If you had to live in one state for the rest of your life.... (places, America)

[bolehboleh]

If you were forced to live in one state for the rest of your life and NEVER leave, which state would that be?

I'm from Mass originally and it's still my favorite state, but part of the allure of Massachusetts is its proximity to other places. I can be Boston, the mountains of NH or VT, the coasts of ME and RI and even NYC in no time.

But in my scenario, you must only stay in ONE state only and not leave.

If this were the case, I'd probably pick NY. The state has beautiful mountains and villages up north, NYC to the south, good beaches on Long Island, and even Niagra Falls to the northwest. In a lot of ways, the state offers everything New England has, but all in one state.

What would state would you all pick?

[GeoffD]

That’s a ridiculous constraint in a small state like Massachusetts. I owned a vacation home at a Vermont ski resort for 28 years and rented for some years before that. When I skied weekends, I drove to the office in Massachusetts on Monday morning. For a bunch of years, I lived in Massachusetts and reverse commuted to southern New Hampshire. I also lived in Portsmouth NH for a decade but that’s metro Boston. I had a Boston Symphony season subscription and was in Boston Garden all the time since my company had a slice of a luxury box.

I ski. I sail. I have always done high tech for a living. With those interests, it’s metro Boston, metro New York, Seattle, and the Bay Area. I have tons of metro New York ski friends with a similar lifestyle. I have lots of friends now doing the Bay Area-Tahoe thing. I’ve job hunted in Seattle a few times but never found the right opportunity.

I picked metro Boston but I could have made the other three work. Silicon Valley to Tahoe every weekend would be brutal, though.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Definitely California for me.

Along with the other West Coast states, it has a huge variety of natural environments, but it also has more variety in city environments than Washington or Oregon (and certainly Alaska). The state's large area is also good and might help it feel a little less Truman Show.

New York is also a good choice and might be #2 for me. (It doesn't have deserts or huge mountain ranges like California, but then California doesn't have anything like NYC, or affordable urban cities like Buffalo and Rochester.)

[FL_Expert]

California without a doubt.

[DJKirkland]

Definitely California for me as well. So many different landscapes, climates, and cities. Considering its the size of some entire countries helps too.

[bus man]

To be honest, I'd probably just stay right here in Maryland, where I am now. We've got beaches, we've got mountains, we've got cities, we've got suburbs, we've got history, we've got shopping, we've got a good international airport (which I wouldn't be able to use, because I can't leave the state, grumble grumble), we have a lot packed into our small space. There's a reason this state has been called "American in Miniature."

[popwar]

northern part of California if money wasnt an issue.

[Heel82]

I’d think most people would be happy with the state they live/work in now, since it’s where they spend (willingly presumably) 99% of their time. If you are deciding on a different place here, it may be time to rethink your living situation.*

* Caveat, perhaps it’s different for people from small states. I could see the OP liking Massachusetts’ centrality to other places. Even more an extreme, a place like Delaware which seems designed almost purposely as a place close to many other places. But I wouldn’t move to a place simply because I like to vacation there. If I did, my address would be Main Street, USA right next to Mickey’s ears shop.

[NW4me]

Ecotopia (coastal WA / OR / N CA)

[ccm123]

California (the Northern part of the state), or Northern Virginia.