DU POLL - Since 2000, are there now states you would never move to or work in ...

[RKP5637]

or possibly even visit? I have, I'm not listing them, but there are now states that have taken a real nose dive as any places I would want to be. I'm just curious if other DU'ers have similar feelings. I'm thinking mostly of how radical and un-American some state agendas have become with the reign of Bush, the teabagger rise, and now Obama hatred ... and a number of other things.

44 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes. I have developed feelings of some places I would not want to be.
	43 (98%)
	No. I have not developed feelings of some places I would not want to be.
	0 (0%)
	Any state, anyplace is OK.
	1 (2%)
	You only post polls at night, what's with this morning thing?
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[pipi_k]

1. There are, but

most of the ones I wouldn't live in have been on my Never In A Million Years list since way before 2000 anyway.

I like Massachusetts.

I like Western Mass.

I like my little Hilltowns home.

[RKP5637]

12. I lived in MA for years, loved it, had to move for my job. Western MA is really nice!!! n/t

[pipi_k]

35. Yep, it really

is nice out here.

So often we are ignored in the travel brochures, or given only a cursory mention, the focus being on the eastern part of the state...Boston...Cape Cod...Martha's Vinyard, etc.

It's a shame that so many residents out in those parts don't know more about what it's like here, especially seeing as we're such a small state.

[HERVEPA]

2. For never living in - OK, FL, SC

[cali]

3. Vermont

Damn socialist hippie freak state. Now the commies in the statehouse want to tax soda by the ounce and let doctors kill the disabled. Pot smoking punks.

Just kidding. I wouldn't want to live anywhere but here.

[RKP5637]

13. LOL !!! I love Vermont too!!! I wish the entire US were like Vermont!!!

[OceanEcosystem]

4. There are states I wouldn't want to move to, but not because of political reasons.

I just think that some states that I wouldn't like because of the dry or desert geography. Also some states because of the very hot summer heat.

[kentauros]

23. But it's a dry heat!

I'm similar in way of climate. Dry air makes me miserable, not to mention turning me into a walking Van der Graaf generator! Any state that has at least 60% (and well above) humidity levels, yet also "very hot summer heat", is a-ok by me

[RKP5637]

61. Same with my cat! He doesn't like getting zapped all the time with low humidity. He's

a walking Van der Graaf generator too.

[PDJane]

102. The proper response to "It's a dry heat," is "So is a convection oven."

You get cooked whether it's arid or tropical. Heat is heat.

[kentauros]

104. Notice, too, my use of the "tongue" smilie ;)

I agree that it's hot no matter whether dry or humid. Most are going to stay indoors. Although you will find me baking in the heat from time to time to warm up from the walk-in refrigerators also known as "office buildings"

[wickerwoman]

47. +1

Climate change would be the deciding factor for me.

I honestly think in 20-30 years large parts of the South are going to be uninhabitable for people who can't afford thousands a year for air conditioning, not to mention water shortages. I don't think the population down there is sustainable and I would never invest in a house there.

[Cirque du So-What]

5. For the most part

the list of states in which I wouldn't live or work hasn't changed since 2000. I am a transplant into the NE quadrant of the US, and that is where I make my stand - for better or worse. If I could find suitable employment, sufficient to offset the higher cost of living (and persuade my spouse to join me), I would relocate to New England in a heartbeat.

[RKP5637]

14. It's just gotten so expensive in New England. When I was a kid, it was sooo much more

reasonable.

[Romulox]

6. I would never live in the South. Cultural reasons. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Agreed

I know Southerners have pride in their thing, and that's OK with me, and I'm sure it's all nice. But I couldn't take it. It would be a quality of life deal breaker to live pretty much anywhere in the South for me.

