Worst State in the United States

[LadyMistDragon]

6 hours ago, Widow said:

where I live, it's not too bad. I've lived here since 1987. The worst states? Oregon, Washington and California. I will never set foot on the west coast again.

You know at one end, I want to agree because ah, it feels like there's reasons why the northwest has its share of true crime cases is all I'll say there.....but also, while it can be really rainy in certain locations, it's personally more preferable than the humidity of fucking Florida.  Unless perhaps, you moved to somewhere like Colorado which actually wouldn't be too bad, though in the southwest, I'm sure it gets really hot.

[Fonze]

2 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna91364 (just a random article, plenty of others on other websites)

 

It also has to do with the fact that we rank very high in terms of drug use, which fuels these stories, our poor education system, our trailer parks that are everywhere in every city, the fact that we rank very high in terms of homelessness, the fact that "Florida Man" is a meme that generates revenue, etc. "Open records" are cool except when they're not - did a cop plant drugs on you? Congratulations, you're now all over the local news and TV, and anyone can find out just by searching your first and last name, three hours after you were arrested. Did you get cleared of those charges later on? Who cares! Want to find out the political affiliation of your neighbor? That's public information too, kept there forever on a state website anyone can access just by knowing your name and birthday! On the other hand, the Florida government that you're praising can just use executive action to hide whatever it would like to.

 

If you want my trying-to-be-sympathetic-and-realistic view, "Florida Man" is a way for the media to generate revenue by making fun of people who are already poor, addicted to drugs, homeless, and mentally ill - often all of the above. Sure, it's funny sometimes, but there's nothing fun about it, and the fact that our media does this (as allowed by our apparently one-sided public record laws set by our government) is cynical and serves nobody save for the media who profits off of such stories. They aren't helping you "steer clear of these people" by showing what they did wrong, they aren't "making the community safe", they aren't "on your side" like they all claim to be - they're just making fun of the lowest common denominator for attention and clicks, knowing that everybody loves to make fun of the people on rock bottom. I pass Florida Men on the street every day, they need rehab and therapy, not fifteen minutes of fame on TV that other people are getting paid for.

 

I agree with all of this, and I wasn't necessarily praising the Florida govt. I also pointed out a big problem I have with it too. My point was that "florida men" are everywhere and not just a symptom of florida; there are other factors at play to making the meme such a popular thing, such as arrest records being made public. Also 100% on 'these ppl need help not 15 minutes of fame others are cashing in on,' as a paraphrasing. Sorry if my post wasn't worded in the best way; I should have stated "in florida mans defense" instead of "in floridas defense."

[Kwisior]

45 minutes ago, Andrea Rovenski said:

churches everywhere on every single fucking street 

You would HATE living in Poland.

[OpenRift]

I'm gonna say either Florida or Texas. Though probably Florida is worse because at least Texas has the perk of lower taxes (not that that's saying a whole lot).

[OpenRift]

7 minutes ago, ChaseC7527 said:

California. theres a reason they're all migrating to TEXAS!!!!

It's the lower property tax. That's pretty much it.

[OniriA]

This thread makes me feel like I'm in America now.

 

I don't know what state though, it's all carved up stolen land anyway so who cares.

 

 

[Nikku4211]

The worst state has got to be plasma. I mean, your electrons are literally ripped from you at that point.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

1 hour ago, Fonze said:

I agree with all of this, and I wasn't necessarily praising the Florida govt. I also pointed out a big problem I have with it too. My point was that "florida men" are everywhere and not just a symptom of florida; there are other factors at play to making the meme such a popular thing, such as arrest records being made public. Also 100% on 'these ppl need help not 15 minutes of fame others are cashing in on,' as a paraphrasing. Sorry if my post wasn't worded in the best way; I should have stated "in florida mans defense" instead of "in floridas defense."

Oh it's okay, a lot of people do seem to honestly think that insane things like that are just routine sightings here in Florida compared to anywhere else in the country. My post wasn't meant as an attack on you, sorry if it came across that way.

 

@OniriA You're a cool member, but you don't need to keep posting "America was stolen and I don't care about America" every time America is mentioned. You already did this on 9/11. This is a thread about day to day life here, not the history of the country or even politics. Flamebait isn't cool. I'd like to think that people are allowed to discuss what they like and don't like about their place of living regardless of what part of the world they live in.

Edited September 20, 2023 by TheMagicMushroomMan

["JL" was too short]

All other things being equal there's probably few states I'd rather live in than California; trouble is the part where "all else being equal" includes stuff like being able to afford to live in a nice neighborhood (or live there at all).  I'm also not a fan of their gun laws if I'm being honest.

