Best USA state to move to

[pluto123]

Hi everyone.
Just have a question and looking for suggestions.
What would be the best US state to live in at the moment with everything else going on I. This world? With the ability to work and own a home.

I live in New York and it seems to expensive. Can’t seem to be able to achieve goals here.

Thanks

 

[Beau]

If you have the ability to get a decent mortgage, then I would absolutely recommend western NC. But even out here, real estate is selling over market price and people often report getting turned down even after offering 10-20% over asking price. Your mileage may vary, but that could well be the norm nationwide.

Do you want to live in or near a big city, or are you open to a more rural locale? All big cities are going to be expensive. Do you want to stay close to the northeast? There's lots of decent small-to-medium sized cities throughout middle America that are going to be good places to live, safe, not too crowded, and affordable housing. A lot of people will say Florida because of its governor and how they handled covid, but word of mouth tells me housing is even crazier down there because of the mass migration of people after 2020. Not to mention hurricanes and other possible weather issues make Florida a bit sketchy IMO. One reason I recommend western NC is because of the mountains giving protection from most natural disasters, and the low population means you're not dealing with much crime, traffic, or crazy people. You could choose east Tennessee, north Georgia or the South Carolina highlands and the same would apply.

 

[Ca.]

I live in New York and it seems to expensive. Can’t seem to be able to achieve goals here.

Back in July, I visited the small town of Medford, Oregon.

It's worth an investigation, but be vigilant of all you can of the subtleties of its past and present.
Good luck with your quest.

Medford, Oregon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Medford is located approximately 27 miles (43 km) north of the northern border of California.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.74 square miles (66.67 km2), of which 25.73 square miles (66.64 km2) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) is water.[30]

Medford is situated in the remains of ancient volcanic flow areas as demonstrated by the Upper and Lower Table Rock lava formations and nearby Mount McLoughlin and Crater Lake, which is the remains of Mount Mazama.[31][32]

Medford (Oregon) – Travel guide at Wikivoyage

en.wikivoyage.org

Blue State:
No state sales tax +
Crime
Real estate:
Rentals
Home Purchase

Jun 13, 2023

 

[Honzap]

We made our move from a very nice suburb close to Nashville to a rural area east of the state about 4 years ago. We were not clueless with regards to what we were getting ourselves into, however missed several rather important bits.
Rural living is not as cheap as some might think. Well, it is cheaper to get the acreage compared to a city. Yes. But, salaries here are smaller, 25 to 50% smaller for the same job in the same state in comparison to a city. Everything else costs the same. Groceries, gas...you name it.
Oh, actually the electricity is also more expensive in rural areas, because less of transformer stations, longer distances and more frequent outages due to environmental factors. Internet may not have coverage so the only other option is a satelite which is slow and expesive.

So it is not a specific state to be looking for. Perhaps established friendly base (family and friends) in the new place is a better way to go about it.

Either way, good luck with your decision!

 

[Yupo]

There's a good book you might want to have a look at called Strategic Relocation; A guide to safe places in North America by Joel Skousen. He has other good books on building safe structures, preparing for hard times and such as that. This book covers hazards like volcanos, fault lines, military installations (and other likely hot war targets) as well as local political sentiment/trends and current taxation situations Information is provided on industries, infrastructure, escape routes and recommendations for living in problem areas if you must do so. My copy is about 10 years old, and I found it maybe 99% accurate for my region, in that he missed a minor military target. He publishes regular updates.
I agree with Beau that the mountains of western NC (and adjacent states) can be a good place, albeit rather pricey at the moment. Personally, I'd steer clear of Asheville, getting well West of there due to the (reportedly) high crime rate.

JoelSkousen.com

Design/remodeling of high security, survival homes, with built-in vault room, security shelter and alternate energy

joelskousen.com

 

[mimimari]

Hi Pluto123, I agree with the good ideas given so far. Balance between climate, jobs, and nearness of family and friends would be an ideal place to live.

Thanks for sharing, Yupo! This book sounds really cool!

