I work with an engineer that moved from Punjab, India to the U.S. after she graduated from high school. While she makes the occasional visit to India to visit relatives, she has no desire to live there again. However, she did say that the area adjacent to Nepal is pretty nice.
One of my neighbors & close friends is a retired FL state fish & game officer who’d worked a variety of state LEO jobs for different departments before getting his final position. Born & raised in rural Ohio, so culturally conservative from a young age.
He came to FL after finishing school, attended Academy here someplace, then his first LEO job was as a Deputy for the Polk County Sheriff. He was young and idealistic then and even now is still in a darn good positive frame of mind for a retired LEO. Not an angry emotional burnout at all.
He said there was just no end to the depravity and ignorance of Polk County and he hoped to live the rest of his life in FL never returning there for any reason. He won’t even drive through it.
Words from a man who probably knows whereof he speaks.
I put Florida based on lived experience. Visiting my parents at their retirement community on the east coast. I had to drive from Orlando, so I got to see the center and likely least populated part of the state, and where they lived was miles of strip malls, half-occupied high-rise condos, and spread-out retirement communities. The other time I visited the Sunshine state was for Disney-world, and I will just leave it at that. No thanks to the whole thing - it all seems barely habitable for humans.
I did not rule out the rest of the South, however. Having been to Atlanta a few times (granted, in fall and winter), I had no problems with north Georgia. I kinda-sorta agree not to limit one’s self to only people of “your kind”, like what the poster above said about us all having different tastes. I could live in a very conservative area as long as I had other plusses to smooth-out the politics (such as awesome scenery and lots of outdoor activities).
It doesn’t seem to be the most salubrious area to raise a child, either:
My parents were from Wilkes Barre, Pa. We went there countless times as kids to see our grandparents. I still go there on occasion as one of my brothers moved back. While there are beautiful areas outside the city - Pocono mountains etc., the actual town is a run down ex-coal mining city. There seems to be a dusty grime on everything. (This aspect has gotten a bit better since burning coal as a source of heat has declined since my childhood) The average age of a house has to be 100 years or more. Houses are closely spaced. Per capita, family and household income are all far below the national average. Relative to Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre has a crime rate that is higher than 91% of the state’s cities and towns of all sizes. I’m sure these stats are similar to countless small former mining towns (with the exception of crime) in northeast Pennsylvania but WB is the one I’m most familiar with. You couldn’t give me property there.
Actually, Camden NJ is at the very bottom of my list but I’ve spent very little time there.
I’ve never really gotten the way that some otherwise progressive people seem to idealize India. I even see a little of this from my wife (although she’s never expressed a desire to live there). I’ve got a problem with anywhere that has a huge gap between rich and poor, and that normalizes rape.
I’m a city/suburb boy. I don’t want to live anywhere that doesn’t at least have a rudimentary bus system. I don’t want to be tied to the expense of a car. (For example, where I live now, I have options to go to work, the food store, appointments, etc: drive, take the bus, walk, ride a bike, take a taxi. If one method is unavailable, there are others.)
I’d absolutely, positively never want to live in a place where Muslim Sharia law plays a role in the judicial system. This would be much of the Middle East, parts of Africa and some of SE Asia. I am not religious and fall in the Kaffir category under Sharia law and the barbaric laws are heavily biased against Kaffirs.
I’d love to live on the west coast, near the mountains - maybe Oregon. And of course, being of Indian Origin, I’d love to live in India especially in the Himalayan mountain ranges, Northeast India and South India. Modi has done a great job of building roads and infrastructure thereby bringing accessibility to rural areas.
I fantasize about buying a place in coastal Florida with a deep canal on the back yard that connects to the open ocean. Zillow shows just how easily affordable they are. I hate the cold and have never in my life been “too hot”, (other than sick with a fever), so the heat or humidity is not a downside to me. I don’t like mosquitoes much, is that why the backyard pool areas are all covered in netting? Is that a problem in Florida. Flies are a big problem in Australia, and I found them gross.
Antartica, and for much the same reasons, Las Vegas or other deserts. I spend a lot of time outdoors & that’s impossible-to-difficult in such places so I find them claustrophobic.
In terms of politics & culture, it depends on whether or not I would need a job. The idea of working daily with mostly hard-core conservatives is a big no, but as a retiree who isn’t at all social, I don’t care who my neighbors are. And, the idea that bigotry only exists in rural areas or small towns is ridiculous – I worked in arts funding & there are just as many bigots in that world as there are in any rural area, they’re just much quieter about it.
To be honest, the answer to this question is gonna be “most places.” Like @MrDibble , I have zero interest in living anywhere rural. There are also many, many urban places I have zero interest in living in.
That said, hey, for enough money…
Mosquitoes are a problem anywhere in the South. So are roaches. But Florida has palmetto bugs, which are like roaches on steriods. Also fire ants. And alligators.
And Floridians.
Any red states, east of the Rocky Mountains or California. That pretty much leaves Washington or Oregon.
There are pockets of blue in the other red western states. Just look for the college towns. You know, places where people want to learn and improve and not just set around roasting marshmallows over the pile of burning books.
I live in a red state - while the municipalities may be all well and fine, you have to factor in that there are state laws. Laws that may restrict laws cities want to make or invent restrictions people in your hypothetical college towns don’t want. Not that that only goes one way.
I can certainly see that people shouldn’t close themselves off to associating with anyone who thinks the slightest bit different than them, living a state where the entrenched powers greatly disagree with your values and have laws to enforce theirs is understandably unappealing when you can easily (we don’t have movement restrictions between states) move to another state where you have less worry of those sorts of laws - especially if you maintain a similar lifestyle both ways (similar culture in city, similar cost of living or salary differnces that match COL difference).
And that’s before you get into the healthcare issues that are decided by state - whether it’s access to abortion or access to Medicaid.
I currently live in rural northern New England and have no desire to in any city/urban environment. I would NOT live suburbs either. I hate driving and crowded environments.
I would NOT live in the South because I hate the heat and even dealing with summers in New England are hard for me. And part of ME does think it would be nice to live in a place where I would NOT have to deal with the snow and ice in the winter. But the drawbacks of the summer heat in other areas override my frustrations with snow/ice.
I like cold temperatures and if they was a place where it cold and DRY in the United States I would probably try to move there.
Aside from all THAT I also would absolutely, positively NEVER want to live with someone else again. I have lived by myself for over 20 years at this point and the idea of trying to weave another person (roommate or even a romantic partner) into my life would NOT be worth the frustrations it would bring.
That was Camazotz, where IT had ITs headquarters.
No offense to any Minnesotans reading this, but I could never live in your state. Brutally cold winters, Vikings, Vikings fans, hot dish and uff-da. No thank you. Also, I could never live in Singapore or Hawaii or any place that’s so isolated you have to pay a huge markup on anything that’s not made locally.
Anywhere nutbag religiousy. Every now and then, I get a little taste of the insanity which is scary enough, being immersed in it whether you like it or not is a nightmare.
I know what you mean - if my husband dies before I do, I’ll just soldier on by myself until I absolutely can’t. At that point, I hope my daughter will take me in…