I tell people that the United States is weird because all but the very worst states have a lot of decent places to live and a fair chunk of good people, and conversely the "good states" might still have 30+% shitters in their population, spread out across the rural areas.  In terms of states where I definitely wouldn't want to live even if I were well set up in a nice suburban neighborhood or safe city neighborhood, it's probably like... West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida?  I think most of the others I'd at least consider for a minute.

[Bloxwess]

Probably California. I haven't been there myself, but I have a friend who used to live in LA and he said it was hell.

[Captain Keen]

I've lived in four states, 3 in the Midwest and one on the west coast. They've all had pros and cons. I see a lot of political commentary here and I'm just gonna be blunt, most of that is BS. It's especially amusing seeing that stuff spewed by people who admit they've never even visited, let alone lived in those areas. All cities have issues, as do rural areas. I've lived in both and there are perks and cons to each. Don't believe everything you see on the news. The myth of "crime ridden hellhole cities" is pushed by the politicians here in America who have a very deliberate agenda. Not all cities are equal, too, in their living standards. California has major wealth inequality issues, for example, that go beyond simple political talking points.

 

With that said, to me the worst states are the ones that have uninteresting geographical features and/or are really getting hammered by climate change. The south is the worst area in this regard, while also having some insane politics on top of it (far beyond anything you see elsewhere). The Midwest—though I don't live there anymore—has great lakes and fresh water and if anything the weather there has become more mild. They're probably some of the best states. They're also not all purely "red" or "blue" and I do think that's a good thing, to have a little bit of variety. I've always liked New England (think Vermont), though it also has its issues, and I've never lived there only visited. The west coast is such a diverse area that almost all of the typical BS that people spew about it is nonsense or at best half true. The southern states are the only ones I've visited where I think "damn this is bad." Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, etc. Georgia however is actually pretty cool, Atlanta is great. There is diversity everywhere, nowhere is just "one" thing.

 

With allllll of that said...

 

I do have to agree about Indiana. The motto is "crossroads of America" and ain't that the truth, you only go there to get somewhere better. But I half jest. Like I said, the Midwest has a loooottttt of perks you won't find elsewhere. Indiana is the worst of that bunch, though, and maybe the most boring state. It's all flat, lacking the variety of other states or the pure beauty of somewhere like Montana.

[Mr. Freeze]

As a Phoenician it's my sacred duty to rag on California but Cali is nowhere near as bad as Texas. Cali has a massive housing problem, Texas has that and some of the worst LGBT laws in the nation. You can enjoy the freedom of freezing or sweltering to death under ERCOT's shitty grid though I guess. 

[OniriA]

44 minutes ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

@OniriA You're a cool member, but you don't need to keep posting "America was stolen and I don't care about America" every time America is mentioned. You already did this on 9/11. This is a thread about day to day life here, not the history of the country or even politics. Flamebait isn't cool. I'd like to think that people are allowed to discuss what they like and don't like about their place of living regardless of what part of the world they live in.

 

I'm sorry for that misplaced comment and that it came off as hateful, that wasn't my intention. I have no hatred towards any American.

 

I could use a cowboy hat right now.

 

Ontopic: I would like to visit Texas one day.

Edited September 20, 2023 by OniriA

[Endless]

This is an interesting question that interest me as an outsider. I just know the basics of the historical and political context of the US, but when I try to look at it in the hypothetical scenario of where I would like to leave if I was a US citizen, it's honestly probably any of the West States and the Four Corners, mostly because of the geographical landscape. I'm a big "outdoors fan" and I'm enamored with mountains. The US West, to me, is absolute heaven on Earth.

 

 

I also like Arizona a lot, and I think I would actually enjoy living in Phoenix. I understand it is absolute hell due to the extremely high temperatures, but I'm very used to heat already, plus, Phoenix at least gets cold seasons every once in a while, and you can travel a few miles to the upper areas and there's already snow. Where I live, cold season is, at best, 18 Celsius, while the rest of the year mostly stays around 38 Celsius.

 

 

When it comes to the political, cultural, social, economical, etc situations, honestly, when you live in a third world country, even the trash of the US looks like a peaceful ranch in comparison. Except Florida, fuck that.

 

Also honorable mention to my favorite place in the entire world, a place I've never even been to lol: Lake Powell.

 

So, best state? For me, either Arizona, or Washington.

 

Worst one? Florida for me. It's pretty much the same compared to where I live, minus that many crocodiles and snakes.

[aloysiusfreeman]

The Pacific North West is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever been to, so despite all its faults (having lived in Portland, OR for a spell, I'm aware of many faults), I couldn't call any of them a worst state. 

 

I'm sure there are some good redeeming qualities of Texas, but their government is atrocious and is basically sparring with Florida on being the most regressive, reactionary state for simply cultural points. Just saw today how a Texas middle school teacher was fired for showing an illustrated version of Anne Frank's Diary. Their metro cities can't redeem that backwater 

[Lucius Wooding]

I'm just grateful my state hasn't come up. Kind of surprised because I know there are lots of haters out there.

