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Washington state is #1 overall, though obviously not perfect. I had a situation with my job 3 years ago where I was pretty much allowed to move anywhere and work remotely, and for various reasons and factors, I chose to locate out here in the gorgeous PNW. I don't regret it.
A couple years after moving here, I decided to look for another role, was able to get a better job with higher pay, with a hybrid in-office (which was my desired), based right here in Seattle's booming economy.
Housing is expensive, winters are gloomy (summers are perfect and you barely even need AC), and there are lots of downsides, but pound for pound I think the upsides/downsides here beats the upsides/downsides situation of just about anywhere else in the country. Especially for the money. (It's less expensive than CA and NY and DC and probably Hawaii.)
Washington state is #1 overall, though obviously not perfect. I had a situation with my job 3 years ago where I was pretty much allowed to move anywhere and work remotely, and for various reasons and factors, I chose to locate out here in the gorgeous PNW. I don't regret it.
A couple years after moving here, I decided to look for another role, was able to get a better job with higher pay, with a hybrid in-office (which was my desired), based right here in Seattle's booming economy.
Housing is expensive, winters are gloomy (summers are perfect and you barely even need AC), and there are lots of downsides, but pound for pound I think the upsides/downsides here beats the upsides/downsides situation of just about anywhere else in the country. Especially for the money. (It's less expensive than CA and NY and DC and probably Hawaii.)
Well that's not saying much.
But even considering WA, the eastern part and the western part are quite different in terms of physical and political climate.
And it depends on what the OP wants. Some people want to live on the beach. I don't. So one man's cake is another's poison. An avid skier will like a place with a snowy winter. Outdoorsmen will value hunting and fishing opportunities. Some want to live downtown, some want to live out on an acreage. People who are still working would appreciate Seattle's economic opportunities, particularly if you are in IT. Retirees could care less and would likely consider it too expensive for what you get.
The original question is too general to have one "right" answer.
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.
High quality of life in some places usually comes by sacrificing affordability.
High affordability in some places usually comes by sacrificing quality of life.
The desired traits of economy, job market, climate, quality of education, infrastructure, and access to cities and cultural events almost always rules out the lower cost of living considerations. Places that have all these criteria (except cost) are big metro areas (Seattle, SFO, SoCAL, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, and maybe a couple more).
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.
In our case, 20 years ago when looking for a place to go move after a career in the DC area, I used a couple of those "best places" publications and came away choosing Colorado Springs. It clicked all my boxes and I wrote about it years ago in this posting which I won't bother repeating in this post. There are, or were, publications that factor in about a dozen or more traits towards picking the most acceptable. IIRC the book I used factored in 18 variables. What these books don't factor in is the prevailing political climate in the cities being reviewed.
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.
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Last edited by Mike from back east; 04-11-2023 at 04:43 PM..
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,243,006 times
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Mike is right, it's awfully hard to find an affordable place with great quality of life. I also agree with Washington being rated high, and that's why we came here, despite being the 2nd or 3rd most expensive. If you skip that one:
Cost of living
Economy / job market - is Great, lot's of tech, Boeing, Port
Climate - Mild, little snow, not too hot in summer, some of us like rain, it keeps it green here
Quality of education - Some of the best schools, very educated population
Infrastructure - Generally good, though the potholes remain until summer to get fixed, decent freeways NS and EW
Access to nature - Where WA really excel, abundant wildlife, mountains, Ocean, rivers lakes.
Access to cities / cultural events - Everything you need in Seattle area, and much of it in Spokane.
And at least to me, the enumerated big cities are not at all desirable. I like a rural area. When I was looking for a house to buy in 1991, my main non-negotiables were that it be on a paved road, but that I could shoot on my own land. Well, I found that here near Prosser. I can shoot right here in the yard, as long as the sun is up. We have sort of a gentleman's agreement to hold it to .22 rimfire, but that's not legally enforceable. There is a public hunting area for upland and waterfowl birds within walking distance of my front door.
There are cultural attractions within an hour's drive, like the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, where I and my late wife went to see a piano concert featuring Rachmaninoff's Third. But that sort of thing I can live with only a few times a year. There are excellent, if mostly unpretentious, restaurants around for when I don't feel like cooking. But the main ethnic offering is Mexican, and while that's truly excellent, if you are pining for one of those Brazilian roast beef joints, well, there ain't none around here. There are a few good Chinese restaurants, and oddly enough in nearby Richland a couple of really excellent Thai and Indian restaurants. But it's not San Fran, not even close.
Have a truly excellent job that I can do mostly from home if I wish.
