California vs. Mid-Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington DC) (best, state)

[Lifeshadower]

I usually try not to post polls, but this one has been on my mind due to these threads:
California vs New Jersey
New York State VS. California

Ok, since any topic involving an individual East Coast state and California always devolves into 'Well, California only has that much geographic diversity because its bigger (even though geographic diversity is determined by east/west topographical variation and distance to the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean), I've taken it into consideration that the best type of comparison would be a California vs. Mid-Atlantic comparison, since they are more equal in area and population If it was comparing the whole Northeast to California, the Northeast would have a definite size advantage (in addition to the higher population advantage).

These two areas of the country routinely make headlines in the news, and includes some of our nations most famous and populated cities. Depending on who you ask, these could arguably be the most hated or the most loved regions in the United States due to their tendencies to vote more liberal than other areas of the United States.

The Mid-Atlantic states range from the depths of the Allegheny Mountains, to the Great Lakes region, to New York City, to the nation's capital. Honestly, its truly an amazing part of the country! For the sake of this comparison, I didn't add Virginia or West Virginia to the Mid-Atlantic, since they are typically conceived to be part of the South. However, as time moves on, these states are being tied closer and closer to the Northeast as a whole.

These are both world-class regions, and the US should be lucky to have them. In fact, the US should be lucky to have all regions because they all contribute to the nation as a whole.

Which do you prefer? Where would you rather live? What quality of life would you prefer?

Gross State Product Source: List of U.S. states by GDP (nominal) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

US Population Source: List of U.S. states and territories by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

US States by area: List of U.S. states and territories by area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Demographic Information: United States - Data Sets - American FactFinder (To get the Mid-Atlantic's demographics, I added up all the groups numerically for all states, then divided it by the total population to get the % of the population they make)

California
Population: 36,961,664
Area: 163,696 square miles
Gross State Product: $1,846,747,000,000
Top 5 Largest Metropolitan Areas (by CSA): Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno
Area Demographics: 42.6% White, 36.1% Hispanic, 12.1% Asian, 6.0% Black. 27.1% foreign born

Mid-Atlantic:
Population: 48,038,216
Area: 124,296 square miles
Gross Regional Product: $2,595,340,000,000
Top 5 Largest Metropolitan Areas (by CSA): New York, Washington-Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
Area Demographics: 64.9% White, 15.2% Black, 5.4% Asian, 11.7% Hispanic, 15.4% Foreign Born

[PDX_LAX]

Still had to go with California in the end. Better quality of life and it just fits my personality better. Though it was definitely close and Washington and New York are still two of my favorite cities.

[Golden-mind-State]

Originally Posted by PDX_LAX

Still had to go with California in the end. Better quality of life and it just fits my personality better. Though it was definitely close and Washington and New York are still two of my favorite cities.

Same,and I think the Mid-Atlantic might take this just because the cities but the region as a whole is still hard to compare to Cali. I love both areas though,but I've lived in multiple cities out east over there and still would rather live almost anywhere in Cali. Washington,NY and Philly are hard cities to compete with though! Not to mention Pittsburgh and some of the other ones.

[Rhymes with Best Coast]

Which do you prefer? Where would you rather live? What quality of life would you prefer?

Answer to all three questions: California, based on weather and quality of life alone. I like nice weather and I don't like stress. By your #s, California is far more diverse as well. More dramatic natural settings in Cali too. All around it's for me.

But I understand the people who would choose the mid-atlantic. Hopefully they've been out to Cali to make a fair assessment first though.

[Lifeshadower]

For once, this might not be a blowout. The great thing about this comparison is that I really don't think there is a clear-cut, over-the-top winner.

[jman650]

Originally Posted by Rhymes with Best Coast

Hopefully they've been out to Cali to make a fair assessment first though.

LOL you know somewhere between 25-50% of those who will vote against CA will have never been to CA before. That's usually the way it plays out here on C-D anyway. Not that there aren't a ton of people who have that would vote for the Mid-Atlantic, but there's always a contingent of uber-homers who pick apart CA or say its inferior only to later show that they've never once set foot over here. So I'm prepared lol.

[jman650]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

For once, this might not be a blowout. The great thing about this comparison is that I really don't think there is a clear-cut, over-the-top winner.

I agree. I think this could prove to be interesting. I just hope people will be able to compare them realistically and avoid throwing all the snide jabs that usually come out in these comparisons.

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

I'd have to go with the Mid Atlantic states...too many diverse and interesting cities along with a myriad of recreational options and topographic variations. Also more history and a different vibe than California...IMHO.

[Llewelyn]

California all the way for me. It's got cities to match the Mid-Atlantic AND it's got natural beauty that the Mid-Atlantic can't come close to matching. Not to mention diversity of both people and geography, plus weather.

[Golden-mind-State]

History is another debatable thing,California has a s*** load of it,different and maybe not as old as the Mid Atlantic's though.Should say I'm not trying to start a debate either,I know even history can be an opinion and America history starts with Mid Atlantic,just saying California didn't just pop up 200 years ago it's been inhabited for 10k+ years.