Which state would you like to live in?

[Psinter]

I got invited to visit Washington on winter next year. Not knowing the geography of the states, I checked on the map and my immediate reaction to my friend was: "Uff! That's almost in the North Pole!" I'll have to think about it. Cold and me do not mix well.

Jokes aside, I realized how little I know about the different states (I had to check on the map to even know where it was located). I want to get to know other's opinions about different states. What better than asking which place you would like to live in. Which state would you like to live in and why? What does it make it an attractive place for living in your opinion?

 

[nomadreid]

Why is this in the Physics Forums? The question has nothing to do with any of the topics covered in this forum. I would advise looking at more appropriate forums on the Internet. That said, this becomes a fuzzy logic question, as there are a lot of factors: climate, cost of living, friendliness of people, activities available, pollution, not to mention political and religious questions. Based on the numbers of people who move to the different states, apparently California is the over-all favourite, but the priorities of others may not be yours. By the way, I am guessing you mean Washington State, not Washington, D.C.

 

[Mark44]

Why is this in the Physics Forums? The question has nothing to do with any of the topics covered in this forum. I would advise looking at more appropriate forums on the Internet.

The General Discussion forum section is devoted to general topics not covered by the more scientific forum sections here.

 

[Mark44]

I checked on the map and my immediate reaction to my friend was: "Uff! That's almost in the North Pole!"

Check your map again. I live in Washington (state) -- it's barely more than halfway to the North Pole. Seattle, WA is about 47.6° N in latitude. The climate in Western Washington (where Seattle is) is a marine climate, one that's moderated by its proximity to both Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. Being near the water, the weather is pretty mild -- not too cold in the winter, and not too hot in the summer.

If you come here in the winter, it will likely be at least cloudy and cool, with possible rain. Some parts of the state are very wet, and some are very dry. The wettest parts are on the seaward side of the Olympic Peninsula, where the rainfall can exceed 120" per year. As I recall, Seattle gets about 40" of rainfall annually.

 

[nomadreid]

Ah, I stand corrected. Sorry. So, to the OP, what priorities are you considering? Are you thinking only as a tourist / guest, or as a resident. The two are quite different.

 

[Mark44]

Which state would you like to live in and why? What does it make it an attractive place for living in your opinion?

As already mentioned, I live in Washington state, and I enjoy living here very much. Favorite activities include backpacking and climbing, and there are many opportunities for doing these in the Cascade and Olympic mountains. There are also lots of lakes as well as Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean for people who like boating.

 

[Janus]

I got invited to visit Washington on winter next year. Not knowing the geography of the states, I checked on the map and my immediate reaction to my friend was: "Uff! That's almost in the North Pole!"

Well, to be fair, the Northernmost point of the state is at 49° N, which puts it just 4° North of exactly halfway between equator and pole, and the Southernmost point is only 0.5° North of the halfway point.

I'll have to think about it. Cold and me do not mix well.

Latitude alone is not a good judge of how cold someplace will be. In terms of average winter temperature, Washington ranks at 21, While Kansas, which is quite a bit more South ranks 26. ( if you want cold, try where I was born, Minnesota, which ranks 48 (it is just barely beat out for the coldest of the lower 48 by North Dakota by a mere 2/10 of a degree. Most likely be cause part of the state extends further South than ND. It happened to live in the Northern part of the state.)
and even the average ranking can be a bit misleading. In Washington for instance, it depends on where in the state you live. The Eastern part of the state is going to have colder winters than the Western part. For example, In for Jan., Spokane has an average high of 34F and an average low of 25F. But if you head West to near the coast, these numbers rise to 49F and 37F 15 to 12 degrees warmer.

But then again, I don't know what you consider "cold".

 

[jtbell]

The climate in Western Washington (where Seattle is) is a marine climate, one that's moderated by its proximity to both Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. Being near the water, the weather is pretty mild -- not too cold in the winter, and not too hot in the summer.

But eastern Washington (Richland, Spokane, etc.) is a lot drier, with more extremes of temperature, because of the mountains in between, right?

I don't think it's very useful to consider most states as single units. Besides different climates in different sections of large states, you have to consider the cultural and economic differences between large cities, smaller cities and towns, and rural areas.

 

[Psinter]

Check your map again. I live in Washington (state) -- it's barely more than halfway to the North Pole. Seattle, WA is about 47.6° N in latitude.

