Should I move to your state?
 

(USA only :D)

I am a New Yorker, born and raised, and quite honestly tired of living here.

The people, the roads, the congestion, the COL, - I'm over it. Prior to COVID, I was tied to my job in NYC and was looking at moving upstate. I've moved on to a job that's primarily remote, and now have the whole world as my oyster, so to speak.

I'm really not sure where to look - I've spent time at several states in the US, but never stayed long enough to really get a feel for day to day life. My list of requirements isn't huge - I'm really just looking for somewhere at least as quiet as my current slice of suburban New York.

I'd love to hear from folks on here - what makes your home state/town appealing to live? What should I avoid? Where I live now, I can get my turbo Miata inspected yearly without much fuss, so long as I go somewhere that doesn't look too hard, as its pre-ODB1. I'm not looking to move somewhere that makes this any more complicated :)

I'm from NY.
I don't live there now.
I can't wait to move back.
NY state best state.
Confirmed.

Former NYer living in Florida right now. It's where most of us go when we leave.

Florida fucking sucks so hard. I hate my life. NY -FUCKS- and leaving is... A mistake. If you're cold take a vacation. There's nowhere in the country that offers what NY has, and has within a reasonable proximaty.

Going home to NY for holidays is the only thing I look forward to.

I'm upstate. I've not lived anywhere else since I moved to the US. I'd personally consider new england or the PNW which are basically upstate with higher COL. Too many skeeters and people from Florida in Florida

PNW bro here. If you think about moving here, you really need to visit during the fallwinterspring too. If you come during August you'll be like, "Holy fuck this place is a paradise" and then after you've moved and you're sludging through March whilst knowing that you won't see the sun for another three months, you'll finally understand why so many of us kill ourselves.

As an added note, my sis moved to NY and has been trying to get me to move out there for the like the last 7 years and says she'll never move back

Born and raised Wisconsinite chiming in. This topic of states to live in is a fun one that my friends and I debate somewhat frequently and its next to impossible to answer for you without knowing you. I think a lot of what drives people to specific states is the hobbies they have.

Things I like about WI:

• You get a taste of a little bit of everything as far as hobbies go
  • You like water sports? Plenty of small lakes (or Lake Michigan) or go kayaking/boating/wakeboarding/etc in summer
  • You like winter sports? Plenty of decent slopes to go to in Upper Peninsula Michigan. Good cross country skiing as long as snowfall is sufficient.
  • You like racing? Road America, Blackhawk Farms, Autobahn, Gingerman, Milwaukee Mile, etc have plenty of events within reasonable driving distance
  • You like motorcycling? The SW side of the state has some great roads.
  • You like outdoors? Camping/hunting/fishing throughout the state is pretty good throughout.
  • You like urban social atmosphere? Milwaukee's 3rd ward has developed to be a pretty cool place and if that's not enough, Chicago isn't far for weekend trips
  • You like pro sports? Packers, Badgers, Bucks, Brewers are all good stadium venues (regardless if you like the team or not)
  • You like beer/wine? Breweries (milwaukee area) and vineyards (door county area) all pretty common and it's pretty hard to find a "bad one".
• Taxes, job options, and general cost of living are on the better end of the respective spectrum compared to average from what I have gathered (even in these heavily inflated times)
  • This allows me to comfortably live here without breaking the bank and simply vacation places whenever I want to go somewhere.
• Unless you live in a few select urban counties, emissions aren't needed on vehicles. In the emissions regulated counties, you still don't need to worry about OBD1 vehicles as they are waived.

Things I don't like about WI:

• It's possibly relatable for you being in NY, but winter depression can be real if you aren't into winter activities.
  • If you're into the car hobby, you basically can't drive it a guaranteed 5 months out of the year which sucks
  • If you're into summer activities in general, the winter sucks
• The reputation of being known for drinking is absolutely a thing for a reason. Alcohol is 100% a part of nearly every activity the general population does here, which can get old if its not your thing. I didn't realize how bad it is (and excessive it can be) until I've traveled elsewhere (I say this as I'm currently drinking a beer typing on a forum to a stranger lol ooopps..)
• If you really get into select hobbies, there are better places to live
  • example: you really like hiking/outdoors, the southeast and west are your havens with more comfortable temperatures and sights
  • example: finding rust free and affordable project cars is like winning a lottery

This is 100% not an all encompassing list, but its just stuff that came to mind right away.

Nope, California is full.

--Ian

NY and CA are the worst places in the nation if you're not a POS liberal who hates everything and everyone.

Keep going, dudes.

Especially for me as a european it's very interesting. I thought and think about moving to the states for years now.

Germany sucks big time the last 5-10 years. What I hear from older people, it hasn't been that bad since WW2 and the few years after.
Politics, upcoming WAR, mass migration, insanely high prices for fuel, electricity, heating gas, tax duties, inflation, food... the list goes on.

Best things are medical care, unemployment insurance (which a LOT of people exploit) and the Autobahn.

Joe may be the most qualified to answer this...

But this may help you.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cae9f8c259.jpg

The only good thing about owning a miata in michigan is never having it inspected.

