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I lived in Central IL most of my life. OK towns, not too far from Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis etc. The weather is lousy most of the time and taxes are high. I tried Southwest Florida for five years, it's hot and humid over half of the year and hurricanes are an issue. No state income tax and cost of living isn't too bad. I couldn't get used to the humidity and storms during hurricane season. I live in Las Vegas now. The weather is great most of the year except for about 3 months of high temperatures, but it's almost never humid (dry heat feels good to me). No state income tax, property taxes are low, power bills are low. I get to keep more of my money here than I did in IL and FL. There are lots of restaurants and things to do (entertainment capital of the world). It's close to Arizona, Colorado, California, Utah, etc. I can get to lots of nice places via car or short flights. To sum it up, I value good weather, cost of living, things to do and places to go. I like the West better than the rest, lol.
Do you want to live in a red state or a blue state? I guess another alternative is a blue island within a red state, or a red island in a blue state as the poster below mentions. The reality is that the states and regions are going to get further and further divided, both politically and sociologically over time. We didn't use to think about this very much, but it is an important consideration in the America of 2023.
Last edited by GearHeadDave; 07-04-2023 at 04:31 PM..
Do you want to live in a red state or a blue state? I guess another alternative is a blue island within a red state. The reality is that the states and regions are going to get further and further divided, both politically and sociologically over time. We didn't use to think about this very much, but it is an important consideration in the America of 2023.
Or a Red island in a Blue state? Like much of inland California.....we tried that, but them you're still stuck with the state's laws, rules regulations, taxes, etc....which makes it unlivable for most, esp Red folks. Yes it is a reality in today's world, better think it through....unless you're apolitical...
Are you able to do some vacationing?
What i did was check out the west, the south and the north of where I was living.
Where I went out west was too visually desolate, no apartments in safe neighborhoods and a realtor who decided he was gonna push me into buying a house when I said no way was I buying another house. The trip was not great. The south was too hot (June was already at 105° plus), which I knew ahead. I looked at a beach front town that had few choices for shopping (a Target, that's it). And not easily drivable any hoo.
Went north and then further north and found a wonderful apartment, not too too far away from my hometown and everything kinda fell together.
Prior to all this I researched weather, local economy, general reviews and did the necessary re-con.
Now, in my heart I always loved southern California. I maybe should have moved there ? The crowds and cars changed the area immensely since I had been there years ago. So I'm here... but will always have a piece of my heart in CA - where I *possibly* should have ended up.
Sadly no, my finances are not great right now I cannot vacation anywhere.
Go to San Diego, CA. Unless the uber liberal politics bother you. I lived there for 40 years...best weather anywhere, generally nice people, great food, wonderful ambiance.....
Nope, I'm uber liberal so bonus. I don't know if I want all that sunny weather though.
You seem to have found out that there is no perfect place to live and it’s just opinion (usually highly biased and skewed) which is best. Places that are low cost are cheap for a reason which usually is less job opportunities and low pay.
As someone who knows the state pretty well, I can attest to the fact the Rhode Island roads are pretty bad. There are roads there that were in poor condition 20 years ago and still haven’t been repaved since. I do not know why but it’s true. The state has public buildings that are incredibly old and not updated. That said, if you like the water, Rhode Island’s coast is incredible. Thanks to Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays, there’s water all over the state. It’s quite lovely.
That said I’d like to make a pitch for you to consider Connecticut. It’s a wonderful state and outside of pricey Fairfield County is surprisingly affordable. It actually is No. 1 for Disposable Income which means you have the best chance to have money leftover after expenses including taxes.
Connecticut always ranks VERY high for education, health, healthcare, income and per capita Gross Domestic Product. Many of the measures usually touted as a negative are actually misunderstood or not looked at fully.
For example, the media likes to note that the state ranks low in economic growth. What they neglect to say is that Connecticut ranks among the very top in per capita GDP and it doesn’t have high GDP growth because it has low population growth. The fact that Connecticut is always among the very top in GDP means our economy is stable and strong. The states that boast about high growth usually have boom and bust economies which is definitely not good.
The media also loves to tout that our state is a mess fiscally. What they won’t note is that the state has made huge strides to improves its finances. It’s posted large surpluses for the past five years and instead of blowing that money, they have been prepaying our pension obligations. This has resulted in an annual savings of over $440 million per year and has meant this year the state actually cutting taxes. How is that bad?
You will also hear that Connecticut is wealthy only because of super-affluent Fairfield County but that’s incorrect. Every county in our state has median incomes above the national median. That shows affluence pretty much across the entire state.
That said, Connecticut has or is very near almost anything you would want. If you want big cities and ours aren’t big enough, New York City is under a half hour south of us and Boston is an hour the other. You want mountains, we have our own but Vermont and New Hampshire are about an hour north. If our own great beaches aren’t good enough, Rhode Island’s beaches are literally minutes away. And if those are good enough, Cape Cod is under 2 hours away.
Again, no place is perfect. If you love large cities, then you may want to look in other states. Connecticut cities are smaller but they still offer a lot of the big city amenities people love. There’s great theater, entertainment, culture, history and dining in most of them.
Hartford is only 17 square miles with a population of only about 120,000. It is the dense urban core however of a large metro area of 1.2 million people. Hartford is the second largest employment center in New England. It has truly wonderful suburbs including the mature semi dense suburban West Hartford to the stunningly bucolic Farmington River Valley.
New Haven is a wonderful small city that is becoming a key biotech research center. Lead by the World Class Yale New Haven Medical Center, its research has grown tremendously over the past 20 years with a number of new medical research facilities planned, under construction or built. New Haven is home to Yale University, one of our country’s leading higher education schools. There’s great nightlife, entertainment and cultural amenities there. And New Haven’s shoreline suburbs east of the city have a wonderful beachy feel and are great places to live.
Stamford is a wonderful city that is a satellite of New York City. It and its nearby Fairfield County towns are home to many corporate headquarters. The towns surrounding or near Stamford are among the most desirable and affluent in the country. They include world famous Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan and Westport, among others.
I could go on and on. I would suggest you go over to the Connecticut forum and post questions you may have. We’d love to help you. Jay
Thanks I'll definitely do some Connecticut research
Nope, I'm uber liberal so bonus. I don't know if I want all that sunny weather though.
Uber liberal and don't want heat. Seattle and San Francisco are calling your name! (Hope you have a lot of money to throw around, though.)
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