What is the best state?

Submitted by zarodinu on March 11, 2026
Doing a poll to figure out who's gonna win the State madness. My vote is Arkansas because I like its name. No other reason at all.
83 Comments
+1
Level 65
Mar 11, 2026
i personally like Iowa, Nebraska, and Idaho
+3
Level 54
Mar 11, 2026
Iowa and Nebraska can only win if corn is considered currency.
+3
Level 71
Mar 12, 2026
And corn was useful in the United States Battle Royale...
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Nebraska has some great ski slopes. Iowa has, well, interesting weather ig? Idaho is stunningly beautiful
+6
Level 45
Mar 11, 2026
Texas, Tennessee, Colorado, and South Carolina
+4
Level 72
Mar 11, 2026
I like those picks.
+1
Level 92
Mar 12, 2026
Agreed.
+2
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
San Antonio and Austin are dope. Food is really good in Texas. But I probably wouldn’t opt to live there again.

I love Colorado! Never been to Tenn or SC

+3
Level 51
Mar 11, 2026
Hawaii
+2
Level 61
Mar 11, 2026
I hate Hawaii with a passion
+2
Level 65
Mar 11, 2026
i love hawaii not for its politics but i have been there
+2
Level 65
Mar 11, 2026
bsolutely beautiful state
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
I mean it is beautiful, but it defied US Supreme Court Orders on a decision about the Constitution, put the Union Jack on its flag, and a whole lot more I will not say because it will probably go down a long rabbit hole and I don't want to be banned from the MB again
+5
Level ∞
Mar 12, 2026
Best state to visit. Possibly one of the worst to live in.

In college, I knew a girl who grew up in Hawaii and she said anyone with two brain cells immediately leaves after high school.

On the other hand, it's the closest thing to paradise on Earth that I've ever seen. I saw kids who were boogie boarding unsupervised on what was obviously a school day. Is this a bad thing? Your answer probably decides whether you'd be happy living there.

+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Those strict gun laws are unconstitutional and Hawaii defied a Supreme Court order to fix it.
+2
Level 23
Mar 12, 2026
oh no ppl want to be safe
+2
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
#1 More people in Europe died from Heat in 2022 than guns in the US, like 20,000 more people.

#2 Some of the highest gun violence in the United States appear in Gun Free Zones, which have extreme gun laws, such as Chicago.

#3 People who murder don't give a single care in the world about any other laws they break.

#4 When the UK banned guns, their stabbing rate went through the roof.

#5 It isn't as if people were able to commit mass murders before guns, right? swords, spears, and knives are some examples

Want more examples? I would be more than happy to share.

+4
Level 23
Mar 12, 2026
live in your fantasy kid
+3
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
It ain't a fantasy, it is reality.
+2
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
People will always have access to guns, even if they're illegal. They are like drugs-people don't care what laws they're breaking if they use them.
+2
Level 23
Mar 13, 2026
pretty much nobody has a gun in poland, and theyre illegal here.
+2
Level 61
Mar 13, 2026
Okay and? Didn't Australia ban guns and they had a shooting just a few months ago? Italy banned guns and explosives and they had a car bombing. If people don't care about breaking one major law such as killing, they don't care about the legality of their weapon of choice.
+2
Level 23
Mar 13, 2026
australia had one major shooting in a couple years. waaaay more happens in us every day.

youre literally proving my point - they banned guns and they had one shooting.... one.... same in italy lmao - it happens sometimes (very rarely tho), but not nearly as often as in the us, where gun control is pretty much nonexistent.

+1
Level 61
Mar 13, 2026
A couple of months ago they had a shooter who was taken down by a bystander, and then returned to shooting. Banning guns ain't doin anything good. The UK has banned guns, and while they may have not had any shootings, they still got like a couple thousand more stabbings per year than the US gun deaths per year.
+3
Level 79
Mar 11, 2026
Colorado first easily. Runner ups Montana, Utah, and Alaska
+2
Level 61
Mar 11, 2026
West Virginia in my personal bias. South Carolina and Wyoming are pretty good
+3
Level 62
Mar 11, 2026
Washington, Oregon and Kentucky.
+1
Level 56
Mar 11, 2026
Not an American, but I feel like it's either California or Hawaii.
+6
Level ∞
Mar 11, 2026
50 years ago, California was probably the best place on Earth.

Today... hard to say. Every state with big upsides also seems to have downsides. My current home state of Washington is pretty great, but the trajectory is probably downward.

+6
Level 72
Mar 11, 2026
I find it nearly impossible to claim California is the best state anymore. The natural landscape, climate, and the overall opportunity for it to thrive is through the roof, but certain happenings have dragged it down. Quite sad.

I love my state of South Carolina. Lovely climate and weather, and being in the South has shaped the people and their way of life to my preferred style like chivalry and politeness. The food is great and overall a good place to live. Although maybe I can't speak for the entire state, Charleston is definitely the place to be, likewise for Seattle.

+3
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
I saw a meme about California comparing it to Hell.

Both California and Hell have Sin

Both California and Hell are on Fire

But only California is crazily expensive to live in.

California is worse than Hell...

+1
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
Doesn't hell cost you your life to live in, though? Isn't your life the ultimate price? This isn't in defense of California, I think California sucks, just pointing out a hole in the joke.
+1
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
yeah but you get into hell for free just by behaving the right way. No frills attached.
+1
Level 39
Mar 11, 2026
NJ
+2
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
GO MINNESOTA
+2
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Fraud and cold is all I am going to say about Minnesota.
+3
Level 78
Mar 12, 2026
Kerala. ;)
+6
Level ∞
Mar 12, 2026
Obvious choice for India.
+1
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
No no tamil nadu on top
+2
Level 78
Mar 12, 2026
Kerala beats Tamil Nadu any day when it comes to infra, roads, cleanliness, beauty, quality of life, civic sense, universal literacy etc. ( Though both states are way ahead of much of India, in many ways).

