Americans, tell me about your state
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New Jersey born and raised here as well. The jokes are true but I much prefer Jersey to the other states I've visited.The Rogue Wolf said:
Living in San Antonio, Texas now. It's alright. Way too hot, nobody here knows how to fucking drive, and the whole Texas pride thing really grinds my gears.
Hell, they even have city pride here! I don't just have to hear about how super sexy and great Texas is, I have to fucking hear how super sexy and great whatever bumfuck city or town people come from is!
I don't understand it and it's annoying as fuck.
But rent is cheap so that's nice.
From Arkansas, can confirm.BaronVH said:
The Northwest part is especially unusual. It's an odd meeting point of down-south conservative and extreme liberal, in between Eureka Springs and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The town I grew up in was only a few miles from Eureka Springs, so it was a bit odd to grow up in a stereotypical conservative southern town, then drive ten miles to the west and wind up in a magical land of weed, arts and crafts, car shows, and "Diversity Weekends".
It's also worth noting that three of the country's largest companies (Walmart in Bentonville, Tyson Foods in Springdale, and JB Hunt Transportation in Lowell) make their headquarters in my part of the state.
The weather sucks here even more than it does in other parts of the state, too. Mostly because of its unpredictability; it's not unusual for the weather to be 68 degrees and gorgeous at the beginning of the week, only for a blizzard to roll through at the end of the week. Then, the snow is gone two days later and we're back to spring weather. Or, we can get ice storms that last for two weeks...or we can have our summers last well into November.
The state still has poverty issues, especially in the south of the state. But overall, I like it here.
Florida, and it's a weird place. (There's a reason why Florida Man exists.)
South Florida has a history of attracting snowbirds, so there's a mix of New England (especially New York) as well as Cuban influence depending on how south. The farther north you go, the more "South" the state seems because you start teetering the edge of the Bible Belt. It's also where old people go to die, and my hometown was basically Florida's Florida in that respect. My hometown is also notoriously rude/snobbish, to the point that "you don't act like you're from here" is a compliment. Still, living so close to the beach was nice, and there's plenty of decent people there regardless of its reputation.
Florida does get fairly hot though. The high humidity tends to make things feel warmer than they actually are, especially compared to desert heat. If you're closer to the ocean, then the breeze helps keep things consistent though. As you get further from the coast, the heat can really get unbearable though. Growing up in this heat makes prospects of leaving Florida intimidating though, because I have near zero experience with snow, and I think the low sunlight hours in the northern winters would fuck with me pretty bad.
South Florida has a history of attracting snowbirds, so there's a mix of New England (especially New York) as well as Cuban influence depending on how south. The farther north you go, the more "South" the state seems because you start teetering the edge of the Bible Belt. It's also where old people go to die, and my hometown was basically Florida's Florida in that respect. My hometown is also notoriously rude/snobbish, to the point that "you don't act like you're from here" is a compliment. Still, living so close to the beach was nice, and there's plenty of decent people there regardless of its reputation.
Florida does get fairly hot though. The high humidity tends to make things feel warmer than they actually are, especially compared to desert heat. If you're closer to the ocean, then the breeze helps keep things consistent though. As you get further from the coast, the heat can really get unbearable though. Growing up in this heat makes prospects of leaving Florida intimidating though, because I have near zero experience with snow, and I think the low sunlight hours in the northern winters would fuck with me pretty bad.
Lets back that one up with some data:KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime said:
http://www.laweekly.com/news/california-drivers-continue-to-rank-among-the-nations-worst-7664327
California is #2
Guess who's #1? Utah.
Guess where I live right now? Utah
I'm not originally from here, but I was brought up here for a job. There are certain things that I love about the area, such as the mountains and hills, and I'm never too far from open space (and my house is adjacent to the mountains and a good hiking trail!). The job market is pretty good, too.
The downsides are the aforementioned drivers, that the politics are really skewed towards ultra-conservative, with some really weird hang-ups. There's a saying that "Coffee is illegal" here (and I have to drive an hour if I want better coffee than Starbucks... And even Starbucks is over 15 minutes away), and A LOT of people look down upon ever watching a movie that's rated R. Winters are also long and suffer from inversions, which wreck havoc on the air quality. The summers can get pretty hot, too. Local food is also quite bland, featuring few specialties.
