Adyman182
I love the US and always wanted to move there, and I wonder where would I and where should I choose to live if I had the choice to choose where I'd move in within US, so here's something I did because I'm just that much a USA enthusiast, and that much of a stat nerd. Poll choices explained below.
Please read: Before voting, make sure beauty isn't the only thing taken into consideration, you need to make sure you can afford it, and if you can adjust to the weather, taxes, and other factors that come into play, which means that it isn't about tourism, but rather living, so I would ask people that never lived in US not to vote. Vote only if you're knowledgeable enough about the topic. I hope you understood me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(The 6 states in the poll are there for a reason, as voted by Gaia community last year by doing some multiple polls featuring all states across the forums.
(Numbers represent the number of votes advantage before this poll)
California 6
Colorado 4
Florida 8
Minnesota* 0
New Hampshire* 0
New York 4
Tennessee 4
Utah* 0
Vermont* 1
Washington 0
Those votes don't count now, as I want some new votes and them to count only. So I do want one poll to decide the definitive best state to live in as voted by Gaia community.
*additionally featured, explained below
4 states added because of the constant top rankings in official magazine/website polls, surveys, and analysis (redemption FTW):
Utah
Minnesota
Vermont
New Hampshire)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Some factors I usually count on when determining the best place:
1. Income
2. Taxes
3, Weather
4. (Un) employment rate
5. Housing prices
6. Popularity of the place, largest cities
7. Crime rates
8. Culture
9. Lakes, rivers and seas (oceans)
10. People
11. Politics (Republican, Democratic)
12. Nature and landscape
Make sure you know at least something distinctive about every state listed, and pretty much every state in general, before voting.
You don't have to choose only the states from the poll, you can post any US State that you think is the best in the comments.
Explaining your vote is really appreciated.
Vote and post, 'muricans
wink
I see a lot of votes for Florida-
why?
I mean, I guess that really depends on the type of life you want to lead and what type of scenery you want. If you plan on having children and raising them in your state of residence,
do not pick Florida unless you can afford a private or magnet school, or unless the education factor involved is college level. We have one of the highest drop out rates in the entire country, with some of the most spotty funding I've ever experienced in my life.
Cost of living can get pretty high in Florida, depending on where you live. My area you will not find anything decent under $750, most things being $800-$1000, with little or no utilities included. Keep in mind that most of what you will find for those prices are 1-3 bedroom apartments of various size and hospitable nature, or
small homes for rent (and possibly in a bad location). Most good prices are reserved for 50+ housing, at least in my area.
Public transport is very limited outside of major cities and is basically limited to taxi services, and not the type you can hail from the side of the road. The type you need to phone and wait a while for, and it can be very costly. Basically, if you plan on coming to Florida you really need to have transportation of your own.
6.2% (Jun 2014)
Florida, Unemployment rate vs 6.1% for the US as a whole, and 7.1% for California.
Keep in mind that
minimum wage varies from state to state, and in Florida it is $7.93 an hour (which is actually fairly high in comparison to some other states, but low when compared to ones like California, Washington, Colorado, Vermont, etc)
http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx
Florida is one of the many states that is not the best environment for working class citizens.
If you do waiting, please be aware that they
will pay you below minimum wage, which may already be poor depending on which state you go to. And tipping may be excepted in the states, but it's in no way completely customary. You will often get ******** on tips (one girl in this same forum I think has spent a lot of her life hopping from various countries, working jobs in each to get money to move on- she also says that the US has been one of her worst working experiences, and she's had several tables where people pay 50-100 for a meal and leave her a $2 tip, which makes her totally rich at $4 an hour.
That being said, please try to arrange something before you get here if at all possible.
Florida also ranks low on overall income.
Quote:
Average annual salary in Florida ranks low nationally. The average annual salary for Floridians ranks No. 32 nationwide, according to a new On Numbers analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Floridians have an average annual salary of $40,750, or an hourly wage of $19.59, as of May 2011.
Florida also has one of the
weaker mental health care systems, if that's a concern for you, as well as a
weaker overall healthcare system when compared to other states. They also have weaker state benefits for those who need assistance (though this might not apply so much to you as a foreigner).
http://www.webmd.com/news/20070613/how-states-rank-on-health-care
Webpage Title
Florida summers can get decently brutal.