Before you go all "You're a bigot" on me, I'd suggest it would be a quality of life deal breaker for many of y'all to live in New York City, or Chicago or whatever. It's OK to have different cultures, and to prefer one's own culture, so long as we don't actively attack or hurt others. I don't want to live in the South. I don't like the culture. It doesn't suit me. It would grate on me constantly. That doesn't mean it's a bad culture - it's perfectly fine and rich for people who prefer it; it's just not for me.

[Samantha]

147. I agree with you and my family is from Tennessee

When I used to go to family reunions, I would hear people still use the N word. It shocked me. I do not go any more.

Last week, when President Obama visited Georgia, some protesters gathered and yelled that word at him. I couldn't live in a state where that happened. I would just not fit in.

Sam

[Scuba]

7. Yes, and I live in one of them.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

33. Ditto

[HereSince1628]

77. But summer here can be nice

if it doesn't rain that week!

Living in WI for the past decade makes me appreciate history much better. I now sort of understand what life was like in the closing years of the Wiemar Republic.

[Jackpine Radical]

101. Yeh.

[Jennicut]

8. I am interested in visiting other states but living there would be hard to do.

I live in Connecticut. I am used to a small state, a faster pace of life, the convenience of everything you need being extremely close by and fairly progressive laws and a socially liberal way of life. And a shoreline! Some people who come here are horrified by our congestion and the sheer amount of people in a small space. And the amount of Dunkin Donuts per town. But gay marriage is legal, no one wants to change the abortion laws, etc.

[RKP5637]

15. I like Connecticut a lot too!

[CTyankee]

153. I moved to CT from VA. I couldn't get out of that state fast enough after they engineered the

defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment...

[NightWatcher]

9. I dont do cold weather, so I would never live north of Georgia

I thought I was going to freeze one winter in North Georgia and was convinced that I would never live north of Atlanta ever again.

[RKP5637]

16. I've gotten so I can't take the cold as well as I used too. I like the first snowfall, pretty and

all, but then when it stays and stays on the ground and turns to a mud look with pot holes and all the charm kind of goes away for me.

[leveymg]

28. It's not as cold as it used to be. I remember Long Island Sound was frozen out a mile one January

in the early 1970s.

Nothing like that in recent times.

[NightWatcher]

29. my body doesnt do cold anymore. I have Raynaud's

and my hands lose feeling when it gets the slightest bit chilly. Plus I'm the only person I know who digs the humidity in the South

[RKP5637]

60. I can handle humidity way better than dryness. n/t

[Livluvgrow]

11. I live north of Asheville

and wouldn't trade in my life for anything. Apparently President Obama likes it as he visits here frequently and just last week said he and Michelle would like to retire here. Wow who would of thunk that the south would be good enough for our president. I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago and after spending 17 dollars on tolls passing through Illinois to Wisconsin I decided Illinois is better being bypassed. I am now in the mountains and in the words of Loretta Lynn "I aint coming down no never I'm not, high on a mountain top".

[RKP5637]

18. All I've ever heard is just absolutely wonderful things about Asheville. It always

sounds absolutely beautiful and the people seem very very nice and also open minded!

[patricia92243]

93. Live ins West Asheville. The Prez has good taste - he likes us and 7 Bones - BBQ Restaurant. n/t

[tpsbmam]

96. Hey, neighbor! Born & bred New York City'er moved here 8 years ago

and absolutely love it! Tons to love about it. Though currently saddled with ReTHUGS thanks to redistricting, Asheville is a very progressive area. Who'd Buncombe go for in the 2004 Democratic primaries? Kucinich! Wow. That happened just as I was moving down -- the progressiveness of the area was what made the move possible for me.

[Arugula Latte]

17. One big thing for me is, psychologically, I can't stand being landlocked.

I spent a summer in Colorado and I would frequently hallucinate (without the use of drugs) that the Great Plains, as seen from the Rockies, were actually the ocean (they really do look blue/purple in certain lights!).

