Best County in Your State

[kphoger]

Orleans County Block Party, to be held on April 31st, 2021, anyone?

No good for me, I'm going to the Quindaro road meet–could we move it up to the 1st of that month?

Quindaro won't let you in if you've been out of your home state within the last 30 days*, and it isn't entirely clear if that's inclusive or exclusive.


*  Note:  This includes traveling outside of your home state in order to get to Quindaro.  It's like a self-quarantine order in reverse.

[Flint1979]

I'm looking to relocate to New York State I was thinking of looking around the Albion area or perhaps Medina or even Lyndonville. I have heard so many great things about the county that those places are located in I'd love to live there.

[webny99]

Wow, it's crazy how popular the 62nd-best county in New York is. I can't even imagine how popular the other 61 are!

[kphoger]

Wow, it's crazy how popular the 62nd-best county in New York is. I can't even imagine how popular the other 61 are!

Maybe it's actually the 61st-best county.  Fulton County might be the 62nd-best.

Cost of living index (2019)
Fulton = 94.7
Orleans = 94.1

Residents below poverty line (2017)
Fulton = 15.0%
Orleans = 14.8%

Unemployment (2015)
Fulton = 5.6%
Orleans = 5.0%

Of course, Fulton County does allow swimming at its beaches.

Oh, wait, you can go swimming in Orleans County too.  Just not at the state park.  Go instead to the Green Harbor campground & marina.  Or heck, if you're desperate, you could even give it a go at the Bald Eagle marina.

[hotdogPi]

Wow, it's crazy how popular the 62nd-best county in New York is. I can't even imagine how popular the other 61 are!

Maybe it's actually the 61st-best county.  Fulton County might be the 62nd-best.

Cost of living index (2019)
Fulton = 94.7
Orleans = 94.1

Residents below poverty line (2017)
Fulton = 15.0%
Orleans = 14.8%

Unemployment (2015)
Fulton = 5.6%
Orleans = 5.0%

Of course, Fulton County does allow swimming at its beaches.

Oh, wait, you can go swimming in Orleans County too.  Just not at the state park.  Go instead to the Green Harbor campground & marina.  Or heck, if you're desperate, you could even give it a go at the Bald Eagle marina.

Fulton County has Adirondack Mountains scenery.

[kphoger]

Wow, it's crazy how popular the 62nd-best county in New York is. I can't even imagine how popular the other 61 are!

Maybe it's actually the 61st-best county.  Fulton County might be the 62nd-best.

Cost of living index (2019)
Fulton = 94.7
Orleans = 94.1

Residents below poverty line (2017)
Fulton = 15.0%
Orleans = 14.8%

Unemployment (2015)
Fulton = 5.6%
Orleans = 5.0%

Of course, Fulton County does allow swimming at its beaches.

Oh, wait, you can go swimming in Orleans County too.  Just not at the state park.  Go instead to the Green Harbor campground & marina.  Or heck, if you're desperate, you could even give it a go at the Bald Eagle marina.

Fulton County has Adirondack Mountains scenery.

True, the OP mentioned scenery specifically.

I counter, then, that he also mentioned diversity.  Fulton County is 90.2% white (2017), whereas Orleans County is only 80.5% white.   

[Flint1979]

Wow, it's crazy how popular the 62nd-best county in New York is. I can't even imagine how popular the other 61 are!

Maybe it's actually the 61st-best county.  Fulton County might be the 62nd-best.

Cost of living index (2019)
Fulton = 94.7
Orleans = 94.1

Residents below poverty line (2017)
Fulton = 15.0%
Orleans = 14.8%

Unemployment (2015)
Fulton = 5.6%
Orleans = 5.0%

Of course, Fulton County does allow swimming at its beaches.

Oh, wait, you can go swimming in Orleans County too.  Just not at the state park.  Go instead to the Green Harbor campground & marina.  Or heck, if you're desperate, you could even give it a go at the Bald Eagle marina.

