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How do you rank them by the following:
- Jobs: Alabama
- Cost of Living: West Virginia
- Education: Kentucky
- Quality of Life: Alabama
- Healthcare: Alabama
- Projected growth: Alabama
- Cities with nice amenities: Alabama
- Nature / Climate: New Mexico
Based on the criteria, Alabama leads.
But my personal preference out of the choices given is New Mexico. Santa Fe is gorgeous, and the overall landscape in New Mexico can be breathtakingly beautiful.
I'm curious why do you rank KY best for education?
jobs:Alabama
Cost of living: Mississippi
Education: Alabama, tons of top tier schools in just about every metro not to mention Uni of Alabama, Uni of Alabama Birmingham, and Auburn are top tier schools
Quality of life: Alabama
HealthCare: Alabama (has 4 level one trauma centers throughout the state)
Projected Growth: Alabama
Cities with Ammenities: Alabama has atleast 7 significant size central cities that has all the ammenities needed
Nature/Climate: Alabama, it has the foothills of the Appalachians on one of the of the state and the beaches on the other end with rolling hills in between
Alabama is currently doing the best of these states, with the highest growth projected and job growth. With growth of Huntsville and the awakening of Mobile and Birmingham, I expect Alabama will not be a part of this list within the next 3-5 years
There is no awakening in Birmingham. I lived there, albeit 20 years ago but went back not long ago for a interview (job not based there). I think Mobile, Montgomery or Huntsville are more attractive long term. I do agree its done better than last decade as a state. One thing to its benefit is not having all of its economy centered in one big city. But at the same time, the stigma is slow to wane. Its why B'ham is what it is and Atlanta, which at one time was no bigger, is now far larger and more significant.
The 8 in question are the poorest, but right there with them in the bottom 15 are:
Tennessee
Texas
South Carolina
North Carolina
Georgia
What's usually considered the cream of the crop of southern states still have a lot of work to do.
Then it's:
Arizona
Ohio
New York
Illinois is #25
Iowa #21
It would take decades for Alabama and Iowa to come anywhere close to even being in the same boat, to respond to fezzador's post.
I assume this is based on % of state residents below the official poverty line? Now living in TX, and having lived in Georgia, visited TN, the Carolinas, AZ, NY, OH and IL, I think that sole metric is misleading. I think looking at median family income and cost of living provides balance to what states have the most truly economically challenged residents. For example, just look at the growth in Texas since 1980, going from 15 million residents to 29 million in 40 years. NY, Ohio, IL, southern states to the east of Texas, Oklahoma grew nowhere near as much in terms of % increase and total people. GA and NC are not in ten largest. KS, AK, WY and Iowa rank much better than TX, GA and NC but look at migration trends and the latter group far surpass the former in relocations.
I assume this is based on % of state residents below the official poverty line? Now living in TX, and having lived in Georgia, visited TN, the Carolinas, AZ, NY, OH and IL, I think that sole metric is misleading. I think looking at median family income and cost of living provides balance to what states have the most truly economically challenged residents. For example, just look at the growth in Texas since 1980, going from 15 million residents to 29 million in 40 years. NY, Ohio, IL, southern states to the east of Texas, Oklahoma grew nowhere near as much in terms of % increase and total people. GA and NC are not in ten largest. KS, AK, WY and Iowa rank much better than TX, GA and NC but look at migration trends and the latter group far surpass the former in relocations.
I acknowledged that the raw numbers don't really tell the whole story in another post:
Quote:
Originally Posted by sub
I think Prickly Pear is right that people choose New Mexico for it's scenery and climate. I know I did.
However, it's no different than the rest of this group as far as neighborhoods and living environment. Any of them have some really nice areas. Being among the most impoverished states simply means that there's more to be mindful of. I don't know that New Mexico is any worse in that regard.
For what it's worth, I've lived in 3 of these: New Mexico, Arkansas, and Alabama. Been all over the others countless times.
Kentucky would probably have a slight edge for most people, with Alabama in the early stages of trying to become the next Georgia. However, economic success doesn't instantly translate into widespread improvements for the state as a whole. Tennessee, both Carolina's, Georgia, and Texas still rank near the bottom in terms of poverty rates. No doubt there are a million different ways to calculate that.
To me, the differences in that area are negligible, and don't weigh much on which one I'd choose.
Even though it's not my favorite part of the country, I will defend them and point out that if you want to make a decent life for yourself in the south, you can. The opportunities are certainly there.
I've lived in 7 states total and have been to 47 total, with 30 or so on a regular basis due to work.
Relocations don't tell the whole story either.
