# Are there any cities/regions of the US that you wouldn't move to regardless of the money? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202 "2024-05-06T20:25:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/101 "2024-05-10T05:17:56Z")
I see some folks talking about only having to live in said undesirable location for a couple years and then moving. That would make a difference, but that’s not how I interpreted the OP. I could grudgingly live in FL or most anywhere for a year but I honestly can’t picture myself spending the rest of my life anywhere but my current state. Heck, there are many states I won’t even visit / spend my tax dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/102 "2024-05-10T06:29:51Z")
I left Wisconsin 40 years ago during its downturn in the agricultural/industrial downturn, but would return for the food. The food and the people who believe in it. Do you like beef jerky? Do you like sausage? Then imagine their marriage: [landjaeger](https://hummersmeats.com/shop/meat-sticks/landjaeger-sticks/) If you can dream it, you can live it. Not just a dried hunk of slim-jim gnawed on in a fuck-you bar where everyone is sitting there with their thumbs up their asses, but a gastronomic lovefest with all the Wisconsin fish-fry, and cheese on pumpernickel with mustard, and everything imaginable pickled bar food washed down with beer and schnapps; and overall the **gemütlich** of everyone else enjoying this with you there. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/103 "2024-05-11T14:55:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Detroit, Camden NJ (Urban Blight and Crime) and Gary Indiana (pollution/contaminated water) > > Are my top three. I’d have serious concerns about any of the rust belt cities. 1. The collapse of industry and 2. Pollution and dangerous waste sites are major concerns. > > Ruining my health or my family’s health by living in the wrong area is terrifying. Unfortunately the cancer hotspots aren’t always known until the damage is done. Dumping sites can occur anywhere. > > I prefer rural areas and small towns. But could put up with big cities for 6 million. If you haven’t been there it’s hard to make those judgments. Camden is bad but not nearly as bad as it was decades ago. Camden isn’t even in the top 20 in murder rate anymore. You can live comfortably in some nice parts of town. More importantly Camden is _small._ You might live there but anything you need to do is a short drive away. Depending on the direction, in no time you will be in suburban or rural territory. Camden only has a population of around 70,000. I’m sure there are nice areas of Detroit too. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/104 "2024-05-11T15:01:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > Six million is too much. I’d live in the south, even. The only places I wouldn’t live is San Francisco or Manhattan. Because $6M isn’t enough money to afford a nice place! > > I strongly question this. Are you saying that the majority of people currently living in San Francisco and Manhattan are making more than six million dollars a year? Or are you saying that the majority of people aren’t living in nice places? > > Yes, housing in those cities are extreme. But I’m sure you can find a good place when you’re able to afford a $25,000 monthly rent - which you would with a $6,000,000 salary. $25,000? You could live like a king. $10,000 would get you a beautiful apartment in a great neighborhood. Not huge like a house but more than enough living space. I think I would grow to dislike some aspects of living there but I would easily live in Manhattan for a couple of years if I could afford it. My entertainment spending would be through the roof. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/105 "2024-05-11T15:08:34Z")
I saw an article about buying and tearing down vacant homes in Detroit. The city saves money by turning off city services. They’re returning entire streets to natural fields. It looks much nicer than dilapidated buildings filled with rats. It should cut crime too. Similar article that I read. Link [Last Detroit house demolished in $265M blight-removal effort](https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/08/14/last-detroit-house-demolished-blight-removal/3349213001/) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/106 "2024-05-11T15:23:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If you haven’t been there it’s hard to make those judgments. Camden is bad but not nearly as bad as it was decades ago. Camden isn’t even in the top 20 in murder rate anymore. I never lived in Camden proper but a little town just outside of Camden named Maple Shade (close to Cherry Hill.) It was a nice life. Camden has one of the best aquariums I’ve ever seen. Possibly better than Shedd. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/107 "2024-05-11T17:07:15Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > If you haven’t been there it’s hard to make those judgments. Camden is bad but not nearly as bad as it was decades ago. Camden isn’t even in the top 20 in murder rate anymore. > > I never lived in Camden proper but a little town just outside of Camden named Maple Shade (close to Cherry Hill.) It was a nice life. Camden has one of the best aquariums I’ve ever seen. Possibly better than Shedd. Maple Shade is a very nice town and I agree about the aquarium. Went there many times when the kids were little. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/108 "2024-05-11T18:46:05Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Hey, the Bay Area never gets that cold - though the natives bundle up when it is 40 or so, much to my amusement. And it is civilized. And very little humidity. I’ve lived in Louisiana, I know what humidity is. San Francisco and anywhere else within five to ten miles of the Pacific, is very humid. It’s just chilly and humid. One year mushrooms grew in our closet. You don’t get that in New Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/109 "2024-05-11T19:25:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > $25,000? You could live like a king. FIORELLO: Can he live in New York on $3.00? DRIFTWOOD: Like a prince. Of course, he won’t be able to eat, but he can live like a prince. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/110 "2024-05-12T00:03:01Z")
Regardless of the money on offer, I won’t live anywhere that is a) not near the ocean and b) has high humidity. That eliminates at least 90+% of the United States, even some places I like to visit, like Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/111 "2024-05-12T18:18:18Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > You don’t get that in New Mexico. I love a high desert climate. (got to have elevation or it’s too hot) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/112 "2024-05-13T02:23:32Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Regardless of the money on offer, I won’t live anywhere that is a) not near the ocean and b) has high humidity. That eliminates at least 90+% of the United States, even some places I like to visit, like Hawaii. It costs $200 for a 3,000 sq ft dehumidifier. You have $5,999,800 left. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/113 "2024-05-13T03:04:10Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It costs $200 for a 3,000 sq ft dehumidifier. You have $5,999,800 left . Spending all day indoors is a nonstarter. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/114 "2024-05-13T18:28:29Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Regardless of the money on offer, I won’t live anywhere that is a) not near the ocean and b) has high humidity. That eliminates at least 90+% of the United States, even some places I like to visit, like Hawaii. I’ve lived on the Eastern Seaboard all my life. Not ON the ocean, but within a 3-4 hour drive. The humidity is brutal here. As in, “walk outside and you feel like you can’t breathe” brutal. The times I’ve been on the West Coast, for whatever reason, it has never felt like that. It may well have shown a high reading on a humidity reader (hygrometer) but for whatever reason, it’s more tolerable. Sample size: one summer in Orange County, CA back in the early 90s, a visit to Seattle in the mid 1980s, and a trip to Hawaii in the late 1980s. I don’t know why it felt so much better there. Places often didn’t even have air conditioning. I’m curious as to where in the US you might go that is both near an ocean, and has tolerable humidity? ETA: We have spent most of our lives from NY on south with frequent visits to Florida. Very brief visits to the coast in Maine, where the humidity was tolerable, if unpleasant. We could breathe, outside, we just didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/115 "2024-05-13T18:33:16Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The times I’ve been on the West Coast, for whatever reason, it has never felt like that. It may well have shown a high reading on a humidity reader (hygrometer) but for whatever reason, it’s more tolerable. The high readings are just our marine layer which disappears as soon as the temp gets into the mid-60s. I live on the Central Coast of California and it almost never gets uncomfortably humid. I never experienced noticeable humidity growing up in Orange County, either. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/116 "2024-05-13T18:38:40Z")
A more enlightening form of the question might be: think of the place you’d least enjoy living in the US. What annual compensation would you require to relocate within easy commuting distance for 5 years? Hard to pick from all the deep-south locations that has no easy access to anything resembling a modern international city, or a beach, or mountains. I’ve done a lot of driving through lower Alabama and my thought is always “I would hate living here.” But for $3 million compensation a year, I could do it for 5 years. $10 million after tax is a nice retirement sum. If my kids have to finish high school there, then it would be more, like $5 million a year. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/117 "2024-05-13T18:46:59Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > If my kids have to finish high school there, then it would be more, like $5 million a year. Depending on the locale, you might need to use some of that extra 2M to send them to boarding school, so they’re indoctrinated in Lib’rul Eeeeevil Wokeness (assuming that’s your leaning). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/118 "2024-05-13T18:49:09Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The high readings are just our marine layer which disappears as soon as the temp gets into the mid-60s. I live on the Central Coast of California and it almost never gets uncomfortably humid. I never experienced noticeable humidity growing up in Orange County, either. Ah - and the only time I was on the west coast where this was remotely an issue was back in March 2002, near San Diego, where it was cold and rainy. All the other times were in the summer. So I wouldn’t have been there during swamp season. We drove up into the mountains to visit the Wild Animal Park (I think it’s been renamed) and it was like going from late winter to early summer, and back, in one day. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/119 "2024-05-14T01:50:01Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Hard to pick from all the deep-south locations that has no easy access to anything resembling a modern international city, or a beach, or mountains. A beach or mountains I get, but what’s in a “modern international city” that you can’t do without? In particular, what’s missing from a southern city that you can’t do without? Legitimate question, as I generally shun cities, am from the midwest, and don’t really know what southern cities offer or don’t offer. Sports, if that’s your cup of tea? Chinese restaurants indicating their region? Abortion clinic? Gigabit internet? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202/120 "2024-05-14T04:09:45Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Sure. I could live anywhere for that pay. > > I think you should have cut it down a lot, to something like $250,000 a year, to make it more of a fence-straddling issue. Same here. For $6Mill I would work anywhere in the USA- with an hour commute. For $250K, there are areas I have to seriously think about it. Florida? You’d have to get me one of those homes in Disney Golden Oak- rental or lease is fine. The ability to go to Disney pretty much any day with a 10 minute bus ride would outweigh the horrors of Florida. There are a couple places I am not sure i could afford on $250K before taxes- NYC or Frisco. But I have a nice house and life here- I am not sure if $250K would temp me that much- maybe for a year- renting. > [@Velocity](#): > > I’m curious what made you choose the specific number of $6 million. But even post-tax, just one year of that would be way more than enough to retire me for life. Even under the heaviest tax codes, I’d assume I’d still walk away with $3 million net post-tax. > > For $3 million in my pocket, I’d still live a year - or even a _decade_ - in the worst, worst part of America (again, assuming it has no imminent health hazard. I can’t live in some place with high radiation.) Yep. > [@snowthx](#): > > No love for Bakersfield, CA? My buddy is fairly wealthy- and that is where he lives, becuase he loves it. 😀 > [@Alessan](#): > > Sure. As long as there’s utilities, AC/heat and internet, I’ll just stay indoors for 3-4 years and then retire. I handled the pandemic, I can handle that. Yep. Hell, I’d work for one year, renting, then retire and move back home. > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > For a year, though… > > We have too much crap to live in a thousand square foot apartment… right now. Just do what I suggested- lease or rent for a year, then move back home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-regions-of-the-us-that-you-wouldnt-move-to-regardless-of-the-money/1001202.md?page=7)