Rank the 50 United States in your order of preference

In My Humble Opinion
21

Hands down, Hawaii is No 1. If I ever had to live in the US again, it would be Hawaii again.

22

That is a very low rating for Arizona. Care to explain why? I’ve never seen the great state of Arizona ranked below the Dakotas.

23

1 to 28ish: Top half, plus California, Colorado and Hawaii, minus North Dakota and Michigan.

29ish to 50: the rest.

I intensely dislike hot weather, and I’ve never heard anything particularly good about Michigan.

24

OK, I’ll play. I made some assumptions though:

  1. I have to live there at least 2 years
  2. I can choose where in the state I want to live
  3. My income is adjusted to account for cost of living

1- Florida
2- Texas
3- Colorado
4- Arizona
5- Hawaii
6- Oklahoma
7- Kansas
8- Missouri
9- Montana
10- New York
11- Alaska
12- Oregon
13- Washington
14- South Carolina
15- North Carolina
16- Idaho
17- Maryland
18- Virginia
19- Rhode Island
20- Connecticut
21- Massachusetts
22- Indiana
23- Maine
24- New Hampshire
25- Vermont
26- Tennessee
27- New Mexico
28- Kentucky
29- Nevada
30- Georgia
31- California
32- Illinois
33- Louisiana
34- Alabama
35- Minnesota
36- Pennsylvania
37- Ohio
38- Mississippi
39- Nebraska
40- Delaware
41- Arkansas
42- Wisconsin
43- Wyoming
44- Utah
45- West Virginia
46- South Dakota
47- Iowa
48- Michigan
50- North Dakota
New Jersey

25

  1. Pennsylvania. It kind of kills me to admit it, but Philadelphia will always have a grasp on my heart. The rest of the state is nice, too, and if you slow down along the Turnpike, you can get some gorgeous scenery, meet some nice people, and see more cows than you want. There is a famous groundhog. Plus, if you’re an American history geek, you’ve got historic Philly, you’ve got Gettysburg, you’ve got pretty much the history of coal mining…

  2. California. I don’t know it but I get the impression that anyone can find a comfortable place in California.

  3. Colorado. Big urban center if that’s your thing. Lots of non-urban stuff as well. Mountains!

  4. Arizona. Big urban center if that’s your thing. Lots of non-urban stuff as well. Desert!

  5. New Mexico. Living here now, honestly ready to leave, but I know I’ll be coming back to visit. Mountains, desert, good food, a history of espionage.

  6. D.C. Not a state, I love it anyway.

  7. New York.

  8. Ohio

  9. Washington

  10. Oregon

  11. Illinois.
    12-48. shrug Midwest > South. Alaska might be pretty nice. Hawaii would scare me.

  12. Kentucky. Seriously…some OK camping and hiking, but nothing else.

  13. Florida. Florida really does do crazy like nowhere else; I have numerous relatives who back me up on that.

  14. New Jersey. I’m biased because I grew up there and hated it. What I miss about New Jersey: A couple friends, one particular pizza place. I thought for a while I missed the shore, then I realized other places have just-as-nice beaches, and you don’t need to pay to sit on them.

26

IMHO this is a question that results is meaningless answers. You need to have some kind of criteria; otherwise, it’s just subjective responses that really don’t tell us anything. Has anybody lived for an appreciable time in all fifty states (plus D.C., and hell, P.R. and the territories to boot)?

If I got a job offer for a high-paying dream job with complete benefits, paid moving expenses, lots of vacation time, and free housing, I’d probably consider just about any state as most desirable.

If you have particular concerns about a certain state (such as Ohio), then post an OP like “What good things can you tell me about Ohio.” Otherwise, convince me that the lists you get from others are actually meaningful to you.

27

Pennsylvania at the top, California at the bottom, the rest listed top to bottom from most rural to most urban. I generally dislike cities, I despise overbearing state governments, and I wouldn’t be caught dead in California, Illinois, New York or Massachusetts.

Give me some simple living and a comparatively quiet area and I’m all set.

28

I just can’t do it by states. I have favorite spots within states.

  1. Gibson County, Tennessee, mid-Twentieth Century
  2. Natural Bridge, Waynesboro, Tennessee, mid-Twentieth Century
  3. Camden, Maine
  4. Concord, Massachusetts
  5. Auburn, Alabama (and a certain beach further south on the Alabama coast)
  6. The Natchez Trace Parkway (across Tennessee and Mississippi)
  7. The squares of Savannah
  8. a courtyard in the French Quarter in New Orleans
  9. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on a windy day
  10. Rt. 2 through Vermont

I haven’t made it out West. Think of the beauty I haven’t seen yet!

