States with the most scenic roads? States with the least scenic roads?

[Max Rockatansky]

I will admit that Staten Island is boring (haven't been out to Montauk yet, mostly been in the endless suburbs of Nassau County),...

I've been out to Montauk nearly several times in my life, and I can tell you between "downtown" Montauk and the lighthouse, it's worth it.

For Florida, in the past I might've said SR 50 in Withlacoochee State Forest and SR 52 between US 41 and Dade City, but not anymore. I could consider SRs 19, 40, 44, CRs 42, or 314 in Ocala National Forest, but I don't know how long driving on those roads will be worth it.

I would definitely say FL 50 between US 301 and FL 19 is still a worthwhile drive just for the Old Florida scenery.  FL 19 and FL 40 within Ocala National Forest are definitely very pretty drives.  FL 50 east of Orlando, FL 520, and US 441 between US 192-FL 60 come to mind for scenic drives.  US 441 is pretty nice as far south as Pahokee before it gets really haggard approaching Belle Glade.  US 27 south of FL 60 to I-75 was one of my favorite alternates to get to Miami because of the hilly scenery and laid back drive in the Everglades.

[D-Dey65]

I would definitely say FL 50 between US 301 and FL 19 is still a worthwhile drive just for the Old Florida scenery.  FL 19 and FL 40 within Ocala National Forest are definitely very pretty drives. 

I agree that the scenery along that segment of FL 50 is nice, at least west of Mascotte. The trouble is everybody and their brother keeps going there. That spoils the appeal of the drive, which is the same thing that ruined FL 52 from US 41 through I-75. That area is still rural farmland and swampland, but it's so overcrowded that whatever thrill there was of driving on that road 20 odd years ago is gone. 

And that kind of makes me sad.

[webny99]

It kind of sounds like you visited a big city or two and assumed the whole state was like that.  That would be like me saying all of New York is urbanized and unaffordable because I went to New York City once.

Not at all. But what I have seen in person and on Street View, in terms of housing, is just not my taste. Of course, that's just one of many factors, but it's a pretty important one.

I think Upstate NY spoils me. Aside from the Midwest (OH, MI, MN) other areas of the country just don't have nearly the same quality of suburbs IMO.

[Max Rockatansky]

It kind of sounds like you visited a big city or two and assumed the whole state was like that.  That would be like me saying all of New York is urbanized and unaffordable because I went to New York City once.

Not at all. But what I have seen in person and on Street View, in terms of housing, is just not my taste. Of course, that's just one of many factors, but it's a pretty important one.

I think Upstate NY spoils me. Aside from the Midwest (OH, MI, MN) other areas of the country just don't have nearly the same quality of suburbs IMO.

Really your experiences outside the immediate area that you have grown up in has always struck me as lacking.  Street View isn't reality in terms of things like yard sizes, styles, job markets, and home values.  It's okay to admit that you don't really know what you're talking about from time to time, you're just not fooling anyone when you try to say otherwise. 

[webny99]

What? What do you know about me all of a sudden? You tell me what I'm talking about, then, if you're so full of wisdom. What don't you understand about "not my taste"? I'm not sure what you're trying to prove other than just to say I'm wrong because you want to defend your area. Give me some examples of California suburbs that are so great, if you're so sure they exist in some alternate reality.

I could show you a few dozen of the nicest neighborhoods in the country in as many minutes, but let's see what you've got first.

[Max Rockatansky]

If there's a case where I don't know what I'm talking about, I'm not afraid to say it.

I'm not sure what you're trying to prove other than just to say I'm wrong because you want to defend your area. Give me some examples of California suburbs that are so great if you're so sure they exist in some alternate reality. Good luck.

I'm basically saying your life experiences are extremely limited and thusly you're only open to surroundings they familiar to you.  As someone who is 20 years I would caution you against being so closed minded and being so dead set to settle for something familiar in life when you've literally tried nothing else.  I mean, have you once even entertained the notion of going to school somewhere new or trying a new locale for work that is outside your comfort zone?  The way you perceive places for which you have zero experience speaks to volumes to where you are in life.  You can read that how you want, but I intend that as advice. 

What I can tell you is that I've lived and worked in 11 different states.  Out of all them I would probably say the one I liked the best was Arizona.  I spent a lot of years perceiving California as a crap hole because I worked in Los Angeles and San Diego in jobs that I really didn't like.  I absolutely detested the traffic in big cities of California and the huge expense of pretty much everything. 

That said, I took a chance on a transfer at work four years ago from Florida to Central California and it has turned out far better than I thought it would.  That doesn't mean that I'll stay here the rest of my life but it is something that I can recommend to people who like affordable living with access to a massive amount outdoor recreation.  Had I not take a chance on something new and look beyond my preconceived notions about California I would have missed out on a lot of good things (including meeting my wife). 

[webny99]

I'm basically saying your life experiences are extremely limited and thusly you're only open to surroundings they familiar to you.  As someone who is 20 years I would caution you against being so closed minded and being so dead set to settle for something familiar in life when you've literally tried nothing else.  I mean, have you once even entertained the notion of going to school somewhere new or trying a new locale for work that is outside your comfort zone?  The way perceive places you have zero experience speaks to your lack of real world experience in life.  You can read that how you want, but I intend that as advice.

(Note: I edited my previous post, but you had already quoted it. But your response basically addressed what I added, so all good...)

I appreciate your intentions and advice, but I don't think it's true that my life experiences are too limited or that I'm closed-minded, and that somehow more experience is going to majorly change the picture. It's true that I've only lived in one state, but I've been to 26 and spent considerable time in about a dozen. I have friends and family all over the country, in Canada, Australia, Europe, etc.
I am very much open to trying out new places (not so much schools for reasons I won't get into), but I don't think I'm going to be moving in the near future. I do hope to be able to do plenty of traveling in the years to come, because I do think it's important to see new places and learn about new cultures.

I'm not saying any one area is worse than another, or that I have anything against those areas. I'm simply saying that the Northeast/Midwest style of housing and suburbia appeals to me much more than the South/West style, and that isn't going to change no matter how much time I spend anywhere else, because having a decent sized property room to spread out and distance from your neighbors is just something I value inherently. There are plenty of states besides New York where you can find that easily, but California, and the South/West in general, is not necessarily among them.

[michravera]

I’m basically saying your life experiences are extremely limited and thusly you’re only open to surroundings they familiar to you.  As someone who is 20 years I would caution you against being so closed minded and being so dead set to settle for something familiar in life when you’ve literally tried nothing else.  I mean, have you once even entertained the notion of going to school somewhere new or trying a new locale for work that is outside your comfort zone?  The way perceive places you have zero experience speaks to your lack of real world experience in life.  You can read that how you want, but I intend that as advice.

(Note: I edited my previous post, but you had already quoted it. But your response basically addressed what I added, so all good...)

I appreciate your intentions and advice, but I don't think it's true that my life experiences are too limited or that I'm closed-minded, and that somehow more experience is going to majorly change the picture. It's true that I've only lived in one state, but I've been to 26 and spent considerable time in about a dozen. I have friends and family all over the country, in Canada, Australia, Europe, etc.
I am very much open to trying out new places (not so much schools for reasons I won't get into), but I don't think I'm going to be moving in the near future. I do hope to be able to do plenty of traveling in the years to come, because I do think it's important to see new places and learn about new cultures.

I'm not saying any one area is worse than another, or that I have anything against those areas. I'm simply saying that the Northeast/Midwest style of housing and suburbia appeals to me much more than the South/West style, and that isn't going to change no matter how much time I spend anywhere else, because having a decent sized property room to spread out and distance from your neighbors is just something I value inherently. There are plenty of states besides New York where you can find that easily, but California, and the South/West in general, is not necessarily among them.

California has 58 counties. Only 9 of them have more than 1 million people (Fresno County is estimated as just under 1 million). Another 6 (plus Fresno) are over one-half million. In addition, Sonoma county is estimate at just under one-half million. If you want a 100 m driveway, you have a choice of the other 41. Those include Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, all 4 north coast counties, plus El Dorado (where Lake Tahoe is). If you can't find somewhere that you'd like to live in California, you will have to look hard to find it anywhere. My only complaint: The ocean here is cold and it sometimes rains half of the year. It only rains in August when my mother-in-law has her car detailed (as she did a couple days ago, so it rained today).

