Worst State in the United States

4 hours ago, Endless said:

This is an interesting question that interest me as an outsider. I just know the basics of the historical and political context of the US, but when I try to look at it in the hypothetical scenario of where I would like to leave if I was a US citizen, it's honestly probably any of the West States and the Four Corners, mostly because of the geographical landscape. I'm a big "outdoors fan" and I'm enamored with mountains. The US West, to me, is absolute heaven on Earth.

 

 

I

 

 

 

Northwest represent!

Crater Lake is in Oregon, just FYI. Washington is a little more photogenic overall though

Anywhere where weed is still illegal. I'm in one of them.

Not that that's the most important thing, or all that matters, but seems a good litmus test as for how much the state is willing to leave you alone given you're keeping to yourself.

9 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

You know at one end, I want to agree because ah, it feels like there's reasons why the northwest has its share of true crime cases is all I'll say there.....but also, while it can be really rainy in certain locations, it's personally more preferable than the humidity of fucking Florida.  Unless perhaps, you moved to somewhere like Colorado which actually wouldn't be too bad, though in the southwest, I'iiim sure it gets really hot.

Used to live in Colorado. Lived in Arizona, got called a snowbunny too many times after moving from Illinois. Very bad memories from the Pacific northwest ranging from Mt St Helens, flooding, shit like that. One of my few good memories was putting slugs in my sisters shoes. They thought it was our brother at first. (hehe) Moved  to a new england state in 1987 and got married again 4 months later. Lasted 33 yrs until hubby passed away.. Was only in Florida once, Humid, yup. For what it's worth, been in 48 of 50 states, some great some not. Yeah, tmi probably, but at my age I don't care anymore. I like being alone. And thank you for your reply @LadyMistDragon. Best toyou andyours!

Texas ( speaking from personal experiences ), bad actors, bad politicians, only place for tourism is the alamo, got all the bad tropes.

1 hour ago, LadyMistDragon said:

 

 

Northwest represent!

 

Crater Lake is in Oregon, just FYI. Washington is a little more photogenic overall though

As a person that lives in Washington State yes i agree, But i live in the eastern side of the state, not the western side (thank fucking god, i hate Seattle with a passion)

To answer OP's question about the worst state. I would have to say California. I have friends that live there and they've said that state is getting so much worse now. I won't dive into the political side of why....because that would cause a flame war and i don't want the post getting locked because i mentioned something that pissed the other person off and we rounds about it.

But yes my final answer is California Alex.

5 hours ago, Caffeine Freak said:

Have you lived in California, though? Because I've lived here for well over 15 years, and most of the problems I mentioned are pretty extensively documented and have been for a long time.

I have lived in California. I lived in California during BLM and COVID and saw some of this stuff firsthand. Not on the news, with my own eyes. Police beating on protesters. Stores being robbed. The aftermath of riots with smashed glass everywhere and burned down stores. I've personally seen three different car chases in action and multiple hit and run accidents. I also had neighbors who complained about increasing crime and homeless populations and blah blah blah for YEARS. Since the day I moved, honestly.

Also for 99% of my time in California my neighborhood was an idyllic Americana suburbia filled with a variety of cultures and both locals and immigrants. I'd take my dog for walks and hummingbirds would fly over us and we had owl and peacock visitors and I'd often leave my front door unlocked. I could drive up into the mountains or the forests whenever I wanted. I never had any serious personal issues with crime, even though Nextdoor would have had me believe I was living in Somalia. In fact in almost 15 years in California I had one incident where a homeless person was sleeping under my balcony (she was harmless) and one Amazon package stolen (it was a harddrive, I think it was actually never delivered and I got a full refund). That's it. I did not live in a particularly wealthy area either (well comparatively, almost everywhere in that city was "wealthy" by Midwest property standards.)

My biggest concern living there was the earthquakes and climate change, which gave us some pretty horrific forest fires where ash rained down from the sky and everything was bright orange.

I also lived in downtown Chicago. The worst crime I ever personally saw in public was at a rural bar in the Midwest. Cities of course will have higher rates of crime because there are more people in them.

All of my original points stand, and to avoid getting specifically political, I am going to leave it there.

EDIT: Oh, and the opioid crisis is affecting the entire country. We are talking about states. Any issue that is present at the federal state is irrelevant when discussing "good" or "bad" states. The United States as a whole has some DIRE and SEVERE issues but that's a topic for a different day!

5 hours ago, Scuba Steve said:

I'm not going to bother reading this thread because the answer is Wisconsin.

But what about the cheeeeeeese D:

Montana, the people there are really defensive and mean, there's nothing there, and there's no speed limit!