Oakminster, you have kindred spirit friends in Nashville!

29

I’ve lived in:
Arizona
California
Texas
Florida
Ohio
Indiana

I’ve spent considerable time visiting:
Colorado
New Mexico
Oregon

I have been to almost every other state for a shorter time.

Heck, I thought this would be fun. Sure, if you gave me a million dollars, I’d move to West Virigina. With all of those mountains, there’s got to be some decent hiking there. But, I’d rather have 100k in Arizona.

30

Try this: "In your opinion, what are the best three states to live in, and why?

This is more meaningful (and “fun”) because you can be pretty sure that the state somebody has ranked in the lower twenty is a state that person probably doesn’t know, or that that person has some particular, idiosyncratic reason to dislike.

31

The top 10:

  1. California. I am a native, and I want to go back!
  2. Arizona. I like hot weather.
  3. Colorado
  4. New Mexico
  5. Texas
  6. Nevada
  7. Ohio
  8. Alabama
  9. Kentucky
  10. Wyoming

The bottom 10:

  1. Kansas
  2. Nebraska
  3. Florida
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Alaska
  6. Maine
  7. S. Dakota
  8. N. Dakota
  9. Idaho
  10. New Jersey
32

Maybe I just haven’t seen the best parts of Arizona. Or maybe I’ve only seen the best parts of the Dakotas. (I sort of liked the Black Hills and the Badlands, and Bismarck seemed OK.)

Actually, it’s mostly the heat. I look at the triple-digit temperatures posted regularly in Arizona and I think “No, thank you.”

Anyway, please don’t take offense. The reasons are personal to me, and no reflection on Arizona. :slight_smile:

33

True, but Arizona isn’t just triple digit temperatures. Flagstaff has a very mild summers. One of the reasons Arizona and California are my top two states is I love the variety of climates available in a short distance.

34 
  1.  New Jersey.  An hour's drive to NYC, Philly, and the shore! Diverse, wealthy and (relatively) well-educated populace.

  2.  Washington (Western)

  3.  Hawaii 

  4.  Oregon (Western)

  5.  Vermont  

  6.  New York (NYC if I could double my income)

  7.  Pennsylvania (Southeastern)

  8.  California (Northern)

  9.  Massachusetts 

  10. Maryland

  11. Connecticut

***. DC
12. Virginia (Northern)
13. Rhode Island
14. Illinois (Chicagoland)
15. Delaware (New Castle County)
16. New Hampshire
17. Maine
18. Arizona
19. Florida (anywhere but northern)
20. New Mexico
21. Minnesota
22. Wisconsin
23. Colorado
24. Ohio
25. Michigan
26. North Carolina
27. Texas (Austin)
28. Iowa
29. Nevada (near Reno, possibly Vegas)
30. Utah
31. Missouri
32. Montana
33. Georgia
34. Wyoming
35. Nebraska
36. Idaho
37. Indiana
38. Alaska
39. South Carolina
40. Tennessee
41. Kansas
42. Arkansas
43. Kentucky
44. Louisiana
45. South Dakota
46. West Virginia
47. North Dakota
48. Oklahoma
49. Mississippi
50. Alabama

35

I totally get this. Upon reflection, I think I could make myself pretty damn happy almost anywhere with enough money. The rural desert would depress me (though I would love the rural forrest/countryside), and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere with extreme cold (AK interior, northern MN, parts of VT, etc), but with very few exceptions I could be happy as a clam in almost any state.

But, guizot . . .

Don’t you think this is kind of rude? That’s some pretty aggressive hijacking, what with trying to rewrite the OP and all. He’s asking for opinions in the forum designed to ask for opinions. You’re more than welcome to start your own thread if this one is so meaningless and unfun to you.

36

Flagstaff looks nice. Could change my perception. I’ll try to visit there sometime. :slight_smile:

37

1.-49. No real preference
50. Texas

38
  1. Vermont/Colorado
  2. California
  3. Connecticut
  4. Maine
  5. Arizona
  6. Oregon
  7. Montana
39

Why so much dislike (in general) for Florida?

Sure the northern part of Florida ain´t too cool, but other than that bit, it´s a fine state, IMHO.

I do think laws in Florida are a little harsh.

But it has nice weather, nice cities the people for the most part are nice.

Can´t speak much about the other states though.

I´ve only been to New York, Conneticut and Rhode Island.

So yeah, I´ve still to see much of the states.

40
  1. Minnesota
  2. Wisconsin
  3. Canada