Whats the best US State? Point Blank (place, America, population)
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No but really, this is a hard one, if Texas had a older port city I would vote Texas. It's coastal, close to the border, snows, offers SE and SW culture, have 4 major metros that offer different lifestyles, and not much of a threat to natural disaters.
Galveston???
Anyways, the best US state is Texas. No questions asked.
Oregon. Point blank. There's a place for everyone somewhere in Oregon, and even when there isn't, it doesn't matter because the people won't mind you anyway.
Though it does seem that some of the people who move to Oregon from the rest of the country have a difficult time getting over the culture shock of whichever Oregonian sub-cultural region they ended up in.
Kind of like Alaska and Hawai'i, but unlike California and Washington, Oregon has a way of spitting out the people who don't belong, who don't make a deep connection with the place. So I suppose that means Oregon is not, and never will be for everyone, so if that's a requirement for being the best, point blank, then it's not. But for those that live here and love it, it probably is the best, point blank.
Last edited by Oregonian88; 03-18-2011 at 11:19 AM..
Reason: Made it into three paragraphs.
NC has (after Texas) the second greatest range in elevation east of the Rocky Mountain front. Year-round average temps in Boone (NW corner of the state) are about the same as those in Concord, NH. Year-round average temps in Wilmington are just very slightly cooler than Tallahassee. I can get almost every climate you will experience on the East Coast in one state.
I've hiked all over western NC - the Blue Ridge and Smokies need no introduction. There are 54 peaks topping 6,000 feet in the eastern half of the US, 53 of those are in or partially in NC, in roughly a 100 mile radius around Asheville.
Eastern NC away from the beaches is rarely considered beautiful, but the rural stretches of eastern NC, passing from farms to forests to swamps and coastal estuaries are - to me - just as gorgeous in their own way as the Blue Ridge.
The center of the state has the Uwharrie National Forest - roughly dead-center between Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh. This encompasses some of the oldest surviving foothills of the Appalachians - a series of low, parallel ridges featuring dense temperate forest, and the only true wilderness in central NC.
The Outer Banks again need no introduction; an added bonus is that most of the land south of Nags Head is national park land, so it's one of very few large stretches of unspoiled shore on the East Coast.
And - rather than one huge city dominating (and sucking the life out of) the entire state, you have 9 cities of 100,000+, with another couple likely to get there soon. There are great cities with very distinct personalities of their own literally from corner-to-corner in the state.
I've been to or through about 90 of 100 counties in the state. It's an incredible place to explore. Lots of greatness that you'll never know if you stick to the interstates.
3 Pics: 1. Linville Gorge, which cuts through the Blue Ridge. 2. The Uwharrie Mountains, between Raleigh and Charlotte (this pic is about 35 miles east of Charlotte). 3. Lake Mattamuskeet, in Hyde County, down East. Second thumbnail is Pea Island, on the Outer Banks.
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