Best State to Live Permanently?

[kphoger]

I'm not old enough to make an entirely informed decision, but from my travels Texas seems like a good place to be. Favorable taxes, diverse terrain, and more. Utah would be a close runner up, but if I could never leave than I wouldn't want to be stuck there.

I have nothing against Mormons but when we considered moving there, our Mormon friend said it's really hard to live there w/o being Mormon due to discrimination...nothing bad it's just hard to get jobs over them, etc.  I can probably pull it off but my wife can't smile that big.

I love western landscapes and outdoor opportunities.  As such, Colorado and Utah are big favorites of mine.  I'm curious to know how the cost of living compares between the two states.

[STLmapboy]

I'm not old enough to make an entirely informed decision, but from my travels Texas seems like a good place to be. Favorable taxes, diverse terrain, and more. Utah would be a close runner up, but if I could never leave than I wouldn't want to be stuck there.

I have nothing against Mormons but when we considered moving there, our Mormon friend said it's really hard to live there w/o being Mormon due to discrimination...nothing bad it's just hard to get jobs over them, etc.  I can probably pull it off but my wife can't smile that big.

That was a real thing I witnessed first hand in many communities in Northern Arizona, it wasn't something that I expected.  Granted, it didn't compare to the infinitely worse and outright vicious racism I witnessed from the Detroit suburban communities directed at minorities.  That's one of the biggest reasons I'm glad to be away from in the Midwest, the rabid but yet somehow passive-aggressive middle class/white picket fence Baby Boomers. 

[/quote]

Yeah, there's some animosity in STL between both whites towards black city dwellers and blacks towards white suburbanites. Neither side seems to want their "spheres of influence" overlapping. It's a tense, irrational, and frankly unhealthy relationship at times.

[corco]

Idaho, duh. Low cost of living, good but varied weather, some of the best scenery in the country, a wide variety of things to do especially if you like the outdoors, Boise is a very underrated place to live if you like small cities, and the state generally has (for this era) unusually pragmatic and non-ideological governance from both sides of the aisle (obviously some exceptions).

We may not have any truly big cities but Boise attracts good concerts, we don't have major league sports but we do have a good college football team, and we have a great restaurant/bar scene.

I plan to stay here until retirement.

[Konza]

Back to the original question - there really isn't a universal answer because everybody has different preferences. I've enjoyed visiting the south but the climate is too warm and humid for me to consider living there. If you care about the cost of living either coast becomes difficult. If you care about living near your parents or other family members that becomes limiting as well.  I'm fine with Indiana for now, but once my parents are gone, I'm considering northern Arizona. Not humid, but elevated enough so as not to be scorching hot.

If you're looking at northern Arizona, consider looking down here as well.

I live at just under 4700 feet.  I look up at 9000 foot mountain peaks.  The temperature very seldom breaks 100 degrees Fahrenheit here.  We get occasional snow, but it doesn't last.

I moved out here from the Chicago suburbs, where I had lived for over thirty years, and I know the way to Three Floyds.  When I took my car to the dealer in Tucson the first time, he told me that I should change my oil twice as often as the manufacturer's recommendation because Arizona represented "severe service".  I told him "no, thanks."  Where I live it doesn't get any warmer than it does in Chicago, but it gets one hell of a lot colder in Chicago than it does here, and I have put over 170,000 miles on this car.

We have a decent cost of living, good weather, great scenery, interesting small towns, and we're not that far from Phoenix or (especially) Tucson.  Wish we had a beach, but Puerto Penasco is about a five hour drive.

[Max Rockatansky]

Idaho, duh. Low cost of living, good but varied weather, some of the best scenery in the country, a wide variety of things to do especially if you like the outdoors, Boise is a very underrated place to live if you like small cities, and the state generally has (for this era) unusually pragmatic and non-ideological governance from both sides of the aisle (obviously some exceptions).

We may not have any truly big cities but Boise attracts good concerts, we don't have major league sports but we do have a good college football team, and we have a great restaurant/bar scene.

I plan to stay here until retirement.

Only problem with Idaho is that people like my brother found out about it.  It's just a matter of time before the turn Boise into another Scottsdale.   

[corco]

Idaho, duh. Low cost of living, good but varied weather, some of the best scenery in the country, a wide variety of things to do especially if you like the outdoors, Boise is a very underrated place to live if you like small cities, and the state generally has (for this era) unusually pragmatic and non-ideological governance from both sides of the aisle (obviously some exceptions).

We may not have any truly big cities but Boise attracts good concerts, we don't have major league sports but we do have a good college football team, and we have a great restaurant/bar scene.

I plan to stay here until retirement.

