2-Part Question: A) Why Did You Leave Ohio or Move to Ohio B) What area did you leave/move to, and why? (Dayton: to live in, beach)

[TwinbrookNine]

Northern Ohio, specifically, what I refer to as the US 30 corridor, central and western part of the state (Galion, Marion, Upper Sandusky, Findlay, Bucyrus, Mansfield) is mostly rural with smaller to medium sized towns. I lived there for 2 years. All I can say, is if you can fit into the Roseanne show, you'd fit in. Exact same type of people. I always assumed Roseanne's city was on US 30 SW of Chicago somewhere. I think of it as a US 30 thing. "Earthy" for sure, but all kinds of people, really - even in the smaller cities. The south side of Marion is (was?) beautiful. Lots of cold, snowless winters in that part of the state, but spring comes 4 weeks earlier than southern Michigan, from Marion, southward. I left there to go to school out west. Never returned.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Natural510

I don't care for Texas either but it's pretty silly to dismiss the second-largest state in one fell swoop. The cities have quite a bit to offer, especially Houston which is one of the most diverse/international cities in the US.

Even Texas' larger cities and their relative progressiveness still exist within the context of a very conservative state. Its faux-cowboy, bible-thumping, gun crazy brand of conservatism is horrific, especially when combined with the whole "everything is bigger here, including our opinion of ourselves". Maybe not as much in the larger cities that have larger numbers of migrants from other states, but you're still likely to encounter it more than elsewhere. Ohio has very conservative state government, but it's much more of a moderate state politically and socially when talking about the general population.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Jame22

Texas is not the south. Yes, it does get a little southern in eastern Texas as you head towards the Louisiana boarder but for the most part Texas is just Texas. I saw way more rebel flags in Dayton Ohio than I have in Texas. Dayton and Cincinnati are culturally closer to South Alabama-Mississippi than Austin and San Antonio

I stayed in Florida for work this past summer and absolutely hated it. Texas is paradise compared to Florida.

What defines a truly great state? I would love to live in a place like N California or Boston but I'd have a tough time affording those areas.

lol, no.

Florida is worse to me, but unlike Texas, not necessarily because of its general social and political backwards conservatism. Besides maybe Miami, the entire state feels like one giant strip mall for the elderly. Unless you like the beach or never-ending, soulless sprawl (the latter of which Texas also thrives at building), there is nothing in Florida worth going for. Most of its natural beauty has already been paved over outside of the Everglades.

My opinion of a great state is one in which quality of life is high. That means high education levels, high cultural levels, strong contributions historically to the social and cultural fabric of American society, strong healthcare, strong economic factors like low unemployment, great upward mobility, decent income levels vs. cost of living, strong social equality, etc. Texas has a low cost of living, and it has strong job growth, but beyond that, it has little else of any of these traits. To be fair, this is true for a lot of the Sun Belt states, though. And Texas is definitely a Southern state.

[Jame22]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Even Texas' larger cities and their relative progressiveness still exist within the context of a very conservative state. Its faux-cowboy, bible-thumping, gun crazy brand of conservatism is horrific, especially when combined with the whole "everything is bigger here, including our opinion of ourselves".

Yes there are horrible people in Texas, but there are horrible people everywhere.

Hard-core conservatives are annoying, but-hard core liberals are just as bad.

[Jame22]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

lol, no.

Florida is worse to me, but unlike Texas, not necessarily because of its general social and political backwards conservatism. Besides maybe Miami, the entire state feels like one giant strip mall for the elderly. Unless you like the beach or never-ending, soulless sprawl (the latter of which Texas also thrives at building), there is nothing in Florida worth going for. Most of its natural beauty has already been paved over outside of the Everglades.

My opinion of a great state is one in which quality of life is high. That means high education levels, high cultural levels, strong contributions historically to the social and cultural fabric of American society, strong healthcare, strong economic factors like low unemployment, great upward mobility, decent income levels vs. cost of living, strong social equality, etc. Texas has a low cost of living, and it has strong job growth, but beyond that, it has little else of any of these traits. To be fair, this is true for a lot of the Sun Belt states, though. And Texas is definitely a Southern state.

haha I could complain about Florida all day. It's the worst state I've ever been to

So a great state.....Minnesota?

Based on that critieria there are very few, if any great states

[Townes Van Zandt]

Okay, okay, okay. But Texas has Austin. Therfore, Texas > Florida. Thanks for playing.

[Natural510]

Originally Posted by ksu sucks

Okay, okay, okay. But Texas has Austin. Therfore, Texas > Florida. Thanks for playing.

Yeah, but Florida has South Beach booty.

[Beacher23]

Lol, all the Florida haters here. I happen to love it here, i have had nothing but good opportunities presented to me and the best experiences. I don't really pay much attention to the politics here as i'm not one to get into politics, i just sit back, do my job, and enjoy the beautiful weather and everything else Florida has to offer which to me is 100x more than i ever got back up north. Every state has it's faults, and some people just can't overlook those, but to each his own. I'll take my beautiful beaches, weather and women any day.
Texas > Florida?? Umm with the exception of Austin, there is nothing else attractive about Texas, i've driven thru pretty much the entire state and been to all the big cities and it just wasn't for me, but i guess it's just different strokes for different folks

[notnamed]

I certainly wouldn't want to live in Texas or Florida. One reason I left Ohio was to escape the miserable summer heat/humidity not get more of it.

Pacific Northwest is where it's at. Mild summers and winters. Option to go visit snow in the mountains or drive out to some incredibly beautiful beaches that put Florida's to shame. Heck, you can hit a rain forest, mountain, beach, and a desert all in the same day trip.

[Jame22]

Originally Posted by ksu sucks

Okay, okay, okay. But Texas has Austin. Therfore, Texas > Florida. Thanks for playing.

Texas is not Florida, therefore, Texas > Florida