The physical climate is mostly dry, which I like. The wind can be a nuisance, and I have been snowed in for a few days in the last few winters. There is enough hilly terrain to make for some decent motorcycle or sports car roads. I heat almost entirely with firewood, and the firewood situation is the best I have seen in several western states, with pruned branches from orchards available for a reasonable price. In the summer, particularly in August, sometimes it does get HOT, as in up to about 105F. But as they say, "it's a dry heat". Opening up the house overnight and then closing up tight in the daytime means I can keep a tolerable temperature indoors without resorting to A/C.
This particular area works for me, for now. But the next guy may want something completely different. Which is fine. For example around here you just about have to have a car. Which is fine with me, I like cars and can do almost all my own maintenance, I run older rigs so cars are not a big expense for me. But a guy who wanted to live a "car-free, city life" would not like it here.
Mike is right, it's awfully hard to find an affordable place with great quality of life. I also agree with Washington being rated high, and that's why we came here, despite being the 2nd or 3rd most expensive. If you skip that one:
Cost of living
Economy / job market - is Great, lot's of tech, Boeing, Port
Climate - Mild, little snow, not too hot in summer, some of us like rain, it keeps it green here
Quality of education - Some of the best schools, very educated population
Infrastructure - Generally good, though the potholes remain until summer to get fixed, decent freeways NS and EW
Access to nature - Where WA really excel, abundant wildlife, mountains, Ocean, rivers lakes.
Access to cities / cultural events - Everything you need in Seattle area, and much of it in Spokane.
And all that with no income tax. It was like getting a raise when I moved here from GA, with the same job. And then I definitely got a big raise when I later got a Seattle-based job.
Of course, I live in Seattle which is the highest cost of living in the state, so sort of cancels that out, but most of the rest of WA state is not known for high cost of living. And the high cost of living here is theoretically somewhat offset by how many high paying jobs there are. (Trying to buy a home just sucks here, though.)
I don't miss the humidity, whatsoever. Or most of the red state politics.
Most of the negatives I can think of (and I can definitely list those), are urban type issues specific to Seattle, and maybe some aspects of the Puget Sound micro-climate.
The natural beauty is unreal. Green, blue, water, mountains, hills. Great air quality, except during fire season.
My home state of GA is a good state, too, with a lot of bragging points. But I think there is definitely a good reason why the west coast is notably expensive. It's highly desirable out here, compared to a lot of places.
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
I'm going to make a pitch for Arizona. We spent 4 years out there, because of grad school, and then moved back east because of work.
But if I could, I'd move back in a flash (my wife's not so enthusiastic).
Cost of living: mixed. AZ has an income tax, and there are city sales taxes; Phoenix's sales tax is 8.6%. But property taxes are low, and things like gasoline and food seemed quite affordable though I haven't lived there in a few years so maybe it's gone up. Houses are, or were, very cheap compared to the coasts, and that's possibly the biggest factor.
Economy: mixed. There are some big companies there, like Intel, American Express, Boeing, and a whole bunch of financial and banking firms. GoDaddy, a big web registration company, and a few other tech companies. It's a good place to start a business.
Climate: Sept. to April is gorgeous in the desert, 70 degrees, the desert in bloom, cool at night. The north, around Flagstaff etc., gets a lot of snow and is a skiing destination. The south is incredibly hot and dry from May to September. You have to love it or leave it. But it grows on you.
Education: there are some of the best schools in the country, and a whole lot of bad ones. For children, you need to competitively test into a magnet school or apply to a charter school, or you will be in the generally wretched public schools. There are no Ivy League level universities, but the state schools ASU and U of A are competent and have some good departments.
Infrastructure: the roads in Arizona are outstanding compared to the East. Wide, well marked, but somewhat congested because of population growth.
Access to nature: Arizona is the most diverse state in the country in terms of climate and colors. The Sonoran desert on up to the evergreens of Prescott, and the high elevation desert of the north including the Grand Canyon and the Navajo territory in the northeast, the painted desert, the petrified forest, the cactus covered mountains of the south... there's something for everyone (except a seacoast). Note that San Diego is about 5-6 hours drive west.
Cities/cultural events: California wins when it comes to culture. But Arizona isn't totally a cultural desert. There are lots of movie theaters, concerts, museums, festivals, art exhibits.
Which state offers the best overall quality of life?
Most won't agree but I will go with Oklahoma.
Considerations:
Cost of living - check
Economy / job market - check
Climate - moderate 4 season climate check.
Quality of education - maybe
Infrastructure - In my town they are rebuilding the main highway through town. Lots of fed $$$ going out everywhere. Check.
Access to nature - check
Access to cities / cultural events -check
Considerations:
Cost of living - check
Economy / job market - check
Climate - moderate 4 season climate check.
Quality of education - maybe
Infrastructure - In my town they are rebuilding the main highway through town. Lots of fed $$$ going out everywhere. Check.
Access to nature - check
Access to cities / cultural events -check
We don’t have to agree. I like reading everyone’s input!
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