I'm originally from New Mexico, the land of open space, spicy food (green chile, especially), wonderful sunshine, and beautiful open skies. I grew up in the mountains, which were full of pines and aspens. Desert scenery is also readily accessible, which can be gorgeous. Weather is generally much nicer in New Mexico, with the winters generally being brief and temperatures mild (yet the nearby mountain still had enough snow for a ski resort). The summers are better then where I am now, too. Overall highs were (slightly) lower, and summer heat is further tempered by monsoon rain. The people are also some of the friendliest that you'll ever meet. Cost of living is also pretty reasonable.
Downsides? Well, I hope you like wind. There's a lot of it. The job market is also rather rough, which is why I'm in Utah.
With any luck, my next career move will take me back, but things are at least alright where I'm at.
Huh, surprisingly large number of Missourians here on the escapist.
Also from Missouri. Southern, rural part of the state, near the Arkansas border. Can't say much about the people, since I live in a house in a forest surrounded by farmland... probably a dozen wild/domesticated animals for every person in my immediate vicinity. The average small town will have four or five churches, all protestant Christian, of course, people are polite and friendly, but tend toward passive aggression if they don't like something about you. Not really bad, not really good, just people being people.
I will say that cost of living is awesome down here, though. When I worked my last job, I wound up renting a 3 bedroom house. I live alone, have absolutely no need for all that space, but it was the closest to my job I could find, and all it cost me to rent it, all utilities included, was about 600 dollars a month. My current living arrangement is a little more than half that.
Also from Missouri. Southern, rural part of the state, near the Arkansas border. Can't say much about the people, since I live in a house in a forest surrounded by farmland... probably a dozen wild/domesticated animals for every person in my immediate vicinity. The average small town will have four or five churches, all protestant Christian, of course, people are polite and friendly, but tend toward passive aggression if they don't like something about you. Not really bad, not really good, just people being people.
I will say that cost of living is awesome down here, though. When I worked my last job, I wound up renting a 3 bedroom house. I live alone, have absolutely no need for all that space, but it was the closest to my job I could find, and all it cost me to rent it, all utilities included, was about 600 dollars a month. My current living arrangement is a little more than half that.
Arizonian here.
Um... It's hot as hell during the summer, full of dust with dust storms in the summer, and it's a bit boring here, especially in the summer.
Basically the summer here sucks.
We have great Mexican food, so I think that makes up a lot for how weird this place is.
Um... It's hot as hell during the summer, full of dust with dust storms in the summer, and it's a bit boring here, especially in the summer.
Basically the summer here sucks.
We have great Mexican food, so I think that makes up a lot for how weird this place is.
Well, no Kansans have chimed in yet. So I will. And yes some people have brought up Kansas City... which is in Missouri and not Kansas. Well most of it. Like, a 16th of Kansas City is in Kansas... and some KC suburbs are in Kansas. Just... its kind of complex.
Anyway Kansas. Its about 70% farmland and 25% pasture land that's slightly too rocky for farming. Its flat... really flat. Most of it anyway. It gets a little hillier in what's called the flint hills, otherwise very little and gradual elevation changes. I live in KS largest city (Wichita) and the county I live in is still around 50% farmland. Its not all wheat. Maybe 30 years ago that was true, but modern farmers rotate crops through many different kinds now.
The people. Mostly really nice and polite. There are without a doubt pockets of gun freaks (like live on compounds freaks not just 2nd amendment enthusiasts) and race "purity" types. But most of those seem to go out of the way to NOT be noticed. Even if the average Kansan you run across happens to be more racist than most, generally they'll do a pretty good job of hiding it behind politeness. Things are a little more actually diverse and cultured in the towns. Like Wichita for example, we (generations ago) had an influx of immigrants from Lebanon and the food and design and religion have made an impression. There are a lot of opinionated and right wingers that are a little more vocal at the moment (easier to be closed minded, racist, and sexist in a group I guess) but that in itself is a stereotype. As long as they aren't going on and on about religion or guns or how some "insert group of people" are bad because "insert reason stereotype" they are basically OK. Of course they get along with me, a white man... mileage may vary.
But for the most part, its nice. Wichita that is. My commute is only 18 minutes and I go across town. A downtown area called "oldtown" is at the end of a revitalization project and is a really cool place to hang out, when I was a kid it was a rundown crime alley warehouse hole. We have a museum district, minor league soccer, baseball, and hockey. Traffic is murder if you are 5 minutes late, parking is a ***** if it takes more than 2 minutes to find a spot... see not really that bad. And we don't have KC's barbecue... that's true. We only have 2 bbq places that are in the same ballpark really. But we do have some local gems. I live next to a cheap, awesome Italian joint. Like Fazoli's prices but Chianti bottle candles and musician you have to pay to go away quality. A mile away from that is a restaurant that is authentic El Salvadorian.