Does anything at Lakeside Beach State Park even resemble a sand beach? If you look at the Google Satellite View it looks like there's trees right up to the shoreline then it looks like a bunch of rocks. This is what I'm talking about: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3689531,-78.2358664,71m/data=!3m1!1e3

[kphoger]

Does anything at Lakeside Beach State Park even resemble a sand beach? If you look at the Google Satellite View it looks like there's trees right up to the shoreline then it looks like a bunch of rocks. This is what I'm talking about: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3689531,-78.2358664,71m/data=!3m1!1e3

Yes.  Pan to the west, and you can see the sandy beach.  You can find pictures of people swimming there (I found some), but doing so appears to be against park rules.

(Swimming, that is, not finding pictures of swimming.  It isn't Alan County, after all.)

[webny99]

Fulton County has Adirondack Mountains scenery.

True, the OP mentioned scenery specifically.

I counter, then, that he also mentioned diversity.  Fulton County is 90.2% white (2017), whereas Orleans County is only 80.5% white.   

Yeah, the lack of scenery does set Orleans somewhat apart. I wasn't blown away by Fulton County; NY 29 is boring, but this isn't bad. Neither is this, if you caught it at a better time of year. The most obvious comparison to Orleans would be Genesee, but that's the closest thing NY has to big-farm country, and it's at least got the Thruway and some rolling hills.

As for diversity, well, that encompasses more than just ethnic diversity. 

[kphoger]

As for diversity, well, that encompasses more than just ethnic diversity. 

But rednecks, if you take ethnicity away, are a VERY diverse bunch!  Waist size, bra/blouse color combination, number of rusting cars in the back yard, preferred fishing lure, choice of mildly offensive T-shirt message, ...

[TheHighwayMan3561]

You can't spell nanny state without "NY" .

[webny99]

As for diversity, well, that encompasses more than just ethnic diversity. 

But rednecks, if you take ethnicity away, are a VERY diverse bunch!  Waist size, bra/blouse color combination, number of rusting cars in the back yard, preferred fishing lure, choice of mildly offensive T-shirt message, ...

Haha, well there is that factor as well... but I wasn't even thinking of other human-related characteristics of diversity. I was thinking more along the lines of population density, terrain, etc., etc.

[The Nature Boy]

I'm actually moving to New York state - Orleans County to be precise - just because it is the best county in the state.

The Orleans County real estate boom will the news story of 2021.

I just hope there's room for me when I make the big move.

[vdeane]

Wow, it's crazy how popular the 62nd-best county in New York is. I can't even imagine how popular the other 61 are!

You made it popular.

(Swimming, that is, not finding pictures of swimming.  It isn't Alan County, after all.)

Actually, in a little-known park bylaw that everyone knows, while swimming is prohibited, taking pictures of swimming is compulsory, under penalty of getting a ticket that places your bank account into a state of quantum superposition.

[hotdogPi]

(Swimming, that is, not finding pictures of swimming.  It isn't Alan County, after all.)

Actually, in a little-known park bylaw that everyone knows, while swimming is prohibited, taking pictures of swimming is compulsory, under penalty of getting a ticket that places your bank account into an oblast of quantum superposition.

Fixed.

[webny99]

Wow, it's crazy how popular the 62nd-best county in New York is. I can't even imagine how popular the other 61 are!

You made it popular.

Making it a popular place to talk about has actually been thoroughly enjoyable.

[dlsterner]

Does anything at Lakeside Beach State Park even resemble a sand beach? If you look at the Google Satellite View it looks like there's trees right up to the shoreline then it looks like a bunch of rocks. This is what I'm talking about: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.3689531,-78.2358664,71m/data=!3m1!1e3

Yes.  Pan to the west, and you can see the sandy beach.  You can find pictures of people swimming there (I found some), but doing so appears to be against park rules.

(Swimming, that is, not finding pictures of swimming.  It isn't Alan County, after all.)

