Hah! New Jersey, number 6! Go, New Jersey!
It is our humor and our love of good food. Plus, we have some odd politicians.
You'll most likely have forgotten our Governor Jim McGreevry .... Christy looks normal in comparison.
Hah! New Jersey, number 6! Go, New Jersey!
.Hah! New Jersey, number 6! Go, New Jersey!
Sorry Wacky, don't take this personally. I have lived and worked in NJ on and off over my lifetime. Not sure if this is accurate.
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Sorry Wacky, don't take this personally. I have lived and worked in NJ on and off over my lifetime. Not sure if this is accurate.
NJ used to have cheap gas. That was always a +. I am scratching my head on this.
Virginia is #12. Lived here in this area all my life. Close to the beach, not too far from the mountains. Fairly mild winters. Probably will be right here the rest of my life.
I find it interesting that no one thus far has put in a plug for California, the most populous state of all. Although I am a 4th generation native Californian, I've lived in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, and Arizona during my "corporate America" years before returning to my roots about fifteen years ago. There are aspects of California that, frankly, drive me crazy: brutally high taxes, a bloated and inefficient state government, intrusive regulatory agencies, to name a few. But the things that bring millions here are also the things that vacationers find so attractive--spectacular natural beauty, a 600-mile long coastline, the ability to easily visit places that tourists travel around the world to see and which take me 1-3 hours in the car to go see, the dynamism of the corporate culture and the creativity of world-class companies producing incredible advances in technology all around us.
There aren't too many places in the U.S.--or in the world, for that matter--where you can be skiing in the morning and surfing before sunset, but you can do that in California. California has the lowest place (Death Valley) in the continental U.S. and the highest (Mt. Whitney). It has some of the most iconic National Parks in the country, headlined by Yosemite, one of the jewels of the National Park system. It has great cities--San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It has Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, Carmel and Monterey, the Mendocino Coast, Highway 1, and Disneyland.
Yes, it also has brutal traffic in the Bay Area and the L.A. Basin, a large homeless population due to its mild climate, and it's got Berkeley--to some, the wackiest place in the country.
But if you can afford to live here and are willing to put up with the downsides, it's pretty great.
How timely. Here's a list ranking how happy the residents of each state are. Hint: Florida isn't even in the happiest half. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...c53e4b027c149e2bdae?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Every year as the tornadoes hit the mid-west or hurricanes ravage Florida and the Gulf states, we opine that we'd rather live with the occasional earthquake.
I do like Virginia. We've thought about retiring there. Which part of the state are you in?
I find it interesting that no one thus far has put in a plug for California, the most populous state of all. Although I am a 4th generation native Californian, I've lived in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, and Arizona during my "corporate America" years before returning to my roots about fifteen years ago. There are aspects of California that, frankly, drive me crazy: brutally high taxes, a bloated and inefficient state government, intrusive regulatory agencies, to name a few. But the things that bring millions here are also the things that vacationers find so attractive--spectacular natural beauty, a 600-mile long coastline, the ability to easily visit places that tourists travel around the world to see and which take me 1-3 hours in the car to go see, the dynamism of the corporate culture and the creativity of world-class companies producing incredible advances in technology all around us.
There aren't too many places in the U.S.--or in the world, for that matter--where you can be skiing in the morning and surfing before sunset, but you can do that in California. California has the lowest place (Death Valley) in the continental U.S. and the highest (Mt. Whitney). It has some of the most iconic National Parks in the country, headlined by Yosemite, one of the jewels of the National Park system. It has great cities--San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It has Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, Carmel and Monterey, the Mendocino Coast, Highway 1, and Disneyland.
Yes, it also has brutal traffic in the Bay Area and the L.A. Basin, a large homeless population due to its mild climate, and it's got Berkeley--to some, the wackiest place in the country.
But if you can afford to live here and are willing to put up with the downsides, it's pretty great.
I live in the Hampton Roads area; near Virginia Beach, close to Williamsburg and about a three-hour drive up to the mountains.
You guys are getting me to second guess my decision to move to Florida 22 years ago
......... thinking.......
Nope still the best place I can think of.
The weather is great 3 months of the year and good another 6 months. Taxes are good housing prices good
Sandiego has better weather, but I can't afford the housing and taxes are outrageous
Western North Carolina deserves a look but I can't think of anyplace else that would please me
Certainly not the Pacific Northwest with all the rain
I agree with you and once you leave California, you can no longer afford to come back and buy real estate again or even rent a house.I like northern CA, southern, not so much. The things that would keep us from retiring there are very high income and property taxes; and the price of real estate.
I would look in Temecula or Murrieta Ron.My kids are in california and I agree there is something for everyone in california. I dock my boat in Sandiego and live on it when we are there. We are looking for a bigger boat or a house in what they call the "Inland Empire" (I can't afford the coast and don't like the desert)
By the way Maryland is another place where you can be skiing in the morning and at the Beach in the evening (but the water will be too cold)
As Mark Twain famously said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".I also agree that Northern California has much nicer scenery because it is more green plus it has San Francisco that is quite unique, interesting and picturesque but it can be freezing even in the summer when the wind is strong.
Weren't we surprised when we went there in July and had to buy heavy hooded sweatshirts from a street vendor. That guy was making a killing off tourists who, like us, assumed that summer in California would be hot.As Mark Twain famously said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".
I must say I'm quite surprised at the number of people here who don't want to live in Florida..
I found a place called Canyon Lake just west of Murrieta That I like.. no, different than florida in the summer, but close to san diego and the boatI would look in Temecula or Murrieta Ron.
To my mind, fires are a much bigger issue than earthquakes here in CA. We live on a canyon preserve and I worry about it every fall. Our area has been hit by fire twice in the last 15 years.
And to the OP's question, I have never been in Florida so I couldn't say. But I would never criticize someone's home. But we will probably be staying in CA to be near family.
as someone else here said, its all a matter of perception.. I hear some say that the traffic is bad... Not where I am, at least not compared to the DC Beltway that I used to drive everyday. and some object to the humidity. Its no different than where I came from (DC) at least its not a "dry heat" and the hurricanes? this is the first Ive run from in 22 years, , I didnt run very far, I ran to Orlando, and and as it turns out I could have stayed home. Im gonna get a generator for next time, and i wont even be tempted to leave next time Earthquakes and tornados, dont give enough warning to run at allInteresting. I thought there'd be a lot more.