Spend enough time in various parts of the country and you can visibly see the differences in poverty from Iowa to Alabama or any other similar combination even when the cost of living offsets it somewhat.
In spite of growth patterns and economic trends, the gap is still pretty stark.
However, because of economics, a lot of people might be better off in the south.
I'm not at all saying that if you move from Illinois to South Carolina you're going to fall into poverty. That's not what brings down the numbers. It's the deep, generational poverty of those who have always been there, and these states just have a disproportionate percentage of people in that situation.
I feel like we get a little too caught up in these conversations though. Not to downplay people's plight, but we're talking American poverty, first-world poverty. It can be really bad at times, I know from experience, but even in the most downtrodden parts of this country there are opportunities for those who seek them out.
States like Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, New Mexico, etc. can be a whole lot nicer than people give them credit for.
Most people in the US have never experienced New Mexico and so have no real opinion. Many think it's in Mexico. We have to put USA on the license plate because of that. Most of the population lives in the Rio Grande Valley. The population is around 2 million in the fifth largest state which translates to some beautiful wide open spaces. The cultural mix is unique. The residential neighborhoods in the metro areas are varied and comfortable. Some communities have been occupied for nearly 1000 years. The first Europeans settled here around 1595 so there is a lot of history and tradition. There are also 20+ Indian reservations and Pueblos in the state. It is the only 'blue' state on your list and is cautiously progressive. Of course, the scenery is fantastic and the climate is a near perfect four season climate.
I kind of find that hard to believe. I'm pretty sure that just about every kid that made it past the fifth grade had to memorize all fifty states and their capitals. They might not know much about New Mexico culturally (and I haven't personally experienced it very much as I've only driven through it a few years ago.
From what I gather though, it's very distinct culturally from Mexico (and similarly distinct from Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas). Unlike Mexico, where the Spanish and Indian cultures melded, New Mexico's Spanish and Indian influences are more distinct. Even the demographics are different, where Mexico is largely Mestizo, while New Mexico tends to be either Indigenous or Spanish, with a much smaller Mestizo population.
Of the states on the list, only Louisiana can rival it in the culture and uniqueness departments (heck, not many of the other 42 can really say that either).
I kind of find that hard to believe. I'm pretty sure that just about every kid that made it past the fifth grade had to memorize all fifty states and their capitals. They might not know much about New Mexico culturally (and I haven't personally experienced it very much as I've only driven through it a few years ago.
Nope. It is quite amazing how many Americans do not know that simple fact. Even people in positions of authority --- perhaps they slept through the 5th grade. There is practically a tradition in NM of residents sharing stories of how their encounters with people outside the state have been about whether they live in the US or not. It happens frequently.
There is no awakening in Birmingham. I lived there, albeit 20 years ago but went back not long ago for a interview (job not based there). I think Mobile, Montgomery or Huntsville are more attractive long term. I do agree its done better than last decade as a state. One thing to its benefit is not having all of its economy centered in one big city. But at the same time, the stigma is slow to wane. Its why B'ham is what it is and Atlanta, which at one time was no bigger, is now far larger and more significant.
Yea that's the biggest hurdle for Alabama, getting past the negative stigma. It seems progress has been made, especially the past 3-4 years or so
I kind of find that hard to believe. I'm pretty sure that just about every kid that made it past the fifth grade had to memorize all fifty states and their capitals. They might not know much about New Mexico culturally (and I haven't personally experienced it very much as I've only driven through it a few years ago.
From what I gather though, it's very distinct culturally from Mexico (and similarly distinct from Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas). Unlike Mexico, where the Spanish and Indian cultures melded, New Mexico's Spanish and Indian influences are more distinct. Even the demographics are different, where Mexico is largely Mestizo, while New Mexico tends to be either Indigenous or Spanish, with a much smaller Mestizo population.
Of the states on the list, only Louisiana can rival it in the culture and uniqueness departments (heck, not many of the other 42 can really say that either).
Sadly, it's true that too many people in the country don't even know that New Mexico is a state.
New Mexico Magazine for years has had a feature titled "One of Our 50 is Missing" that allows people to recount their stories and encounters with people who don't know that New Mexico is a state. They've never had a shortage of these stories over the past few years and decades, going back to at least the nineties. They usually have at least three examples a month.
Below is a collection of the stories from the last few years on the New Mexico Magazine website.
How do you rank them by the following:
- Jobs
- Cost of Living
- Education
- Quality of Life
- Healthcare
- Projected growth
- Cities with nice amenities
- Nature / Climate
Mississippi, cause it feels like coming home.
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