It's an exaggeration .

By the way, I am guessing you mean Washington State, not Washington, D.C.

They are different? Pardon my ignorance. I don't know which one. The one that looks that is almost at the North Pole . I'm kidding guys. Don't get mad at me. The one in the north west of the map.

Are you thinking only as a tourist / guest, or as a resident. The two are quite different.

I would say as resident (any state) even though I do not plan to move. The purpose of the question is to get to know the different states better. Because if I ask someone what makes a place attractive for them as in living, answers could be more informative than just: "This place has an awesome fun park here and there" which is what tourists look for and provide really no information about the state and its residents. Like temperatures, average education of the people (I lived for a long time surrounded with people that didn't receive much education and I did not like it), friendliness, distances between cities, etc. Like if I were to ask for say... Ohio. Whatever makes it attractive to some for living there would be more interesting than just asking what makes Ohio a good place to visit.

But then again, I don't know what you consider "cold".

69F makes me shiver.

I don't think it's very useful to consider most states as single units.

I think you are right. I accept whatever answers for localized that they may be. It doesn't have to speak for the whole state.

Let's say you ask me about which place I find attractive to live in my country. In my opinion the level of education of the average citizen would count for attractiveness if I ever wanted to move somewhere. For instance, the west of where I live has a lot of academics. It is pleasant to live between them. It isn't too humid like living next to a forest, but it isn't too dry either like in the south. There are many cities and most importantly they are not too big. That makes a trip to whatever store a short trip rather than traveling for miles and miles just to buy some rice. And the importance of cities in my opinion is 24 hour stores. I like making groceries at night. It is calm and you don't bump into people on the stores like you do during the day's pandemonium. That's not something you find on the north, east or south of my place. And that's what makes the west of the place an attractive place to live in.

Favorite activities include backpacking and climbing, and there are many opportunities for doing these in the Cascade and Olympic mountains. There are also lots of lakes as well as Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean for people who like boating.

Is that what they call "The Pacific Northwest?"

 

[Mark44]

But eastern Washington (Richland, Spokane, etc.) is a lot drier, with more extremes of temperature, because of the mountains in between, right?

Yes. Our winds typically comes from the southwest, and have a lot of moisture. As the air rises, it cools, and tends to dump its moisture on the western side of the mountains. The same process is in effect in the Olympics, with the western side getting lots of rain, and the area in the lee of the mountains is quite dry. For example, Sequim, WA, on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula, gets about 18 " of rain annually.

Seattle is somewhat protected, getting about 35" a year, but as you head up toward the crest of the Cascades, rainfall doubles.

They are different? Pardon my ignorance. I don't know which one. The one that looks that is almost at the North Pole . I'm kidding guys. Don't get mad at me. The one in the north west of the map.

Washington, DC (District of Columbia) is the nation's capitol, and is on the east coast. Washington State is on the west coast, and borders the Canadian province of British Columbia.

69F makes me shiver.

For the last couple of weeks, it's been pretty hot, at least by our standards, with temps in the mid-80s to the mid-90s (F). If 69 deg F makes you shiver, you'll need a lot of warm clothes if you visit here in the winter, although it's not really all that cold here (you would think so, though). If you really want to experience a cold climate, take a trip to Montana or N. or S. Dakota in the winter. During cold spells, it gets down to -40 (C or F), and can get colder in some areas. Minnesota also gets very cold weather.

Is that what they call "The Pacific Northwest?"

Yes.

 

[davenn]

I would prefer to live in the state of contentment

ohhh ohhh haha

If I was to move to the USA, my first choice of area would be any of nthrn California -> Oregon -> Washington states

That whole PNW region really appeals to me. Reminds me so much of my home region back in New Zealand
snow capped mountains, forest covered lower slopes, temperate climate, Great for my geology and astronomy interestsDave

 

[nomadreid]

Like temperatures, average education of the people (I lived for a long time surrounded with people that didn't receive much education and I did not like it), friendliness, distances between cities, etc.

