive emotions.

      'In Guatemala, it's a culture of friendly people who are always smiling,' said Luz Castillo, a 30-year-old surfing instructor. 'Despite all the problems that we're facing, we're surrounded by natural beauty that lets us get away from it all.'

      Gallup Inc. asked about 1,000 people in each of 148 countries last year if they were well-rested, had been treated with respect, smiled or laughed a lot, learned or did something interesting and felt feelings of enjoyment the previous day.

      In Panama and Paraguay, 85 percent of those polled said yes to all five, putting those countries at the top of the list. They were followed closely by El Salvador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Guatemala, the Philippines, Ecuador and Costa Rica."
People were indeed almost always friendly when I lived in Guatemala in the mid-1990s, but I generally had the impression that their smiles were a facade covering a whole lot of inner tension (and as the article quoted above mentions, they've historically had lots of reason for such tension). Maybe things are better there now. Anyway, even avoiding that particular country because of whatever lingering issues, this news sounds like a real nod toward some Latin American countries as places to live.

Gerry
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AndyO'Connor
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by AndyO'Connor »

Interesting read Gerry, thanks for sharing. I've been giving this a lot of thought and plan on doing some major traveling in 2013, if possible, to help my decision. Places to visit will definitely be AZ, NM, TX, and either Costa Rica, Panama, or both. I'd like to also visit Australia, but funds will determine if I can do ALL of that in a single year. I may have to settle on something in the U.S. first even if the goal is to go international some day. I said it a couple of times, but I will echo it;

I really REALLY appreciate the thought that many of you put into your answers, and saw this post for what it was, and turned it into a discussion of several things I didn't ask about but meant to. Herpers really are some of the coolest people on the planet.
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by dery »

Bay Co., FL.
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BDSkinner
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by BDSkinner »

What a question.


I have a few friends who have gone abroad to teach english. This idea is just great to get out and experience, a why not? type situation. If I did this, it would be to Japan. Their culture and language is intriguing to me and I'd like to see their salamanders and dragonflies. Not to mention the food. Central America also has a huge pull for me. Tons of salamanders and fungi (and everything else), already can pass by with my spanish, and I think the climate would suite me well.

Realistically, I would be about an hour or so south of where I am now. The southern appalachians just have something to them.

-Brad
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intermedius
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by intermedius »

Tough question, in the US it would be the Cochise Barrier (although SoFl is also a cool place). Outside is probably The Serra do Mar of Brazil region: so many rare species and a big clade intersection.
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

I'm not familiar with the term "Cochise Barrier," though I assume it has to do with southeastern AZ (and maybe adjacent Mexico). Can you explain it for me? Thanks!

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

Post by beanie »

I would venture to say Louisiana is a pretty darn good place for herping and everyday life. Hard to beat upper 70's in December while poking around in the Atchafalaya Basin. I'm not even gonna get started on the food :D
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intermedius
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by intermedius »

gbin wrote:I'm not familiar with the term "Cochise Barrier," though I assume it has to do with southeastern AZ (and maybe adjacent Mexico). Can you explain it for me? Thanks!

Gerry

Cochise and adjacent counties. Acts as a clade and species intersection creating new pocket clades (AKA new species or distinct ssp etc). Its what confused the s**t out of people with Lampropeltis pyromelena woodini, and may be the cause of the Hemotoxic/Neurotoxic scutulatus (correct if wrong). Its sort of like the southern Illinois, Alamos and Yecora in Sonora, and Papua New Guinea elsewhere in the world.

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

Post by gbin »

Thanks for getting back to me, intermedius! I should have been more clear in my query, though. What specifically does "barrier" refer to in this case? I know that the herps in that region tend to be unusual (for several years I kept an unusually marked - and correspondingly unusually beautiful - lyre snake that I caught on the east side of the Chiricahuas, for example), but I've never actually known why, so this sounds like a good opportunity to educate me. Feel free to take it to PM if you're worried about diverting the thread, though.

In any event, I agree that would be an awesome place to live. Even seriously considered buying some land very nearby in Rodeo, NM a few months back.