Only problem with Idaho is that people like my brother found out about it.  It’s just a matter of time before the turn Boise into another Scottsdale.   

There's some truth to that - precisely why I said "I'll stay here until retirement" - in 30 years I envision myself cashing out my will-be valuable Idaho dollars to buy some land in Nebraska and a place somewhere in Mexico and live the high life.

It could also go the other way - we have ideologues from all over the spectrum moving here from California - both Bay Area types that just want a lower cost of living but tend to be super liberal and other California people who erroneously think Idaho is some conservative utopia. The latter are hilarious because they're all too happy to tell you to "take your liberal values back to California" when you've been associated with the state for 20+ years and they just moved here in 2018.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

call me biased if you want

I mean I was feeling kinda like this whole thread was so you could argue everybody should want to live in NY. 

[kphoger]

California people who erroneously think Idaho is some conservative utopia. The latter are hilarious because they're all too happy to tell you to "take your liberal values back to California" when you've been associated with the state for 20+ years and they just moved here in 2018.

This boggles the mind.

Please tell me there's a cute nickname to call people like that.

[Max Rockatansky]

Idaho, duh. Low cost of living, good but varied weather, some of the best scenery in the country, a wide variety of things to do especially if you like the outdoors, Boise is a very underrated place to live if you like small cities, and the state generally has (for this era) unusually pragmatic and non-ideological governance from both sides of the aisle (obviously some exceptions).

We may not have any truly big cities but Boise attracts good concerts, we don't have major league sports but we do have a good college football team, and we have a great restaurant/bar scene.

I plan to stay here until retirement.

Only problem with Idaho is that people like my brother found out about it.  It's just a matter of time before the turn Boise into another Scottsdale.   

There's some truth to that - precisely why I said "I'll stay here until retirement" - in 30 years I envision myself cashing out my will-be valuable Idaho dollars to buy some land in Nebraska and a place somewhere in Mexico and live the high life.

It could also go the other way - we have ideologues from all over the spectrum moving here from California - both Bay Area types that just want a lower cost of living but tend to be super liberal and other California people who erroneously think Idaho is some conservative utopia. The latter are hilarious because they're all too happy to tell you to "take your liberal values back to California" when you've been associated with the state for 20+ years and they just moved here in 2018.

In the case of my brother it would be the uber conservative Arizonan type.  I know he's convinced a lot of his friends that Boise is a mini-Phoenix waiting to have it's low cost of living exploited.  Idaho sounds great to me, but it wouldn't be to the Boise Area where that urban boom is taking place.  The Arizonans are attracted by the low living costs just as much as the Californians it seems. 

[corco]

Idaho, duh. Low cost of living, good but varied weather, some of the best scenery in the country, a wide variety of things to do especially if you like the outdoors, Boise is a very underrated place to live if you like small cities, and the state generally has (for this era) unusually pragmatic and non-ideological governance from both sides of the aisle (obviously some exceptions).

We may not have any truly big cities but Boise attracts good concerts, we don't have major league sports but we do have a good college football team, and we have a great restaurant/bar scene.

I plan to stay here until retirement.

Only problem with Idaho is that people like my brother found out about it.  It’s just a matter of time before the turn Boise into another Scottsdale.   

There's some truth to that - precisely why I said "I'll stay here until retirement" - in 30 years I envision myself cashing out my will-be valuable Idaho dollars to buy some land in Nebraska and a place somewhere in Mexico and live the high life.

It could also go the other way - we have ideologues from all over the spectrum moving here from California - both Bay Area types that just want a lower cost of living but tend to be super liberal and other California people who erroneously think Idaho is some conservative utopia. The latter are hilarious because they're all too happy to tell you to "take your liberal values back to California" when you've been associated with the state for 20+ years and they just moved here in 2018.

In the case of my brother it would be the uber conservative Arizonan type.  I know he’s convinced a lot of his friends that Boise is a mini-Phoenix waiting to have it’s low cost of living exploited.  Idaho sounds great to me, but it wouldn’t be to the Boise Area where that urban boom is taking place.  The Arizonans are attracted by the low living costs just as much as the Californians it seems. 

What's nice is that Boise is pretty fragmented politically- those uber-conservative types who just want to buy big property at a lower price than they can in California/Arizona all tend to live out in Meridian/Eagle along the Idaho 55 corridor and west, while most of the rest of us live in Boise proper - Cole Rd is the typical dividing line, with the area between Cole and Cloverdale serving as a buffer zone of sorts.

I just avoid going west at all costs (Eagle Rd especially is very Phoenix-like) and let those folks do their thing over there, and because of that I love Boise - we more or less stay out of each other's bubbles. If I lived out there I'd probably hate Boise.