1 hour ago, Captain Keen said:

All of my original points stand, and to avoid getting specifically political, I am going to leave it there.

Very well. For the sake of not shitting up the thread, I'm going to respectfully drop the issue here as well.

Also, I didn't see this yesterday: 

13 hours ago, bioshockfan90 said:

Eyo, fellow Michigander! I was born in the mitten but grew up in CO.

Seriously? Same here. Moved from MI to CO before I was 5, but I still have some fond memories of my 'formative' years in that humid place. (And I've gone back there quite frequently throughout the decades to visit the family that still lives there.) I lived in CO from around age 5 to my early twenties. Colorado's beauty is hard to match, but I definitely agree about the altitude. My lungs are now used to CA elevation and I feel the change every time I go back there. 

On 9/20/2023 at 4:32 PM, Scuba Steve said:

I'm not going to bother reading this thread because the answer is Wisconsin.

I'd say "LOL", but with one of my cats coming from that side of the St. Croix, feel I should pretend to disagree.

I have been to most states (exceptions being most of New England and a block of states in the deep South that generally rank poorly in most categories). I find most states have their points of interest and good features, though some of the stereotypes ring true. Much of some people's view of a state is based on what they have seen driving through. If you've only crossed MN on I90 or NM on the I10 or I40, you'd think they were rather empty. The Pacific coast states are blessed in all sorts of ways, but also face major threats, the ever-expanding wildfire season being the most obvious.

OP was about Idaho. Haven't spent much time there, but certainly found some cool stuff. Though one time at a "natural wonder" there was indeed a moron in a pick-up truck tearing up a dirt track and testing his effing guns not so far away. I chose where to fly my drone pretty carefully in case he was tempted to try shooting it down. I may ski in Idaho this coming winter, and take the telescope, as clear dark skies are common too.

If I had to move to a different state, then New Mexico would be at the top of the list. In one of the higher-elevation areas, to avoid excessive heat/dust in the summer.

Oh, and there are speed limits in Montana (the "no faster than safe/reasonable" was a long time ago). On the I94 entering ND from MT there always seems to be a cop looking to nab someone who missed the drop in limit from 80 to 75. But MT certainly has the 70 limit on the lot of roads where most states would have 55 at most. Oregon has the lowest limits I've come across, but the biggest lettering for them on the signs.

Despite my reservations about Idaho, I do think that it is a beautiful state to live in. Even the small border towns on the border of Idaho and Oregon have their special charm. For the most part, people outside of Boise are actually rather chill. Just people in Boise, Meridian and Eagle give the rest of the state a bad name.

Let's try to keep this thread low key on sensitive and controversial political issues and focus more on personal observations, stories and opinions more.

@TheMagicMushroomMan Let me tell you a story about my personal health issues and struggles. I first started having stomach problems around 2008, but I pushed through it because circumstances and people in my life prevented me from finding answers. I was supposed to force myself to man up and deal with it. Over the years my stomach issues progressively got worse, and my employer started restricting my bathroom privileges. I did not know that I had H. Pylori at the time. Then in 2013/2014 I started getting really tired all the time. The kind of tired that no amount of sleep could ever satisfy. Then in 2014 my father passed away, to which I wish I knew about bereavement leave at the time. After he passed away, we ended up losing the house.

Prior to losing the house we needed to clean it out before it went back to the bank. That house was covered in decades of dust and mold to which I got really sick and to this day I haven't recovered. I ended up having to quit my job in 2015, because I started having a sudden onset of over 20 strange symptoms which included debilitating headaches, worse stomach problems, forgetfulness, brain fog, eye problems, worsened fatigue and neurological problems. Every time I went to the doctor, they kept insisting that I had depression or anxiety, which could be true, but they kept ignoring my physical symptoms. They kept prescribing antidepressants for the headaches, which give me high fevers. I remember being placed on amitriptyline which caused sleep paralysis and nightmares to which I saw a shadow demon standing over my bed.

Because doctors wouldn't listen to me, I started hitting the internet to figure this out on my own. I had to force the doctor to test me for a bunch of stuff in 2018 that could cause my stomach problems and it was then that I learned I had H. Pylori. This was after becoming homeless, because of my health issues. By then I had stomach been symptomatic for HP for over a decade. I don't fully understand the damage that it had done to my stomach by having it so long. Every time I went to doctors, prior to testing for it, they kept insisting that I only had anxiety and nothing else. They also then try to misdiagnose you with an eating disorder too. I don't eat much because my stomach is in a lot of pain, not because I have a mental illness. Doctors and GI's won't often think about testing for HP without having an ulcer prior to the diagnosis let alone having a previous diagnosis of gastritis.