[RKP5637]

62. Yep, I like the oceans too! n/t

[beveeheart]

75. I have lived in Colorado for over 24 years, but am originally from Maryland.

Every year though, I have to go back to Maryland and spend time on/in/near the Chester River, the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean because they were such a part of my life when I was growing up.

[Arugula Latte]

76. When I lived in DC I loved the beaches of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware.

The only downside was that you could easily get stuck in summer traffic and it would take up to four hours to make it to the beach.

[beveeheart]

80. Yep, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge traffic will slow you down.

Fortunately for me, I was already on the Eastern Shore and knew the back roads to get to the beaches quicker.

[RKP5637]

87. Yep, the beaches are wonderful. It's been a long time, but I sure remember the

traffic. Years ago I remember coming back loaded a couple of times as a college kid ... scares me some now thinking back on it ...

[beveeheart]

140. You weren't the only one!!

[Tom Ripley]

143. Same here for me (n/t)

[OriginalGeek]

19. There's no state I wouldn't want to visit

I'd have to hear the numbers before deciding about moving to and working in but I am willing to listen to the pitch from anywhere.

I sure don't mind living in central Florida. Not to be a jerk to you folks under 10 feet of snow (how I picture everything north of Georgia lol) but I could go get a tee time right now and be playing golf while wearing shorts within 45 minutes counting the time to go home and change clothes. 20 minutes if my spikes were in the car and I wanted to play in long pants.

And as a native who has also lived from Texas to Maryland the heat and humidity don't bother me much any more.


I wouldn't mind some cool hills and more brick houses though. Stucco is getting on my nerves.

[RKP5637]

20. LOL !!! Major snow storm is hitting here now. PLEASE send some sunshine up!!!

[OriginalGeek]

21. I'm pushing that warm front as hard as I can

at lunch I'll go out and shine a mirror your way and hope you get some reflected heat.

hope this helps!

[RKP5637]

25. That'll be great!!! I won't have to shovel out the driveway!!!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

26. There's some hills west and south of Orlando.

Not anything major or anything to be confused with mountains.

But if you take the Turnpike west of Orlando you'll run into some nice rolling hills in the Clearmont area.

(And while you're at it, check out Lakeridge Wineries around there. Some good Florida wine they have there!)

[OriginalGeek]

82. Yep, my wife's best friend lives in Clermont

but it's still in a stucco house! man I hate stucco lol.

It's a pretty damn NICE stucco house, mind you, but it's still stucco.

I do like driving around up there - the rolling hills are a nice change.

Been to Lakeridge a couple times and I like it but we just recently visited Keel and Curley Winery near Tampa and I loved their stuff - they concentrate more on fruit wines other than muscadine grapes. Their peach and strawberry wines were delicious. And they have a dry blueberry that was very nice as well. Now, my friends who are into wine consider all that stuff to be Night-train grade swill but I am, fortunately, unburdened by a wine snob palate. I save all my snobbery for beer.

My favorite part of the Clermont area is the Yalaha bakery though. It takes me an hour to get there and it's worth every second.

[MrYikes]

22. Kansas,

Something has changed there. I keep hearing about Kansas.

[RKP5637]

27. Kansas is going through a morphing into something ... hard to tell where that something is

ending up. Last election they voted out just about all moderates and into a teabagger controlled state and lots of Koch Brothers $$$$$.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

24. Anywhere cold.

But to be fair, I think I've felt that way long before 2000.

But I sure am loving the 80 degree February weather today. I think I'm going for a swim on my lunch break!

[RKP5637]

30. Stop it, just plain stop it and come over and help me shovel out all of this damn snow!

[2naSalit]

45. I went skiing yesterday and I think I'll go again today.

[sadbear]

31. I don't really want to be where I am now.

Texas. But it seems all my family doesn't have a problem with it, so I'm overruled.

[HockeyMom]

32. Florida where I unfortunately have to live

Always felt this way. LONG before 2000. Hopefully, someday soon I can get out. Too many reasons, weather included, to list.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

37. I am stuck here permanently...

It was different when we moved here 25 years go.... Now the children are grown and have established themselves ... so I am here till the end.