[hotdogPi]

Idaho, duh. Low cost of living, good but varied weather, some of the best scenery in the country, a wide variety of things to do especially if you like the outdoors, Boise is a very underrated place to live if you like small cities, and the state generally has (for this era) unusually pragmatic and non-ideological governance from both sides of the aisle (obviously some exceptions).

We may not have any truly big cities but Boise attracts good concerts, we don't have major league sports but we do have a good college football team, and we have a great restaurant/bar scene.

I plan to stay here until retirement.

Only problem with Idaho is that people like my brother found out about it.  It's just a matter of time before the turn Boise into another Scottsdale.   

There's some truth to that - precisely why I said "I'll stay here until retirement" - in 30 years I envision myself cashing out my will-be valuable Idaho dollars to buy some land in Nebraska and a place somewhere in Mexico and live the high life.

It could also go the other way - we have ideologues from all over the spectrum moving here from California - both Bay Area types that just want a lower cost of living but tend to be super liberal and other California people who erroneously think Idaho is some conservative utopia. The latter are hilarious because they're all too happy to tell you to "take your liberal values back to California" when you've been associated with the state for 20+ years and they just moved here in 2018.

In the case of my brother it would be the uber conservative Arizonan type.  I know he's convinced a lot of his friends that Boise is a mini-Phoenix waiting to have it's low cost of living exploited.  Idaho sounds great to me, but it wouldn't be to the Boise Area where that urban boom is taking place.  The Arizonans are attracted by the low living costs just as much as the Californians it seems. 

What's nice is that Boise is pretty fragmented politically- those uber-conservative types who just want to buy big property at a lower price than they can in California/Arizona all tend to live out in Meridian/Eagle along the Idaho 55 corridor and west, while most of the rest of us live in Boise proper - Cole Rd is the typical dividing line, with the area between Cole and Cloverdale serving as a buffer zone of sorts.

I just avoid going west at all costs (Eagle Rd especially is very Phoenix-like) and let those folks do their thing over there, and because of that I love Boise - we more or less stay out of each other's bubbles. If I lived out there I'd probably hate Boise.

You've said before that you're a swing voter (reply #4 here). Has that changed?

[MikieTimT]

Not Arkansas.

[Max Rockatansky]

Idaho, duh. Low cost of living, good but varied weather, some of the best scenery in the country, a wide variety of things to do especially if you like the outdoors, Boise is a very underrated place to live if you like small cities, and the state generally has (for this era) unusually pragmatic and non-ideological governance from both sides of the aisle (obviously some exceptions).

We may not have any truly big cities but Boise attracts good concerts, we don't have major league sports but we do have a good college football team, and we have a great restaurant/bar scene.

I plan to stay here until retirement.

Only problem with Idaho is that people like my brother found out about it.  It's just a matter of time before the turn Boise into another Scottsdale.   

There's some truth to that - precisely why I said "I'll stay here until retirement" - in 30 years I envision myself cashing out my will-be valuable Idaho dollars to buy some land in Nebraska and a place somewhere in Mexico and live the high life.

It could also go the other way - we have ideologues from all over the spectrum moving here from California - both Bay Area types that just want a lower cost of living but tend to be super liberal and other California people who erroneously think Idaho is some conservative utopia. The latter are hilarious because they're all too happy to tell you to "take your liberal values back to California" when you've been associated with the state for 20+ years and they just moved here in 2018.

In the case of my brother it would be the uber conservative Arizonan type.  I know he's convinced a lot of his friends that Boise is a mini-Phoenix waiting to have it's low cost of living exploited.  Idaho sounds great to me, but it wouldn't be to the Boise Area where that urban boom is taking place.  The Arizonans are attracted by the low living costs just as much as the Californians it seems. 

What's nice is that Boise is pretty fragmented politically- those uber-conservative types who just want to buy big property at a lower price than they can in California/Arizona all tend to live out in Meridian/Eagle along the Idaho 55 corridor and west, while most of the rest of us live in Boise proper - Cole Rd is the typical dividing line, with the area between Cole and Cloverdale serving as a buffer zone of sorts.

I just avoid going west at all costs (Eagle Rd especially is very Phoenix-like) and let those folks do their thing over there, and because of that I love Boise - we more or less stay out of each other's bubbles. If I lived out there I'd probably hate Boise.

My brother is out by Meridian specifically and that description is pretty much spot on as to how I saw it the last time I visited. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Not Arkansas.

Hey, plenty of Walmart locations and even a National Park. 