[Roadgeekteen]

I'm basically saying your life experiences are extremely limited and thusly you're only open to surroundings they familiar to you.  As someone who is 20 years I would caution you against being so closed minded and being so dead set to settle for something familiar in life when you've literally tried nothing else.  I mean, have you once even entertained the notion of going to school somewhere new or trying a new locale for work that is outside your comfort zone?  The way perceive places you have zero experience speaks to your lack of real world experience in life.  You can read that how you want, but I intend that as advice.

(Note: I edited my previous post, but you had already quoted it. But your response basically addressed what I added, so all good...)

I appreciate your intentions and advice, but I don't think it's true that my life experiences are too limited or that I'm closed-minded, and that somehow more experience is going to majorly change the picture. It's true that I've only lived in one state, but I've been to 26 and spent considerable time in about a dozen. I have friends and family all over the country, in Canada, Australia, Europe, etc.
I am very much open to trying out new places (not so much schools for reasons I won't get into), but I don't think I'm going to be moving in the near future. I do hope to be able to do plenty of traveling in the years to come, because I do think it's important to see new places and learn about new cultures.

I'm not saying any one area is worse than another, or that I have anything against those areas. I'm simply saying that the Northeast/Midwest style of housing and suburbia appeals to me much more than the South/West style, and that isn't going to change no matter how much time I spend anywhere else, because having a decent sized property room to spread out and distance from your neighbors is just something I value inherently. There are plenty of states besides New York where you can find that easily, but California, and the South/West in general, is not necessarily among them.

I think he is trying to tell you that LA/SF/SD does not equal all of California.

[DTComposer]

I'm basically saying your life experiences are extremely limited and thusly you're only open to surroundings they familiar to you.  As someone who is 20 years I would caution you against being so closed minded and being so dead set to settle for something familiar in life when you've literally tried nothing else.  I mean, have you once even entertained the notion of going to school somewhere new or trying a new locale for work that is outside your comfort zone?  The way perceive places you have zero experience speaks to your lack of real world experience in life.  You can read that how you want, but I intend that as advice.

(Note: I edited my previous post, but you had already quoted it. But your response basically addressed what I added, so all good...)

I appreciate your intentions and advice, but I don't think it's true that my life experiences are too limited or that I'm closed-minded, and that somehow more experience is going to majorly change the picture. It's true that I've only lived in one state, but I've been to 26 and spent considerable time in about a dozen. I have friends and family all over the country, in Canada, Australia, Europe, etc.
I am very much open to trying out new places (not so much schools for reasons I won't get into), but I don't think I'm going to be moving in the near future. I do hope to be able to do plenty of traveling in the years to come, because I do think it's important to see new places and learn about new cultures.

I'm not saying any one area is worse than another, or that I have anything against those areas. I'm simply saying that the Northeast/Midwest style of housing and suburbia appeals to me much more than the South/West style, and that isn't going to change no matter how much time I spend anywhere else, because having a decent sized property room to spread out and distance from your neighbors is just something I value inherently. There are plenty of states besides New York where you can find that easily, but California, and the South/West in general, is not necessarily among them.

Based on what I've seen of the density in Rochester, there is plenty of that style of development in the northeastern areas of both Sacramento and San Diego, in addition to the areas Max mentioned.

Back on topic:

Made some changes, which are noted in bold and eliminated the last category because every state brings something unique to the table. Funnily enough, I forgot Minnesota in the last one. Somehow, no one noticed!

1. Amazing Scenery Nearly Everywhere
Hawaii
Alaska

2. Widespread Great Scenery
Washington
Vermont
West Virginia
Oregon
California
Colorado
Utah
Massachusetts

My argument against just Alaska and Hawaii in the top tier is that their scenery, while nearly universally awesome, is limited in scope. While I will be the first in line to tell you that California definitely has a fair portion of non-scenic highways, you can find multiple examples of beautiful highway in multiple regions (seashore, rolling hills, agriculture, redwood forest, alpine mountains, desert, delta). Colorado has much of this as well. I'd put them both back in the top tier.

One of the things California doesn't have is the fall color of New England and some other areas. There's no comparison there.