Quality of life is a major factor in where Americans choose to work, live and make major purchases including homes. These states are the nation's worst.
Doctors literally fleeing the state out of fear of what life saving procedures and prescriptions will become illegal next. I like “extreme sports”. I also like knowing that, if something goes REALLY wrong, I can use my (really nice) health insurance. Same with preventative care to know that that lump in my side is just a fatty deposit and not cancer.
Teachers flee the state out of fear of what lessons they may teach in class or attempts to comfort a student may become illegal next. I don’t have kids, but if I did, I would hope they would be educated by someone more intelligent than them, Similarly, I like to be able to swing by a McDonald’s and not have to listen to the person in front of me sounding out “que-art-turd ponder with cheese. Hey, is cheese the orange stuff?”
I am a straight-ish dude who can pass for white in a pinch. I am “fine”. My partner would have increasing anxiety as more and more of her basic human rights are taken away. An anxious partner is a partner who isn’t interested in doing fun stuff. Also, because I am not a complete sociopath, it would also harsh my mood.
And just because you are proud of being in Florida: how many insurance companies have noped the hell out of that state? Good luck next hurricane season.
As for your pros:
Outdoor activities: You should really look at the Southwest (and Colorado)
“Regular launches into outer space”: Not really sure what that does for the “daily life” but, again, the Southwest and Texas is where a lot of space launches actually happen.
Theme Parks; California. Also, it is a real shame that there is not some way that someone could get in a metal box, watch a few episodes of Frasier, and then arrive an hour or two away from Disney. Weird, it would almost be like they needed to fly to do that…
State Income Tax: Yeah… this kind of goes along with “how many insurance companies have noped the hell out of that state” along with “so… does Texas have power this week?” but income tax, when put toward social programs and basic infrastructure, is really nice.
Sunshine: Again, Southwest. Also, there is a lot less rain (except during monsoon season) which is nice for a few more years. But there also aren’t hurricanes which are only going to get a LOT worse as global warming becomes more and more of a problem.
“At least were not Mississipi”. First, you meant “we’re”. If you had more funding for the teachers who hadn’t fled the state, you would know the difference. Also, Mississippi isn’t one of the ten worst states in the country by those metrics so… maybe you should try to be more like Mississippi?
I think they probably just forgot to look at Mississippi. It gets routinely ignored by media of all types. Most of the same stuff is going on there with the criteria that they dinged the other Southern states for.
But if you looked at real estate prices and general cost of living as the most important factor for living well, these Southeast states would be kicking ass instead of being “the worst.”
Florida is not a normal member of the region so I don’t consider it part of the Southeast. Florida is just Florida.
It’s a nice place to visit for a vacation but I’d never live there either. Buying Florida real estate is a big risk anyway with climate change making all coastal habitats risky. I prefer my real estate to be a few hundred feet above sea level.
No idea where you’re getting the idea I said it was fake news. It’s very politically slanted news, generated using specific stats to align with the narrative that they wanted to write a story about.
Please, by all means stay out of the Southeast if you believe it’s so terrible. I’ll continue to stay here, and enjoy owning my own house and land, with enough room that my family and pets can roam free in our own place. It’s quite nice to be a homeowner, and I couldn’t have afforded it in most of the rest of the USA.
I’ve been here voting against Republicans since the Bush Jr. term. Life has only gotten better over time, and since I’ve been living in such a low cost of living area I can afford to do everything I want to. Lots of wonderful people live here too, but if you generalize an entire geographic area as being all shitheads living in a terrible shithole, then you only weaken your own knowledge. Prejudice is mental weakness.
Pretty sure “mental weakness” is actively ignoring data all in an attempt to live in your own fantasy land. Just to summarize this interaction in the hopes that you decide to “strengthen your own knowledge”:
“Ha, at least we aren’t Mississippi”
“Actually, Mississippi ranks higher in most of these metrics. You probably want to be more like Mississippi”
“Ha, they just forgot to measure Mississippi. Also, cost of living here is some of the cheapest in the country and if the listing had been weighted to that then it would be all about the southeast swamplands”
“No, they didn’t forget Mississippi. Also, using the linked page to weight the study by cost of living still prioritizes the midwest for the most part”
“Ha, see, I told you that my cost of living was super cheap and you are just prejudiced and weak!”
Things that affect my day to day life:
As for your pros:
Mississippi is literally the worst state in the country by actual, objective metrics.
Highest obesity rate, lowest life expectancy, lowest literacy, etc
I think they probably just forgot to look at Mississippi. It gets routinely ignored by media of all types. Most of the same stuff is going on there with the criteria that they dinged the other Southern states for.
But if you looked at real estate prices and general cost of living as the most important factor for living well, these Southeast states would be kicking ass instead of being “the worst.”
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/state/2023/07/13/heres-why-florida-is-the-state-with-the-highest-inflation-rate/70404945007/
https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/news-articles/2023/03/fhfa-fla-has-6-top-10-price-increase-metros
Florida’s real estate is very quickly becoming unattainable
Florida is not a normal member of the region so I don’t consider it part of the Southeast. Florida is just Florida.
It’s a nice place to visit for a vacation but I’d never live there either. Buying Florida real estate is a big risk anyway with climate change making all coastal habitats risky. I prefer my real estate to be a few hundred feet above sea level.
So do insurers
Is “dozens of studies forgot the existence of a state” the latest version of “fake news”?
Also, going by https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/11/americas-top-states-for-business-2023-the-full-rankings.html, the top ten for cost of living are:
So… yeah
No idea where you’re getting the idea I said it was fake news. It’s very politically slanted news, generated using specific stats to align with the narrative that they wanted to write a story about.
Please, by all means stay out of the Southeast if you believe it’s so terrible. I’ll continue to stay here, and enjoy owning my own house and land, with enough room that my family and pets can roam free in our own place. It’s quite nice to be a homeowner, and I couldn’t have afforded it in most of the rest of the USA.
I’ve been here voting against Republicans since the Bush Jr. term. Life has only gotten better over time, and since I’ve been living in such a low cost of living area I can afford to do everything I want to. Lots of wonderful people live here too, but if you generalize an entire geographic area as being all shitheads living in a terrible shithole, then you only weaken your own knowledge. Prejudice is mental weakness.
Pretty sure “mental weakness” is actively ignoring data all in an attempt to live in your own fantasy land. Just to summarize this interaction in the hopes that you decide to “strengthen your own knowledge”:
Great talk, have a good one.