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

Post by hellihooks »

As I've probably already posted here, and certainly other places as well... I really like where I live... herp-wise. What I like the MOST is that I'm smack-dab in the transition zone between Ca's 'Coastal' and 'Desert' herp species... intergrade heaven.
To the north...1000's of sq mi of Desert clades... to the south... 1000's of sq mi of Coastal clades...with hi altitude montane species to be found, between the two.
And me in that couple of mile-wide strip where Kings, Gophers, Rosys, ect swap genes to produce an amazing variety of phenotypes...
With some 90+ herps to see, within a 2 hr drive, PLUS all the intergrades right outside my door... it really is (arguably) the best of all possible places, in Ca. :D jim
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by chad ks »

AndyO'Connor wrote:I know this is slightly off topic but I'd like to present a somewhat hypothetical question. If you could start fresh in life, no job, no family, and finances and credit in order, where would you live? Things to make mention of your reason would be proximity to civilization (jobs, sustenance, finding a mate), proximity to great habitat (herping in the field keeps me sane), cost of living, any other pros and cons to living somewhere. The types of places I was putting on my list were Las Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix, but those are just places I've been.
Lawrence, Kansas. My favorite city in the world, so far. The herping is unreal, with so many secrets to discover…and of course, KU basketball. Plus you're in hallowed herping grounds, following in the ghost-steps of Collins, Fitch, Hobart Smith, Ed Taylor…there are copperheads and red milk snakes right in the center of town! Plus the music scene there is perfect, up and coming and very busy.
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by dery »

Can we include a differant century Andy? If so, PUNTA RASSA. If not, still Bay county.
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crocdoc
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by crocdoc »

scott s wrote:Sydney would be great if it wasn't for the crappy herp laws and the huge cost of living issues.
Catch 22: It's the 'crappy' herp laws that make it a good place to herp, as it hasn't been completely over-collected. Sure, there is still illegal collecting going on, but for a city this size there are a lot of reptiles to see within easy reach of the city centre, which wouldn't be the case if wild-collecting were legal.

Pretty much any reptile one would like to keep is available captive bred, anyway, so there's no real need to collect from the wild.

Gravid female heath monitor, Varanus rosenbergi, digging her nest hole in a termite mound. Half hour drive from the city centre.
Image
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

crocdoc wrote:Catch 22: It's the 'crappy' herp laws that make it a good place to herp, as it hasn't been completely over-collected...
I'm not buying that at all, but I'm glad that you're happy with the laws where you live and herp. ;)

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

Post by crocdoc »

There's no need for you to buy it, because you don't live here, but I do and I'm okay with the laws as they are. :)
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

:beer:

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

Post by regalringneck »

crocdoc wrote:here's no need for you to buy it, because you don't live here, but I do and I'm okay with the laws as they are.
... just thot id add the qualifier " as ive got the pedigree and contacts that allow me to do much as i like" ... and that is a fortunate position that I know you've worked hard to get., still it just suxx for most common folk. Being solstice & all; im going to give you a (low) pass on your assertion that aussies would noticeably impact their herp pops w/ sane regulation; tsk tsk :p
Back to the postulate @ hand; Herps actually would not factor too highly in my calculus, but if they did, s. florida or tucson would be tough spots to beat... i think id go w/ europe for awhile, get cultured and ck out those adders, slow-worms : }
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crocdoc
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by crocdoc »

regalringneck wrote: ... just thot id add the qualifier " as ive got the pedigree and contacts that allow me to do much as i like" ... and that is a fortunate position that I know you've worked hard to get., still it just suxx for most common folk.
I'm not sure who you imagine I am, but I have no rights or 'pedigree' that allow me to do anything beyond what the 'common folk' do. My stance on the rules and regulations are based on the laws as they apply to 'common folk', for those are the laws that I follow. I'm also not sure who you imagine you are that your 'low pass' or condescending 'tsk tsk' would bear any weight on what I think, either. :)
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

crocdoc, I reckon all regalringneck was saying (and he can correct me if I'm mistaken) was that he believes you're wrong in what you said about Australia's herps needing to be protected from any collection in order to avoid overcollection - as do I. I doubt that he expected what he had to say would modify what you think - and I know I had no such expectation, either. And I'm pretty sure he meant you no personal offense, either - again, as was the case with what I said.

