Best US State for living?

What is the best US State for living?

California	16.9%	[ 20 ]
Washington	26.3%	[ 31 ]
Colorado	12.7%	[ 15 ]
Florida	7.6%	[ 9 ]
Tennessee	6.8%	[ 8 ]
New York	11.0%	[ 13 ]
Minnesota	6.8%	[ 8 ]
Vermont	7.6%	[ 9 ]
New Hampshire	3.4%	[ 4 ]
Utah	0.8%	[ 1 ]
Total Votes:			[ 118 ]

[logan the god of candy]

Utah is pretty decent. Best Rocky Mountain state. I love the Rockies. If you don't live in the Rocky Mountains, You're in an inferior geographical location in this country... or Canada.

New York and California are like the shittiest states that I can even think of. Where did those votes come from? Vile states. People living there are just un-American.

[Adyman182]

If I was to make a definitive top 5 poll, I would have:

-Washington
-Colorado
-Tennessee
-Minnesota
-Vermont

on the list.

I would exclude:

-California
-Florida
-New York

for obvious reasons.

[Baby Neamhain]

I live in Cali but I would love to live in Washington, Oregon, or Colorado. gaia_star

[SailorGreenSparkles]

Im surprised no one has recommended Illinois….

Im from Chicago, Illinois and I have to say its probably the most polarized and divided State in America. You have the Urban Metropolis Chicago *The Nation’s 3rd Largest City in Size and Population* and its many Suburbs in the Northeastern Region of the State and the rest of the state is Farmland, Wilderness and College Cities.

Income-- Income is up there with cities like NYC, Los Angeles and San Francisco, however in order to get those jobs you have to “Pay to play” otherwise you literally have to fight for your life just to get a part time retail or restaurant job. Though at the end of this year, Minimum Wage will go up to $13 an hour.

Taxes-- This is the biggest downside of living here. Taxes in Illinois are the highest and most confusing in the nation. If you want to own your own business its either pay to play, or move to another state.

Weather-- If you are an avid fan of Summer or Winter, Chicago is your paradise. Summers are hot, and Lake Michigan looks like an ocean. When it comes to Winter, lots and lots of SNOW. However it does get rather cold pretty quickly and can extend into the Summer Months. Its rare but on some off years, Chicago can and will have the occasional Cold Summer or Warm Winter. If you are a fan of Fall and Spring, it doesn’t exist here.

unemployment-- HIGH. Its almost 3 times the national average.

housing-- Depends on the neighborhood and your income level. If you are lucky enough to land a good paying job you can live anywhere. The North Side, Northwest Side and some parts of the South Side *Near the Lake and Close to downtown* have great apartments, condos and even single family homes. If you are poor, you have no choice but to either have 5 roommates or live in the worst parts of the city and risk your life.

cities-- Chicago is the biggest city in Illinois and the Metro Area represents almost 60% of the entire population of Illinois. Other cities include the Capital, Springfield, Peoria, Rockford, Carbondale, Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana and East St. Louis. All of these cities are connected by Amtrak Train. Chicago is the railroad and transportation hub of the entire Midwest. All Trains *Freight and Passenger* passes though Chicago. O’Hare and Midway airports are some of the busiest airports in the Nation and have daily flights to and from anywhere. Chicago has the second largest Transit System in the United States thanks to the RTA which includes Metra Suburban Rail, Pace Bus and the Chicago Transit Authority. Because of Chicago’s transit system its possible to live in Chicago without the use of a Car. Which saves you thousands of dollars a year and can offset many expenses.

Crime-- Despite the constant reports about Chicago’s murder rate, most of the crimes are concentrated to a few isolated areas on the far Southside of the city where most Chicagoans tend to avoid. Otherwise, Most of Illinois crime is very minor.

Culture-- Downstate, especially when you go south of Springfield, it really feels like you are in states like Mississippi, Alabama or Louisiana. People even talk with southern accents and identify more with the culture of Memphis and Nashville, TN. Meanwhile, Chicago is a huge mix of internal cultures and traveling from one neighborhood to the next is like you are on a mini world tour. Chicago is home to many museums, large corporations, parks and many other things. Chicago is home to many of Illinois’ top tourist attractions including Navy Pier. Chicago is known for its many sports teams like the Bulls of the NBA, the Blackhawks of the NHL, the Bears of the NFL although some parts of Northern Illinois root for the Packers and East St. Louis root for the Rams. and of course the only other city in the USA that has two baseball teams. *NO LA YOU DONT COUNT* but Illinois is actually divided by 3 baseball teams. Chicago, the Suburbs and Northern Illinois are split between the White Sox and the Cubs and downstate Illinois root for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Water-- Definitely our Strongest Point. LAKE MICHIGAN and the Chain O’ Lakes in the far Northwestern Suburbs of Chicago. And the Following rivers… Chicago, DesPlaines, Fox, Calumet, Illinois, Wabash, Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers. Perfect for Boats and Fishing. Many small lakes and streams too. Its a Sportsman’s paradise. The ONLY downside, the Winters tend to freeze these waters and stay frozen for over a month.

