Worst State in the United States

For those who live in the United States, by your opinion, what is the worst state to live in? For those who live outside the US what state would you never want to end up in?

Honestly, I live in Idaho. Home of the random Doomworld/idgames FTP mirror and um potatoes. Idaho is classified as a right to work state which means that 1. they can fire you without reason, 2. they can deny you sick days, sick leave and bereavement leave, 3. deny you time off work for anything and 4. restrict your bathroom privileges. The federal government, however, gives workers the right to have 2 sick days per six months period, 2 weeks sick leave through FMLA and 3 weeks bereavement leave when a close family member passes away.

Idaho is also years behind on medical knowledge than surrounding states and lacks qualified specialists in several fields. I have a couple of genetic issues which includes a type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Gilberts Syndrome. I also have a chronic digestive infections like H. Pylori and Candida which have been misdiagnosed as a mental illness for years. Because of the Gilberts Syndrome and my gut infections I cannot tolerate most prescribed medications. I also most likely have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Mast-Cell Activation Syndrome too, but doctors don't really want to test me for them. They say that you shouldn't self-diagnose, but I have been more accurate than most doctors have been.

Also, if you ever see a naturopath, functional medicine doctor or other alternative medicine practitioner here in Idaho they charge you 3 or 4 times the amount than others in surrounding states. This includes Oregan, Washington and Utah.

Public transportation here is half assed too. The federal government offers vouchers to set up bus routes if your city is over a certain population. Minus Boise, which has a work-in-progress bus system, there is at least 5 other cities in Idaho that fit that criteria, but they don't have any public transportation. Ontario Oregan doesn't fit that criteria, because it's too small, and they have a public bus system.

Anywhere where there’s tourist season traffic. 

I wouldn't know, from here they all look equally bad.

Probably like Indiana because it has zero geographical features. Most other states have interesting stuff like swamps, oceans, lakes, mountains, special forests, etc... but Indiana just has flat fields of nothing.

I'd say Florida. It's a big swamp swarming with invasive pythons, it's very vulnerable to hurricanes and the rise of sea levels, and the population seems to be made mostly of Florida Men and reactionary retirees.

Here's a map of all the states I've been to with the one I live in shaded darker. There are a lot of metrics on how to determine what the worst state is so I'll base my answer on what I do when I visit each state, hiking & visiting federal, state, & local parks & preserves. From the states I've visited I can say without a shadow of a doubt the state that is by far and away the absolute worst for outdoor recreational activities is Mississippi. I've actually hiked the state f couple times, a few days in 2016 & also a few days in March of this year. Not only are there just far less parks to visit compared to other states, but the ones that do exist are all in a state of disrepair. The locals don't seem to give a shit about their parks either as a rather high number of them seemed to be used as dumping grounds for trash or they are used as place to destroy the roads by mud running with their big stupid trucks. I think I'd put Indiana as second worst, but that has more to do with the fact that it's a state in the middle of absolutely nothing.

I never stepped foot inside the US, but it's probably California.

5 minutes ago, Kwisior said:

I never stepped foot inside the US, but it's probably California.

California is an absolutely beautiful state though, the land is great. It is also the #1 state that americans are migrating out of

12 minutes ago, RDETalus said:

California is an absolutely beautiful state though, the land is great. It is also the #1 state that americans are migrating out of

Well, I wouldn't know. I was mostly basing my opinion on the major cities, which don't look very livable, to say it lightly.

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.

I'll say that of the limited number of states I've lived in, California is easily the one with the most self-destructive tendencies, and is busy transforming many of its most famous cities into unrecognizable monstrosities. LA is obviously a hellscape and has been for the past 40+ years, but San Francisco and much of the other bay area cities are in the midst of an opioid crisis that easily rivals the worst Hollywood rendition of the 1980's crack cocaine epidemic. (Though to be fair, they are FAR from the only places in the country currently facing an opioid problem.) It also goes without saying that when the cities in question enable and facilitate this kind of garbage, it feeds into the massive homelessness problem and all the issues that come with it. This is to say nothing of the unbelievably rampant theft and violent crime in these places.

