Which state offers the best quality of life? (salary, drug, Indiana)

[sprez33]

If you can ignore the radical left politics and the high CoL, California by a long shot.

Considerations:
Cost of living -I already said we're ignoring this
Economy / job market - Amazing high-tech economy. Highest incomes in the US
Climate - Amazing climate
Quality of education - Best university system in the country by far.
Infrastructure - Gret freeway system
Access to nature - Beaches, deserts, mountains, you name it.
Access to cities / cultural events -Three big cities with multitudes of cultural activities. World center of modern cinema, center of pop culture,

[GiveMeCoffee]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

One of the problems with this discussion is that some desirable traits are mutually exclusive, and quality of life in general is quite subjective to the preferences and desires of each individual or couple.

Many southern states are affordable but only deliver on a few of the other traits. I cannot imagine ever living there.

Many west coast and northeast states deliver highly on most of the traits but not on affordability.

It will boil down to a decision of people trading off the pro and con aspects for their situation, and as such there is no solution that will fit everyone the same. No place is perfect, YMMV.

Agreed - that’s why I started the discussion.

FWIW, I live in the suburbs of NYC.

Cost of living - Oof. It’s rough out here.
Economy / job market - check
Climate - We have 4 definite seasons, which is kind of a mixed blessing.
Quality of education - Our k-12 public schools are among some of the top-ranked schools in the nation, but there’s a lot of mediocre schools as well. The public university systems are well-regarded. 2 Ivies are in NY.
Infrastructure - Our roads are a mess and traffic just sucks.
Access to nature - Sort of? Yes, we have clean-ish beaches. We need to leave the area for serious hiking trails or camping.
Access to cities / cultural events - Giant check.

Based on my own rubric, NYC ‘burbs wouldn’t make the cut.

[Mike from back east]

California is actually on my short list of where to go next; the area around Beaumont.

Beaumont, CA, pro and con.
Pro: Home prices and taxes a wash compared to where I'm at in the Phoenix area.
Pro: Decent climate, Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site , not as hot, more rainfall.
Pro: Other major cities nearby, like San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, even San Franciso.
Pro: California has a 'death with dignity' law, one of ten states with such.
Con: The realty websites say the fire danger is extreme; there are mountains nearby.
Con: Might be some earthquake danger.

Wash: Both areas subject to the same drought and water issues.
Wash: Both areas not subject to hurricanes or tornadoes.

Phoenix, AZ, pro and con.
Pro: Tons of medical care, nursing homes and hospice. At 75 I need this more frequently.
Pro: No hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, few bugs, low humidity.
Pro: Great roads and some mass transit.
Pro: We're becoming a center of semiconductor chip making, multiple plants now and 3 more under construction. These will be good paying jobs.
Pro: All the major league sports are in town, plus spring training baseball.
Pro: Enough culture to satisfy, but we're about it for 400 miles in any direction.
Pro: Plenty of good eats, especially in Scottsdale.
Pro: Good airport with some mass transit.

Con: Hotter, drier, lots of snowbirds.
Con: Schools score lower, teacher pay among lowest in nation.
Con: Only major city for hundreds of miles.

I've probably missed a few, will fill in later if I think of any.

[NewMexicoCowboy]

Originally Posted by GiveMeCoffee

Which state offers the best overall quality of life?

Considerations:
Cost of living
Economy / job market
Climate
Quality of education
Infrastructure
Access to nature
Access to cities / cultural events

Its Texas for me.The cost of living is too much for me though.It has a good economy.I like the climate but its not hot enough for me I would prefer it if Texas was as hot as Yuma, Arizona.The summers are not long enough for me in Texas.The winters are too cold for me.Texas has good universities but my high school was not the best.The really good public schools tend to in the big metro areas.We have horrible roads and highways where I live in Texas.I am really pleased with the nature and outdoor activities in Texas. Texas has deer hunting,hog hunting,elk hunting, rabbit hunting, javelina hunting,exotic hunting and rabbit hunting which I like or want to do. I think Texas has a pretty and scenic natural environment in a lot of areas in my opinion but thats just me.

I know other states are much more prettier but overall Texas is more than enough pretty and scenic and beautiful for me.I am not really that much of a big city guy but I love San Antone and Austin and some of the smaller Texas cities like Abilene, Angelo, Corpus, Waco, and Lubbock.I also love El Paso.I have never been much of a fan of Dallas/Fort Worth and Greater Houston is my adult years.I also love the bay fishing in Texas.I also love the beaches especially around Corpus and Port A.I prolly will live in Texas all my mife.I love the Texas culture.I love the Texas outdoors and Texas nature and camping.I wish I would have had a better education in Texas.I like the fact that Texas has no income tax but it has high property taxes so ya.Texas is too expensive for me but I will be able to stay in Texas if I want because I will inherit a house.Texas has always been my favorite state.