Ah, one problem is that some of these can be conflicting: for example, in the first two -- in the east and midwest (excluding the west coast), generally the northern states have an overall general education level which is higher than in the south, but the temperatures are of course lower in the north. Also, of course, the northeast has shorter distance between cities, but again colder climates, and the friendliness of certain cities tends to be rated lower than in the south. Friendliness is however relative, as the south, although famed for its friendliness, also traditionally has a greater level of prejudice, so they are no longer so friendly if you are on the "wrong" side of the prejudices. These are generalizations, and so perhaps you want to look at pockets instead of states. University towns, for example, are often nice islands. Then, note that I excepted the west coast: the climate difference from north-south is inevitable, and so southern California seems to have a lot of pluses, but then it is also quite expensive.

 

[davenn]

and so southern California seems to have a lot of pluses,

if you don't count the earthquakes, massive bushfires and landslides

 

[gmax137]

These are generalizations

Yeah, more like stereotypes, "widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing."

 

[nomadreid]

Yeah, more like stereotypes, "widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing."

Fair enough, but then it is up to you to either correct them or to make them more precise. So, for example:
educational level: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_educational_attainment
temperature gradient, north to south: https://www.distancefromto.net/distance-between-united-states-cities
(modified by a few other factors, such as whether coastal or inland)
distances between cities: use https://www.distancefromto.net/distance-between-united-states-cities
cost of living for California: for instance, https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/los-angeles-ca/hartford-ct/100000
The weakest points are friendliness and prejudices, both being difficult to quantify, and there are many subcategories of each: for prejudices, there is a wide range: racism against various ethnic groups, homophobia, antisemitism, anti-LGBT, misogyny, political, religious, xenophobia, etc. There is lots of data quoted to contrast the north and the south, whereby sometimes one side, sometimes the other side comes out worse, and also these are in flux: hence the "traditionally". So maybe it would not be a good idea to open this can of worms here. But one can put the other generalizations or stereotypes up for more objective examination, which is why I listed them.

 

[jtbell]

I think in the US, rather few people move somewhere simply because they think it would be nice to live there. Most people move somewhere either because they've gotten a job or hope to find a job there. My first long-distance move was to graduate school to study for a Ph.D. which is sort of a job. My other two moves were to places where I had gotten a college-teaching job. In each of those two cases, my job search had produced one job offer, and my previous job had come to an end, so I had no choice about where to go if I wanted to stay in the same kind of work. I simply crossed my fingers and hoped life would turn out acceptably well at my new location.

People do often move by choice after they retire from work. In the US, it's common for retired people to move from the northeast and midwest to the south (e.g. Florida or Arizona) to escape cold and snow in the winter. My parents and one of my aunts did this. One of my cousins moved from upstate New York to northern California (not far from Sacramento). I've lived in the south for many years already for work, so this isn't a factor for me.

Many retired people also move from expensive places to cheaper places, to stretch their pensions and savings further. This also encourages moving from especially the big cities of the northeast, to the south. My brother moved from the San Francisco area to Arizona after he retired, because he and his wife simply could not afford to live in the SF area on his pension.

My wife and I have both retired from our full-time college-teaching jobs, so we could move if we wanted to. However, we have no urge to do so right now. First, she still teaches part time and enjoys working with her long-time colleagues. Second, it would be a major hassle to clean out our house after living here for 30 years.

I myself would probably want to look at small to medium sized cities with a major university, for cultural opportunities and good medical facilities. For example, Ann Arbor, Michigan (where I went to grad school, but it has winter); Madison, Wisconsin (also has winter); Athens, Georgia; or Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

One kind of place where we definitely do not want to live is a large suburban-sprawl type area. We like living in a reasonably compact area where we can walk to at least some activities, don't need to drive far for the others, and there isn't too much congestion. My parents retired to southeast Florida (the urban strip that extends from Miami to West Palm Beach), and for many years we visited them there every year, usually staying for about a week at a time. We enjoyed the beach, but we didn't enjoy driving through miles and miles of busy highways to do almost everything. My wife grew up in the suburbs of New York City, and has no desire to live any place like that again. I've always lived in small to medium-sized cities, about 200,000 people maximum. Our current city is less than 10,000.

 

[Janus]

I think in the US, rather few people move somewhere simply because they think it would be nice to live there. Most people move somewhere either because they've gotten a job or hope to find a job there. My first long-distance move was to graduate school to study for a Ph.D. which is sort of a job. My other two moves were to places where I had gotten a college-teaching job. In each of those two cases, my job search had produced one job offer, and my previous job had come to an end, so I had no choice about where to go if I wanted to stay in the same kind of work. I simply crossed my fingers and hoped life would turn out acceptably well at my new location.