Weather in temp is 80-98, but the humidity is also around 75-100% at almost all times. Winters are fairly mild, though evenings can get relatively chilly (anywhere from 25F - 60F/-1C - 15C). We get no snow. Where as New York, on the other hand... When I went there in January, it was 17F in the day and -12 at night (-8C and -12C), and I'm sure it often gets colder. Pennsylvania does not get as cold, but also has fairly hot (though much less humid) summers.
The
culture you see in Florida is a bit varied, much like the rest of the states, but predominantly you will see Mexican, Cuban, Jamaican, and Native American (location dependent- Seminole is one of the largest, which is further south I think for the most part). Aside from ethnic culture, Florida is also predominantly maritime. Lots of boaters, fishers, etc.
Waters are not always clear or blue here. For example, the ocean in my area looks like mud. Drive about an hour or so south, then you start getting the pristine waters, and don't hit the clearest until you get to the Keys. The West coast is similar- all location dependent.
Some of our
largest cities are Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Miami, Hollywood, and West Palm Beach. Others are Tampa, Pensacola, Cocoa Beach, etc.
Name Population Latitude/Longitude
1 Jacksonville 821,784 30.332 / -81.656
2 Miami 399,457 25.774 / -80.194
3 Tampa 335,709 27.948 / -82.458
4 Saint Petersburg 244,769 27.771 / -82.679
5 Orlando 238,300 28.538 / -81.379
6 Hialeah 224,669 25.858 / -80.278
7 Tallahassee 181,376 30.438 / -84.281
8 Fort Lauderdale 165,521 26.122 / -80.143
9 Port Saint Lucie 164,603 27.294 / -80.35 (I've lived here before, actually)
10 Pembroke Pines 154,750 26.003 / -80.224
If you want
nature and landscape, Florida really doesn't offer much variety there either.
(I'm starting to wonder if any of the people who voted for it
actually live in Florida, jesus ********)
There are almost no hills. Most of what you pass when driving are prickly trees and cows (which reminds me, we're also big on farmland- we are a primary exporter of oranges, after all). Of course, if the coastal landscape is more your thing, that's something you might enjoy. There are some nice areas in Florida- but as someone who has traveled and lived in several other states, it's lack luster visually compared to most places.
We connect to both the Atlantic Ocean (east coast- Miami/Hollywood/etc) and the Gulf of Mexico. (West coast- Tampa etc)
We have
several lakes, the primary one being
Lake Okeechobee.
We also have a number of
rivers and lagoons, and of course the
Everglades.
We're at sea level, so digging down you'll hit water. We're also on limestone. For those reasons,
Florida residences do not have basements. We also do not have attics due to the heat and humidity levels that we're subjected to. It would be too costly for construction.
In terms of politics, Florida is Swing/maybe a slight lean towards Red (For non Amerifags, this translates into: It's been carried by both Democratic and Republican parties, and during elections is targeted about equally by both parties- however, it does seem to lean a bit Republican, and we tend to spend a lot of time on 'budgeting'.
In terms of
Crime:
No matter where you go, the closer you are the the larger cities the more you'll see violent crime statistics increase. As Florida is a major tourist state with a lot of people, there are absolutely neighborhoods you'll want to avoid and parts of the cities you'd better be wise before you walk into.
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/content/fsac/menu/crime-trends/violent-crime.aspx
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/content/FSAC/FSAC-Home.aspx
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/31/most-dangerous-cities-florida_n_4524866.html
Quote:
Florida may be just the fourth most populous state in the U.S., but it contains more of nation's 100 most dangerous cities -- a total of 11 -- than any other state, including California (10), Texas (five), and New York (four).
CONVERSELY:
Top ten safest places in FL
So aside from "loving the USA" why do you want to actually come here? What do you think you stand to gain? What goals to you plan on fulfilling?
Quote:
But what about Colorado? Because THAT'S my first and only choice, personally. I've heard more bad stuff about Oregon than Colorado.
I've heard lots of great stuff about Colorado from people who have lived in several places there for a very long time. My father lived there for a long time too, he always insists it's been his favorite place and if he had to choose to move out of state again, he'd want to return to Colorado. If you do live there though, and especially if you decide to live up by the mountains or around Denver,
cold weather driving and maintenance skills are a must. Read up on it. Maybe even take some driving courses when you get here for cold weather, if where you come from isn't prone to it. If you're not prepared, you could either end up in a ditch, or with your car dead in the garage because the cold cracked something important in your engine. Same goes for house maintenance in cold weather- you'll want to read up on how to prevent your water pipes from freezing/bursting and all of that fun stuff.
100
200
100