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

Post by Antonsrkn »

This thread is 1 post away from becoming another argument about the ethics/effects and impacts of collecting that ends up in the boardline. Lets see if we can avoid that this time...
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crocdoc
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by crocdoc »

Gerry, I knew exactly what he was saying. When someone says 'tsk tsk' , though, it comes off as self-righteous and condescending. If I made comments on the management of animal populations in your neck of the woods from the other side of the globe, based on hunches and guesswork, then gave you a 'tsk tsk' for taking a different stance from me, you'd probably understand why I took offence :)

As Antonsrkn pointed out, though, this is not the place to discuss the whys and wherefores of my stance on collecting. If you're interested in finding out why I feel the way I do (given that I'm the one that lives here and is familiar with the environment), send me a PM.
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regalringneck
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by regalringneck »

"I'm not sure who you imagine I am" .. a wee bit touchy ole croc eh :p ... hey if tsk tsk is the worst that happens to you here, count yourself amongst the unscathed.
i just took you at your post you were a doc of sorts, and again like here in the us, There are 2 sets of rules regarding wildlife contact (and im not arguing that that isn't often neccessary, im a wildlife professional myself), im just saying those of us w/ the contacts to do nearly as we wish, probably ought not to pontificate too much on that which doesnt effect us but does most others. Lastly, despite the big drink between us, im betting wildlf populations in au. respond to inputs, much as they do elsewhere in our biosphere.
Heres hoping you may bask un-disturbed for the rest of the week!
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

crocdoc wrote:... When someone says 'tsk tsk' , though, it comes off as self-righteous and condescending. If I made comments on the management of animal populations in your neck of the woods from the other side of the globe, based on hunches and guesswork, then gave you a 'tsk tsk' for taking a different stance from me, you'd probably understand why I took offence :)
Ah, but see, that's effectively what I see you as having done in your response to scott s (one can't help but draw comparisons to other places where you seem to think overcollection has occurred, you know, whether you meant to prompt such comparisons or not) - the difference being that a couple of us merely took exception to your words rather than offense. ;) And regal's right too, by the way, in expecting wildlife population biology to work the same way regardless of which side of the world one lives on. (I'm fine with avoiding yet another debate on the subject of the supposed danger of overcollection, Antonsrkn. I challenged what I believe to be an erroneous assertion made on the subject in a thread where it had no place, and that's enough to satisfy me.) In any event, it doesn't sound as if any of us desired to offend any other, so perhaps we should set it all aside while we're ahead, eh?

The weatherman says that we may have at least a touch of a white Christmas this year here in northcentral TX, but rain is more likely. Usually all winter means to us is one or two ice storms that break lots of beloved old trees and cause lots of wrecks on the roadways. It brings up the point that a person should be sure to think of how an area might change through the seasons when considering whether to relocate there. In my case, there's no doubt that I miss having a bit of real winter each year. One of the reasons I hold northern AZ as my #1 choice is because a person has some ability to choose their climate there. Go down in elevation for heat, up for cold and up farther still for snow - and the idea of living somewhere in the desert southwest where I can even be snowed in occasionally quite tickles me! :) There my cross-country skis, snowshoes, ice skates and heavy winter parka could do more in a year than just take up space in a closet, as they do here. (And they wouldn't be needed five months of the year, either, as they sometimes were when I lived in the north country.)

Be safe and happy wherever you are, this holiday season! :beer:

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

Post by crocdoc »

As I said, a pm would have been a more suitable place for this discussion. I have a lot of things I could say about what you claim are 'erroneous' assertions and why it is your assumption that all wildlife populations are the same that is erroneous, but that's for another time, place and season.

Holiday greetings to all!
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

crocdoc wrote:As I said, a pm would have been a more suitable place for this discussion...
But the assertion about overcollection that started it belonged here, eh? ;)
crocdoc wrote:... it is your assumption that all wildlife populations are the same that is erroneous...
Sorry, but even at the risk of helping to divert this thread, I won't allow myself to be misrepresented. I said that wildlife population biology works the same way regardless of location; that's not at all equivalent to saying that all wildlife populations are the same.

Gerry
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AndyO'Connor
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by AndyO'Connor »

I'd appreciate it if the thread did not derail any further. :beer:
It has already far exceeded my best expectations, and although there is an interesting topic being opened up, as several of you have stated to each other, it doesn't belong in this discussion. Thanks from the OP.
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Tim Borski
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Tim Borski »

South FL has quality, diverse herping 24/7/365. Is it the best? Probably not, but certainly worth consideration.
Andy, I'm sure you're competent enough to make it work any place you end up!

Tim




AndyO'Connor wrote:I'd appreciate it if the thread did not derail any further. :beer:
It has already far exceeded my best expectations, and although there is an interesting topic being opened up, as several of you have stated to each other, it doesn't belong in this discussion. Thanks from the OP.

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

Post by FunkyRes »

I don't know how to answer this, but I think San Francisco Bay Area - there's jobs there, and there's a lot of good herping along the coast north and south of the bay. There's the Diablo Range and the Delta. There's the Valley and not too far of a drive to get to the Sierra Nevada mountains.

It lacks diversity in turtle species (only two native - Western Pond and the seldomly seen Leatherback, has been reported off of coast in Marin County) and does not have any crocodilians. We don't have the chorus / cricket frog diversity of the east. We only have one hot. But the SFBA does have a lot of diversity in habitat not too from it and thus a rather nice diversity of species.

The political climate of SFBA is also fairly nice, lot of people with concern for environment which has resulted in a nice network of regional parks that you can visit.
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crocdoc
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by crocdoc »

crocdoc wrote:As Antonsrkn pointed out, though, this is not the place to discuss the whys and wherefores of my stance on collecting. If you're interested in finding out why I feel the way I do (given that I'm the one that lives here and is familiar with the environment), send me a PM.
crocdoc wrote:As I said, a pm would have been a more suitable place for this discussion.
Gerry, check your pm
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

I like Borneo. The biodiversity is world-class, the weather is never bad, and for an avid roadcruiser like me, you can't beat 1.60 US$ (dollar sixty) per gallon of gas....
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Speckled Rosy
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Speckled Rosy »

I'm surprised not more love for the Los Angeles area.. Sure San diego is great, but better job market in LA, id say for sure..

Lets see.. Mild weather, compared to just about anywhere in the cont. US. Not hot in summer if you live within 15-20 from the beach. Close to many great herping destinations throughout socal.. four hours to the Az border... Az being the only state that rivals California (IMO).. As for the herps.. great diversity: Rosys and Z's in the San Gabriel mountains overlooking the city. And great genetic diversity in the basin's Cal-kings.. I feel it would have been a much better place for the reptile enthusiast some years ago, when total development hadn't taken place yet.. but still none the less, I think LA ranks up there.. plus being close to the ocean is huge, surf, ski in the mountains... the best shopping, the best mexican food.. the list go's on and on

Cons- just one, the millions of people that have figured the same thing out and they still keep pouring in.. :cry:

Now if I was set for life and wanted to get out of the LA rat-race, Id say Baja.. Probably northern Baja, just south of Ensenada. Same weather and coastal scenery that people pay millions of dollars for in places like Malibu and Palos verdes, here in LA, but way less cost, way less people and slower easier paced life.

Great topic!

-Dan
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gbin
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by gbin »

Speckled Rosy wrote:Cons- just one, the millions of people that have figured the same thing out and they still keep pouring in.. :cry:
Ah, but see, for me that would be the deal-breaker, right there. I bet it was a truly awesome place before that happened, though!

You forgot to mention on the pro side that LA is full to the brim of attractive women, having migrated there seeking their fortunes in show business. Or is that a myth? 8-)

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

Post by hellihooks »

One of the nicest places my son and I stayed at, on our X-country herping trip was Checotah, OK. My son, then 17, considered staying there, JUST for all the 'hotties' we saw. :crazyeyes: Our best herping of the trip, was in OK... :shock:

In LA, the women's exteriors actually matches their inner selves...FAKE... :roll: :lol: :lol: jim
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Judson
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Re: Best place to live for herping and every day life

Post by Judson »

I'm with Dan on this one, and would pick somewhere in the L.A. basin close to the San Gabes. Rancho Cucamonga, Sierra Madre Pasadena or one of the other foothill communities along the 210 freeway. Less than an hour drive from the beach, 3 hours from Vegas, 7 hours from SE Arizona, 4 hours to NW AZ, 3 hours from Baja, Couple hours to Mojave MNP Joshua Tree NP and Borrego and 3 hours to Sierra Nevadas! Yosemite, Sequioa and Kings Canyon National Parks 4-5 hours away. Another area I'd look into is the Temecula area in Riverside County. Pretty much the same distances to all them places I mentioned, plus it's a little cheaper living.

-I
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