[Nay]

94. Have to say I'm in the same boat. I live in VA, the kid and grandkid live 3 blocks away, and

even though I HATE THIS FUCKING STATE, I am here to the end to be around them.

Otherwise, I'd move all the way across the country, or to Canada.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

95. My relocation choices as well.

*sigh*

[2naSalit]

34. There were already places I would never work or live prior to 2000.

[Historic NY]

36. Misssissippi, horrible for health care....

treated family members bone cancer as if it was arthritis. Its not the state to go to if your expecting quailty medical care or prevention.

http://www.americashealthrankings.org/

[Tom Ripley]

144. It's a great place to be FROM and get out of.

[CBGLuthier]

38. Oh, this is going to turn out real well.

Nothing like a good old fashioned state bashing thread.

And that is what it will become. It already has started.

[RKP5637]

44. Well, it wasn't meant that way! n/t

[Brickbat]

39. Other -- there have been states I would not move to since *before* 2000.

[Mopar151]

56. I'm with you

The politics may have gotten more noticable since the false coronation of George The Worst, but the underlying cultural issues have been there awhile.

[cordelia]

40. Yay! Region bashing! We haven't had any of that here in 12 or 13 minutes!

This crap is why we need Urec.

[RKP5637]

42. Who is bashing regions ??? n/t

[cordelia]

70. Read the thread.

[RKP5637]

74. Yep, it is. Agree, just read it all. n/t

[Solly Mack]

41. Even before 2000 there were states I had no desire to live in.

Visiting all the states is a neat thing to do. I'm working on that.

I've lived in states I wouldn't live in again. I've visited states I see no reason to visit again.

I do consider the politics of the state/area/region when looking at places to live. It's not my only consideration.

People like different things.

[madmom]

43. I always dreamed of retiring in Arizona....

but now that it's time, I won't live there until they clean up their politics. Looking for some place in the vicinity, but not Arizona.

[whathehell]

109. Have you considered New Mexico? n/t

[madmom]

116. Yes, we are seriously considering New Mexico. Just haven't decided where yet...

any suggestions?

[whathehell]

120. I liked the Santa Fe area a lot, though I've only visited.

Your best bet would be to go to

the New Mexico state forum...They'll give you a better idea.

[madmom]

121. Thanks, Santa Fe was one of the areas we were

looking at, along with Albuquerque. I'll check out the state forum.

[whathehell]

138. You're quite welcome, and good luck! n/t

[bluestate10]

123. The Santa Fe area is awesome. Well educated people live there. nt

[stillcool]

46. absolutely

There are places I wouldn't want to drive through. Years ago...in the 80's we took a road trip to Tenn., and got some flack because our license plates gave us away as New Yorker's. I can only imagine....

[stlsaxman]

48. Texas. Took a train through it once. Close as I plan to ever get.

But the train stopped on the overpass looking over Dealey Plaza. Saw the Book Depository and the grassy knoll. From the train window it looked like a tiny doll set.

There is nothing else in that state I have even the slightest interest in experiencing.

[Paladin]

57. That's About The Typical Basis For Texas-Bashing, Here At DU. (nt)

[Ishoutandscream2]

69. Yeah, and I thought we Texans were the close minded types

[Paladin]

71. The Only Thing That Surprised Me.....

...was that judgment-by-train-window poster's failure to add the usual, tiresome "But I wouldn't mind going to Austin some day, because everybody knows it's the only cool place in the state!" exception.....

[stlsaxman]

92. Well I can watch Austin City Limits on PBS...

and SXSW is a long running scam so why go to Austin?

btw- i LOVED seeing Dealey Plaza from the train- it gave me goosebumps to be so close to the spot where (even horrific) history was made.

Aside from the Texas Board Of Education lobotomizing the children of America with a crucifix- what else does Texas have to offer?