When doctors don't listen and don't want to test you for anything it leaves you frustrated, hopeless and afraid. When they do listen, they end up sending you to the wrong specialists. You go down the rabbit hole and rely on Facebook and Reddit support groups for hope and support. There is a lot of harm that this does. There is a lot of harm in trusting the wrong people on these groups and trying to find hope in the alternative health industry because the doctors won't listen to you. Later I found out that I cannot take most prescribed medications which include the Proton Pump Inhibitors, most antidepressants and antibiotics because I have a genetic disorder on how my liver processes the medications. If I take even a small amount of these medications, they build of toxicity in my liver quick making me very sick. This left me with one option to try to figure out everything on my own and what to do about it naturally.

Later I was formally diagnosed with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder which is a catch-all for anyone with hypermobile joints and stretchy skin. On one end there is Benign Joint Hypermobility and on the other end there is Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I fall closer to the hEDS side of the spectrum because of my other co-morbid symptoms. With any hypermobility disorders you are more likely to also suffer from POTS and MCAS. POTS or even Orthostatic Intolerance can be a co-morbid health issue with any number of chronic illnesses which could include long covid. Also, MCAS has been demoted recently and is simply called long covid by some doctors, but most people with MCAS never had covid. hEDS, POTS and MCAS are also genetically linked too. To know if you truly have POTS, they will need to do a tilt table test. If you have a fast-resting heart rate while lying flat and then your blood pressure falls really fast, but your heartrate increases then you will most likely have POTS.

Recently, because I have jaundice, I have also been diagnosed with Gilbert Syndrome too which affects liver detoxification. It is technically benign but in 25 percent of those who have it also suffer from lots of symptoms. Today I normally spend my days in bed afraid to eat, because my stomach hurts all the time, and I am extremely tired all the time. Even though I have lots of diagnoses I still don't know what to do about any of this. Today I am finally in a position to do something about my health issues and hyperfocus on it without having toxic people in my life forcing me to do other things. Additionally, another thing that I hate about Idaho is that over 75% of men never wash their hands after using the restroom, which is gross and could be the reason why I ended up with HP in the first place.

9 hours ago, Caffeine Freak said:

Flash-mobs that target stores and malls to ransack them and empty the shelves are a pretty common occurrence now (I just linked 3 separate instances from around the state, all from within the last couple months, here's another one from a couple years ago), simply because people know they can get away with it. My wife works in the bay area, and theft is so brazen there that a chick she knows had the back of her car broken into *while she was in the vehicle*. And I'm only skimming the surface of the problem of theft---I'm not even touching on the issue of violent crime. The opioid crisis is absolutely real, and if you (understandably) don't believe the news media, you can see the results of it for yourself.

What.

The.

Fuck.

@Halfblind If it's okay, I'm going to reply to you via PM in the morning. I was obviously too harsh with my original post, I really believe everything you just said. I'm very sorry you have to go through that, and I really appreciate you taking the time to explain your situation to me.

9 hours ago, Caffeine Freak said:

Flash-mobs that target stores and malls to ransack them and empty the shelves are a pretty common occurrence now...

I'm going to need some serious data before I believe this. Cars in the ditch during winter is a "pretty common occurrence" to me... and I doubt there's any actual statistics to back up the claim that stores are looted with such frequency that you'll see it happen "commonly". As far as I'm aware, there are a lot of people saying it's a huge problem, but self-reported company shrinkage is hovering around historic norms.

17 minutes ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

If it's okay, I'm going to reply to you via PM in the morning.

Thanks for your understanding I don't mind.

Here is another reason why Idaho kind of sucks. We never raise our minimum wage unless the Federal government does so. It was only raised after it was Federally mandated to do so.

Based upon my research and understanding about some other states here are some of my thoughts:

Hawaii - HI has a large percentage of homeless and unemployed because the cost of living is so damn high but lower skilled jobs are harder to come by.

Alaska - The federal government pays people thousands a year to live here.

California/Nevada - There was a chronic fatigue outbreak around Lake Tahoe in the 1980s which was ignored by the CDC.

Florida - FL has a high percentage of older people who move there to retire. My mean old neighbors moved there when they retired back in the 90s. If you ever played the game Lake on steam that was pretty much the sub plot of the game. Meredeth's parents decided to take a vacation to Florida but then they decided to retire there because they liked it too much.

Utah - UT actually has one of the lowest percentages of homeless and unemployed than any other state. I still don't know if Utah and Idaho technically 100% have legalized CBD oil.

Idaho - Downtown Boise, ID is one of the best places to be homeless in the nation. Outside of living in the shelters the churches really know how to take care of the homeless here. On certain days, if they are willing to walk everywhere, a homeless person can have like 12 meals that day if they really wanted to.

