Based on what you value in a state to live/raise a fam, rate each state. (best, cost)
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What I value in a place is a wide range of job opportunities, a state with 4 seasons, a state that values education, a state with a lot of walkable communities, a state with a lot of green vegetation, a state with historic communities throughout, a state that gets a good amount of precipitation, and a state that's not so empty (in terms of statewide population density)
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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California- 9 (if expenses weren't a problem)
Texas- 10 (I'll explain below)
New York- 10
Florida- 9 (Miami!)
Illinois- 10
Pennsylvania- 10
Ohio- 8
Michigan- 9 (Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids carry this state for me)
Georgia- 8
North Carolina- 10
New Jersey- 10
Virginia- 6
Washington- 10
Arizona- 10!
Massachusetts- 9 (cost)
Indiana- 7
Tennessee- 7
Missouri- 7
Maryland- 6
Wisconsin- 6
Minnesota- 8
Colorado- 8
Alabama- 5
South Carolina- 3
Louisiana- 6
Kentucky- 7
Oregon- 3 (taxes)
Oklahoma- 7
Connecticut- 9
Iowa- 6
Mississippi- 3
Arkansas- 2
Kansas- 2
Utah- 6
Nevada- 4 (not the best place for family) *explain below
New Mexico- 7
West Virginia- 10
Nebraska- 8
Idaho- 4
New Hampshire- 8
Maine- 8
Hawaii- 8
Rhode Island- 10
Montana- 2
Delaware- 3
South Dakota- 2
Alaska- 6
North Dakota- 2
Vermont- 7
Wyoming- 3
I rated Texas that high because of the following:
- No income tax, makes it easier to save your cash
- housing is large and relatively cheap
- a lot of security in certain areas
- the cities are centered around families here, look at the cities in Texas, they're not big tourist cities, Houston and Dallas are not. They're family type cities and business cities. Medical centers, and all these things make it very convenient when the need arises.
- Rice University is a nice school, more than satisfying.
Nevada- the reason i ranked it low:
- They have a huge gambling scene, I don't want children to be near that if I had family. That breaks families apart later on. One of my friends can relate to that, he was just telling me 2 weeks ago about it.
- inexplicit views of prostitution in certain counties, that is not a childhood environment
I know you can avoid these things, but to what extent? And yes I know Reno is an option, but face it, I prefer big cities, either Vegas or nothing at all for me.
Vermont and the other New England states I ranked high because of their traditional values. I really feel that it would be a great environment for kids to grow up in. History all around you.
A simple question that in reality is very complicated. Too much so to produce a quick ranking for this post.
SO MANY factors, and a person's age will have a huge bearing on their rating.
Taxes, medical care, transportation, crime, climate, geological/weather risks, state pension funding %, liberal/conservative, culture/arts, school ratings, population age, population demographics, 2nd amendment support, air quality, water quality, nuclear facility proximity, on and on and on. It takes a lot of time to thoroughly research every area.
What's important to me are four seasons, medical care, good public transportation, culture/arts, more solid state finances, 2nd amendment support, and not in that particular order.
Most state ranking sites cover all the obvious factors. The one they don't cover is 2nd amendment support, so here is a link to the Brady Campaign State Scorecard. It's great for both pro/con people. Just start at the top or bottom depending on your beliefs. Obviously, the "0" ranked states offer the best support for the 2nd.
A simple question that in reality is very complicated. Too much so to produce a quick ranking for this post.
SO MANY factors, and a person's age will have a huge bearing on their rating.
Taxes, medical care, transportation, crime, climate, geological/weather risks, state pension funding %, liberal/conservative, culture/arts, school ratings, population age, population demographics, 2nd amendment support, air quality, water quality, nuclear facility proximity, on and on and on. It takes a lot of time to thoroughly research every area.
What's important to me are four seasons, medical care, good public transportation, culture/arts, more solid state finances, 2nd amendment support, and not in that particular order.
Most state ranking sites cover all the obvious factors. The one they don't cover is 2nd amendment support, so here is a link to the Brady Campaign State Scorecard. It's great for both pro/con people. Just start at the top or bottom depending on your beliefs. Obviously, the "0" ranked states offer the best support for the 2nd.
Stars STATE POINTS
★★★★ CALIFORNIA 79
★★★ NEW JERSEY 73
★★★ MASSACHUSETTS 54
★★★ CONNECTICUT 53
★★★ MARYLAND 52
★★★ NEW YORK 50
★★ RHODE ISLAND 45
★★ HAWAII 42
★★ ILLINOIS 28
★★ PENNSYLVANIA 25
★ MICHIGAN 23
★ DELAWARE 21
★ NORTH CAROLINA 19
★ OREGON 17
★ VIRGINIA 17
★ WASHINGTON 17
★ ALABAMA 16
★ COLORADO 15
★ MINNESOTA 15
★ IOWA 14
★ MAINE 11
★ OHIO 11
0 SOUTH CAROLINA 10
0 WISCONSIN 10
0 WYOMING 10
0 NEVADA 9
0 NEW HAMPSHIRE 9
0 TEXAS 9
0 GEORGIA 8
0 NEBRASKA 8
0 TENNESSEE 8
0 VERMONT 8
0 KANSAS 7
0 FLORIDA 6
0 INDIANA 6
0 MISSISSIPPI 6
All very true.
I didn't expect people to put extreme thought into the ranking, I just wanted to get an idea and basically come up with a home made statistic on the subject.
You wont find too many responders that would be interested enough or knowledgeable enough to take the time to list state by state their individual take on the pro's and cons of each state as a place to live.,surly there are sites on Google that have already done these studies.
I couldn't even begin to tackle this, simply because most states are so large and diverse, that some localities within a state are way better positioned to raise a family, and as Creek Hollow mentioned, someone's standing in life is going to vastly alter the perception of what ideal criteria is.
I agree with those that say it is a broad topic to discuss and states can vary depending on the state region or even a community. NY is like this for example.
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