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(Note, I realize people who live here or visited these places a lot would disagree, but I'm looking at this from an objective, pan-America perspective)
1. First, no one (who doesn't live there) would ever argue for these 6 plains states: ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, IA
2. States that are small and have larger neighbors that offer all they do and more: CT, RI, DE (trumped by NY) IN, WI (trumped by IL), MT, ID, WY (trumped by CO), OR (trumped by WA)
3. States too rural, poor, hick and/or conservative for the general population (not saying its bad to be these things or live there, just that Joe America wouldn't pick it as the [i]best[/I ] state: ME, NH, VT, KY, SC, WV, AR, AL, MS, NM, UT
4. Rust-belt states that most Americans consider too old, ugly, cold, industrial, high-priced, etc and have no awesome cities to make up for it: NJ, PA, MD, MI, OH
5. Hawaii and Alaska, while gorgeous, unique states, are just too far out to be the greatest.
6. I think MA is too liberal to end up winning in a national vote. MN too cold for the "average" US citizen to like living there.
7. IL and MO, while they have nice cities, don't offer much in the way of interesting landscape, good climate, outdoors activities (I know they have some, but we're looking for the greatest
8. While Vegas is great, the rest of Nevada is too bleak to win
That leaves, possibly:
Northeast: NY
South: VA, NC, GA, FL, TX
West: CO, AZ, WA, CA
These are the 10 states that offer the greatest variety of landscape, cities, lifestyle options. I think if confined to any one of these states, someone could still live a relatively diverse, fulfilling life.
So, I think NY is the king of any northern state. I can't think of any that offer more or anything NY doesn't have.
In the West, WA and AZ, while great, seem trumped by CA. It's like you get both states in that one.
While Atlanta is great, Georgia doesn't seem to offer the variety/history/diversity of NC or VA.
So, besides the four "super" states: NY, CA, FL, TX... NC and VA are the only two that survive.
Florida is too polarizing to be the greatest state. If you don't like tropical/hot, you're out of luck. And no cities really stand out as awesome. So is New York, way too expensive/cold/stressful for most of the country to choose it as the greatest state. Greatest city, definitely. Texas is also too polarizing, and can be bland. It does have diversity, yes, but its literally hour upon hours upon days apart.
I think CA, VA, and NC are the top 3 states. I can't really eliminate the other two, but there's a good chance NC is the greatest!
(P.S., by essentially insulting 47 states, I know people will lash back at this)
I'll start, and let's be honest: that was the most biased and LEAST objective assessment I've ever read of each of America's states. I could spend at least an hour retorting each of your statements, but then I'd probably just be hypocritical by imputing my bias. That's what makes this thread so ridiculous -- ranking the "top states" is COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE. What you may dislike about a state will be what someone else loves. Certainly there are some general agreements, but you -- or anyone, for that matter -- can hardly claim to speak with authority on Americans' opinions overall.
I've lived in North Carolina for 2 1/2 years and I loved it. I miss it very much. But I would never say it's the greatest state in the Union. But it is good to live in. I loved it and I miss it very much.
I'll start, and let's be honest: that was the most biased and LEAST objective assessment I've ever read of each of America's states. I could spend at least an hour retorting each of your statements, but then I'd probably just be hypocritical by imputing my bias. That's what makes this thread so ridiculous -- ranking the "top states" is COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE. What you may dislike about a state will be what someone else loves. Certainly there are some general agreements, but you -- or anyone, for that matter -- can hardly claim to speak with authority on Americans' opinions overall.
This has nothing to do with opinion. This is not a question asking whether North Carolina is best, but greatest. This is not a question up for discussion. North Carolina, while the recent ascension of Charlotte is very impressive, is not the greatest state in the nation. They say that Texas is like a whole nuther country, but all states are mid-sized compared to California, which is its own country, actually. We're talking greatest here, not best.
I think all of the hype of North Carolina is going to slow down in the near future. It just seems to be getting really smug (like Texas and California) and seems to think that it's the greatest thing ever. Don't get me wrong I like NC as well as Texas and Cali, but I just do not think any of them are the greatest state in the country. They're definitely some of the best, but just not the best in my opinion.
Do you feel North Carolina is the greatest (the best) state in the Union? If you believe it is, explain why? If not, do the same.
Uh... that's easy. NC is not the best or greatest because California is still part of the United States. Unless Cali becomes its own country it will remain on top of the perch for the foreseeable future.
Last edited by TheRealAngelion; 07-04-2007 at 12:54 PM..
This has nothing to do with opinion. This is not a question asking whether North Carolina is best, but greatest. This is not a question up for discussion. North Carolina, while the recent ascension of Charlotte is very impressive, is not the greatest state in the nation. They say that Texas is like a whole nuther country, but all states are mid-sized compared to California, which is its own country, actually. We're talking greatest here, not best.
Not that I see a difference, but the semantics of the thread's name are irrelevant. I was criticizing silviodante's process of elimination of the other 49 states.
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