Ah, but are they swimming, or are they wading?  That might be the loophole that keeps them out of jeopardy!

[Flint1979]

Fulton County has Adirondack Mountains scenery.

True, the OP mentioned scenery specifically.

I counter, then, that he also mentioned diversity.  Fulton County is 90.2% white (2017), whereas Orleans County is only 80.5% white.   

Yeah, the lack of scenery does set Orleans somewhat apart. I wasn't blown away by Fulton County; NY 29 is boring, but this isn't bad. Neither is this, if you caught it at a better time of year. The most obvious comparison to Orleans would be Genesee, but that's the closest thing NY has to big-farm country, and it's at least got the Thruway and some rolling hills.

As for diversity, well, that encompasses more than just ethnic diversity. 

What I would say consists of boring is the same scenery for miles and miles. If the terrain changes here and there it's a lot less boring.

[JoePCool14]

Jo Daviess County is probably the best Illinois county, at least in terms of scenery and tourism. The rolling hills are beautiful at any time of the year, you've got some great spots to view the Mississippi, and Galena is an incredibly charming town to visit, though the virus rules are doing a number on it I'm sure... 

[triplemultiplex]

I'm picking Bayfield County for my state.
Nice and large, so there's a variety of landscapes, plus it has most of our Lake Superior coast.  I like doing stuff outdoors and a huge selection of that stuff is in that county.

I treated this as a question of where do I want to visit.  In terms of living, well, maybe the answer would be the same after this Plague year.  Not having many of the urban amenities that set city life apart from living in the sticks makes one wonder.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I'm picking Bayfield County for my state.
Nice and large, so there's a variety of landscapes, plus it has most of our Lake Superior coast.  I like doing stuff outdoors and a huge selection of that stuff is in that county.

I'd take Bayfield over Door too for the reason it's more scenic and less nationally famous.

Also has the hilarious "Still lost? Consider letting someone else drive"  signage at one county road intersection.

I am curious what visitors' best and worst lists are, obviously if you've only been to one county there's no point but if you've seen a lot of a state you've probably picked a favorite/worst.

[webny99]

I'm picking Bayfield County for my state.
Nice and large, so there's a variety of landscapes, plus it has most of our Lake Superior coast.  I like doing stuff outdoors and a huge selection of that stuff is in that county.

I'd take Bayfield over Door too for the reason it's more scenic and less nationally famous.

What about Ashland County? Surely that has to be in the running too, being home to most of the Apostle Islands.

Also has the hilarious "Still lost? Consider letting someone else drive"  signage at one county road intersection.

Street View or it didn't happen. 

[Flint1979]

Also has the hilarious "Still lost? Consider letting someone else drive"  signage at one county road intersection.

Street View or it didn't happen. 
[/quote]

I found it pretty quick. It's the bottom sign it's kind of hard to make out what it says but that is it.

https://www.google.com/maps/@46.8173708,-90.8417805,3a,25.4y,161.21h,73.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTqO7zdvKgIHDE7lAGjuUOg!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

[Rothman]

I'm picking Bayfield County for my state.
Nice and large, so there's a variety of landscapes, plus it has most of our Lake Superior coast.  I like doing stuff outdoors and a huge selection of that stuff is in that county.

I'd take Bayfield over Door too for the reason it's more scenic and less nationally famous.

What about Ashland County? Surely that has to be in the running too, being home to most of the Apostle Islands.

As dicussed above, Ashland has Ashland, so no.

[webny99]

I'm picking Bayfield County for my state.
Nice and large, so there's a variety of landscapes, plus it has most of our Lake Superior coast.  I like doing stuff outdoors and a huge selection of that stuff is in that county.

I'd take Bayfield over Door too for the reason it's more scenic and less nationally famous.

What about Ashland County? Surely that has to be in the running too, being home to most of the Apostle Islands.

As dicussed above, Ashland has Ashland, so no.

Hmm, OK. I must've missed that. Either that or it was in another thread.