About homelessness (PSA): 25% of homeless people are homeless because they have a chronic illness not because they have an addiction, are mentally unstable or are lazy. They live on the streets because the medical system has failed them. Another 25% percent are homeless because of no mistakes of their own. They live from paycheck to paycheck, but they were laid off work, evicted from their homes or any number of catastrophes. 

@Endless Do you really like Oregon and Crater Lake and would really like to visit someday? If so, you should really check out the game Lake on steam. It does a decent job in depicting what life was like in a small fictional town in Oregon in the 1980s. I really liked the game because of the character involvements and the chill nature of the gameplay and setting. Don't forget to crash the mail truck every once in a while too.

// Jersey... Full Stop...

59 minutes ago, Scuba Steve said:

 

I'm going to need some serious data before I believe this. Cars in the ditch during winter is a "pretty common occurrence" to me... and I doubt there's any actual statistics to back up the claim that stores are looted with such frequency that you'll see it happen "commonly". As far as I'm aware, there are a lot of people saying it's a huge problem, but self-reported company shrinkage is hovering around historic norms.

I can PM you regarding this topic if you like? I obviously have no problem discussing the issue, but I genuinely want to respect OP's wishes in regards to the subject matter of the thread:

2 hours ago, Halfblind said:

Let's try to keep this thread low key on sensitive and controversial political issues and focus more on personal observations, stories and opinions more.

Florida

11 hours ago, Scuba Steve said:

I'm not going to bother reading this thread because the answer is Wisconsin.

this is true, i can confirm it as someone who grew up there

Illinois. Fuck Illinois.

As someone who lives in Illinois, I can tell you with 100% safety and honesty: NOTHING HAPPENS HERE.

IF YOU ARE FOREIGN AND WANT TO TAKE A TRIP TO THE USA: DO NOT GO TO CHICAGO AS YOU FIRST STOP, YOU WILL FIND NOTHING OF INTEREST.

1 hour ago, Obsidian Plague said:

IF YOU ARE FOREIGN AND WANT TO TAKE A TRIP TO THE USA: DO NOT GO TO CHICAGO AS YOU FIRST STOP, YOU WILL FIND NOTHING OF INTEREST.

I disagree, I think being shot would be very interesting! C'mon, no one lives forever! 

Also the people downplaying SF's epidemic of petty crime might as well be saying this.

On 9/20/2023 at 3:00 AM, Halfblind said:

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.

 

Florida by a country mile

16 hours ago, Scuba Steve said:

I'm not going to bother reading this thread because the answer is Wisconsin.

Having grown up in Wisconsin and now in Minnesota:

I don't have it in me to argue for or against it. 

On 9/20/2023 at 9:21 AM, Fonze said:

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.

Unless you meant regionally, VA is more like a “purple” state. Sure, we have a republican governor right now, but it was a democrat before now. The more rural areas of VA are absolutely more conservative leaning, but the big cities are more liberal leaning. Where I live in VA, it’s really a mixed bag as far as politics goes. There’s a good mix of both leanings, and from what I have seen, there aren’t many LGBT people that are afraid to express themselves in my city or neighboring ones. Virginia is quite vast, so I assume we live in opposite ends of the state and have had very different experiences. It is true, pluses and minuses everywhere is a good way of putting it. For every city and state there could be a good “review” and a bad one that sound like they’re describing a completely different place. Also agree, right to work sucks, and we have unnecessary taxes placed on us too.

lets be honest here: how many of u even remembered arkansas exists

4 minutes ago, OliveTree said:

lets be honest here: how many of u even remembered arkansas exists

Only the real mfs who played this classic:

I wanna' be a redneck cowboy in Texas so bad right now, ridin' on a horse in the wild, wild west.

Ridin' on dat ranch with mah tractor and stuuuff, ya feel? Takin' care of 'em buffalows. Meetin' the proud sherrif.

Gettin' some taco's together with that blue eyed farmer boy at the Taco Bell somewhere close to the border durin' Sunset.

Puttin' our cowboy hats on the table while the Southern lady serves us some hot taco's, all the while the sunset engulfs us in a beautiful orange/red hue.

43 minutes ago, OliveTree said:

lets be honest here: how many of u even remembered arkansas exists

15 hours ago, OliveTree said:

be honest here again: same question but about nebraska

I remember that it may contain up to seven funny jokes.

On 11/18/2021 at 12:48 AM, Grazza said:

Took me a while, but I found something that stumps the AI:

And what produced this fail? "The Eighth Funniest Joke in Nebraska". Different states don't seem to have the same effect, nor do different numbers, though I haven't tested too many.

Anyway, Nebraska is awesome.