States: Ohio vs Indiana vs Florida (Exempting SE Florida/Miami area)

[jbcmh81]

Florida is a wasteland of strip malls, traffic, mosquitos, tourists, sweltering heat and overcrowded beaches filled with people congratulating themselves on moving to Florida. I'm also not sure what makes SE Florida special. Because it has Cubans? Congrats. Every major city in America has international immigrants that influence local culture. I'd take pretty much any Midwest state in comparison, honestly.

[Phil P]

I'd pick Ohio or Indiana over Florida any day. The built environment and architecture of OH/IN is much nicer. The towns and cities are taken care of better and are better maintained. There's a lot of Florida that's really grungy and the parts that are new are uninspiring. Given that wages are higher and COL is lower, you'll be able to live in an area a couple steps up than you would be able to in Florida.

Florida is 100% about the water. The state is flat as a pancake, I'd rather have hills than a beach/lake for recreation. The temperate Ohio river valley forests are much prettier than the dense wall of subtropical scrub. Florida is fun to visit, but for me it's one of those places that I could tell fairly quickly that I'd never consider living there.