I'm not saying Cali is the worst state to live in, since there's many others I've never set foot in. For my own part, I've mostly lived in areas of Cali that face smaller versions of these same problems. But I have to say I've never seen a state that seems so intent on hollowing itself out. Which is a real shame, because as @RDETalus points out, it is indeed a beautiful state.

2 hours ago, Halfblind said:

Also, if you ever see a naturopath, functional medicine doctor or other alternative medicine practitioner here in Idaho they charge you 3 or 4 times the amount than others in surrounding states. This includes Oregan, Washington and Utah.

Good idea, thus people won’t go and see these charlatans.

They should have charged 10 times more such that only very rich people would spend money not to be cured (like Steve Jobs), leaving real medicine to the people.

Definitely Ohio.

Philly isn't a state, I know, but it is a shithole. One of the worst places I've been. West Virginia is pretty bad too.

For us Doomers the best and worst state is Michigan.

In America, there's 50 states. In England, there's only 3: Solid, Liquid, and Gas. But that's science for you.

Definitely Florida. I've lived in several cities here, and visited pretty much every major city in the state. We have it all: crystal meth laced with fentanyl at no extra charge, coke cut with popcorn from the ceiling, and crack cookies the size of a basketball. They sell paint thinners and socks right next to one another, and compressed air only comes in packs of ten. The people here are incredibly cultured - just look at the music they listen to. Florida is the only state where you get to hear Godsmack and Taylor Swift everywhere you go! Bathe in the sweet melody as you take in the wonderful views that only the Sunshine State can provide - we have a hill in the middle of the state that is nearly fifty feet tall! Hey, I can see your trailer park from here! Florida is the place for thrill seekers - wrestle with wildlife, battle with drunks, and place bets on which meth lab will explode next. We make sure to provide the finest accommodations to our tourists - for only $149 + state and federal tax per night, you can spend a night at a wonderful hotel in a city such as Jacksonville. Check under the bed for a free complimentary used condom (subject to availability, used tampons may be provided instead)!

EDIT: I apologize, I didn't mean to offend anyone. I thought the thread was asking for the best state.

6 hours ago, ducon said:

Good idea, thus people won’t go and see these charlatans.

They should have charged 10 times more such that only very rich people would spend money not to be cured (like Steve Jobs), leaving real medicine to the people.

"Good morning sir! I see here on the chart that you're having trouble sleeping... here's this special concoction of worthless herbs that you could have purchased yourself on the internet for $30. That'll be $300. Also, please remember to book an appointment so we can do your monthly colon cleansing session."

Also, how the hell is H. Pylori misdiagnosed as a mental illness? It's a common infection that is tested for on every basic bacterial panel. It's very simple to tell if you have it. You don't even have to go to the hospital or the doctor, just pay for the test at any center that will do it. If your doctor doesn't want to test you for POTS (which everybody these days seems to believe they're afflicted with even though it's present in about 0.1-0.2 percent of the population) then you're seeing the wrong doctor. I've heard many people say "my doctor won't test me for POTS" and they're not even seeing a cardiologist. If you're relying on "alternative medicine" idiots to take care of your health problems, you get what you pay for. Well, not really, since the industry is a scam. If you really think you have something as serious as MCAS, I'd recommend seeing an actual doctor unless you like the idea of anaphylaxis. I'm not sure why you're getting recurrant H. Pylori infections - that is typically caused by exposure to contaminated food or water, or exposure to things like feces. H. Pylori can cause long-term problems in some cases, but if you're actually repeatedly testing positive for it, then you are exposing yourself to it through some aspect of your daily life.

Florida is America's Argentina. 

Grass is always greener and all that; pluses and minuses to everywhere. Here in VA we're also a right to work state, which is not great. Additionally, VA is a very conservative state so lgbtqa+ representation is basically best categorized as still being in the closet for the most part, as people from most socioeconomic classes here are not supportive of it, or are only supportive in confrontation only; you hear completely different opinions when people think they are safe to voice them. I guess it's prolly like that in most places, but I don't see many open people here.

One thing I will say in florida's defense, much as it is a dumpster fire of don't ask don't tell hatred rn, is that at least its govt is open and transparent enough for the florida man stereotype to be a thing. Those types of wild stories do happen in other places, it's just that they aren't reported on with the same level of detail as in florida. Legal Eagle made a fun video about the florida man phenomenon that's worth a watch

3 hours ago, Fonze said:

One thing I will say in florida's defense, much as it is a dumpster fire of don't ask don't tell hatred rn, is that at least its govt is open and transparent enough for the florida man stereotype to be a thing. Those types of wild stories do happen in other places, it's just that they aren't reported on with the same level of detail as in florida. Legal Eagle made a fun video about the florida man phenomenon that's worth a watch

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 education system, obvious differences in class and wealth, 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 think the way to properly answer this is by the state with the least amount of geographic diversity. Because I feel every state has something either shared or unique that makes them a total shithole. 

With that I'd say my vote is Kansas or Missouri. 

5 hours ago, Jaws In Space said:

Here's a map of all the states I've been to with the one I live in shaded darker. There are a lot of metrics on how to determine what the worst state is so I'll base my answer on what I do when I visit each state, hiking & visiting federal, state, & local parks & preserves. From the states I've visited I can say without a shadow of a doubt the state that is by far and away the absolute worst for outdoor recreational activities is Mississippi. I've actually hiked the state f couple times, a few days in 2016 & also a few days in March of this year. Not only are there just far less parks to visit compared to other states, but the ones that do exist are all in a state of disrepair. The locals don't seem to give a shit about their parks either as a rather high number of them seemed to be used as dumping grounds for trash or they are used as place to destroy the roads by mud running with their big stupid trucks. I think I'd put Indiana as second worst, but that has more to do with the fact that it's a state in the middle of absolutely nothing.

Eyo, fellow Michigander! I was born in the mitten but grew up in CO. Surprised you haven't been there, it's a beautiful place if you can stand the high elevation. Moved here in 2019 for mental health reasons.

As for OP's question, Wyoming because... there is no such thing as Wyoming. Except for cows.

Florida is obviously awful....but in other ways, probably either Mississippi or Alabama because of how utterly regressive they are.

Everyone wants to poo poo on Florida, but fact of the matter is that it's the #1 state that americans are moving to right now (or #2, depending on how Texas is doing).

Michigan is fantastic for anyone who likes the outdoors. The sailing on the 5 great lakes, the mountains, the white sand beaches, the wierd-ass minecraft looking rock formations on lake superior are all great. It's economy is probably not so great though, everyone's moving out.

28 minutes ago, RDETalus said:

Everyone wants to poo poo on Florida, but fact of the matter is that it's the #1 state that americans are moving to right now (or #2, depending on how Texas is doing).

What people fail to realize until they get here is how diverse Florida is - I live in a small town where everything closes at 9:00PM. There are no buildings allowed over five stories tall. If I travel 30 minutes north, I get to Jacksonville, which has always been a sprawling shithole. Neither of these places are anything like Orlando, which is nothing like Miami. Central FL is unremarkable, West Palm (where I was born) and Boca Raton are retirement communities for the most part. Northern Florida is just Georgia. Depending on which specific city you live in, Florida can either be "California but better" or "Alabama but worse". Every state has cities with different cultures, but in Florida the difference is severe. This also applies to things like schools - our higher education is great, but many cities here constantly deal with understaffed high schools, schools shutting down, schools falling apart, etc. The fact that we rank #1 in education doesn't mean that much when you look at these problems. Then you have other personal or political issues, such as our sexual education, which consisted of a phoney drama student screaming and crying "don't kiss anyone or you'll get AIDS" to a bunch of 16-17 year olds.

For the most part, Florida is nowhere near as bad as outsiders seem to believe - this image is once again largely shaped by our own media punching down its own population. Certain parts of FL, mainly Jacksonville and a slew of underdeveloped cities, are pretty bad, and the cost of living here is only acceptable if you're willing to live in the middle of nowhere or in a crackhouse. These aren't the places people are wanting to move to, but they are also the places where many of us have to live.

Maybe the worst state in the United States is the friends we made along the way.

3 hours ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

If your doctor doesn't want to test you for POTS (which everybody these days seems to believe they're afflicted with even though it's present in about 0.1-0.2 percent of the population) then you're seeing the wrong doctor. I've heard many people say "my doctor won't test me for POTS" and they're not even seeing a cardiologist.