There's a good book you might want to have a look at called Strategic Relocation; A guide to safe places in North America by Joel Skousen. He has other good books on building safe structures, preparing for hard times and such as that. This book covers hazards like volcanos, fault lines, military installations (and other likely hot war targets) as well as local political sentiment/trends and current taxation situations Information is provided on industries, infrastructure, escape routes and recommendations for living in problem areas if you must do so. My copy is about 10 years old, and I found it maybe 99% accurate for my region, in that he missed a minor military target. He publishes regular updates.
I agree with Beau that the mountains of western NC (and adjacent states) can be a good place, albeit rather pricey at the moment. Personally, I'd steer clear of Asheville, getting well West of there due to the (reportedly) high crime rate.

JoelSkousen.com​

Design/remodeling of high security, survival homes, with built-in vault room, security shelter and alternate energy
joelskousen.com

 

[Evan]

If you have the ability to get a decent mortgage, then I would absolutely recommend western NC. But even out here, real estate is selling over market price and people often report getting turned down even after offering 10-20% over asking price. Your mileage may vary, but that could well be the norm nationwide.

Do you want to live in or near a big city, or are you open to a more rural locale? All big cities are going to be expensive. Do you want to stay close to the northeast? There's lots of decent small-to-medium sized cities throughout middle America that are going to be good places to live, safe, not too crowded, and affordable housing. A lot of people will say Florida because of its governor and how they handled covid, but word of mouth tells me housing is even crazier down there because of the mass migration of people after 2020. Not to mention hurricanes and other possible weather issues make Florida a bit sketchy IMO. One reason I recommend western NC is because of the mountains giving protection from most natural disasters, and the low population means you're not dealing with much crime, traffic, or crazy people. You could choose east Tennessee, north Georgia or the South Carolina highlands and the same would apply.

I have to agree. Back in the 90s I moved for a time from Southern California to a little town called Edneyville by the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville. It was absolutely beautiful and the people were another level of friendly. I would live there in a heartbeat, but we’re obligated to care for our parents here for the time being. We do all want to move away from here, but I don’t think I could persuade them to take that big a leap. It’ll probably be the mountains on the west coast, for as long as that lasts…or an up and coming tent city more likely. Sorry for the off topic.

 

[Meg]

I agree with Beau that the mountains of western NC (and adjacent states) can be a good place, albeit rather pricey at the moment. Personally, I'd steer clear of Asheville, getting well West of there due to the (reportedly) high crime rate.

Would you provide a source for that? I live in Asheville and have since 2020 and don't find this to be true.

I found this by searching for 'high crime cities in nc' on Start Page and Asheville is not even on the list. North Carolina Crime Index City Rank

 

[Yupo]

Would you provide a source for that? I live in Asheville and have since 2020 and don't find this to be true.

I found this by searching for 'high crime cities in nc' on Start Page and Asheville is not even on the list. North Carolina Crime Index City Rank

I said reportedly. If you'd been there for 20 or 30 years, maybe you'd see more of a difference. I've spoken to people in my community that have recently moved here (Eastern NC) from there, after living there for 15 years or so. They all mention how rough things are getting lately, and how crazy is the cost of doing business there. Just wasn't worth it anymore for them. So that's just hearsay. Then there's stuff like this: 'Staffing crisis' forces Asheville police to narrow its response to some crimes, services
I'd extrapolate all that into a trend of soon not prosecuting or even stopping shoplifting and other petty crimes. Because, ya know, Asheville is expensive, and full of cool rich people, so it stands to reason...
But that's just me making my best guess on what might be a safe, affordable, friendly place to land long term.
Right now I categorize Asheville as a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

According to the crime list, I am in the most dangerous city in NC of any real size (meaning over 20K people), yet I feel perfectly safe here. I absolutely will not go in a Walmart or even the mall here because the vibes are so bad even in the parking lots. There is a huge military presence here, and I don't know anyone in my neighborhood without some kind of military or serious weapons training in their background. So right here, it feels safe to me.

 

[Beau]

Would you provide a source for that? I live in Asheville and have since 2020 and don't find this to be true.

