Well, visiting doesn't count. You can speak about a state after you live there for at least a year or two. I have lived in Ohio, Indy, Mass, and Cali extensively. I would love living back in Ohio when I retire. Indy lacks diverstiy. Pepole drive like they are Indy car driver, probably never have driven in real traffic. Indy is nice in terms space, but uhhh for me. Mass, I lived in Boston and I didn't like it at all. Not at all. Expensive and old. Calif, L.A., the best state for me to live in. Nice people too, esay going.
Worst U.S. states Utah Oklahoma Tennessee Worst Canadian provinces Quebec Manitoba British Columbia Worst states in Mexico Chihuahua Nuevo Leon Jalisco
Man, I've got to disagree about Arkansas. If you love the outdoors, awesome fall colors, and nice people, Arkansas is awesome. Not to mention, no damn big city traffic. Most of the people I've met from there have been nice, down-to-earth people. It's one of the reasons I wouldn't mind buying some land up there once I retire.... or maybe earlier. Oklahoma is great if you like fried catfish (McGehee's Catfish Restaurant in Marietta, aka, middle of nowhere, is awesome), but I have to agree, most of the places I've been to have been kind of sad and depressing. I need to check out Tulsa one day. I think a lot of these choices depends on what you're looking for in terms of "quality of life" in states.
People have ruined California. It is polluted, gang infested, full of crime.. Very artificial rude people, terrible traffic, garbage literally blowing all over Los Angeles... The government is in many towns insane, outlawing procedures such as circumcision. The heyday of California was the 60's, now it has been so abused that it is in many ways unbearable.
I've been to Texas, Louisiana, Missisippi, Georgia, both Carolina's, Florida, both Virginias, Tenessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, DC, Delaware, Pennsylvania, NJ, NY, MD, Rhode Island, Conneticut, Massachuessets, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Kansas, Illinois, and the Cleveland airport To varying degrees. California is far from the worst, people aside. For one, go north. People start to thin out yet it is seriously beautiful country. New Mexico is not the worst either. Santa Fe is a cool town, Taos is cool, and Albuquerque is nice, growing little town. Beautiful state, too. I don't think it's Tennessee either. Some bad parts sure. You didn't even mention the bible belt aspects, which might not bother some but I find annoying as heck. But Nashville is a cool town. Knoxville is a cool little college town. Kentucky has some pretty run down parts, but also has some beauty and cool spots. Arkansas isn't on my list but from people I know that live there, they echo DoD's comments. Some seriously beautiful country and generally nice people. My vote, of the states I've visited, Mississippi. I guess the gulf coast is somewhat redeeming there, but I just found the state to be vey run down, poor, dirty feel. Hot and humid. Not much geographical beauty. Favorite/best state might be harder even
I have been to about 20 states so far, and by far the worst was Oklahoma. Just a sucky, boring place.
There are parts of Arkansas that are beautiful as any place in the world. The natural springs, mountains, temperature and trees are amazing. Also those same areas are full of animals and affordable. When people think of Arkansas, they think of chicken farms, poverty and flat barren land... All are present, but do not tell the full story. Montana is another stunning state, and outside of Texas and Louisiana, you won't find nicer folks than the Dakotas.
Whoever looks at Arkansas and thinks flat barren land must not know basic U.S. geography, which would surprise me considering the U.S. education ranks. 5-10 years ago, Arkansas would be number 1 on my list but as I grow older I start to appreciate it more. Mississippi definitely gets my vote. I'd probably put Nevada as first if I spent more time there.
lol what other opinions about california did you form from watching movies made in hollywood about california?
Easily Florida. I wish it'd just float away... more specifically Miami. The most overrated city in the U.S.
I vote Kentucky... or maybe West Virginia or Mississippi or Alabama or... Haha yeah, the CA hate in this thread is hilarious. When I lived in the northeast US, upon finding out I was from Houston, people would respond "Texas?? Eww". SO MANY people seriously believe that TX is all desert and everyone's a cowboy and people are uneducated and racist and we all have I<3BUSH tattoos... a few even asked if we rode horses! Probably 75% of people I met believed in such a wholly outdated stereotype... and I'm talking about kids in college just 5 years ago! Anyway, all that to say: That's how dumb you CA bashers sound. Truth.
