# Rank the 50 United States in your order of preference **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774 "2008-10-07T00:58:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Saratoga\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Saratoga\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saratoga_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/81 "2008-10-08T22:58:14Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > What? Where did you get that impression? You realize that yuppie stands for Young Urban Professional, and there’s hardly an urban area in this state, right? I guess there are a lot of what would probably be called yuppies in Scottsdale, but we’re talking a few square miles in a big western state. cite: [List of United States urban areas - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Urban_Areas_%26_Urban_Clusters) Scroll on down to number 13. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/82 "2008-10-08T23:42:46Z")
> [@Saratoga\_Sam](#): > > cite: [List of United States urban areas - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Urban_Areas_%26_Urban_Clusters) > > Scroll on down to number 13. I don’t have to scroll down to number 13, I live here. It’s a really (really) big suburb. And regardless of how precisely it fits the term - with the possible exception of a very small area in Scottsdale, I find it absurd that anyone who has been here would think “too many yuppies” when compiling a list of pros and cons. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/83 "2008-10-09T00:02:18Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > ’ > > Iowa is such a slut !!11!!1 I heard she likes it in the cornhole…oh wait…that’s Nebraska. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/84 "2008-10-09T00:28:36Z")
As with the Great Yooper **Athena** and her husband, Mr. Athena, I don’t completely get the non-lovin’ for Michigan. **Top Reasons to Love Michigan:** 1.\*\*\* We don’t have hurricanes\*\*\*. 1. Red Wings. ( and three other pro sports teams. ) 2. Euchre. It is the un-official card game of our state. 3. Awesome fishing and hunting. 4. We have the longest freshwater shoreline _in the world_. Suck on that you California nutjobs! 5. No celebrity murders or celebrity murder trials. 6. [The Bestest Summer Time Song that has come out in a long while.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwIGZLjugKA) 7. We are shaped like a Mitten. ( Take that, haters!) 8. We have more boater registration and snow mobile registration than any other state. 9. The county I live in is one of the top 5 , if not top 3, wealthiest counties in the nation. Now that things have changed economically, that’s probably dropped. 10. We lead the WORLD in Cherry production. (And I think our #2 crop is asparagus, of all things.) 11. Chances of a Terrorist bombing our biggest city ( Detroit) would be: ZERO. 12. The U.P. is awesome.They have meeses and yoopers. 13. Motown Music. 14. See the sunrise over Lake Huron and the sunset over Lake Michigan. In the same day and not really rush between the two. 15. Fall Color tours. 16. Snow days! 17. Tip up Town. 18. Ice Fishing 19. Various Ice Themed Festivals up north. 20. The High Holy Days of Deer Hunting Season. When 22 Bajillion suburbanite males drive UP North for a couple weeks of Shooting White Tails and drinking beer. 21. The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald stuff. 22. Indoor plumbing and dentists! I could go on, but I don’t want to cause a rush to our fair state. No, wait…yes I do! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/85 "2008-10-09T01:59:00Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I don’t have to scroll down to number 13, I live here. It’s a really (really) big suburb. And regardless of how precisely it fits the term - with the possible exception of a very small area in Scottsdale, I find it absurd that anyone who has been here would think “too many yuppies” when compiling a list of pros and cons. I’ve always thought the only real yuppie areas are the area right around Scottsdale Fashion Square and the Biltmore area. Paradise Valley and North Scottsdale are more wealthy, but not really yuppie in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/86 "2008-10-09T02:17:27Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Well, to counteract all the Michigan hate… Hey, I had Michigan (and the UP specifically) at #28. Not too bad. (Where in the UP do y’all live, anyway? Just curious.) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/87 "2008-10-09T03:34:14Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > 1. [The Bestest Summer Time Song that has come out in a long while.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwIGZLjugKA) Great song! I’ve never heard it before… sheesh Shirley, ya gotta tell me about this stuff at the BEGINNING of the summer, not the end! Remember, us Yoopers don’t get those high falutin’ radio stations that you all get down in Troll country That video is actually pretty accurate about Michigan summers… minus the obvious (unlike the video not all of us look like models, and I’ve yet to see a party barge with a stripper pole on it), it’s pretty much how it was like for me in 1989. Or, I suspect, 2009. Drink a beer, listen to music, go to da beach. Yup, I like it. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/88 "2008-10-09T04:03:49Z")