My folks moved from Minnesota to Washington during the Depression so Dad could get work on the construction of Grand Coulee dam and then from there to Northern California to work on Shasta dam, then back up to SW Washington where he worked as a carpenter for a housing project for shipyard workers. After the War, they resettled in SW Wash., but eventually moved back to Minn.( where I was born) because Dad was having respiratory problems that they thought might be linked to the wet climate. (It turned out not the be the case but actually due to dust from his job.

People do often move by choice after they retire from work. In the US, it's common for retired people to move from the northeast and midwest to the south (e.g. Florida or Arizona) to escape cold and snow in the winter. My parents and one of my aunts did this. One of my cousins moved from upstate New York to northern California (not far from Sacramento). I've lived in the south for many years already for work, so this isn't a factor for me.

And when Dad got set to retire, he moved us back out West, because he wasn't going to spend his retirement shoveling snow. I've lived in the Pacific NW ever since.

 

[Psinter]

in the east and midwest (excluding the west coast), generally the northern states have an overall general education level which is higher than in the south

Surely there must be one place in the US that one could point to and everyone who lives in the states would recognize it immediately as a place full of academics. Am I right? Like if someone were to say... I don't know... "Denver" and everyone would immediately recognize it as a place full of students, scientists, engineers, and whatnot. This is an example, I don't remember where I got that name from. Must have read it somewhere.

perhaps you want to look at pockets instead of states

Looks like that would be more accurate.

If 69 deg F makes you shiver, you'll need a lot of warm clothes if you visit here in the winter, although it's not really all that cold here (you would think so, though)

Definitely:

I don't know about others, but that would be me with taking out my winter clothes. 70 is cold.

 

[Stephen Tashi]

A friend of mine told me that time stops in Arizona. He was bar hopping in Phoenix sometime after midnight. He looked at a big time/temperature sign and it said 104. After visiting another bar, he looked at the sign again and it still said 104.

 

[jtbell]

View attachment 228855
I don't know about others, but that would be me with taking out my winter clothes. 70 is cold.

Whenever we visited my parents in Florida for Christmas, we all always joked about the "natives" wearing jackets and sweaters at 70 F.

It does get cold there sometimes. One Christmas Eve, snowflakes were sighted in Miami. The heater in my parents' apartment couldn't keep up, so we spent Christmas day driving around so we could keep warm in the car.

 

[ZapperZ]

Which state would I like to live in? The ground state.

Zz.

 

[gfd43tg]

Vermont, unfortunately it’s hard to find the work I do in that state.

 

[Mark44]

70 is cold.

If you think this is cold, you better not come here (Seattle) in December.

 

[fresh_42]

If you think this is cold, you better not come here (Seattle) in December.

I admit, I have to agree

70 [°Ra] is cold.

I like temperatures around 470°Ra but only with a continental climate, i.e. rather dry air.

 

[Mondayman]

I'd want to live in Masschusetts, sole reason being that I've been a lifelong Bruins-Patriots fan.

70 is cold.

Oh, you would really dislike northern Canada

 

[LLD1231]

When I retire in a few years, I plan to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I love it there. My second choice is Colorado. I currently live in Texas and, while I really love the state, I'm sick to death of floods, hurricanes, humidity, and heat. I think clearer and feel more inspired when I'm in dryer climates.

 

[Psinter]

If you think this is cold, you better not come here (Seattle) in December.

I don't know what place of Washington they meant to invite me. But there is no doubt in my mind that whatever the place it would be awesome. I think summer would be better though.

Vermont, unfortunately it’s hard to find the work I do in that state.

Looking for Vermont in Wikipedia, I am overwhelmed by the amount of information . And that is only one state! Why is the US so big and varied! It will take ages to get to know the states .

I like temperatures around 470°Ra but only with a continental climate, i.e. rather dry air.

You made me look for a conversion for that.

I'd want to live in Masschusetts, sole reason being that I've been a lifelong Bruins-Patriots fan.

Wikipedia says Massachusetts has 121 institutions of higher education. The place must be full of academics. That makes it sound like an attractive place.