I've only lived in Texas and California. I travelled a good deal though, but my opinions about places I passed through or went to for work aren't the same as places I lived. I'm sure there's more to see than what's on the side of the highway, but some places flat out sucked. Los Angles can get rather depressing, the sprawl goes on forever, it's shockingly racist and it probably leads the world in psychopaths per capita. Most of what is interesting to do is largely dependent on who you know, and once I was there a while I started to like it fine. For me it was all about music, and there was no shortage of that around, but I had to know where to look to find what I wanted. What IS cool about California is the North and the expanses of nature to the East. That and tuna fishing in the Pacific. It IS poorly managed and the disparity between rich and poor is very third world-ish and a downer. Money is truly king there. I had the feeling when I lived there that it's best days were long over, and it took a six figure salary to feel remotely middle class. The government does this thing where they play to voter sentiment and still take lobby money without shame. Example: banning recreational fishing in many areas to get the green vote, and quietly allowing commercial boats the right to fish out the whole area anyway. I found Mississippi and Alabama to be quite pleasant. People were very friendly and seemed way more open minded than the Midwest. I had long hair, California plates, and an Israeli girlfriend with fire-engine red hair. No one gave a crap, and were more likely to strike conversations and ask us where we were from, what we did, etc. My mom lives in Columbus, GA, right on the Alabama border, where the locals love to bash Alabama, which is laughable, because I doubt anyone can tell the difference. My only experience with Tennessee was a motel room in Memphis, where we'd planned to stay a day and visit Graceland and be tourists. The motel was so scummy. The neighboring room was a brothel with a line of men outside and the bed in our room was soaking wet with... something. I didn't see anywhere to eat that wasn't a fast food chain. We checked out and drove to Arkansas and stayed somewhere else. When I got up the next morning to jog, I was arrested. For jogging. 'Cause it was "suspicious." And because I looked suspicious. The cop in question pulled a gun on me, cuffed me and called backup. He thought it was suspicious that all I had on me was a motel key. You know, for the motel across the street from the park I was jogging in, in my jogging pants that had no pockets. Oklahoma was depressing. I've heard Tulsa has the whole art-deco vibe but I never made it there, so I can't comment. Kansas was the worst of the lot. That's my vote. Crossing the border into Colorado was the most extreme border crossing in the US, IMHO. I was glad to get out of there. In Kansas right outside the hotel, I actually had a bunch of guys with beer bellies and crewcuts throw money at me out of a passing truck and scream "Get a haircut, f*****." They pulled over and I ran straight toward them, ready for a redneck beatdown, but they drove off in a hurry. I suspect I would have interrupted their cross burning schedule for the evening. Everything was mobile homes and churches composed of mobile homes and restaurants in mobile homes that served brown iceburg lettuce which was sold as "salad." Lots of dirty looks, lots of "Pray to End Abortion" billboards and a general right-wing/fundamentalist vibe that I never felt in the South. It's a small sample size and I never got to Kansas City, so maybe it's better there, but wow. In the South, especially the Gulf states, there's a feeling of personal freedom, of bars, of people smoking weed in public, the occasional dodgy casino, the random outlaw biker, the occasional interracial couple, or the transexual working in a rural truckstop. You know, normal post-Jim Crow things. It's reassuring in some kind of way, if only because the people aren't so repressed and don't seem so judgmental. The rest of my Midwest experiences were driving without stopping unless I was in Chicago. For those that say it gets worse further north in Nebraska and the Dakotas, I am inclined to believe you.
Good read, repped. I agree with the above quote, except only parts of TX and FL count in the summary. Ironically, I've found most Deep South gulf states to be LESS racist than the rest of the states in the country I've visited. I also agree with DoD on Arkansas- it's a beautiful state. It's hard to quantify Texas since it's so huge, and I imagine California is similar. There are different areas of TX that have an entirely different personality. I love parts of TX, and I loathe parts of TX.