[Paladin]

98. Yeah, As If I'm Wasting Time On Changing A Mindset Like Yours.

I'll give you credit, though, for the snark about SXSW---that's the one time of the year that my old Austin friends try to be out of town. The city loses some of its charm, with all those out-of-state college kids, puking on sidewalks.....

[stlsaxman]

103. Okay- instead of "wasting time"... how about sighting a few great things about Texas?

Granted, my mindset is pretty severe but I even surprise myself on occasion on how open-minded i can be.

Let's make it two great things that aren't food or music related that you would say makes Texas a great place to visit?

and what are your thought on what the Texas School Board is doing to the nations textbooks?

Sincerely, please.

[Paladin]

108. Is There Any Point To This?

You've formed an opinion on Texas based on a distant view of the JFK assassination site and the many sins of the state school board. That's like traveling to Germany and restricting your visit to the remains of Dachau. I could give you a hundred saving grace items in my native state, but I'll just restrict myself to just one: Old Tunnel State Park (www.tpwd.state.tx.us/oldtunnel). The experience is enhanced by the consumption of several beers at the Alamo Springs Cafe, which is within easy staggering distance to the park entrance. Check it out---hey, three million Mexican free-tailed bats can't be wrong.....

[stlsaxman]

111. Excellent!

Yes- I'm jaded and prejudicial and narrow-minded but, damn... that cave is cool!

Thank you very much for your indulgence.

I've bookmarked this page... I may be looking at a road trip in my future and

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/

might help me decide on a route.

[Paladin]

139. My Pleasure. Seriously. (nt)

[bluestate10]

125. Keep working to make your state blue. You guys will be a big lift to our side when you pull

that off. Once you go blue, the back of the republican party will be snapped.

[stlsaxman]

90. Glad to have set the bar.

... and you're welcome.

[Paladin]

99. You Didn't Set The Bar, You Just Adhered To It. Thanks For Playing. (nt)

[w8liftinglady]

118. Maybe this will help

http://www.texasstonewalldemocrats.org/
http://www.txdemocrats.org/
http://progresstexas.org/
http://irregularnews.com/states/texas.html

[bluestate10]

122. I make visits to Texas. That's enough for me. There are good people there, but the idiots are

ruling for the time being.

[TheMightyFavog]

49. Utah is the only state on my personal shit list.

Texas used to be on this list but then I read Kinky Friedman's travelouge of Austin. Now I'd actually want to go see Austin.

[Coyotl]

79. So, you have not been to Moab or read Desert Solitaire?

Edward Abbey lived in Utah.

[politicat]

50. I won't move back to Arizona.

My parents' home state was Indiana but I grew up in Arizona.

I will never go back. Arizona was not too bad in the 80s and 90s. I got a great, bilingual education and felt like we lived in an integrated, Norteño culture. (I felt that -- my mother, who speaks no Spanish, feels excluded and I'm starting to see teabag creep into her.) in school, we did Jane Austen and Isabel Allende together, for example. Culturally, I am a Norteño (by the standards of Woodward's American Nations) so it breaks my heart to see my native earth destroyed.

If I want warm weather, I stay in Colorado. If I want snow, I stay here. If I want Norteño culture, I stay here.

[marions ghost]

51. How's this for fair to each region?

least desirable:

North -- NJ
South -- SC
West -- UT
Mid-west -- KS

[tavernier]

52. Have toothbrush, will travel.

Life is an adventure and every state, city and town hold some new and interesting morsel, even if it is only a hill or flower I've never seen before.

Move to or work in? Hard to say... too many variables.

[OriginalGeek]

85. Exactly

You said it more poetically than I but that's exactly how I see it too.

[tavernier]

134. And all we need is the winning lotto number!

Hugs to you my gypsy friend!

[shanti]

53. for sure

i'd never live in utah, or several southern states. the west coast has spoiled me.