People-- The people that don’t live in Chicago HATE CHICAGO. In fact they hate Chicago more than they hate New York or Los Angeles because of Chicago’s influence on State Politics. There were even attempts to have the state force Chicago to form its own state but failed on many occasions. When it comes to Chicago itself, there is a HUGE divide between the Rich, the Working Class and the Poor. Generally people are friendly if you are friendly back, but if you are an a*****e, expect people to be an a*****e to you.

politics-- This is what makes Illinois such a polarizing place. The City of Chicago is known to be a Democratic City its divided among Progressive Liberals and “The Machine” which was created by Mayor Richard J. Daley in the 1950s. Machine Democrats have absolute control of Illinois’ state government. Even if there is a Republican governor, the real leader of Illinois is House Speaker Michael Madigan, the current “leader” of the Chicago Democratic Machine. Compared to the Progressive Liberals, Machine Democrats are more conservative and do anything to keep the status quo. They are not liked by Liberal Democrats and hated by all Republicans. Republicans tend to favor the Suburbs and rural Illinois.

Nature-- Lots of Forest Preserves, parks, rivers and of course Lake Michigan give lots of color and green scenery to Chicago Its why its known as “City in a Garden” downstate, full of Forests, Large Rolling Hills and many great lakes and rivers for fishing, hunting and camping. Some parts of Northern Illinois even have Ski Lodges in the Winter. There is a lot of farmland in Central and Northern Illinois though. Southern Illinois has lots of forests.

Illinois has a lot going for and against it.

[drink more ovaltine]

I've lived in:

-California
-Hawaii
-Illinois
-Indiana
-Iowa
-Minnesota
-Virginia
-Michigan

Of all of those my top 3 would be Minnesota, Virginia, and Iowa. Bottom 3 would be Hawaii, California, and Illinois.

Minnesota is beautiful, the cost of living is pretty good, the education system is decent, and there is a lot to do. Even in the Twin Cities, you can have that small town-ish feel while being in a really urban area for way cheaper than Chicago.

Iowa has a great education system (K-12 AND university) and the people here are extremely nice. If I had to raise a family, it would probably be here. Des Moines has been pretty consistent in being one of the best cities for young professionals. It's growing a lot, really cheap place to live, but it has a lot of the perks of a larger metro area too. Iowa is also pretty centrally placed. From where I am now, it only takes me about 4 hours to get to Minneapolis, Chicago, or St. Louis.

Virginia is just really pretty and there's so much historical stuff and outside of the DC area, pretty reasonably priced. My parents live about 45 minutes from DC in a great neighborhood but pay WAY less than what we payed for a house in a bad area in Hawaii.

California just has too many people and it's too expensive.

Same with Hawaii. Milk is more than $9 a gallon on the outer islands and public education there is a complete joke. I did a lot of my K-12 schooling in Hawaii and it was a complete joke. They couldn't afford to send us to school 5 days a week so we went to school M-Th from like 8:00-1:15. Needless to say, I was pretty far behind compared to a lot of my peers when I started college in the mainland.

I love Illinois and I basically grew up in Chicago, but taxes there are too crazy. Also, ******** Chicago winters.

[SailorGreenSparkles]

Sermanther

Stacie LaVelle

Though at the end of this year, Minimum Wage will go up to $13 an hour.

For Illinois? Never head anything about it. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been on the news that Massachusetts is going to have the highest minimum wage out of all states (at $11/hr).

I meant the City of Chicago, not all of Illinois. My Mistake.

[Adyman182]

Stacie LaVelle

Im from Chicago, Illinois and I have to say its probably the most polarized and divided State in America.

This thread will never have a definitive answer unless I remove what I consider the 5 polarizing states:

-California
-New York
-Florida
-Texas
-Illinois

Picking out the best out of the rest is relatively easy, but these 5 should either be removed or have its own poll because those states are way more greater than any other.

Perhaps....it should be about cities. Pick between NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, a ******** of Texas cities, and a ******** of CA cities. Because I guess that's what these states are about.

[Adyman182]

After 100 votes:

1. Washington 25
2. California 16
3. Colorado 12
4. New York 11
5. Florida 8
5. Minnesota 8
5. Vermont 8
8. Tennessee 7
9. New Hampshire 4
10. Utah 1

[GSK Lives]

Don't have a state so much as cities I'd love to put roots in. Knoxville and Memphis equally is where my heart is, even if I wasn't born there.

[Mae Lovelyn]

Not California.