> [@Saratoga\_Sam](#): > > 1. \*\*South Carolina \*\*- There must be all of three bookstores in this whole state There’s more than three in [Greenville](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenville,_South_Carolina) alone. There is much more to South Carolina than the coastal area alone, although I do love Charleston. Greenville has a lot to be proud of. My mother and I both generally hate the South and yet we have enjoyed it here enough to stay for almost 13 years. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/89 "2008-10-09T04:13:01Z")
1. Canada 2. Hawaii 3. California 4. Remainder of northwest 5. Southeast (NC, SC, Georgia) 6. Southwest, except Texas. 7. Northeast (Connecticut, and its yankee pals) 8. Middle bits 9. Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/90 "2008-10-09T04:19:31Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > 1. Canada > 2. Hawaii > 3. California > 4. Remainder of northwest > 5. Southeast (NC, SC, Georgia) > 6. Southwest, except Texas. > 7. Northeast (Connecticut, and its yankee pals) > 8. Middle bits > 9. Texas. Canada’s not a state … yet. 😃 I’ve always taken exception to Texas being counted as Southwest. That’s a recent development. When I grew up there, no one I knew considered it part of the Southwest. Visitng there in recent years, I’ve seen tourist trinkets linking it to that region, right down to the howling-coyote motif you see in Albuquerque. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/91 "2008-10-09T04:29:06Z")
1. New York 2-10. Other states with 4 distinct seasons and large cities 11-50. Everyplace else ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/92 "2008-10-09T04:42:49Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > As with the Great Yooper **Athena** and her husband, Mr. Athena, I don’t completely get the non-lovin’ for Michigan. It’s the winter. Michigan is an awesome and beautiful state in the spring summer and fall. Your winter is worse than all but a few other states, though. I would love to have a summer house in northern Michigan. > [@dalej42](#): > > I’ve always thought the only real yuppie areas are the area right around Scottsdale Fashion Square and the Biltmore area. Paradise Valley and North Scottsdale are more wealthy, but not really yuppie in my opinion. Yep. I would agree with your list but just add the area of north Scottsdale around Scottsdale Road and Bell; the Kierland area. I used to live there and there are tons of office buildings around that small area - mostly banks and mortgage lenders, so I wonder how they’re doing now, heh. Lots of apartments, too, so that satisfies Young and Professional - still don’t think I’d call that area Urban. Paradise Valley is wealthy but definitely not yuppie. It’s old money, politicians, and celebrities. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/93 "2008-10-09T18:51:54Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > It’s the winter. Michigan is an awesome and beautiful state in the spring summer and fall. Your winter is worse than all but a few other states, though. I would love to have a summer house in northern Michigan. Have you been here in the spring? Trust me, Winter \> Spring in just about all ways. We don’t even call it spring, we call it “Mud & Bugs.” Winter, though cold, is gorgeous and there’s plenty to do outside, assuming that you’re far enough north that there’s a ton o’ snow. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/94 "2008-10-09T19:13:37Z")
I’m not going to try and rank them all, but I’ll list my top and bottom 5: Top 5: 1. **Virginia**. I like VA, it’s a good mix. Mountains, beaches, forests. Interesting mix of people, rednecks and yuppies living next door to each other. 2. **Wyoming** Population not too high, awesome scenery. Yellowstone National Park. 3. **Hawaii** Expensive but great scenery and weather. 4. **Florida** All sorts of tourists and crazy locals, but there’s still some really nice parts. And it’s warm. 5. **Montana**. Mountains, scenery, low population. Bottom 5: 1. **California** Yes, there are plenty of nice parts, but I swear they’re crazy out there. Too much government and too many yuppies. Expensive. 2. **New Jersey** Toll road capital, too congested, can’t pump your own gas. 3. **Pennsylvania** Overall not a bad place, but crazy alcohol laws. 4. **Massachusetts** Don’t like the crazy politics. Expensive. 5. **Alabama** A little TOO country for me. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/95 "2008-10-10T01:13:40Z")
