Good States to Live in the United States

Kido Butai said:
Northwest Arkansas real estate prices are hot because of mountain biking and the transplants from the left coast as well as Texas. I recommend Ft. Smith or anywhere Southwest Missouri.
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I'd say mountain biker types and those transplants tend to be closer to Fayetteville and Eureka, or close to Little Rock. If one goes to other parts of NW Arkansas it's very slow there. It is true that towards Ft Smith and in Southwest Missouri Ozarks the market is slower.
Another good option is Ouachita mountains in West-Central AR. NW Arkansas real estate market had been heating up since a while ago, 2018-19, but nothing like Tennessee, prices are are better too
 
analyst_green said:
The Ozarks are really nice. Not quite as beautiful as East TN, but also doesn't have the tourist/digital nomad crowds and exploding cost of living.
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East TN has the big National Park, one of the most visited parks in the country. Any real estate within about 100 miles radius from a park like this gets affected. Just one of the factors affecting the market.
Another thing that is attracting the crowds is no income tax.
TN is very developed state, fast paced too in my book, it is also easy to see on satellite night light map that population density and activity ramp up in TN compared to MO and AR. More peaceful and less crowded living starts West of TN and KY borders.
Way more ticks in AR, though, in summer they are a concern, and more tornados
 
Real estate market had been faster and more competitive in KY compared to Missouri and Arkansas, lots of people had been moving to KY clearly, though not as many as to TN.
Land and climate are very nice in KY, indeed, mild climate. But Eastern KY is heavily affected by drugs, something you do not see in TN mountains to that extent, or in the Ozarks, drugs are there but not right in your face like in Eastern KY. Further West in KY its more of a farmers culture out in the country, versus noticeable drugs and poverty culture. AR is culturally more open to outsiders that entire KY, I think. AR had been settled later than TN and KY, has a touch of Western feel and memories of Arkies having to leave during the Dust Bowl to go West, my feeling was that it's easier to be an outsider there.
 
The map in this tweet shows the places everybody is moving to. It's surprising that the boundaries of the areas seem to depend on their geographical traits. Some geographies are flourishing, and some are crashing.

Personally, I am drawn to the narrow high plains band that has been losing population. I think much of that area is beautiful, and I like the old-fashioned Americana culture there. You can't beat a town festival in that area with a rodeo and country music concerts in the summer.

You've got to love a rodeo that starts with an opening prayer, where everybody takes their cowboy hat off for the prayer, and the announcer (not some local pastor who only comes on for a minute) says a long prayer for everybody involved, and for our nation, and includes an invitation for anyone unsaved to come to Christ!

 
Thomas More said:
The map in this tweet shows the places everybody is moving to. It's surprising that the boundaries of the areas seem to depend on their geographical traits. Some geographies are flourishing, and some are crashing.

Personally, I am drawn to the narrow high plains band that has been losing population. I think much of that area is beautiful, and I like the old-fashioned Americana culture there. You can't beat a town festival in that area with a rodeo and country music concerts in the summer.

You've got to love a rodeo that starts with an opening prayer, where everybody takes their cowboy hat off for the prayer, and the announcer (not some local pastor who only comes on for a minute) says a long prayer for everybody involved, and for our nation, and includes an invitation for anyone unsaved to come to Christ!

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I don't know much about the area south of South Dakota on that map, but western SD is amazing. The whole state, really, has some pretty interesting terrain and not many people to compete with. There is a bit of a native issue similar to what we have in Canada, but it seems the government is much less enabling in SD than anywhere in Canada. So the problems are more local issues, rather than allowing their personal issues to become everyone's issue like they push here.
 
I really love the Western US, but the cost of living is a huge problem. I sometimes think of going to Michigan or Florida again, and it looks like a lot of people are doing the same. Both beautiful states and cheaper places to live.

Idaho and Montana are very popular places to go for conservatives on the West Coast. Amazing states, but getting expensive without the high wages.
 
Douglas Quaid said:
I really love the Western US, but the cost of living is a huge problem. I sometimes think of going to Michigan or Florida again, and it looks like a lot of people are doing the same. Both beautiful states and cheaper places to live.

Idaho and Montana are very popular places to go for conservatives on the West Coast. Amazing states, but getting expensive without the high wages.
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Florida ain’t cheap anymore, not since 2021. Most people see a 10-15% or more pay cut depending on industry. Recent migration stats are around 600k in and 500k out, with many moving to Tennessee, the Carolina’s, Georgia, and Alabama.
 
TheLearningWife said:
Florida ain’t cheap anymore, not since 2021. Most people see a 10-15% or more pay cut depending on industry. Recent migration stats are around 600k in and 500k out, with many moving to Tennessee, the Carolina’s, Georgia, and Alabama.
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Yes far too many people moved there.

If you're looking for a good cost of living to salary ratio, the best places now are in the Upper South, Texas, and the Midwest. And when you factor in competition, working conditions, PTO, and stress levels, I'd say the broader Midwest takes the crown in many industries.

Mid-size metros where jobs are plentiful like Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, or St. Louis offer some of the best quality of life for the average American. But aside from the material and career aspects, there are many reasons people stay away not the least of which is climate.
 
Florida is expensive in some areas, and cheap in others. Northern Florida in particular has several low cost of living areas. Then there's lots of places throughout the state that are in the middle.

But compared to where I live now, Florida is cheaper. Here the most basic houses start around $500k and tiny studio apartments around $1500 if you're lucky. And we have income tax.
 
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