I live in NW Florida, near Pensacola. It is more like Alabama here than the norm for Florida. I live in a small town, growing too fast for me. You do need a car because there is not much for public transportation in my town. There are lots of rivers here along with the beach. If you enjoy outdoor sports and recreation, this is the place. Canoe capital of the world! Tubing is another fun pasttime. I am thinking of selling my house and getting a condo on the beach. Our county was dry until 2 years ago and then only very limited number of licenses went out, so it is still not a rockin' night life area, but you don't have to drive far to find it since all of the resort towns are nearby.

I liked Orlando, lived there a while. The outlying areas are much better than the city of Orlando where traffic is a problem. I like the Tampa area too but again, outlying areas more than in town. Miami, I would stay away from -- too much crime and too expensive to live in the nicer areas. I like the Ocala area but not sure if I am just in love with all of those beautiful horse farms you see along the highway or the area itself. ;)

The hurricanes are really not that frequent. We had a weird rash of them a few years ago and it scared a lot of people away. But our town had not had a direct hit for 56 years before we got 3 or 4 in a row. I am hoping now we go another 56 years.

Funny -- if it were not for the snow and so much cold, I would love to live in New York now that my kids are grown. I visited and thought it was very exciting. I could see myself in a great loft with all of the exposed ceilings and sectioned off living spaces. I did not like to drive there though.

& my daughter wants to move to NY! She's traveled there alot & absolutely Loves it!! I don't know what I would do if she does move? But I totally understand wanting to move somewhere new. I would Love to keep travelling around to figure out just where I would like to move eventually.;)

Now I feel like I made MI sound horrible.:rolleyes:
So if you can overlook the jobless rate:rolleyes:, it is a nice state.

Our summers are warm but not ridiculously hot.
It's an awesome state for sports fans.
We are pretty free (government-wise) to do what we want within reason.
We have great beaches.
Lots of boating here.
We don't get hurricanes and the like. Just a tornado now and then.
A few very nice malls!!!
Some family-friendly activities.
A few nice vacation spots (Macinack, Sleeping Bear Dunes, etc.).
Not many dangerous bugs and snakes. :)

And the cons:
Some of the worst roads in the country.
Detroit itself isn't too safe.
So cold and miserable in the winter.
Most of the beaches in SE MI don't allow dogs.
Some areas are better able to handle our traffic volume than others.

I've been to most of the states, and CA. is the best yet as far as I'm concerned. It really does have it all. However, if I were to ever move from here, it would be to Spain or Italy, and I would go tomorrow if I had the chance. I lived in Madrid for three years and it's awesome. Spain looks so much like CA. (except for the architecture) but so much more beautiful. Anyway, the weather is the same as here too, and I like not having to shovel snow. ;)

Australia!!!:D

LOUISIANA!!
awesome food, friendly people, mardi gras, party atmosphere
im from slidell, la, about 30 minutes from new orleans. of course, i go to school in hammond (about 45 minutes from baton rouge) so i live there now. i love louisiana and dont ever want to move. i wouldnt think you like to go shrimping or crawfishing :p but if you like fishing or hunting we are known as the sportsmans paradise. new orleans is an awesome city thats so different than any big city ive ever been to. theres so much more than mardi gras like the french quarter, jazz music, steam boats, plantation homes.. its even one of the most haunted citys in the US if you like that sort of thing ;) .

I've heard great things about Seattle. It's one of the places I'd consider when I'm done with school in May.

Another pro... You have very conceiving commercials (the Made in Michigan ones)! :p

Oops.. Pure Michigan, I mean.

I want to move TO New York.

Let's trade. :D

How about New Jersey!?!?

Just kidding. I don't reccomend it to someone trying to get OUT of the city, cause it's become an extension of it. =P

Seattle sounds really nice!!

Erie, Pennsylvania. :D

Warm summers, cold winters. We have Lake Erie! :D City and country, jobs, umm lots of doggie activites! We just had Paws in the Park Saturday. :) Umm, umm, umm, and lots of cool stuff. :D And I'm here! :D :p

California!!! I live in the Bay Area & Sacramento! Best weather ever! And not hard to fine a job! Definitely in San Franciso!

I've visited Seattle once and LOVED it. No rain on my trip. :) We drove into Vancouver from there -- and then took the ferry to Victoria. I absolutely LOVED Vancouver/Victoria. Canada is awesome.

I would love to live in California one day. But who knows if that will actually happen. I'd just be so scared since it's so far. My entire family is on the East Coast, pretty much all of my immediate family is within an hour distance from me and I think I'd be really freaked out if that wasn't the case anymore, even though we really don't see each other THAT often. I don't know. The idea of it scares me to death. But I've just heard so many wonderful things about Cali (not LA!)

Not LA?! :eek: Have you ever been there? OMG I have and it's sooo not what you'd think! It is not bad at all! :)

Well I see no one has suggested Texas.:p You should move here and we could let our babies play together.:) Plus it never snows here, although summers are hot. And contrary to what everyone thinks, we don't all have horses (never even rode one) or wear cowboy boots and hats all the time. :p And the cost of living is great here, especially compared to NY. I have vacationed there a few times and I love it and can't wait to go back. So give Texas a thought....yehawww.lol