Yeah, it’s really funny that NJ either seems to be right at the top or lurking around the bottom. But you know what? Stuff like that is one of the many reasons I love this state! 🙂 My list: 1. New Jersey 2. New York (preferably Manhattan) 3. Massachussetts (western only) 4. Pennsylvania 5-8. Vermont, Washington, Arizona, and California. I don’t especially want to live in those states, but I’ve spent time in all of them and found them quite lovely and they seem like nice places to live. So if I were forced to live in those states for some reason, I wouldn’t mind. 9-49. I either don’t know enough about them or don’t really have any particular reason to want to live there. 5. Texas. 😛 (Just kidding about Texas, by the way. Never been there.) > [@Cisco](#): > > I haven’t spent too much time in NJ but I would actually love to live there. I think of it as one of the “all American” states, where Main Street USA still exists in a lot of towns, you have nice old established neighborhoods (not these cookie-cutter housing developments that qualify as neighborhoods now), four distinct seasons, proximity to the greatest city on Earth, close to the ocean, close to the mountains, etc. Maybe my view is a little rose-colored from watching too many Kevin Smith movies, but I almost feel nostalgic for New Jersey even though I’ve never lived there. The only thing that has turned me off recently was seeing a documentary about gangs that said NJ had the highest concentration of white supremacists of any state. Yeah, you have a pretty good idea of some of the reasons that this is a good place to live. Also, we have lots of jobs, money, health care, good schools, etc., and perks like lots of lovely parks and free music festivals, and similar things that you can have with a strong tax base. Didn’t know about the white supremacist thing, though. That’s pretty weird. We do have a lot of every type of person here, so it wouldn’t surprise me to know that we had 'em here…but the highest concentration? Wow. Come to think of it, I actually knew one once. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/96 "2008-10-10T02:31:17Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Canada’s not a state … yet. 😃 > > I’ve always taken exception to Texas being counted as Southwest. That’s a recent development. When I grew up there, no one I knew considered it part of the Southwest. Visitng there in recent years, I’ve seen tourist trinkets linking it to that region, right down to the howling-coyote motif you see in Albuquerque. With all due respect, Canada is listed first as I’d rather live in Canada than in any state of the US. Hawaii comes second, and top of the states. As soon as they reinstate the monarchy, (or join our monarchy in Canada) I’m there. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/97 "2008-10-10T02:37:41Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I’d rather live in Canada than in any state of the US. Hawaii comes second That seems odd. Canada is cold. Hawaii is hot. Canada is populated sparsely with folks in furs. Hawaii is populated densely with folks in grass skirts. Canada is mostly inland. Hawaii is a group of islands. Please, enlighten me.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/98 "2008-10-10T02:46:28Z")
Criteria: - Relatively cool weather. - Forests - Good for long-distance bicycling - Oceans are nice top picks: Maine Vermont New York (northern) Oregon Washington Massachusetts (home state, good memories) Northern plains states are also ok bottom picks: Arizona Texas Florida Nevada Mississippi Hawaii (probably nothing to do with the state itself, but my experiences there have all been overwhelmingly negative) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/99 "2008-10-10T03:52:51Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > Criteria: > > - Relatively cool weather. > - Forests > - Good for long-distance bicycling > - Oceans are nice > > bottom picks: > Arizona Can you elaborate on this? We have everything on your list. The pacific ocean (San Diego or L.A.) is an easy weekend for me, and I can make the Sea of Cortez (Puerto Peñasco) a day trip. Cycling is huge here. Would you guess that [this picture](http://www.nazrealtyconsultant.com/SFPeaks.jpg) was taken in Arizona, less than two hours from my house in Phoenix? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774/100 "2008-10-10T05:20:06Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Can you elaborate on this? We have everything on your list. The pacific ocean (San Diego or L.A.) is an easy weekend for me, and I can make the Sea of Cortez (Puerto Peñasco) a day trip. Cycling is huge here. > > Would you guess that [this picture](http://www.nazrealtyconsultant.com/SFPeaks.jpg) was taken in Arizona, less than two hours from my house in Phoenix? I probably should have added another criteria: no sun. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but there it is, I’m UV-avoidant. I’ve been to Arizona before: I spent a few days in July many years back driving from Mesa Verde, CO to the Grand Canyon, then down to Phoenix and Tuscon and on to El Paso, TX. Flagstaff and the GC weren’t half bad, but the rest just wasn’t where I’d want to spend my life. Also, after living all my life in Boston and Tokyo, I don’t count being more than a couple of hours away as “near the ocean”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rank-the-50-united-states-in-your-order-of-preference/466774.md?page=6)