[Ednahilda]

54. I don't think I could live south of the Mason-Dixon line

and not just because of the politics; I just don't do heat particularly well. I was in North Carolina once and got to see the kudzu and I've been once to Williamsburg, VA so I'm good. I do remember that just seeing the bumper stickers while I was there made me feel really out of place.

[GoCubsGo]

55. Other.

There are definitely places where I don't want to live or work. However, I am so desperate at this point, I'll go just about anywhere for a job.

[Tikki]

58. It's more about the weather..but...

Tikki

[Taverner]

59. Since 2000, I have realized that I can only live in California

Everywhere else has too many unleashed crazies

[RKP5637]

65. It was not until about 2000 that I really started to realize how many unleashed

crazies there were in the US. And, I thought a lot of the craziness of past times had gone away. Was I ever wrong.

[Taverner]

66. Yes, this is true

Where I saw it the most were places I wouldn't have expected: Denver, CO; Chicago, IL; Herndon, VA

[Tommy_Carcetti]

141. And California is supposedly immune from unleashed crazies?

Somehow I doubt that.

Unleashed crazies are a nationwide phenomoena.

[Taverner]

148. It's not, but the devil you know, right?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

149. You gotta live a little!

Compare the crazies!

I, for one, would love to visit California and see how their crazies compare to my Florida crazies!

[Taverner]

152. Visit? Sure! Hella!

Live? Hmmmm, besides the FL crazies there's the crocogators and storms

At least when the big one hits its all over in a matter of seconds

[Tommy_Carcetti]

154. Crocogators are FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!

And don't even get me started about the awesomeness of FUCKING CROCOGATORS IN A FUCKING HURRICANE! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!

[Taverner]

155. If you rub their bellies and sing them a song, will they go to sleep?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

156. Not only that.....

.....they will begin to glow and cure all maladies within a 20 mile radius. It's a pretty cool sight to see.

[tabbycat31]

63. no

BUt then again when I relocate to a various state for work, it is to elect Democrats in the area.

[Myrina]

64. I wanted desperately to move back to Madison WI until it became Fitzwalkerstan.

What's happened to my beloved progressive oasis, Wisconsin??

[RKP5637]

67. Where I am sometimes I feel I live in some warped version of the Twilight Zone. n/t

[mokawanis]

146. Been in Madison for a long time

and will probably remain, but the last 2 years have been pretty rough.

[Spider Jerusalem]

68. I really, truly dislike the term "un-American"

and you know, I find it kind of hilarious that anyone is going to say "un-American agenda" when the USA is a country built on tax evasion, slavery and Native American genocide. Bush? Heh. How about Adams? (Read about the Alien and Sedition Acts, sometime.) Or Polk (Mexican War) or McKinley (Spanish-American War). Curtailing civil liberties and justifying it with "threat to national security"? Nothing new, and as American as baseball (same thing with trumped-up wars for nonsexistent reasons). Radical, sure; the radicalism of the extreme right wing of the Republican party is pretty much what William F Buckley described as "standing athwart history, yelling STOP!". The white evangelical Christian cultural conservatives of places like Georgia and Mississippi and Oklahoma and so on see the world changing around them, see themselves becoming a minority in a generation, see the slow decline of religion, the acceptance of things like divorce, same-sex marriage, and so on, see a black president, and it terrifies them because they have a very narrow idea of what constitutes "America" and can't really cope with the idea that they are becoming increasingly irrelevant. If things go on as they have for another few generations it's entirely possible that this may lead to another civil war. (Especially if both sides keep bandying about terms like "un-American" to describe the other.)

[RKP5637]

73. Agree!!! Well said!!! n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

72. I lived in Texas for seven years

and I'm not a fan. I'm a northern and western kind of person anyway...I like snow, I don't like heat...so Alaska is perfect for me climate and scenery wise. We're having some real issues with our gov't right now, but I love this place enough to stay and fight.