[brad2971]

I do have to ask this when it comes to the question at hand: What happens when folks of a certain race or economic class can no longer enjoy the benefits of moving away? Do these folks take semi-proactive steps to try to make the situation around them a little better? Or do they just hunker down and curse the darkness around them?

Not to get too political, but there are folks of other races and economic classes who are very interested in what happens when the particular race/economic class mentioned above is "forced" to stay in place.

But if you'd want me to answer the question, I have lived in two states in the last 25 years (South Dakota and Colorado) that are very much optimum states to live in permanently. Which is a good thing, given how relatively communitarian both states are. Just don't expect to move to either state and expect it to be the answer to one's issues with the state they left.

[MikieTimT]

Not Arkansas.

Hey, plenty of Walmart locations and even a National Park.

I'd rather play up the negative stereotypes of my state, so that it isn't shortly overrun by those looking for cheaper/healthier places to move to. I don't want to have to move away in 30 years when I no longer recognize the place.

[ozarkman417]

Not Arkansas.

Hey, plenty of Walmart locations and even a National Park.

Plenty of mountains, too. I imagine you had Hot Springs NP in mind but up north is the Buffalo River.

When it comes to MO, you have two large cities, and the topography isn't all that boring with the Ozarks, though the best of them are in Arkansas. Max income tax percentage is 5.4% (I am not entirely sure about this). The south part of the state get quite hot in the summer and hardly gets any snow, while the north gets plenty. I obviously haven't lived long enough to say what the best state to live in is.

[corco]

You've said before that you're a swing voter (reply #4 here). Has that changed?

That was... eight years ago- without getting too far down an off-topic rabbit hole I'd say I'm still a potential swing voter at the local and state level and leave it at that.

[Max Rockatansky]

Not Arkansas.

Hey, plenty of Walmart locations and even a National Park.

Plenty of mountains, too. I imagine you had Hot Springs NP in mind but up north is the Buffalo River.

When it comes to MO, you have two large cities, and the topography isn't all that boring with the Ozarks, though the best of them are in Arkansas. Max income tax percentage is 5.4% (I am not entirely sure about this). The south part of the state get quite hot in the summer and hardly gets any snow, while the north gets plenty. I obviously haven't lived long enough to say what the best state to live in is.

Yes, I was thinking about Hot Springs specifically but I know there are other worthwhile mountainous locales.  I've always been surprised how much I end up enjoying Arkansas when I visit, it definitely doesn't have the reputation for outdoor activity.  I really like the free highway maps at the State Travel centers, not many places do that anymore. 

[webny99]

call me biased if you want

I mean I was feeling kinda like this whole thread was so you could argue everybody should want to live in NY. 

Well of course! 
But it has been an interesting discussion despite not being very NY-focused so far.

[texaskdog]

I'm not old enough to make an entirely informed decision, but from my travels Texas seems like a good place to be. Favorable taxes, diverse terrain, and more. Utah would be a close runner up, but if I could never leave than I wouldn't want to be stuck there.

I have nothing against Mormons but when we considered moving there, our Mormon friend said it's really hard to live there w/o being Mormon due to discrimination...nothing bad it's just hard to get jobs over them, etc.  I can probably pull it off but my wife can't smile that big.

I love western landscapes and outdoor opportunities.  As such, Colorado and Utah are big favorites of mine.  I'm curious to know how the cost of living compares between the two states.

my wife applied for the same job in Denver.  they offered her less money even though cost of living is about 20% higher there.

[texaskdog]

I'm not old enough to make an entirely informed decision, but from my travels Texas seems like a good place to be. Favorable taxes, diverse terrain, and more. Utah would be a close runner up, but if I could never leave than I wouldn't want to be stuck there.

I have nothing against Mormons but when we considered moving there, our Mormon friend said it's really hard to live there w/o being Mormon due to discrimination...nothing bad it's just hard to get jobs over them, etc.  I can probably pull it off but my wife can't smile that big.

I love western landscapes and outdoor opportunities.  As such, Colorado and Utah are big favorites of mine.  I'm curious to know how the cost of living compares between the two states.

Moab gets 7 inches of snow a year, just in that sweet spot

[Scott5114]

Serious question: Besides desert, what does California have that New York doesn't?

A comfortable climate?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Serious question: Besides desert, what does California have that New York doesn't?

A comfortable climate?

In "˜n Out?

More seriously though, CA also has real ocean coastline. That little stretch of Long Island ain't in the same universe.

[Rothman]

Serious question: Besides desert, what does California have that New York doesn't?

A comfortable climate?

In "˜n Out?

More seriously though, CA also has real ocean coastline. That little stretch of Long Island ain't in the same universe.

What do you consider the difference?  I'd take Fire Island over quite a few stretches of California shore.