******** expensive as hell over here and there's a drought to boot. Ignore the rain today. It didn't last long.

I hear Washington and Oregon are a bit cheaper. Except it rains a lot. And there's a lot of ******** nowhere in Oregon if you exclude Portland and Salem. Oh, and the no sales tax is pretty sweet.

Personally, I want to move to Washington. I've been there a few times and the weather certainly is a nice benefit for me--no allergies woo! Plus, I've done research on renting/housing there. It's loads cheaper than the average cost for a one room apartment in California. And jobs don't seem too hard to come by. sweatdrop

[28340w8fosfuj]

Not California. It's expensive here, even in the supposedly poorer areas.

[Di Guerra]

**NOTE: I did not vote, since I do not have much knowledge about the other states. I apologize.

Hello! I'm not much of an expert about things, such as:
(1.) Income
(2.) Taxes
(4.) (Un) employment rate
(6.) Popularity of the place, largest cities
(7.) Crime rates
(11.) Politics (Republican, Democratic) **I think it's a tie between both parties, but the state seems to lean toward the democratic side
(12.) Nature and landscape (See weather)
...however I can talk about my personal experience from living in southern California all my life.

(3.) Weather -- You may have heard that California is in a drought. Around January, February, April, November, and December there are a few heavy showers, if we're lucky. It can be a bummer going up to the mountains, since the snow ends up being a puddle of muddy slush if you arrive at the wrong time. A couple of summers back, I went up north to the capital and the campus grounds of UC Davis around spring, and damn, it was just as sunny (or even sunnier) than where I came from.

As for gardening, I think it would be a good idea to buy plants that are well suited to climate. There are a handful of gardening magazines that mention these things, or if you don't really want to buy a subscription, go to the library and check out a few books. Supposedly, California's western coast has a Mediterranean climate, yet based on my pruned vegetables and snapdragons I think not. GRASS IS A BIG NO NO (**TIP: use pretty pebbles instead). Jesus Christ, the water is already expensive as hell, and thus every drop counts. Furthermore, it's common courtesy to clean any outdoor pool. A mixture of hot weather and a body of water is just begging for a mosquito outbreak.

We sort of have a trash problem, that is to say I'm not sure if you mind the occasional tumbling of grocery bags on the highway.

(5.) Housing prices -- They're are quite expensive based on how far you would like to live from the beach. But in reality, a town house (>$200,000; originally ~>500,000 a decade back) that is a 15-30 minutes away from the beach isn't all that bad if you're raising a family. Other than having to deal with your neighbors and following the rules given by the association governing the community. Many houses around here have lost a lot of value due to the economy, yet are slowly increasing in price. It's a matter of closeness, whether it bothers you or not; on a positive note, shops and festivities are nearby.

(8.) Culture -- We're a unique bunch. If you're interested, there are indeed many LGBTQ cities/ communities. Personally, I don't mind non-traditional views, yet I've heard from my mother (who works in a gay area in the evening) that the pride parade can get a little out of hand. Anyways, there are Asian and Latin-American (I'm not sure if Hispanic is the right word tbh, since Spanish would refer more to the motherland) and even Italian communities. It's a lot of fun going to the shopping districts, but let me tell you, the imports are super-duper expensive. One tiny key chain costed me over $10.00 (sooo cute).

It would be handy to be bilingual and I find useful when it comes down to business, especially when I take a drive down to the border or to the small repair/food shops.

Also, Comic-Con is a thing. A really HUGE thing -- seriously! My sister nearly didn't go to Comic-Con this year, due to the amount of people waiting online to buy their tickets. I would ask any co-workers, friends, or neighbors for help because sometimes they may end up having a few unwanted tickets. PLUS, I would have a couple other phones or computers open while the sale goes on. Keep that in mind. Have a tight network of people you could rely on.

(9.) Lakes, rivers and seas (oceans) -- There aren't any rivers from what I've seen. The only lakes that I have been to are either man-made ponds or reservoirs. If you want to catch BIG game fish, you'll have to rent a boat and go out into the ocean. Young 7-year-old me learned from experience that lakes are the best for catching nothing but disappointment. Mid-sized fish can be caught at the pier, even more, some people have a small market around there.

(10.) People -- We're a unique bunch, so that means there's bound to be a few grumpy people. But hey -- What place doesn't? The majority of people are nice and may tease you a bit if you have an English accent, or on the flip side, admire your exoticness. So you wouldn't get any funny looks if you're white or not. I'm not sure about how Californians feel about people from southwest Asia or the western portion of south Asia (Middle East is discouraged to say, as far as I know). If they do look at you funny and try to hide the fact that they looked at you, I'm 100% sure that they were not trying to be rude. Unless they start hollering at you or gossiping behind your back, then they're not being plain polite.

To put it briefly, I hope that I helped you find the right place.

From,
Di Guerra
(P.S. Your air-conditioning bills will be expensive during the summer months [practically three-quarters of the year] AND 10/10 would not swim in beach water) emotion_bigheart