Anyway Kansas. Its about 70% farmland and 25% pasture land that's slightly too rocky for farming. Its flat... really flat. Most of it anyway. It gets a little hillier in what's called the flint hills, otherwise very little and gradual elevation changes. I live in KS largest city (Wichita) and the county I live in is still around 50% farmland. Its not all wheat. Maybe 30 years ago that was true, but modern farmers rotate crops through many different kinds now.
The people. Mostly really nice and polite. There are without a doubt pockets of gun freaks (like live on compounds freaks not just 2nd amendment enthusiasts) and race "purity" types. But most of those seem to go out of the way to NOT be noticed. Even if the average Kansan you run across happens to be more racist than most, generally they'll do a pretty good job of hiding it behind politeness. Things are a little more actually diverse and cultured in the towns. Like Wichita for example, we (generations ago) had an influx of immigrants from Lebanon and the food and design and religion have made an impression. There are a lot of opinionated and right wingers that are a little more vocal at the moment (easier to be closed minded, racist, and sexist in a group I guess) but that in itself is a stereotype. As long as they aren't going on and on about religion or guns or how some "insert group of people" are bad because "insert reason stereotype" they are basically OK. Of course they get along with me, a white man... mileage may vary.
But for the most part, its nice. Wichita that is. My commute is only 18 minutes and I go across town. A downtown area called "oldtown" is at the end of a revitalization project and is a really cool place to hang out, when I was a kid it was a rundown crime alley warehouse hole. We have a museum district, minor league soccer, baseball, and hockey. Traffic is murder if you are 5 minutes late, parking is a ***** if it takes more than 2 minutes to find a spot... see not really that bad. And we don't have KC's barbecue... that's true. We only have 2 bbq places that are in the same ballpark really. But we do have some local gems. I live next to a cheap, awesome Italian joint. Like Fazoli's prices but Chianti bottle candles and musician you have to pay to go away quality. A mile away from that is a restaurant that is authentic El Salvadorian.
Missouri - if you look up "red state" in a dictionary, it would say "See: Missouri". Beautiful countryside contrasted by ugly, ugly people, both inside and out. The center of the Midwest's methamphetamine trade, as well as any number of other illegal substances, most gas stations carry a variety of paraphernalia in the hopes that the state might one day legalize recreational drug use. However, contrary to that, our voters consistently vote heavily conservative republican, thus dashing any hope for a vote even reaching the state floor. Casually racist in the country and overtly so in the major cities, we hide our prejudice behind a folksy exterior. We are kind and wave at everyone on the outside but once you talk to us, you realize how backward we really are. If you are liberal-minded as I am, either run away screaming or find a deep cave in the hills, of which there are many, and hide and never come out. There is a lot of open land if you know where to look, so surviving strictly on a diet of hunting and foraging is entirely possible, what with our overpopulation of deer since we've killed all but a few of their natural predators.
But seriously, when I first played Bioshock Infinite, all I could think was "I really gotta get tickets to the local amusement park".
But seriously, when I first played Bioshock Infinite, all I could think was "I really gotta get tickets to the local amusement park".
Southern Idaho. High mountain desert climate. Lots of sage brush.
Famous for Russet Potatoes. They're delicious.
Politically, it's one of the most tragically republican states outside of the south. Naturally, education and wages are terrible, but at least we get to have lots of guns. and potatoes. Did I mention the potatoes?
Famous for Russet Potatoes. They're delicious.
Politically, it's one of the most tragically republican states outside of the south. Naturally, education and wages are terrible, but at least we get to have lots of guns. and potatoes. Did I mention the potatoes?
Minus the shift in Kentucky politics over the recent cycles, it's a good state. Wineries and distilleries in every direction, balanced weather pattern, close enough to Ohio for day trips. We have a state tax but having driven in a fifth of the US, by far one of the best maintained road systems.
Now there are regions in the coal region that really need some serious economic help but that's due to the decline of the coal industry that half the state is in denial about. But there's bourbon everywhere, I swear it's in the drinking water.
Now there are regions in the coal region that really need some serious economic help but that's due to the decline of the coal industry that half the state is in denial about. But there's bourbon everywhere, I swear it's in the drinking water.