I dont enjoy New York. I live upstate where it feels quite cut off from the rest of civilization, especially when trying find used Miata parts, all the good deals are 8 hours away in NYC, the root of the states evil.
-even though the rest of the state is pretty much the polar opposite, with lots of farm land and woods. NY get shackled with a bunch of crappy laws because of NYC
-we have OBDII emissions inspections till the car is 25+ years old. tint laws, noise laws.
-Gun laws, NY is probably in top 5 worst states, you cant get a pistol permit without a personal relationship with law enforcement, over 10 round mags are banned.
- 7th most taxed state
- despite that we have terrible roads, filled with potholes and low speed limit signs.
- The people are generally unpleasant. the average driver on the road makes you question the licensing system. local cops are assholes, State cops are even bigger assholes
- Winters are long, dark and cold. plus they salt the roads so any car driven in winter is guaranteed to rust

North Carolina mountains or rural areas, yes. Beautiful country, reasonable COL and taxes. Depending which part of NC, relatively short drive to a number of race tracks, both road course and drag.

North Carolina cities or suburbs, no. I can't wait to get out of the Charlotte area. Overpriced, overpopulated, poor infrastructure, poor schools, shitty food, shitty politics, HOA nightmare, full of Karens.

I'm from New England (Massachusetts) and would never go back. My wife is as well (Connecticut) and she never wants to go back.

We are now in Virginia where my parents re-located to when I was young. I live and work in the Metro Richmond area. It's nothing exciting and I don't care for it. I'm tied to my job for another 16 years, but as soon as I can retire (I can retire at age 50) I think I'm out.

We've vacationed in Florida multiple times in multiple areas and I'm not a fan.

We've vacationed in California but I don't think I could live there.

We want to visit the PNW, but know that the experience will largely depend on the season.

My biggest draw right now is to western North Carolina/eastern Tennessee. I like the mountains, we visit the Tail of the Dragon every year, it's not too hot and not too cold. Still much more visiting to determine exactly where we would want to settle down, but my biggest draw would be to get away from people a bit and have a little space to myself. That's where I'm leaning right now, but plenty more to explore between now and then.

Word!

I moved from Michigan to Indiana (Ft Wayne, to be specific). The only difference was the COL and an abundance of cornfields. Moved back.

I moved from Michigan to Georgia (ATL, to be specific). To quote someone that told me this when I first moved here; "The spring & autumn are FANTASTIC! The winters suck balls and the summers are for masochists." I'm a masochist, I like it here except for the traffic, and driving on I-75/85, and people that can't seem to figure out traffic circles, and the traffic, and the pollen in March/April, and the lifted truck/rollin' coal bros, and the traffic.

Where is this, if I may ask?

You mentioned working in the city, but you also own a turbo Miata. So I'm guessing you're a Metro North or LIRR guy?

I might start looking in the upstate NY area again, I drove up to Auburn in December and passed through some nice secluded areas. I am pretty much done with the LI/NYC area, though.

I've never been out there, I had a friend many years ago describe life in Spokane as very "small town America". Also, apparently bonfires, all the time.

That is really thoughtful, thanks for your response! I can't say I've ever thought about living in WI before but I certainly am now :). It sounds like the winter season is slightly worse than what I'm used to in my current part of NY.

Ha, yeah CA is not on my radar at all. I believe many of my qualms with NY would be applicable there.

FL is also not on my radar at all - really not a fan of the.... Well, everything, but the humidity too :)

I do like the "away from civilization" feeling you get upstate, though that may just be a "grass is greener" fallacy. Being saddled with downstate NY regulations and taxes is a bit of a bummer though - everything is way way different north of say, Westchester.

Never been out there, but sounds like I should visit. I have a friend living in the Charlotte area; having glanced at housing prices of the area, it does seem quite inflated. I would dread having any involvement with an HOA.

I used to frequently visit the Richmond area, have a lot of fond memories there. I have heard some not great stories about VA law enforcement, though I've never dealt with them personally (seemed like there was a trooper posted up in every corner). I don't think I'd mind living there.

My previous job was headquartered in ATL, so while I've never been, I worked with a lot of people from there. I'm not sure I'd personally get on with GA culture, but I'll have to reserve judgement until I've been there myself :).

Indeed - LIRR for several years, hated almost every minute of it :rofl:. I am now fortunate enough to be primarily remote for a company based out of NJ.

The crappiest commuting year of my life was spent living in Wappinger's Falls, and riding the Hudson line into / out of Grand Central twice a day.

The best was the very next one, when I ended an engagement, moved to Manhattan, got an apartment at 83rd & 1st, and my daily commute became a jog across central park. That's a great way to live. Not cheap, but absolutely unbeatable in terms of quality of life.

Living in Hoboken the year prior to Wappinger's wasn't bad, though the PATH was sometimes inconvenient. Still, I didn't have a car there, either, which was nice.

I'd move back to Manhattan in a heartbeat if the right job presented itself, so you probably don't want to be taking advice from me in this matter.

But, for perspective, I have also lived in the following places:


1: Northern Ohio
2: Western Florida
3: Northern Florida
4: Cincinnati
5: San Diego
6: North Carolina (both tech triangle and later the coast)
7: San Jose
8: The various NYC & adjacent locations listed above
9: Greenville, SC
10: Chicago

So I feel as though I have a relatively broad range of experiences and perspectives. Due to my previous career, I've also spent periods of weeks to months temporarily residing in nearly every major city in the US, plus Papenburg & Bremerhaven in Germany.

For me, San Diego remains #2 to NYC. I did not at all enjoy Silicon Valley.

I hated Florida when I lived there, and I hate it every time I go back. (Family still lives there, recently moved up to Lerp from the ~ Tampa area.)

Cincinnati is... not worth remembering.

Western NC sucked ass. Coastal NC was slightly less horrible. Greenville was not horrible, but also not remarkable apart from not being a terribly long drive from Asheville.