I've noticed an increase in homeless people and panhandlers by a great deal from 10 years ago. I went into one shop a few months back, the guy working behind the counter clearly had a pistol on his hip. He said yeah, have to carry because someone was just stabbed the day before outside his store. This is downtown Asheville btw. I don't like going there anymore, too many people in a small area and too many street people around downtown. Agree with Yupo to avoid Asheville, the housing market is crazy on top of it all.

 

[pluto123]

If you have the ability to get a decent mortgage, then I would absolutely recommend western NC. But even out here, real estate is selling over market price and people often report getting turned down even after offering 10-20% over asking price. Your mileage may vary, but that could well be the norm nationwide.

Do you want to live in or near a big city, or are you open to a more rural locale? All big cities are going to be expensive. Do you want to stay close to the northeast? There's lots of decent small-to-medium sized cities throughout middle America that are going to be good places to live, safe, not too crowded, and affordable housing. A lot of people will say Florida because of its governor and how they handled covid, but word of mouth tells me housing is even crazier down there because of the mass migration of people after 2020. Not to mention hurricanes and other possible weather issues make Florida a bit sketchy IMO. One reason I recommend western NC is because of the mountains giving protection from most natural disasters, and the low population means you're not dealing with much crime, traffic, or crazy people. You could choose east Tennessee, north Georgia or the South Carolina highlands and the same would apply.

Hey thanks for your reply.
I’m open to rural area but I wouldn’t know what’s best choice.
I was thinking of buying a home cash and then go on from there with finding work but this is all my head. I have a commercial driver license(cdl) so that’s really the type of work I would go for which I would assume every place would need people to do that kind of work.
I have a good friend who moved to Tennessee, maybe I can ask him to help me find a place.

I live here near nyc but not in it. I work in nyc usually on weekends.
It’s just expensive here. I looking to get a co op condo but I think of the future and how my job would hold up. I work a lot of hours at my job so I just save up a lot. That’s my situation. Just looking for my own space and quietude so finish other goals.

 

[BHelmet]

You gotta get your boots on the ground to really vibe things out. That vid on Medford is a prime example of superficiality that doesnt say much at all about what it’s like to live here. But as others have said, you really need to catalog what you are looking for and what are your motivations. I’ve lived a lot of places and in any locality there are great places with great folks as well as loser dysfunctional areas. Make a list of your priorities for starters. Pretty hard to respond otherwise.

 

[SevenFeathers]

You can also consider which states have no state income tax and no sales tax on food items.

 

[Adobe]

General Rule of Thumb is to rent in an area first for a year before deciding to buy.

Also 5th wheels and trailers can be quite practical, and allow you to move to a location, try it for a while then move on if you like. Many great RV parks in every state. Also resale of unit is quick and easy if you decide to buy a house.

Arizona: Year round sunshine, no taxes, large amount of cowboy residents (many armed), close to Mexico for medication, dental work etc. at well below US prices and you dont need no stinking prescriptions CDL jobs EVERYWHERE. Is it too hot? Depends on where you go. Stay away from Phoenix. Prescott, Payson, Sierra Vista, higher elevation and much cooler in the summers. And its an ice-age-buster.

Good luck!

 

[Expedition26]

Back in July, I visited the small town of Medford, Oregon.

It's worth an investigation, but be vigilant of all you can of the subtleties of its past and present.
Good luck with your quest.

Medford, Oregon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

View attachment 85602

Medford (Oregon) – Travel guide at Wikivoyage

en.wikivoyage.org

Blue State:
No state sales tax +
Crime
Real estate:
Rentals
Home Purchase

Jun 13, 2023

Please don’t move here. I lived/worked in Merlin for a few months (outside of Medford). Don’t get me wrong the mountains are gorgeous and there are tons of hiking trails. BUT the homeless population is out of control and there are meth heads galore. Not to mention housing and land prices are outrageous and it will never be a red state.

The place just gave me weird vibes, same with Salt Lake City. Insanely beautiful but really hair raising.