[RKP5637]

84. I've never been to Alaska, but from what I've heard/seen it's a pretty nice place. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

97. It's a beautiful place with a lot of really great people.

We're just being ALECized right now unfortunately, much to everyone's dismay.

[RKP5637]

100. Palin did a lot of disservice to Alaska. That whole charade. n

[Blue_In_AK]

110. Yes, she did,

but she was just the warm-up act for what's going on here now. We don't get much press these days since Sean Parnell gives the appearance of being sane, but because of that, he is ever so much more dangerous. We have several names for him -- Captain Zero (that one was actually conferred on him by Rep. Don Young), Governor Giveaway, or my personal favorite, Seanoco Parnellips.

[RKP5637]

114. ... love those names!

[Warpy]

78. Living in Dixie during puberty left me with a very bad taste in my mouth

and I can't imagine trying to live there again, even though the Smokies will always call to me. I found southern culture incompatible, not to mention clannish and harsh. Perhaps it would be different now that I'm a grownup and know who to tell to go to hell, but I still don't want to go back there, thanks.

Otherwise, I'm a city gal, so most of the big cities in this country would do since most of them are full of liberals and oddballs, even Salt Lake City.

It was wrenching to leave New England (where I fled when I left the south in the late 60s), but I've found New Mexico to be a decent fit. I think there are more areas I'd be willing to live than I'd want to avoid.

Just don't ask me to live in Dixie, thanks. BTDT

[RKP5637]

83. I loved New England, but I just find it too expensive to get back there again for me. I've heard a

lot of good things about New Mexico.

[Warpy]

86. It's too expensive for me, too

and I inherited money! I just didn't inherit enough for Boston.

NM is a good fit culturally. Since there are three major clashing cultures here (tribal, Hispanic, Anglo), oddballs are tolerated and given a lot of slack. The weather here has completely spoiled me. We got 4 inches of snow overnight and the pavement was dry by noon.

[RKP5637]

88. Last I was back in MA I looked in western MA too ... that was expensive. Not as bad as

Boston. Years ago I lived in downtown Boston ... I couldn't even remotely think of living there now. I like places that have some slack. I'm pretty much a live and let live person.

[Warpy]

89. I lived on the wrong side of Beacon Hill

I'll bet nothing has been done to renovate that odd little apartment in the 30 years since I lived there and I'll bet the rent is in the thousands, plural.

Buying is out of the question, too. I could afford the purchase. I just couldn't begin to afford the property taxes, year after year.

[RKP5637]

91. Taxes are out of sight. One house I owned years ago now has a tax rate of about $12,000/yr. I was

shocked when I looked it up on zillow.com one day.

[libodem]

81. Florida

The Travon Martin debacle, sealed it for me.

[gateley]

105. It would have to be surrounded by mountains and water --

we have plenty of both in Seattle and I'm used to looking at the vistas.

I lived in North Carolina for a few years and remember seeing one of the most gorgeous sunsets ever which was disappearing beyond the horizon. I thouhgt "I'll be able to catch it again from a hill" -- but there were no hills where I lived!

Seattle has lots of hills, too. I guess I should just stay put. I SUFFER when it gets any hotter that low '70's.

[Blue_In_AK]

115. You and me both, Gateley,

on the temps above 70. I guess we're where we belong.

[gateley]

124. Haha! I'd much rather be up there with you than

down in FL or Louisana or AZ!

When we're at 80 -- or higher! -- when people say "enjoying the beautiful weather?" I just want to slap them!

[Blue_In_AK]

131. Me, too.

Last summer we had a couple of days that were pretty warm, maybe 68 or so, and I was sweating like crazy working in my garden. Simply too hot. .

[MineralMan]

106. Not since 2000. The same states that have been on

my list for a very long time are still on that list:

Mississippi
Arkansas
Alabama
Idaho
Kansas
Missouri

I am forced to enter Kansas and Missouri on very rare occasions, only because I-35 goes through them.