[magicsofa]

If we're talking worst state to spend your life in... definitely West Virginia as their life expectancy is just under 75. Only Mississippi shares that honor (and American Samoa but that's a territory not a state, not confusing at all!).

 

Compare that to 80+ in many other states... amazing that I could drive to a place in my own country where people live 5 years less on average.

[Lila Feuer]

It's a tossup between California, Texas and Florida, depending on the day of the week. I was born in Texas and lived in California for nearly 20 years so I'm qualified to hate them. Florida though makes fun of itself without me trying to give it a hard time.

[Decay]

My perspective as a Canadian. You can pretty much play this game with the Canadian provinces too. Generally speaking, all states/provinces have ups and downs, and perspectives often come for what you are looking for. Nowhere is perfect, and for every positive there is a negative. Pleasing everybody is difficult, and corporations, money in politics, and cultural divides and class/culture wars don't help.

 

I have visited and/or driven through most of the Eastern seaboard and a bit inwards, as well as California. It's easy to say West Virginia/Virginia is shitty, but some of the mountain driving in the Appalachians was some of the best driving I've ever done. Detroit is utter trash but the area along Lake Michigan and the Sleeping Bear Dunes is glorious. Yea Florida is chewing itself apart but a sunset on the beach at St. Petersburg is relaxing. Tennessee and North Carolina have some great forested areas, and the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap is legendary. NYC is a concrete jungle but Lake Placid is a hiker's paradise. LA wasn't great but heading out into Temecula Valley was great. You get the picture. I've had colourful experiences everywhere.

 

Of the states I've visited: Michigan, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Hawaii, Virginia, West Virginia. The only one I can think of with no redeeming features whatsoever was Ohio. Maybe I'll have to give it a chance again when it isn't poisoning everyone with toxic fumes.

 

I'd also like to note that all of these perspectives do come from a privileged perspective. I have spent some time in unbelievably poor places, favelas and slums where plumbing is non-existent, clean water is a luxury, turning down the wrong street can be deadly, and life is a day-to-day grind. For all its faults, America is for the most part a good place, especially if you come from those parts as @Endless points out. There is a reason people make that dangerous journey everyday to get there.

[OpenRift]

2 hours ago, ChaseC7527 said:

better weather, better people, better laws, hell i believe it's a constitutional carry state too. (not to get political, but i call freedom a plus)

I wouldn't really say Texas has "better people" to be honest when your life can be made pointlessly more difficult in Texas (and similar states) if you happen to identify as trans, thanks to both certain kinds of people there and the government. America has this problem especially in states like Texas and Florida where the sense of freedom valued largely from what are called negative freedoms (freedom from government restraint) instead of positive freedoms (being able to act and express oneself based on one's free will). Positive freedoms in these kinds of cultures are commonly seen as "trying to push an agenda", or something paranoid like that. America somehow managed to ruin the concept of freedom for a lot of people, and places like Florida and Texas keep it that way.

 

Also I've heard very similar things about both California and Texas weather, and having been to both places, I can say that that seems to be the case. Despite how crap California is, I don't think their governor could get away with going on vacation during a record-breaking snowstorm. 

[Caffeine Freak]

1 hour ago, Captain Keen said:

I've lived in four states, 3 in the Midwest and one on the west coast. They've all had pros and cons. I see a lot of political commentary here and I'm just gonna be blunt, most of that is BS. It's especially amusing seeing that stuff spewed by people who admit they've never even visited, let alone lived in those areas. All cities have issues, as do rural areas. I've lived in both and there are perks and cons to each. Don't believe everything you see on the news. The myth of "crime ridden hellhole cities" is pushed by the politicians here in America who have a very deliberate agenda. Not all cities are equal, too, in their living standards. California has major wealth inequality issues, for example, that go beyond simple political talking points.

 

Have you lived in California, though? Because I've lived here for well over 15 years, and most of the problems I mentioned are pretty extensively documented and have been for a long time. It certainly IS used as a political talking point, but it sure as hell ain't a myth. Flash-mobs that target stores and malls to ransack them and empty the shelves are a pretty common occurrence now (I just linked 3 separate instances from around the state, all from within the last couple months, here's another one from a couple years ago), simply because people know they can get away with it. My wife works in the bay area, and theft is so brazen there that a chick she knows had the back of her car broken into *while she was in the vehicle*. And I'm only skimming the surface of the problem of theft---I'm not even touching on the issue of violent crime. The opioid crisis is absolutely real, and if you (understandably) don't believe the news media, you can see the results of it for yourself. 

 

It isn't and wasn't my intention to get political with this post or my previous one---I'm merely highlighting how egregious some of the problems the state faces are, and how nobody in charge seems to have a goddamn clue what to do about any of it.