Isn't POTS the "disease" caused by sitting too much, and the main treatment is just standing up and walking around regularly?

Anyway, fun story time: the other week I was googling the names of people I hung around with in high school and found a court document detailing a case involving a guy I haven't talked to in 18 years. To make a long story short, this guy had a friend working at a blockchain/IT company who was able to get my old "buddy" a $40 an hour summer internship there. The internship get extended to the end of the year, but the company ended up laying off 13% of their employees in December and our protagonist's contract was ended a week early, with a $5000 severance. Well, that wasn't good enough for our man, so he claims that his friend and another employee told him he was going to be offered a permanent position. Then he files a federal lawsuit against the company for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act saying he was fired in retribution for his disabilities of: "Sleep disorders, POTS and chronic sinus infections." The company files a motion to have the case dismissed stating that our protagonist was not fired for his "disabilities" (it was a general layoff), that he had never been offered a permanent job and he had never told them of any of his medical conditions. Furthermore, he took several weeks off work towards the end of his contract without telling anyone and still filled out his time sheets as if he was working full time. Our hero does not challenge any of the evidence presented by his former employer, but instead throws his friend under the bus claiming that the dude who got him the gig told him not to tell the HR about his "disabilities." Oh, and he didn't understand that the job he accepted was a term internship, since "he's never had a job before." While a hilarious statement for a dude who was in his early thirties at the time, this is also a blatant lie: he started working right out of high school (around the time I stopped hanging out with him).

The judge ending up issuing a summary judgement in favor of the employer and told our protagonist to fuck off in legalese, noting you can't claim discrimination for a disability you told nobody about and that our man had wrong or nonexistent citations of US law in his initial lawsuit. When I knew him our hero was a smooth talking, manipulative and lazy bastard and this is all totally in character for the dude; I guarantee most of his "disabilities" were self diagnosed. Anyway, nobody else probably cares but all this was highly amusing to me.

44 minutes ago, Dr. Zin said:

Isn't POTS the "disease" caused by sitting too much, and the main treatment is just standing up and walking around regularly?

I think POTS can be pretty severe for some people who actually have it, but the problem is that I've yet to meet anyone who has been diagnosed with it by anyone other than someone on reddit. For some reason, everybody seems to think they have POTS now. Your heart rate increasing when you stand up is very common - mine can go from 75 to 160 in less than 30 seconds, so I thought I had it at one point too. So, I went to a cardiologist who told me that there's nothing wrong with me, and if it's not bothering me then there's nothing to worry about. I have a high heart rate in general due to the fact that I'm skinny. For some people, they refuse to believe that there is nothing wrong. You see posts like that on reddit all the time: "I've been to 32 doctors and they all say I don't have condition X but I KNOW I have condition X because I read it online!". The POTS thing is often the equivalent of "I keep my books organized so I'm diagnosing myself with OCD". It doesn't help that if you post online that you weren't diagnosed with something, there will always be twenty people saying "get a seventh opinion it DEFINITELY sounds like you have condition X!". Then they get a seventh and eighth opinion, the same as the first six, and finally they go to a quack AKA "naturopath homeopathic alternative medicine guru" who confirms what they feared all along: "you have POTS and poor bloodflow and you need black pepper extract every month to fix it or you'll have a stroke and get dementia!". Then they get on reddit and tell everyone not to trust their doctors because they're all wrong.

I lived in north carolina for a few years and it quite literally hell on earth down there, and not just the weather either. roads in disarray, churches everywhere on every single fucking street (😱), the food is utter dogshit, theres constant shootings because everyone has guns all the time, people who are bigoted freaks wandering around who love to just spew random garbage to strangers, the weather, fuck me its so god damn humid. not to mention I got hit by a hurricane when I lived there so maybe I'm traumatized 😌 cant speak for south carolina, but the northern one was pretty horrendous! 

This thread seems primed to be pretty negative, hopefully it stays level-headed!

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.

As a Brit who moved to Washington ten years ago and pretty much wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the country, I'm curious what you dislike about those three states?