7% of Bay Staters say MA is the best state

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by bler144

You're misreading the chart. Only 13% of NH residents picked NH as best.

NH - 13% best, 67% best or one of best
MA - 7% best, 46% best or one of best

To put it another way, 80% of NH residents (4 out of every 5) feel their state is either the best or one of the best while only 53% of MA residents feel the same about their state.

[Bruins_Fan]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

I don't want to live free but I'd like to live cheap and you can't do that anymore in MA.

Why?!?!

[bler144]

Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan

To put it another way, 80% of NH residents (4 out of every 5) feel their state is either the best or one of the best while only 53% of MA residents feel the same about their state.

I don't think that's right either - the 13% seems to be a subset of the 67%, not supplemental.

Admittedly the wording/methodology is vague, but if you look at Alaska the splits are 27-77-4. If it were additive, you'd have a response of 108% [even not counting respondents who thought it was neither worst nor best/among best].

What the underlying breakdown almost certainly is:
27% best
50% one of best
19% neither worst nor one of the best
4% worst

But you're certainly correct that NH is viewed more favorably. Personally, I've lived in both and they both have pros/cons.

[lrfox]

I take it with a big grain of salt as far as an actual measurement of which state is better.

Looking at the list, it was mostly rural states that were "most fond" of their state and 6/10 of the "least fond" states are fairly densely populated. Having lived in both rural and urban states, I find that the trend of people in more rural states being fond of their states while people in more urban states tend to be less fond is pretty much how it is in real life.

I think it has a lot to do with how transient a place is. In a state like CT, NJ or Illinois, you have a TON of people who moved there from abroad from work. Many of them may miss their home state, many of them may be unhappy with their work and project that negativity towards their state, many of them may have moved from an area with a lower cost of living and have had a hard time adjusting to a higher cost of living, etc. Transient states have more people with more perspective when it comes to living somewhere else. Transient states also have more people who aren't as deeply rooted in the state which makes them less likely to feel any real connection. Often times, people feel "stuck" in metropolitan area because it's the only (or one of a few) place that has work in their specific field of expertise. That doesn't happen with nearly the same frequency in a rural state.

On the other hand, in a state like North Dakota, Montana, or Wyoming, you have a much more home grown population. You don't have a massive influx of people moving there for work. There are better employment options in other states, and those seeking work they can't find in their own state move to another state. For the most part, people who remain in those states tend to remain in the state simply because they want to; not because they feel they need to. The people who left those states because they needed to find work don't show up in a poll like this one because they're gone. That's why there's less negativity.

We hear it frequently in Massachusetts forums: "If I wasn't tied to my job, I'd pack up and leave for [insert warm or scenic state here] in a heartbeat! It just sucks that I can't make the same money/ have the same job there." There's a lot of that in the more densely populated states, and much less in the more rural states since the employment opportunities are fewer and people are less inclined to be "stuck" there because of their job.

There are outliers on this poll. Texas has a strong economy (although it IS largely rural and vast), and it also has one of the biggest senses of state pride in the U.S. "State" pride isn't even the word for it. May Texans consider themselves to be their own type of union. Mississippi is also an outlier. It's largely rural, but it's a state that lags behind the rest of the country in almost every measurable category (education, employment, violence, teen pregnancy, etc.). It's no wonder that many consider it to be one of the worst. I've got no explanation for New Mexico. I've rarely heard anyone say a bad thing about the state. Hawaii isn't "rural," but it IS Hawaii. Self explanatory.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by bler144

I don't think that's right either - the 13% seems to be a subset of the 67%, not supplemental.

Admittedly the wording/methodology is vague, but if you look at Alaska the splits are 27-77-4. If it were additive, you'd have a response of 108% [even not counting respondents who thought it was neither worst nor best/among best].

What the underlying breakdown almost certainly is:
27% best
50% one of best
19% neither worst nor one of the best
4% worst

But you're certainly correct that NH is viewed more favorably. Personally, I've lived in both and they both have pros/cons.

You are right. The best category as a subset of the one of the best category does make the most sense.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Looking at the list, it was mostly rural states that were "most fond" of their state and 6/10 of the "least fond" states are fairly densely populated. Having lived in both rural and urban states, I find that the trend of people in more rural states being fond of their states while people in more urban states tend to be less fond is pretty much how it is in real life.

I think it has a lot to do with how transient a place is. In a state like CT, NJ or Illinois, you have a TON of people who moved there from abroad from work. Many of them may miss their home state, many of them may be unhappy with their work and project that negativity towards their state, many of them may have moved from an area with a lower cost of living and have had a hard time adjusting to a higher cost of living, etc. Transient states have more people with more perspective when it comes to living somewhere else. Transient states also have more people who aren't as deeply rooted in the state which makes them less likely to feel any real connection. Often times, people feel "stuck" in metropolitan area because it's the only (or one of a few) place that has work in their specific field of expertise. That doesn't happen with nearly the same frequency in a rural state.

Dense states like MA, CT and NJ attract people via immigration and as being job centers. Immigrants and job seekers relocate to the dense states for income opportunities rather than looking for a place for which they feel fondness. This ties into the transiency motive that you are espousing. I did the same thing. I spent a decade or so in MA for the purpose of jumpstarting my career and obtaining a master's degree in the process. I never considered it to be home even though I was born and partially raised in MA. It is a bit ironic that the first rural state I lived in as a late teen / young adult is the place I consider home. MA is not a bad place but it will never feel like home to me.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan

Dense states like MA, CT and NJ attract people via immigration and as being job centers. Immigrants and job seekers relocate to the dense states for income opportunities rather than looking for a place for which they feel fondness. This ties into the transiency motive that you are espousing. I did the same thing. I spent a decade or so in MA for the purpose of jumpstarting my career and obtaining a master's degree in the process. I never considered it to be home even though I was born and partially raised in MA. It is a bit ironic that the first rural state I lived in as a late teen / young adult is the place I consider home. MA is not a bad place but it will never feel like home to me.

I think a lot of people feel the same way about states like MA, MD, CT, NJ, etc. which is why the results are the way they are. A state like Wyoming isn't full of immigrants and transplants there for the sole purpose of jump starting their career. People are there because it's "home" or they want to be there.