[Threerun]

The best place is wherever you are happiest. Honestly if I were to look at the published metrics of West Virginia- you’d think it was the last place one would want to live. However we did live there for over a decade and we met and were friends with some fantastic people. Neighbors looked out and took care of each others kids, a strong sense of community, low taxes, fantastic history if you’re into that thing. Festivals after festival throughout the year, great outdoor opportunities. Ignore the chaff and it was really an awesome place. It’s what you make of it.

I’ve been in Montana almost 14 years now. I love it here too, but it lacks the sense of community of WV, it’s much higher in cost of living, it’s becoming a game of billionaires running out the millionaires. Yes an outdoor paradise but even that’s getting threatened by a push to privatize public lands. But I love the climate out here. I cherish -20 and hunting and fishing in it. I love my view and my ability to travel to the mountains and plains in either direction. I also loathe the lack of community and kinship- this is a rugged individualism place, which is why I suspect we have the highest suicide rates. But I love my hunting and hiking and fishing and I may never leave.

My wife and I have had many discussions regarding this, and I think we would be happiest back in WV with our old friends. Ultimately I think our hearts may decide.

[Wile E. Coyote]

I lived in a ton of places (not counting places I was temporarily domiciled or vacationed): Henderson, NV; Las Vegas, NV; Sandpoint, ID; Costa Mesa, CA; Carson City, NV; Monterey, CA; Anchorage, AK; Chandler, AZ; Houston, TX; San Ramon, CA; the Pacific Northwest.

Personally, I think I ruled out all that and settled on the Pacific Northwest for the win.

[Phil P]

There's no undiscovered gems - amenities / economy / nature are priced into living areas across the US.

In general people try to find something that checks all the boxes, they fear not having one of the boxes available in case they want it. But the places that shine the best don't check off every box. People are better going for places that fit what they want the most and accepting that some things won't be there than trying to get 6 / 10s across the board. Most of us don't have the money to price through to get the 'perfect' spot.

Here's my .02 on the choices. For nature, access > beauty. There's beauty everywhere if you know where to look, the important thing is having public land / trails / water within 30 minutes - whatever your hobby set is. You actually spend more time outside this way and make it part of your daily life rather than a vacation / weekend excursion. Places like Denver suck in this regard, there's loads of options, but none of them are weekday accessible - they are all weekend options (1 hr drives) and then you have to deal with traffic on the three road options to all the outdoor rec.

For climate - people like wet and green. 80% of the US lives east of the dry line down the middle of the US, and in the west prices correlate very closely to precipitation. If you can deal with dry, you can get some amazing topography for a good price.

If you can rule out the Economy box, the options go from a couple dozen choices to the rest of the US, that's absolutely huge. More and more people don't need to be anchored to job centers.

In the east, people are going to keep funneling into the piedmont / TN / northern AL area cause that does fit a lot of the boxes pretty nicely. In the Rocky Mountain west, I think NM, SW CO, UT, and ID offer the best options. The west coast has a ton of options from Redding to Portland.

[chacho_keva]

Originally Posted by GiveMeCoffee

Which state offers the best overall quality of life?

Considerations:
Cost of living: Ouch!
Economy / job market: No Complaints
Climate: No Complaints
Quality of education: No Complaints
Infrastructure: Few Complaints
Access to nature: No Complaints
Access to cities/cultural events: No Complaints

There's always room for improvement. So, I've always believed. Like any state, there's plenty of room for improvement in California, especially when housing is involved. Nevertheless, I've never lived in a place marbled with so much topographical diversity. From beaches to lakes to deserts to mountains, it's all here. And most of it happens to be very beautiful. Indeed.

[issaquahhiker]

Many will be shocked but Arkansas for us right now. As I sit with the door open (72 and sunny with blue skies), looking at the lake, listening to the birds, after returning from a hike in hot springs national park.


Cost of living: Dirt cheap. The money I made in PNW will last me forever here

Economy/Job market: Plenty of jobs in NW area and Little Rock/Hot Springs area. Salaries are low because cost of living is low
Climate: 4 seasons, hot and humid in summer but only Aug & Sept are very hot but great for boating/swimming. Lots of rain so everything is green
Quality of education: I have no kids but low overall, with great schools available with effort
Infrastructure: I travel a lot and our roads/bridges are fine here
Access to nature: Way more than you would imagine. Lots of lakes, rivers, national forests, Ouachita & Ozark Mountains (small ones), hiking & biking trails. lots of hunting & fishing, etc
Access to cities/cultural events: The larger areas have plenty and the smaller towns have some. But Little Rock is only an hour away
Negatives to me: Ticks & chiggers, political decisions based on religion

[allenk893]

Georgia. As much as some things frustrate me about Atlanta, this state has everything a working, middle, or upper class person could need or want with a significant cost savings. The natural beauty and geography of the state is lush and green and there's plenty of mountains, rivers, and trails. In Atlanta, the jobs pay decent, the opportunities to get into any industry is endless, and the cost of living is high but if you live out in the burbs, the quality of life is fantastic. I've had my fair share of struggles but this city and state is the quintessential state for the middle class American family, bar none.