Tamil Nadu does have Stalin, who definitely seems to have courage, whether one agrees with everything he says or not. Although it is an unfortunate name- it means ‘steel’ and he definitely seems to have a spine of steel.

+2
Level 72
Mar 12, 2026
No, Maharashtra 🙃
+2
Level 39
Mar 13, 2026
Nah, Rajasthan is better
+1
Level 72
Mar 13, 2026
No
+5
Level 56
Mar 12, 2026
Greenland
+1
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
That made me laugh
+2
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Canada
+1
Level 65
Mar 12, 2026
Venezuela /j (I don't know how to cross out)
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
< s >
+1
Level 23
Mar 12, 2026
dont give them ideas
+5
Level 75
Mar 12, 2026
Quark gluten plasma, the best state of matter.
+2
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
I live in a state of denial
+4
Level ∞
Mar 12, 2026
No. You are wrong. Bose-Einstein condesate is better.
+1
Level 52
Mar 12, 2026
Penn’s Woods.
+2
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
Oregon, Washington, Minnesota and Massachusetts. Minnesota is objectively one of the best states to live right now (aside from certain events recently). Oregon and Washington are absolutely beautiful, and if you like the outdoors, they have great access to fantastic woodlands, beaches, mountains, rivers, and waterfalls. Massachusetts has that New England natural landscape in the west of the state, great sites of American history, and Boston is a fantastic and beautiful city. Massachusetts is also known for its excellent healthcare system. I’d live in Mass. if I could.
+2
Level 78
Mar 12, 2026
Massachusetts does have the highest IQ in your country, apparently, but that is just one benchmark. And there are other things that are more important.

It seems beautiful, but is it on the ‘up’, overall?

+2
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
Yes, low rates of violent crime, good education, great standard of living, good healthcare, access to good jobs, etc.
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
I would argue extremely about Minnesota. Besides "current events" there has been rising home prices and it is fricking cold up there. It is beautiful but that has severe drawbacks. Massachusetts is a meh at best. Oregon and Washington have awesome places in the Eastern parts to live in.
+2
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
wear warm coat
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Warm coats don't fix yearly temperatures in the negatives (f). I mean seriously this year Minnesota was hit with -40 - -50 (f) temps.
+1
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
Coldest this winter was -43 F. Did you really think I was serious about a warm coat fixing that.
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
I was more talking about the "wind chills" (real feel) which got down to -45 to -63 (f)

Also, I did kinda think you were serious. You can't tell on the internet.

+2
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
fair point
+1
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
Yes, the cold winters are not awesome. But it otherwise rarely gets extreme weather, has access to plentiful natural resources (namely water), moderate politics, strong social cohesion among midwestern communities, etc.
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
"moderate" politics. I have already said something about this on here
+2
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
As if Minnesota is some raging leftist hellhole lol

It's a left-of-center somewhat liberal place with moderate policies and plenty of Republican-leaning areas. Just because a Democrat is the governor doesn't mean a place is a political extreme. The last Republican governor of MN was in office from 2003-2011. If a state swings frequently, its politics are more moderate.

Also, home prices are rising almost everywhere, not just Minnesota.

When you say that there are nice places to live in the east of Oregon and Washington, do you mean like the high desert? I think the woodlands and the river valleys in western Oregon and Washington are much prettier than the flat desert land, but to each his own I guess. There's a lot of crazies out in eastern OR & WA, it's almost Idaho.

+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Not exactly what I had meant. The fraud that is happening in Minnesota and how politics are trying to help the fraudsters is what I had meant. I know that Minnesota is not a very heavy democrat leaning state and that there are many republican leaning areas.

I had meant when I said Eastern Or and Wa that it is very beautiful scenery with the Rockies and not much people.

+1
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
Ah
+2
Level 82
Mar 12, 2026
Queensland
+1
Level 77
Mar 12, 2026
Tossup between Nevada and South Dakota for me
+1
Level 78
Mar 12, 2026
Sakha, in Siberia. (State Motto: All the parking you want.)
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Iran is about to become free parking...
+1
Level 76
Mar 12, 2026
New York, California, Florida, Hawaii, Colorado
+2
Level 68
Mar 12, 2026
MARYLAND RAHHHHHHHHH
+1
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
Maryland is quite beautiful
+2
Level 65
Mar 12, 2026
I am leaving California and moving to Idaho when I grow up
+3
Level 65
Mar 12, 2026
actually wyoming

no state income tax low property tax low sales tax

perfect state

+2
Level 54
Mar 12, 2026
yeah but it's empty and far from anywhere
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
That is the beauty
+1
Level 77
Mar 12, 2026
Wyoming is so overrated, it's always the state people glaze when they know nothing about Wyoming lol. Like they imagine it to look mostly like Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons when that's like less than 10% of what the state looks like.
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Overrated? Wyoming is one of the most beautiful US states, behind Alaska.
+2
Level 77
Mar 12, 2026
I'm talking about living in
+3
Level 18
Mar 12, 2026
Great landscapes but in terms of places to live, it’s barren, really cold, and insanely windy. There’s major waterways in Wyoming that in other climates would likely spawn large cities. In the winter Wyoming is pretty treacherous.
+1
Level 65
Mar 13, 2026
Mass FTW baby!