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I hope that snarky comment wasn't directed towards me.
I look at those lists for their comedic content. Minnesota, North Dakota and even South Dakota derive their names from the Indian word "Ota" meaning "the longest, coldest winter you've ever seen"
These "Best Lists" would be better if they were focused at the County Level, rather than the State-side level. But that would take too much work on the Author's part, and probably not worth the click-bait.
I apologize if that came off as rude. I didn't mean anyone specifically in the "you," but just as a general any individual person sense.
GeoffD mentioned yesterday in another thread about Williamson County, TN. Williamson is one of the most affluent counties in the country. Living in a Williamson County type of place in any state is going to be a terrific QoL for most folks. I would much rather live in Williamson County than some podunk county in dry, hot, isolated western IA that has nothing go for it.
US News has outdone all the rest of the Pretenders to the Title and published their 2018 Best States List. The link to the List of States is cleverly concealed within the article. I'll save you the trouble of reading thru their dreck by posting the link to the actual List here.....
Using factors like Health Care, Education, Economy and Opportunity -- they sum the numerical rankings to arrive at their conclusion. In my opinion, any list that ranks my former state of New Jersey in the Top 20, is rubbish. And South Carolina at 42 consigns this list to the trash bin.
Oh, and their last category is the nebulous Quality of Life. Here they rank North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota at the Top of Category.
First of all, lumping an entire state together is ridiculous.
Bakersfield, CA has nothing in common with San Francisco, CA.
And East St. Louis, IL is completely different than Rockford, IL.
Also, not everyone cares about education. If you don't have kids, or yours are grown, this is completely useless. In fact, the better education states probably have higher taxes as a result!
So education is useless? I'm pretty sure business owners, government and other employers care a lot about education, as an educated work force helps their bottom line.
Notice anything about most of the top ten states? Most are relatively small (excepting Colorado, Washington, and Massachusetts). Most have never had crushing poverty problems (most of the bottom states have large shares of poor blacks (Deep South), Native Americans (Oklahoma/NM), Hispanics (New Mexico), or Appalachians (West Virginia, Kentucky). Sure, there is some poverty everywhere, but rural VT poverty is not quite the same as McDowell County, WV or Harlan, KY. Most are relatively homogeneous. Most are purple-to-blue leaning, Nebraska and Utah are exceptions, but even they are of a different "political makeup" than rural Appalachia or the Deep South.
This is the same kind of thing that makes places like Norway and Denmark desirable. If I had kids, I'd much rather raise them in West Des Moines around the "right types of people" than in Hawkins or Cocke Counties in Tennessee, surrounded by drugs, crime, and a lack of opportunity. It's the peer group and being surrounded by similar, professionally minded, quality people that counts.
I don't know why you'd put Iowa #1 on infrastructure. The roads are rough. I know it's a function of climate, but they're just worse than here in Tennessee.
I wouldn't be happy in North Dakota. The climate are scenery are generally awful. It's isolated as hell. There's no major city for many, many hours around in many parts of ND.
Keep in mind this wasn't a retirement specific list.
The city I live in Iowa has done a phenomenal job in the last 3-4 years on improving road infrastructure and continues. Interstates also are being improved. I've been to Tennessee a few times and I have to say they have some pretty nice interstates. But main streets in West Knoxville do not compare to my city, and the zoning especially. I was amazed that the main intersections in West Knoxville have street lights hanging by just wires instead of strong firm structures.
Last edited by smpliving; 02-27-2018 at 09:52 AM..
First of all, lumping an entire state together is ridiculous.
Bakersfield, CA has nothing in common with San Francisco, CA.
And East St. Louis, IL is completely different than Rockford, IL.
Also, not everyone cares about education. If you don't have kids, or yours are grown, this is completely useless. In fact, the better education states probably have higher taxes as a result!
Why do so many people seem to forget that the kids in school now are the ones who will be helping us directly or making decisions that affect us, our money and our healthcare just a few years down the road. I want educated young people to be running things when I get too old to pay attention to these things myself. I don't want to spend my older years in a country, state, city, community where decisions are being made by uneducated idiots. I am willing to pay taxes to support the schools.
Notice anything about most of the top ten states? Most are relatively small (excepting Colorado, Washington, and Massachusetts). Most have never had crushing poverty problems (most of the bottom states have large shares of poor blacks (Deep South), Native Americans (Oklahoma/NM), Hispanics (New Mexico), or Appalachians (West Virginia, Kentucky). Sure, there is some poverty everywhere, but rural VT poverty is not quite the same as McDowell County, WV or Harlan, KY. Most are relatively homogeneous. Most are purple-to-blue leaning, Nebraska and Utah are exceptions, but even they are of a different "political makeup" than rural Appalachia or the Deep South.
I think you need to get out more to dispel some of these illusions. I briefly dated a girl in college from the Vermont Northeast Kingdom. Heated with wood. No indoor plumbing. Vermont has plenty of rural poor. Most fled to better job markets years ago and most of the people live either in Chittenden County/Burlington where the colleges/hospitals/large employers are or they're clustered around the mountain resort towns where the service sector jobs pay pretty well and the economy is propped up by affluent people from the NYC tri-state and southern New England. Massachusetts has failed cities with a crushing poverty problem. Springfield, New Bedford, Fall River, Lawrence, Brockton. They're mini versions of Flint/Detroit or Camden. And those failed cities aren't lily white.
Somebody already pointed out the flaw in any state ranking. You have to rank far more locally than that. In the United States, people self-segregate along socioeconomic lines. I can find a nice town with mostly college educated professionals in pretty much any state in the country. As a retiree, you have to then pick the ones you can afford. I'd love to live in La Jolla but I can't afford it. I used to live in Portsmouth, NH. A great place but I did the math at age 50 and concluded I couldn't possibly afford to retire there so I found somewhere else.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,937 posts, read 36,951,955 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FiveLoaves
US News has outdone all the rest of the Pretenders to the Title and published their 2018 Best States List. The link to the List of States is cleverly concealed within the article. I'll save you the trouble of reading thru their dreck by posting the link to the actual List here.....
Using factors like Health Care, Education, Economy and Opportunity -- they sum the numerical rankings to arrive at their conclusion. In my opinion, any list that ranks my former state of New Jersey in the Top 20, is rubbish. And South Carolina at 42 consigns this list to the trash bin.
Oh, and their last category is the nebulous Quality of Life. Here they rank North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota at the Top of Category.
They must love Winter.
Well, having lived in Wisconsin, it does have an incredibly quality of life.
Of course, fall is the best season, next best is winter...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Book Lover 21
Also, not everyone cares about education. If you don't have kids, or yours are grown, this is completely useless. In fact, the better education states probably have higher taxes as a result!
Not true at all. I have no kids and definitely want good schools! These kids are the next generation.
My point was this: what is the purpose of ranking education at a state level?
My son goes to one of the best school districts in the state. It also happens to be 13 miles from East St. Louis, which is one of the worst school districts in the country. So, how does the ranking of Illinois schools tell you anything?
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