# Most over-rated state to live in? (US only) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377 "2012-03-21T05:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![mskatied](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mskatied](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mskatied)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/81 "2012-03-23T21:49:25Z")
Denver native currently residing in Los Angeles= shit out of luck and doesn’t realize what she’s missing, apparently. Cheers! 🙂 note: the altitude in Colorado is so high, that you sometimes feel like you can not breath. Although, you get drunker faster. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/82 "2012-03-23T21:59:45Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Its tiny, its rundown, its old, and its unemployed (11.3%)! If everybody knows it’s a crappy state, it is not overrated. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/83 "2012-03-23T22:07:19Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > If anything, Texas is underrated. 😃 I’m not sure if Texas is overrated, but I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to underrate it. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/84 "2012-03-23T22:15:03Z")
Detroit is overrated-it is NOT the “Motor City”. More like depression city. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/85 "2012-03-23T22:20:26Z")
Count me as perhaps the only non-native Texan who loves Texas and thinks it’s incredible 😃 All you Texan haters are just ridiculous. The weather is awesome. The people are friendly. It’s a very diverse state: I have met WAY more people from different religions and walks of life than where I was from. The food is great. The cities have lots of museums, concerts, etc. I really do love it, and I live in Houston. But maybe that just goes to show you how truly awful Oregon is, the state I was born and raised and moved away from 3 years ago. Sometimes I meet people here in Texas and tell them I’m from Oregon, and they rave about how wonderful it is, or how wonderful they have heard it is. They ask me why I could ever move out of such a state. It is very puzzling to me, honestly. Oregon is a nice place to spend a week or two… but to live there is pure misery. Not sure why so many rich, wealthy Californians move to Oregon to retire… maybe it’s better by comparison? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/86 "2012-03-23T22:39:49Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Count me as perhaps the only non-native Texan who loves Texas and thinks it’s incredible 😃 All you Texan haters are just ridiculous. The weather is awesome. The people are friendly. It’s a very diverse state: I have met WAY more people from different religions and walks of life than where I was from. The food is great. The cities have lots of museums, concerts, etc. I really do love it, and I live in Houston. > > But maybe that just goes to show you how truly awful Oregon is, the state I was born and raised and moved away from 3 years ago. Sometimes I meet people here in Texas and tell them I’m from Oregon, and they rave about how wonderful it is, or how wonderful they have heard it is. They ask me why I could ever move out of such a state. It is very puzzling to me, honestly. Oregon is a nice place to spend a week or two… but to live there is pure misery. Not sure why so many rich, wealthy Californians move to Oregon to retire… maybe it’s better by comparison? The weather is awesome? Was that your idea of sick humor? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/87 "2012-03-23T23:45:34Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The weather is awesome? Was that your idea of sick humor? Well like I said… maybe it’s just awesome compared to Oregon weather :/. I honestly love Houston’s weather, which I hear is the worst in all of Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/88 "2012-03-25T05:08:06Z")
Is Florida overrated? Yep and without question, but it mostly depends on what a person wants. The “Florida Lifestyle” everyone dreams about is really the Keys lifestyle, and unless you’ve got a hell of a lot of money you’re not gonna have access to that. However what we do have is water and lots of it. If your a diver, boater, or fisherman there’s plenty for you if you live near the coast. Otherwise there’s nothing here you can’t get elsewhere, preferably somewhere cooler and less humid. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/89 "2012-03-25T05:35:46Z")
Not long ago Gawker ran a ranking of the “[Worst 50 States in America](http://gawker.com/5831724/the-worst-50-states-in-america)”. It’s pretty typical Gawker output, but at least it’s something to play against. This is tough, but I’ll have to say that New York (Gawker’s least-worst state) is the most over-rated. That’s kind of unfair to upstate, because the parts of it I’ve seen are nice enough (the Hudson Valley is beautiful), and I don’t think people are clamoring to get to upstate New York anyway. But New York State is dominated in most people’s minds by New York City, which for my money is vastly, vastly overrated. So: New York. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/90 "2012-03-25T06:08:05Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I’m a Californian, and I was gonna give you a piece of my mind… > > but that is pretty accurate. In Los Angeles, anyway. The fact is, a high cost of living is tantamount to a badge of honor. It wouldn’t be expensive to live here if millions of people didn’t already live here by choice, or want to live here. In general though it’s more cities or at least metro areas that we think about in this regard, rather than whole states. You’re far more likely to hear people compare living in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, or NYC than Washington, Illinois, California, or New York State. Within a single state the possibilities are so varied from one city to another or from one end of the state to the other, it doesn’t make sense to compare states. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/91 "2012-03-25T10:33:39Z")
Arizona. Not only is it hot and dry, it’s got lots of old people (retirees and snowbirds), an economy that’s in the crapper and an insane legislature. Go for vacation: it’s got enough selling points to do that. But living there is far less enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/92 "2012-03-25T12:14:55Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Austin, Texas is incredibly overrated. All the Yankees who are thinking about moving here should reconsider and stay FAR away. You’ll hate it here, really. All the magazines that make Austin look cool? Lies, nothing but lies. > > (Okay, I KNOW this isn’t likely to keep more people from moving here, but it was worth a shot!) I know you are joking but,I agree with you.Bunch of 3rd rate musicians wandering around thinking they are Stevie Ray,terrible traffic,construction everywhere.Yes, stay far away. ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/93 "2012-03-25T14:08:44Z")
Happiness. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/94 "2012-03-25T15:34:31Z")
I mean, jillionaires like Ted Turner have bought up huge chunks of it-and they like to keep the locals off their spreads. The state is remote and sparsely populated. Summers are nice (HOT AND DRY), but the winters are viicious-long, cold and windy. A good place for rich people, and die hard ranchers. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/95 "2012-03-25T16:04:46Z")
And speaking of little miss Catherine … anyway, if you don’t count the self-hype of Texas, I’m not sure that I’ve been to an over-rated state. Most states have a fairly crappy reputation outside of the residents. The couple of hours I’ve spent in LA weren’t nearly as bad as Florida. NYC itself is overrated, not because it’s bad, but because it can’t possibly be all that. (Just like many popular bands are both good and overrated at the same time.) But upstate NY is hardly rated at all let alone overrated, and if I can be Romneyesque for a moment, the hills are the right size and the trees smell right there. I guess if I were forced to pick I’d choose Tennessee. While Nashville is an okay place to go honky tonking I’m not about to write whole genres of music just singing its praises. Chattanooga is also okay but it’s like the poor cousin of Gatlinburg and Panama Rocks combined (a Rock City-like park in Upstate NY) Now, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on the other hand, is underrated despite being in an overrated state. Because the contrast between the placid Smoky Mountains and the bustling tourist trap is so sharp, people associate Gatlinburg with all sorts of undeserved gaudiness and poor taste, sometimes even confusing it with Pigeon Forge. Whereas Gatlinburg’s not so bad to eat and even stroll in, as long as you’re not planning on driving through it quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377/96 "2012-03-26T09:31:28Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The weather is awesome? Was that your idea of sick humor? Hey, I like Houston weather. But my idea of “too hot” starts at 40ºC… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-over-rated-state-to-live-in-us-only/616377.md?page=4)