What are the best states to live in ...

[MI Cherie]

... and raise a family (teenagers)?

RE: Cost of living, housing, taxes, schools, weather, quality of life?

If you could move anywhere, where would that be?

[corporatewhore]

1. Austin Texas love it love it love it

the housing is a bit high but the rest is great great great

[MI Cherie]

9. I visited Texas ...

... B.C. (Before Children)! Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, & Corpus Christie. Didn't get to Austin. Beautiful area.

[tedoll78]

40. I like it here.

A liberal island in a vast sea of idiots.

That, and most of the TV advertising likes to remind you that you're livin' in Texas.

Car commercial: "HERE IN TEXAS, WE LIKE.. *blah blah blah*"

Vinyl siding commercial: "WHEN YOU'RE IN TEXAS, YOU'LL NEED.. *blah blah blah*"

Fast Food commercial: "WITH THAT TEXAS-STYLE FLAVOR, *blah blah blah*"

My reaction to the TV? "Yeah, I get it. I live in Texas. That's nice.

And then there are those people who like to remind you that they're born and native Texans. As though slipping out of a vagina whilst in Texas is some sort of monumentous achievement. :eyes:

[MI Cherie]

45. Interesting ...

... kind of like a private club? It seemed quite friendly many years ago when I was there. One curiosity — "drive-in bars"!? :crazy:

[VermontDem2004]

2. Arizona

Mesa, Arizona is where I live, I am not sure about what taxes are but everything else is a positive over here(especially weather). I am 17 and have very much enjoyed my experience spending my entire liftime as a teenage here.

[MI Cherie]

10. That's nice to hear ...

... I am so sick of the weather here in Michigan!

[truhavoc]

3. New Albany, OH

Beautiful, peaceful, great schools, somewhat high costs but worth it.

I don't know if you could handle living in buckeye country though?

GO BUCKS! (had to throw that in)

[VermontDem2004]

4. Go Blue!

Just had to throw that in there. :evilgrin:

[truhavoc]

5. Did you goto UM or something Vermont? n/t

[VermontDem2004]

6. I haven't even been to college yet

But I was a supporter of Howard Dean for quite sometime which is why my nickname is VermontDem(Howard Dean)2004

[truhavoc]

8. ohh, just a trouble maker then! lol

GO BLOW :)

[MI Cherie]

11. Is that over by ...

... Cleveland? We have visited the Six Flags over there and it really looks like a nice place to live.

Buckeye country can't be as bad as RepubLIEcon Robotland!

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

33. Its to the east-northeast of Columbus

..not to far from the hip shopping area of Easton.

Columbus, though bland & sprawly in physical appeareance, is probably a pretty good place to live in Ohio.

[MI Cherie]

37. It's centrally located too ...

... good to hear!

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

32. expensive

I drove through it once. Seemed pretty upscale.

[MI Cherie]

38. You're probably right ...

... nice area, though!

[LincolnMcGrath]

7. confusion

[MI Cherie]

13. Sorry you are so confused ...

... I guess I am too, now.

I want to move and was just looking for some comments on which direction to consider.

[FDRrocks]

12. With my lack of experience...

I would say Oregon. Beautiful place, nice educational system (when I lived there) and nice people.

I plan on moving to Canada in the next couple of years... but If I planned on staying within this country I would move to Oregon.

[MI Cherie]

15. I've heard wonderful ...

... things about Oregon. Sounds like a nice place to live (or at lease visit)!

[jsw_81]

49. See post #48

[mvd]

14. I grew up in Maryland

They have quite a few good schools, lots of things to see and do, good services, and a progressive atmosphere. Be wary of the crime, congestion, and housing prices, though.

[MI Cherie]

16. I've been there a few times ...

... and hope to go back soon.

I remember the traffic congestion all too well, even though it's been more than a few years! It's got to be even worse now!

