# List the Top 5 states you would live in **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 13, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167 "2013-08-13T23:50:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/41 "2013-08-14T11:23:22Z")
[It’s easy to narrow to my top 20 choices.](http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881). From there? Not so easy… [ul] [li]Michigan[/li][li]Colorado[/li][li]Washington[/li][li]Delaware??[/li][li]Massachusetts [/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![ASanders](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asanders/32/3367_2.png) [@ASanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASanders)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/42 "2013-08-14T11:24:57Z")
I can’t believe I’m the first to say New Jersey. 🙂 I live here now and while not a native, am continually discovering its pleasures. Taxes are high, true, but it’s worth it to me for the proximity to big cities, small towns, public transportation, beaches, mountains, and (mostly) rational people. The fact that more money would make it even more accommodating isn’t the fault of the state. My list: 1. New Jersey 2. New York 3. Massachusetts 4. Pacific Northwest (never been there but everyone I know who has relocated has been extremely happy) 5. Somewhere with a beach, preferably in a moderate climate (NOT Florida or anywhere in SoCal) ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/43 "2013-08-14T12:38:36Z")
In our case, finances and taxes are not a major concern, so quality of life is the principal determinant in our decision. Parents are deceased, relatives are spread out and seldom seen owing to our expatriate life, and Miss DrumBum will likely stick around at university for a while, so proximity to family is not an overarching concern for us at the moment. 1. California. The Bay area is our home of record which means if I decide to retire, I am repatriated there. 2. Nevada. Somewhere around Lake Tahoe. 3. Maine. Never been there but it sure looks nice. 4. Vermont. Same as Maine - I would like to be there for the fall colors. 5. North Carolina. I would likely have to hold my nose when voting but the coastal areas look quite nice. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/44 "2013-08-14T12:43:31Z")
Hawaii Vermont Massachusetts Oregon California ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/45 "2013-08-14T12:54:17Z")
Maryland Alaska Oregon Montana Maine ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/46 "2013-08-14T13:00:13Z")
Texas Alaska Colorado Montana California ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/47 "2013-08-14T13:00:43Z")
Assuming a career transfer/money to live is possible: Montana Wyoming Colorado Oregon Alaska You east coasters are crazy 😃 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/48 "2013-08-14T13:55:23Z")
1. New York 2. New York 3. New York 4. Hawaii 5. California ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/49 "2013-08-14T13:57:16Z")
California (current home) Arizona - northern New Mexico Utah Colorado The next 3: Wyoming Idaho Montana ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/50 "2013-08-14T14:31:26Z")
California(Ventura area) South Carolina(Charleston area) Florida(Naples or Sarasota) Texas(Gulf coast) Maryland(Baltimore area, I spent 46 years there and liked it) ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/51 "2013-08-14T15:52:10Z")
South Dakota (home and current state) North Carolina (specifically Wilmington) Iowa (especially eastern around the quad cities) Alabama (especially the gulf coast) South Dakota (just because 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/52 "2013-08-14T16:00:39Z")
Assuming family, jobs, and other considerations are irrelevant: Hawaii California Ohio Washington/Oregon (Seattle or Portland) New York (specifically, NYC) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/53 "2013-08-14T16:02:39Z")
Virginia North Carolina New Mexico (and I’ve never even been there - I’ve romanticized it in my mind) Hawaii (ditto) Pennsylvania ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/54 "2013-08-14T17:08:53Z")
Oregon (Willamette Valley – currently home) Washington Hawaii Idaho (Coeur d’Alene) Virginia I was born in California and would never go back to live. I lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, for 14 months, which was exactly 13 months and 29 days too damned long. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/55 "2013-08-14T17:40:23Z")
Oregon (current) Washington Hawaii California (State of Jefferson, only) Idaho (Boise) That’s having lived in the midwest and the south. No thanks and no thank you. I’ve never lived in the northeast, but I suspect I would not appreciate the high population: crowds, traffic, lines, lack of open space. I like the west. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/56 "2013-08-14T17:47:01Z")
California Washington Oregon New York Texas/Florida (yuck) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/57 "2013-08-14T18:28:57Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > That’s having lived in the midwest and the south. No thanks and no thank you. I’ve never lived in the northeast, but I suspect I would not appreciate the high population: crowds, traffic, lines, lack of open space. I like the west. Compared to Idaho, yes. But once you get out of the Megalopolis, the endless sprawl that makes traffic unbearable in Florida and California is absent in the Northeast. Cities are compact and easy to get into and out of. Traffic is light once you get out of them. There is also plenty of open space in the Northeast even though it is usually pretty close to roads, so if your idea of “open space” is “a day away from civilization” then no dice (unless you’re talking about the [hundred mile wilderness](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_mile_wilderness)) , but if it just means you can’t see any signs of civilization then wilderness is pretty common. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/58 "2013-08-14T18:32:51Z")
1. California. Specifically LA area where I am now. 2. Hawaii. 3. Florida. Miami/lauderdale area. 4. New York. (Distant 4th) 5. Ohio as a very distant 5th. Close to family. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/59 "2013-08-14T19:31:45Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Compared to Idaho, yes. But once you get out of the Megalopolis, the endless sprawl that makes traffic unbearable in Florida and California is absent in the Northeast. Cities are compact and easy to get into and out of. Traffic is light once you get out of them. There is also plenty of open space in the Northeast even though it is usually pretty close to roads, so if your idea of “open space” is “a day away from civilization” then no dice (unless you’re talking about the [hundred mile wilderness](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_mile_wilderness)) , but if it just means you can’t see any signs of civilization then wilderness is pretty common. Fair enough. To give you some perspective, I think Raleigh is too crowded and driving around the burbs sucked. I’ve lived in metro areas for decent part of my life: southern CA, Cincinnati, and Charlotte. I’ve lived in a high rise in a decent sized metropolitan city. I’m done with that. I like visiting big cities, but I’m not a fan of suburban sprawl, which is what all those places had in common. The northeast being even more densely populated, as a region, strikes me as mostly urban and suburban sprawl. I’ve no doubt there are some wonderfully small town places to live there, but it doesn’t help that the weather there is not my cup of tea. I’m done with redonkulously humid summers and too long, too cold winters. Boise is on the list only because I’m a huge fan of outdoor activities, – hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and such – and it’s a smaller big city with less sprawl. It’s beautiful summers are a plus, but the winters might get old after a few years. Where I live now, I can be in the mountains in a half hour and within an hour, I’m in wilderness. The mountains are much more impressive out west, too. The views are spectacular if you’re into that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-the-top-5-states-you-would-live-in/666167/60 "2013-08-14T19:47:50Z")
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