One other I only am in when an airline flight takes me to an airport there:

Texas

Parts of Georgia are also on my list, but I love Atlanta.

I have no reason, nor desire, to set foot in any of those states, and that has been the case since the late 1960s. My reasons are personal ones, and I would not ever criticize any person who lived in any of those states for living in them.

[RKP5637]

113. KS continues to get stranger and stranger. One of the things we were discussing the

other night here is how many things are hidden in KS 'till suddenly they appear. It seems there is a cone of silence around the shenanigans going on. And seldom on the local news does one hear a lot about the KS government. I've lived in a number of states and it seemed a fair amount of news time was spent each night discussing state issues and politics.

Yep, lots of really good people live in all states and sometimes, of course, the political nature of the state changes around them much to their chagrin.

[TheKentuckian]

107. Many for all kinds of reasons-NY, MS, AZ, NM, OK, TX, AL, probably GA, CA is dicey too

as is NJ. I could do WI and MN but would need to winter elsewhere, the cloud cover is a bummer.

Have to have trees and water.

[GoneOffShore]

112. My list hasn't changed since 1985.

Any state in the southern part of the country - It has to do with bugs and climate. I don't do well in high heat.

[alarimer]

117. Yes: MS, AL, LA

All of the rest of the south (I'm in NC now but unhappy about it). I've decided my next move will, with any luck, be to a blue state. I'm even willing to put up with cold weather, so New England is definitely in play for for me, though I prefer Oregon and Washington states.

[backscatter712]

119. Most of the Bible Belt. n/t

[rrneck]

126. I was glad to get out of the south into a more liberal community

but there are a lot of similarities nonetheless.

[Exultant Democracy]

127. Arizona moved into the do not visit slot since 2008. I lived in Tuscon in 2006 and love Grijalva

but I wouldn't even feel safe going their these days.

[juajen]

128. Florida, Texas, Arizona

[smirkymonkey]

129. I could pretty much only live in the Northeast (New York and New England).

I have lived out in San Francisco, which was nice, but I definitely felt that culturally, I didn't belong there. I pretty much only socialized and related to Northeasterners and always knew I would go back. If I didn't live in the Northeastern US, the only other place I would want to live would be Europe.

[LiberalFighter]

130. I had opposition to moving the same states after as before 2000.

Either because the climate or working conditions.

[muntrv]

132. I thought about moving to Florida to be close to my mother & stepfather, but Jeb and (P)Rick Scott

put a damper on that.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

133. Any state that allows carry

Just to be clear to the guys who masturbate with their guns, freakin Dodge City would shoot you on sight - the police would - if they saw you carrying. This was after it became a big city.
The reason for that is obvious if you value the freedom to stroll around town without fearing for your life.

[Marrah_G]

135. I will never move from the North East

And probably not from New England

[RKP5637]

136. Yep, I know exactly what you mean. I was quite saddened when I had to leave for a job. n/t

[southern_belle]

137. I'll trade a Louisiana for a Vermont...

Any takers???

[Tom Ripley]

142. I moved to Georgia when it was on a progressive path, now I can't wait to get out...

of the hellhole to which it has reverted back. I would actually prefer South Carolina where the rednecks are not quite as redneck-y as the Georgia variety.

[Art_from_Ark]

145. There are places in every state that would be attractive to me.

particularly major college towns, and there are places in every state that would not be attractive. Overall, the most attractive state to me would be Hawaii, while the least attractive one would probably be Louisiana.

[treestar]

150. I would not like to be surrounded by tea baggers

But that doesn't cut out any state, since even red states have cities, which are usually blue.

[RKP5637]

151. Yeah, same here ... some states seem to be decidedly more teabaggerish, so I'm avoiding them.

All states have teabaggers. I guess as long as near a city/metro area one is OK. Fortunately with the internet it's easier anymore to check out places. I used to love rural areas, but anymore I'm really cautious.