[Dees]

35. My wife and I have lived on the lower Eastern Shore

for about nine months now. She is from Baltimore and I am from the St. Louis area and that is where we lived up until moving east.
My thoughts on Maryland. You're right about the congestion. Wow! I suspect it is mostly caused by the topo of the state and not enough pavement in the Bal'mer area. But generally Maryland roads are good in good shape. Real estate prices are just insane. Services are good and taxes are moderate. Food is expensive. We travel to Salisbury to do major shopping and there is little relief there. As best I can determine salaries and wages here really don't make up for price you pay to live near the ocean either. Baltimore city public schools are a real mess now in that they have a serious budget shortfall of 70 million this year. The governor is a Repug. He's so so. He seems to be proactive though.
I find the people (natives or as I been reminded over and over "locals") friendly and decent. However there is a serious amount of provincialism here. There is no need to beat it to death, it sells itself. I am amazed how few people here have ever lived anywhere but here their entire lives. There IS a country beyond Frederick. I also consider crab cakes a waste of good seafood.
I like Assateague Island, Western Maryland, the Inner Harbor, produce of the Eastern Shore, the Atlantic Ocean, friendly people and Lombardi's Pizza.
Be prepared for a state that is very heavily regulated and bring lots of money.

[MI Cherie]

39. That seems to be a ...

... very nice area!

We've been watching "Double Agents" on the Discovery Channel. The prices for an "average" home is enough to take your breath away!

Living near the ocean would be awesome!

[jsw_81]

50. Like the ocean? This is a short drive from downtown Portland:

Nothing in Maryland can even come close to the majestic beauty of the Oregon coast.

[MI Cherie]

51. Absolutely beautiful!

Wow! Thank you for sharing!

:hi:

[JaySherman]

42. I interviewed for a job in MD last summer.

Spent a few days there. Looked like rich Repug central to me. The guy who was interviewing drove me around and showed me all these huge wall-off mansions where politicians, lobbyists, and Washington types lived. We joked that they were probably hiding Cheney out somewhere along the Chesapeake.

[MI Cherie]

46. It's been since ...

... college when I was last there. Didn't notice much except the traffic and nightlife back then! Was too young & naive to be impressed or maybe it was so long ago that it wasn't flaunted as much!

:shrug:

[maveric]

17. New Hampshire.

No state income tax or sales tax. The schools are rated pretty high, crime is low, its not very urban, the air and water are clean, and contrary to popular belief its not all freeper/repug.
The bad thing is that NH has the highest property taxes in the lower 48.

[MI Cherie]

18. Good news — bad news ...

... sounds pretty good, though. Dare I ask how high are property taxes?

[maveric]

25. My mom has a 40 yr old 3 bdrm ranch style on a 1/3 acre..

full basement. She pays $3,800.00 a year.

[MI Cherie]

26. If that's high ...

... then we must be #47 for property taxes!

Plus we've got 6% sales tax, state & local taxes, too!

[CanuckAmok]

19. I have always enjoyed Denial.

Wait...no I haven't.

[MI Cherie]

22. Denial isn't just a river ...

... should I have asked what's the best place to live in North America? No offense intended!

:shrug:

[LastKnight]

20. Im a teenager and id say ive got it pretty good here...

In South Dakota...

low cost of living, readily available housing, lowest taxes in the nation(i think we still carry this distinction) good schools, weather can get kinda hard in the winter, but still get up to 80-100s in summer, good quality of life, and not a whole lot of opprotunity for teenagers to get into trouble. bad part... no beach and TONS of Moderate to Ultra conservative Republicans. thankfully too far north for the bible belt

-LK

[MI Cherie]

21. I'm used to hard winters ...

... we've still got snow, although it's been pushing 40° the last couple days with some sunshine! I'd really miss being close to the water, though!

Maybe I just need a vacation!

:shrug:

[AlFrankenFan]

23. Well, I'm a teen, and of the three states I've lived in....

Virginia or Colorado would definitely be the best, even though the weather is so-so.

[MI Cherie]

24. As an adult ...

... you've lived in two more states than I!

Virginia is beautiful, as is Colorado.