Edited September 20, 2023 by Caffeine Freak

[OpenRift]

2 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

 

@OniriA You're a cool member, but you don't need to keep posting "America was stolen and I don't care about America" every time America is mentioned. You already did this on 9/11. This is a thread about day to day life here, not the history of the country or even politics. Flamebait isn't cool. I'd like to think that people are allowed to discuss what they like and don't like about their place of living regardless of what part of the world they live in.

I mean first of all, if there's going to be a topic about "worst US states", then you should know damn well that politics is going to be present in some capacity, because it contributes a lot to people's opinion on what the worst state is.

 

Also, they're not disallowing you from discussing this. The thread isn't closed, you can still reply to me if you want. I think there are much more incendiary things that one could reply with than what they said. I feel like if you're seeing this as flamebait, then that's a bit more telling about you than them.

Edited September 20, 2023 by OpenRift

[OpenRift]

People really only say California because of LA. Los Angeles is the second most populated city in the country. Of course it's gonna be a shitshow, the hell were you expecting? The more people you have in one place, the less manageable it is for the city and even state governments to handle its issues. If you see a politician that says they wanna clean up the city, they're lying, they want policy that will kill or incarcerate anyone who steps out of line, because it's just not logistically possible to do so within a single term without resorting to wildly unethical laws.

[Caffeine Freak]

People don't dump on California just because of LA though, and it isn't just LA that has these problems. Over half the links I posted were from other places.

Edited September 20, 2023 by Caffeine Freak

[Faceman2000]

As someone from Indiana, I’m gonna come out and defend it. It certainly isn’t a particularly interesting state to visit - as far as tourism goes, we’ve got some nice beaches along Lake Michigan, some cool Amish communities (so do Ohio and PA), and the world’s largest children museum (only relevant if you have kids.) Everyone complaining about how the whole state is flat haven’t spent much time in southern Indiana, where it’s a fair bit less monotonous, though I argue the rolling hills and farmland of the northern half are quite beautiful.

All that being said, it’s a fantastic place to live. Price of living is low, economy is typically quite solid, people are friendly. It’s a great place to raise a family. Living in northern Indiana, I can go to Lake Michigan for a dip, Chicago for a day, or hit up the roller coasters at Cedar Point (which alone is able to take Ohio of the “worst states list” for me.) I really like it here.

[Scuba Steve]

I'm not going to bother reading this thread because the answer is Wisconsin.

[nolongeramnion]

Not necessarily the worst to live in, but I'd wager that California is objectively the worst state ever created by the devil (William Jefferson Clinton).

[Seifensieder]

I only visited the states onces. Vacation in Florida when i was i kid. Have very fond memories of it. 
I really hope i can visit again in the near future. Travel is just expensive.

There so many places i would like to visit like New York, California, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Arizona and Texas for some proper BBQ. :D

Dont know whats the worst. I guess have to go there again to find out. ^^

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

1 hour ago, OpenRift said:

I mean first of all, if there's going to be a topic about "worst US states", then you should know damn well that politics is going to be present in some capacity, because it contributes a lot to people's opinion on what the worst state is.

 

Also, they're not disallowing you from discussing this. The thread isn't closed, you can still reply to me if you want. I think there are much more incendiary things that one could reply with than what they said. I feel like if you're seeing this as flamebait, then that's a bit more telling about you than them.

I don't believe Oni purposely sat down and tried to set a trap, but this is the second time in the past two weeks I've seen pretty much the same comment. As the saying goes "if you don't care, you don't need to comment". It's not hard to see why a comment that adds nothing at all to the conversation other than "America is stolen land" could be taken as bait, and I don't mean that as some gung-ho 'merica idiot. I replied to them voicing my opinion as respectfully as possible because for as long as they've been on here they've been a perfectly kind member. A comment like that typically ends up with replies that include personal insults and snide remarks. You've been here long enough that you know what I'm talking about, there has to be a limit on politics on this website or everything gets locked. I think that everyone on the planet has the right to not care about (or even hate) a country's government regardless of whether they live there or not, but if someone asked for the best places to live in China, replies like "who cares don't you guys remember Tiananman Square" add nothing of value. I don't care what you personally think it tells about me, I don't judge people based on solitary simple interactions on the internet.

[OniriA]

3 hours ago, Endless said:

 

 

 

 

I'd love to sit there with my guitar and just forget about myself while taking in that fresh, healing, rejuvenating air of divine nature.

 

55 minutes ago, Scuba Steve said:

I'm not going to bother reading this thread because the answer is Wisconsin.

 

And I'm going to be really cheesy right now and assume that is because you can't "scuba" there, huh Steve?

Talk to me!

Edited September 20, 2023 by OniriA