How have ya been man!!  I still have that sticker on my roll around LOL.  I dunno what is like to live there but Ohio seems to have a decent share of aerospace work if your looking for something easy.  Honda jet is finally kicking in gear in North Carolina...the engine plant would be a very interesting place to work.  I have heard the area is really nice.  Anything they are doing will be world class.  Anyplace I have lived for any length of time is right off the list for you...jungle hot.  Arkansas is no place to go if you want to work, retire maybe but not work.  Montana and the Dakotas are pretty spread out, that definitely will be a huge change for you.  I like Colorado a lot myself but I have not lived there, just went there to blow off steam and have a good time.  Colorado Springs had great real estate prices relatively when I was checking and the market was hot, lots of aerospace work there as well, nice town.   If I was to base the move purely on quantity of shop work I would say Louisiana, Alabama, Florida...possibly Texas and Georgia.  There ya go hot climates again.  This is just opinions, based on my limited info.

Ever thought about just tossing caution to the wind and rigging out or starting your own company?

Plasma, If your a young guy w/no attachments Billings MT. would be my choice ....... Just saw an ad on cl for shop workers making oil field products for up in N.D.   also a HUGE shop along I-90 that services the fab. industry in  Mt.,Dakotas, Ut.,& Idaho..... That whole corridor from Billings to Butte is gonna develop soon...... Just  my opinion!!!!!

For the immediate future, I'd say Sabine Pass. Sabine LNG trains 3 and 4 will be happening in the very near future. (Louisiana)

One thing to be wary of with the boom states is the housing shortage problem.  I have read news reports about the Dakota oil boom which claim that a simple bedroom only rental can run $3000 or more a month, and there are waiting lists for those.  But, people with an RV are good to go I suppose.

I have also heard of reports of people with RV's that travel from nuke plant outage to nuke plant outage from state to state....not a bad lifestyle for people who like variety and a freelancer's life.

I recommend North or South Carolina.  I moved from MI in 2005 and I love it down here.  I recenlty worked at the V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 new construction addtions to the Nuclear plant.  It is near columbia, SC and would be a great place to come work at.  Check out Shaw Group's website for welder postitions.  If you can GTAW, SMAW, FCAW, GMAW-Pulse and learn how to run automated GMAW-Pulse then you wouldn't have a problem making close to $30/hr with good benefits.  If you run the automated system you would be in a building.  Boeing has a new facility in N. Charleston.  I know of a lot of fab shops paying great money including Siemens here in Charlotte is an awesome shop with spotless floors and a 600ton overhead crane, which was impressive. Not that it would matter to you as a welder, just something cool. seems pretty good about gun laws around here.  I have a lot of people with CCW and own lots of guns and have plenty of places to shoot them.  The weather here is great as you will get used to the heat and you will be able to do anything here as you would in NY except snowmobiling.  We have mountains, oceans, and everythign in between.  The people are super nice, some can be a little closed minded and a little redneck but great people!!!!!!

Live in upstate NY also.
Never let laws stop you from where you want to live.
Because laws can always change.
Love my family, friends and home here, never want leave.
Thank you for your time and consideration
Sincerely,
Kent

I have'nt heard anyone mention Wyoming yet. The area I live in is known as the Energy Capitol of the World. Coal, oil, gas and uranium. I have worked in the shops that cater to the mining industry as well as worked a few different field jobs building and/or repairing mining equipment. For the last several years though, I have been running a rig truck catering to the oil and gas industry. The outfit I work for is always looking for guys to weld in the shop. Most other outfits around are looking for quality welders on a regular basis too. This is a great area for a welder.

For quite a few years I traveled allover chasing industrial construction jobs, but I always had my eyes open for a good place to settle down. My mother would always ask when I was going to quit leaving tracks and settle in one spot. My response was always, "When I find the place where I can run a few cows, have a few horses and still make the kind of money I am used to". Since I came to Gillette, Wyoming I have never been out of work unless I wanted to be and I have never had to go out of town looking for work. There is alot of steady work here for talented and quality hands. Most of the time welders end up working and staying busier than what they actually want. It gets to where a person has to ask for a day off just to rest or they will get wore out from all of the hours.

Wyoming is a pretty conservative state filled with people who have a libertarian bent that just want to be left alone. There is no state income tax and propety taxes are'nt bad. We are also within the top two or three states when it comes to reasonable gun laws. We can concealed carry here without the ned of a state issued permit. Dont get me wrong, this place is not a magical utopia, but it is a freedom minded state. We do have winters here, but we also have the other seasons too. And dont forget the wind. We have that too, but a person gets used to it. If you have any questions, dont be afraid to send me a pm and I will try to answer them for you.

Good Luck
Tex