I have been considering "Spring Break" in Virginia. But teenagers don't always enjoy traveling with their parents.

:shrug:

[SmileyBoy]

27. North Dakota is cheap, quiet and peaceful, and very friendly.

CON #1: Even though they're friendly, a LOT of them are right-wing freepers.

CON #2: Nobody's moving to this state outside of Fargo/West Fargo and Bismarck.

CON #3: The reason that living here is cheap is because an average white-collar professional job here pays a lot less than the national average.

[MI Cherie]

29. Thank you ...

... for being honest about the con side.

[izzie]

28. I live in Maine but liked Alaska even more.

I have lived in 8 states. Alaska and Maine both have a way of letting you live as you like. I did very bad in the South.They were always at you to think as they do.

[MI Cherie]

30. Alaska is ...

... almost too extreme for us to consider! Maybe my impression is wrong, but I've heard it is quite cold with only two seasons and very short days!

I have heard about the generous "bonus" residents receive!

On edit: Maine sounds like a very nice place to be.

[MI Cherie]

31. I really appreciate ...

... all the comments. I've stayed up way too late and need some sleep! I will check back later to see if there are any other replies!

:hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

34. Lived in Maine all my life, can't imagine raising my kids elsewhere

:)

[MI Cherie]

41. That's great to hear ...

... I've lived here all my life and it is hard to imagine living somewhere else. Almost as hard as imagining never living elsewhere!

:-)

[NicoleM]

36. Minnesota.

I've lived in or spent at least a few months in North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, and Massachusetts. After I moved to Minnesota, I couldn't figure out why anybody would want to live anywhere else. We've got everything here! We like to hike and camp, and there are tons of places to do that. We've got a major metro area if we want to go do city stuff, but we live in a nice little town where a four-bedroom house goes for around $70,000 (ours was less but it was a family transaction). Our property taxes are about $300/year.

The schools here are good, although the RW is currently attempting to take over the education system. It's too soon to tell whether they'll be successful or not.

There are a couple of drawbacks. DH has to commute about 40 miles to work, but it doesn't take him any longer than it would if we lived in a 'burb somewhere and he drove into a city. Also, we don't have much cultural diversity where I live. But there are other places in MN that are much more diverse than my little town.

I vote for Minnesota. :)

[MI Cherie]

44. Sounds pretty good ...

... there's lots of lakes there, too! Lately, we've had a desire to live near water — even settle for a small pond! My parents had a place on a lake north of here. After my mom died, my dad had to sell — which we all regretted. The kids miss it terribly, and I miss them having what I had growing up (and took for granted would always be there.)

We moved out of the city (still close to highway and major stuff) several years ago to get the kids into a "good" school, but it isn't all we'd hoped it would be. I'm afraid it's too RW — do what you can there to keep them in check in your area.

A small town sounds really good. Urban sprawl in this area has made nearby small towns quite pricey and taxes high. (Way high compared to costs in your area!) So many people (and companies) are moving out of MI that there are lots of homes for sale. If we could get as much as we're assessed at & paying taxes on, we'd move!

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. :)

[nayt]

43. texas or florida

[MI Cherie]

47. Both are nice & warm ...

... places to be with water and palm trees, too!

Hope to get back to both someday! :)

[jsw_81]

48. Portland, Oregon

Picture a vibrant, progressive city (overwhelmingly liberal and Democratic) near spectacular mountains, beaches, and forests with a mild climate and some of the friendliest people in the country.

Here are a few accolades that Portland received in recent years:

- Best Place to Live in the USA for 2001 (Money Magazine)
- Best City for Bicycling in the USA (Bicycling Maagazine)
- Most Kid-Friendly City in the USA
- Most Enlightened Town (Utne Reader)
- Number One in Resident Satisfaction
- One of the Greatest Places to Live (Outside Magazine)

More

[MI Cherie]

52. What a view!

Looks & sounds like a wonderful place to be. Thank you very much for sharing pictures & more info link.

:hi: