A Question to all Americans
 

So in a couple of years, my partner and I will graduate from University, and being young in our lives we decided to move to America (we live in the UK, and besides we can always come back)

Now obviously we wont be seriously searching for a while yet, and all we are doing at the moment is looking at all 50 states to see where we'd like to live and where we would not.

It was while researching America I came accross this site and realised that getting input from Americans might be helpful.

So the Question is: What do you think is the best/worst all-round state and why?

Thank you for any and all input you may have.

Sean: What will your degrees be in?

Engineering is on the wane in the great midwest. Tens of thousands of skilled workers in W. Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois will lose their jobs and income between now and 2010. All that work is being farmed out to the Indian Sub Continent.

Arts and Letters are thriving on the U.S. East Coast/West Coast/Gulf Coast.

The USA is being restructured from an industrialized powerhouse to a service economy. If you and your partner have the skills to thrive in a service economy, than this nation will be the place to relocate for at least a generation. If your education is all technical, start looking at SE Asia.

Good luck in your planning.

Mine is a Masters in Human Resources and hers is a Bachelors in Computing

Welcome to America, Sean.

You can fairly choose anywhere you and your partner have feelings for, with those degrees.

Microsoft in Seattle, Washington--the great northwest, might be worth a flyer to both of you. Also Boeing.

Nike in Oregon has "regained" its' dominance in the recreation industry.

You should begin to consider Texas also, I thing that States' economy is starting to percolate.

I hope other local voices chime in here to give you more valid info than I can.

Sean - As you know the continental US has 48 states and, quite honestly, they are significantly different from each other as to population, climate, job availability, life styles, etc. etc. so it is difficult for anyone to tell you which one is best/worst. Much will depend on what interests you. For instance, if you love snow skiing you might want to consider one of the New England states or perhaps one of the rocky mountain states. If you like large cities, New York might be just the place, if you crave wide open country side, good hunting and cold winters Montana might be perfect, similarily, if you enjoy beaches and year round sailing southern Florida would be a nice place. You get the idea.

Also, you do releaze that as a non-US citizen you cannot just show up in the US to live and work. You must apply for a work visa. These are not always easy to get. You have to have a unique skill and your potential employer must demonstrate that there are no US citizens qualified to do your job. I personally know several British citizens who have been trying for years to get work visas but have been unsuccessful. I also know others who have been fortunate to get their's. It's not impossible but it is difficult. You can check the US Immigration web-site for full details.

Good luck following your dream.

Yes am well aware i require a job initially to get a visa, im simply researching and welcoming all input

that and like you just demonstrated i know nothing about all the profiles of each states so the examples you gave are the kind of things im after.

Enjoy the search - if I had one thing in my life I could do over it would be that I took more risks/tried more things when I was younger.

Other than the obvious - where can you get a job and does it pay enough to live in a region - I will try to give a few overviews.

I hate snow, cold weather and dark days - so if it were me I would look at weather as an important factor. (Of course, I live in Boston which has rotten weather - so maybe that is why I put weather first). The southern part of the US can be horribly hot and humid in the summer, even though most places are air conditioned. I love the climate in California and the part of the East Coast south of Washington, DC (North Carolina, western Virginia)

The northeast part of the US is the one region of our country, especially Massachusetts, that is losing population.

Northeast and California are the areas most dense in educational institutions and used to be areas of jobs requiring higher education - but this is changing and is no longer the case.

Lifestyle is very different in different parts of the country. The northeast tends to be more fast paced, the south more polite and operates at a slower pace.

Florida does not count as "the south" despite its geography - most people move there rather than being born there.

The vast middle part of the country was traditionally a farming area - now mostly giant corporate farms - and a more family-oriented, conservative and in some areas religious part of the country.

In rural areas you tend to find more similarities among residents and more people who were born in that area - cities tend to attract a more diverse group of people who relocate to that area.

I would look towards coastal areas - either east or west, since I love the ocean.

Despite what your elderly relatives may tell you, people do not regularly and randomly shot at in our major cities - everyone is not walking around carrying a gun (when we have had guests and exchange students from Europe, that is what their relatives are most afraid of for them)

I might go with the find a job first approach, since there is so much good and bad about any part of our country. With your areas of education, you will likely find jobs near or in a larger city - but in many parts of the country that means you are only a short drive from some more rural area.

There is a post on this board titled something like "Do you speak American" which is really funny and would also give you some insight - maybe you can find it on Search or someone can reference it for you.

Do not move anywhere without posting here about that area - most regular posters here are self-described experts on someplace and the arguments about a particular area will be amusing at least.

I think Gail has summed up some of the issues quite well. You should also bear in mind the current "political" climate in the US and realize that this also varies considerably. There is, also a certain amount of xenophobia but that often doesn't extend to persons of the Caucasian race although in some places, anyone with a "foreign accent" may be viewed with suspicion.

There are, traditionally, some parts of the country which have gained a reputation as being "more friendly" than others; there was a recent thread here about the "friendliest state" or something similar.

Finally, be aware there are more than a few people here who, for whatever reason, are seriously thinking about moving to Europe and, hopefully, you'll hear from one of them soon.

Thank you that was a wonderful post and very insightful insights. I will attempt to track down the article you mentioned.

Obviously yes, the find a job is key, but the reason for my research, is that say - and im tooting my own horn here - i get three job offers of similar wage in (off the top of my head) Florida, Washington and Texas, it is the latter things that will make our choice. For instance while i can go through reams and reams of statistics for things such as pollution, average wage, average house price etc etc, theres a thousend and one things about all 50 states i dont know. Guess thats why im here.

I think that you might be terribly unhappy in the Southeastern part of the US. It gets terribly hot and humid there. Perhaps it was an exaggeration, but I seem to remember the temperature in the UK being in the 80s one summer and it was considered a "heat wave." We would have thought that 80 was a pleasant relief to our nearly 100 degrees F.

yea tempreture wise id say 20F to 85F

so any states outside that?

Hi Sean,
I actually did the same thing when I was younger but in reverse - I went over to England to work for a couple years. It was such a great experience and I felt so welcomed by so many warm and caring Brits.
Good luck and welcome;
Sherry

Sean, if you have read this and other message boards you will realize that some people exist for the sole purpose of being obnoxious. Ignoring them is the only course of action required.

My family emigrated here in the early 50's from Austria and I thank God every day we did. I can only speak for Michigan but we have become an amalgam of nations. My neighborhood is made up of people from many different countries and we all get along great. In fact, an accent is often a plus - Americans are especially fascinated by Britans, imo. We had a German exchange student for a summer and he was the most popular kid around. If you are friendly to people they will generally be friendly to you as well.

In general, you would probably do better in an urban area where there is already an eclectic mix of people. Do you drive? If you are used to walking or taking the tube, you might want to concentrate on areas with good mass transit where commuting by car is not a necessity. Chicago, Boston, Atlanta spring to mind.

Lots of luck!
Maggi

"yea tempreture wise id say 20F to 85F . . . so any states outside that?"

Um, yeah, pretty much all of them. We do not have the same moderate ocean climate that Britain has.

I'm issuing a challenge to my fellow Fodorites: ARE there any states that never go above 85 or below 20? My cousin who lives in Hawaii said that it never goes over 85 there (that moderating ocean influence again) but I checked and she's wrong.

Most states will be outside of that temperature range. The New England area, across the top of the States and some of the West Coast would be your best bet climate wise.

but be aware, that where it snows, it can snow DEEP.

Every New England state can guarantee you temperatures BOTH below 20 and above 85 every year.

Maybe the area around San Francisco would be an OK temperature, oh wait, then you have to worry about those dratted earthquakes.

Thanks for the information about the temperature, guess we will have to decide wether to be warmr or cooler than we are used to!

Id also like to thank the many people who have taken the time to help me, and I wont let the bad apples spoil the thread, so yes I shall ignore them!

On an off topic question - I know what red blue and purple states represent but where are they roughly?

Hi again,
I would guess that Sean meant those temp. as averages and not something written in stone. I live near the coast in RI (New England) and it hardly ever dips below 20 or above 85. Lot's of the coastal areas in New England, NY and NJ are the same although there can be some cold pockets within those areas.
Sherry

don't worry about those blue or red states. There will be pockets of red within the blue states and blue within the red. And it will change with every election. Some area will send Representatives to Washington from one party and then elect local or state governments from the other. In my opinion the Red/Blue state thing is something that the Media thought up in an effort to appear wise and knowledgeable.

I absolutely agree with aileen's assessment of the red/blue state thing. But to answer the question, blue states are the Northeast, Pacific Coast and much of the Great Lakes Region. The rest of them are red states.

This url (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/) shows a map of the US red & blue states for the 2004 election results. Red states widely outnumber blue. But when the map is rescaled to show population density and voting results by county you see a much different picture. Lots of purple and big pockets of blue in the midwest, south and southeast.

I agreed totally with what Maggi said, and I have first hand knowledge that it works the best. My job is many hats at a Midwestern Catholic University Library. I have student workers galore. We have about 4500 students. Lots and lots of them are international exchange students. I have post-grads who've come to me as grad.aides after having found the coasts fun- but brutal competition.

You will do WELL here with a UK accent. My one UK accent person just got a great intern job at a downtown Chicago nationwide broadcasted syndicated TV show, that shall remain nameless. Her degree is NOT in that field.

I have heard of some UK girls getting receptionist/secretarial jobs for the accent alone. Not that you'd want to do that, but you need to keep your options open. We are all not the society that some on these boards act like they "know". Some here are superficially influenced by looks, media, and especially radio / tv.
LOL! I think we all are.

You'd make a big hit in any Midwestern City and be able to hit all directions for travel. You could even have a Great Lake if you are lucky. The temps are cold in winter only- and much, much more temperate in the last decade. Snow has not been a factor, beyond three times in the last 10 years in Chicago- for anyone of your age.

The coasts have a different perception of America than most of America does. That's a vast generalization, but one that is being studied now, because it is mostly being found true.

As far as the immigrant thing goes, we USA citizens might all be immigrants from some time ago, but the world, history, and economics were very different for the most part then. For one thing there was not the globilization. Most of the nations threw us OUT as "extras" or undesirables when you get right down to it. And the the USA picked us up for labor. At least that was the case for almost all my Chicagoans.

And Seantopia, don't take the nasties or negatives to heart. There are a lot of people who do "use" the USA, but we are big enough to have them for guests and much more. The percentage of people going to live in Europe or leaving the USA for permanent residency is miniscule as well. There are far more coming in the other direction and from education and youth too, as you are.

KNOW the laws, and live them and welcome.

Try this site - if not for anything else, for fun:

www.findyourspot.com

Wow! This question and the response from the poster sounds like a school project. This is also the type of homework assignment I'd give to a geography class.

The lack of punctuation -- especially in contractions and at the end of sentences --as well as the lack of capitalization remind me of checking the homework of preteens.

..."red blue purple states?" Come on. University students would be finding this information on the Internet via the weather channel or in the old fashioned encyclopedias.
Also, each state has at least one web site where this information and more is readily available.

It also seems as if Sean should be researching the states where he has the job offers and not all 50.

Cheers, mate.
Sorry if I'm wrong, Sean.

Sean - realisticially the only way to do this is to find a job at a major multinational that will give you the chance to transfer to the US at some point. Employers here are not allowed to give jobs to foreign nationals unless there are no americans to take those jobs (sometimes even west end stars have trouble getting work visas for Broadway productions).

Also even if you get such a job your partner would then not be able to work - exept illegally off the books at a low paying job - unless she/he hooks up with the same company.

So - I think the options of where you live will be limited by your job opportunities.

The other option is to do what many young Britisih/Irish grads do - come to the US on a tourist visa and then simply stay. The problem is you must then get a low-paying job off the books (construction, bartender, nanny) and are subject to deportation. (A friend of mind found several live-in nannies this way - they generally stayed a year or two to save some money to travel aound - and then went home.)

As to where to live (versus travel) your opportunities are obviously greatst in one of the major cities - which also provide a lot more culture and nightlife you will probably want.

My suggestions: New York or San Francisco - you can then see other areas on vacations.

Getting back to your original question about the best/worst all around state. As others have noted, best and worst is pretty subjective. If you give us a little more insight into your likes and dislikes, we will be able to steer you toward a particular state or region.

Good luck, sounds like a great adventure!

To Anon regarding temperatures - no state that does not go to 85 or down to 20 - but San Diego has my idea of a perfect climate. I like the 55-75 temperature range year round. When we vacationed there, I had to be almost dragged back to the plane to go home.

Sean,

Generally speaking (with some exceptions of course), the east and west coast have the most high tech jobs and suited to a HR MBA.

The middle of the country leans toward farming, energy products, and manufacturing.

To make an even MORE broad swipe: look at housing costs. It sounds obvious, but the most desirable areas cost more to live in. Simplr supply and demand. I would look at Portland OR, San Francisco, Seattle, NYC, Boston (though it does have some extreme weather in winter), and Washington, DC.

Also, read the local newspapers from the areas to get an idea of the political vibe there. You'll be surpised that someone considered a centrist in the UK would be considered very liberal in the USA. I'm not even talking things like about gay marrige like your country now has. There are even some states here that have legislation to prevent or slow down the teaching of evolution. I'm not kidding.

IMHO, the West coast and the East coast (at points north of Virginia) are areas that take a more sensible view of things.

Hope this doesn't totally confuse you. Best of luck.

Sean, as far as temps, the western slopes of the Cascade mountains (Oregon and Washington) are generally mild. Seattle rarely gets above 85 in the summer and has few days below freezing in the winter.

See: http://www.see-seattle.com/weather.htm

There is that rain, though.....

I used to advise students to find a place where you want to live, and then find a job, but that won't work for you. Your priority is to get a job first and then a work visa. LOTS of Americans are looking for HR jobs, so it's going to be nearly impossible for an employer to certify any foreigner for a work visa. And why should they? Americans deserve the jobs first, and the paperwork and expense of qualifying an employee are very high. Also, HR in the US is highly legalistic, and not knowing US labor laws would be a disadvantage.

As for computer science, there are a lot of openings developing in Dallas right now, but the climate is VERY hot in the summer (plan on living in air conditioning from May through mid-October). She has a lot better chance of getting a job than you do. My advice is for her to get a computer job (regardless of state), get a visa, work for a year or two in that job, and then move to the state where you want to live permanently.

And here are enough DC area jobs to make your head spin:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wl/jobs/home?nav=left

Pick the entire "metro DC region" in the location pull down.

The computer jobs pay well, about $100,000 USD annually. I'm not familiar enough with HR, but since unemployment here is about 2%, you can bet they pay <b>well</b> above the national average.

Seantopia:

Its all in what you want. There are great places to live in a variety of different states. Tell us of your interests and we may have some answers.

My two cents:
Having found on vacations that his UK climate is comfortably similar to mine in Michigan, I feel comfortable advising Sean to look above a line from Washington DC to San Diego. One can easily endure temps below 20 F, even to 0 F, but the heat and humidity above 90 F, as is found from Texas to the Carolinas in summer, is pervading.

Sean, you came to the right web site for advice. People at Fodors love to help.

I would also like to help you but I think I/we need to know a little more about you and your partner's expectations, likes and dislikes.

For example:
City life or rural life.
Outdoor adventurers or museum lovers.
Conservative or liberal.
Beaches or mountains.
Public trasportation or cars.
Money is no object or strapped for cash.
year-round warm or shoveling snow all winter.
Religious or non-religious.

I could give you suggestions based on any of these questions. All of the above posted suggestions are good but we need to know a little more about you and your partner.

Serveral years ago a got a work visa for the UK. I ended up working in London at a restaurant. I loved it. Please give us a bit more information about yourselves.

Would you want to school and work together, because your options there are greater? If you are looking for a grad degree and work, there are more ways to do it legally that aren't as limiting as some above have stated.

And to stereotype the entire middle of the country with red/blue or farming/industry is absolutely ridiculous- and in most cases about 30 to 50 years behind the times. Right now in 2006, farming is only 2.5% of the entire nation's population related work- including the coasts. This isn't direct farming either, just related to farming.

Hi Sean!
I am a teacher, so my slant is this; do you plan on having children? If so, your decision should include a look at our school systems, which are largely under the state's jurisdiction and so vary greatly from state to state. I am from Minnesota and am proud of the fact that our state is consistently ranked in the top 2 or 3 in education. Our students recently outscored all other states on the ACT (pre University entrance) exams. The Midwest area generally places on the top in national rankings for schools; you should be able to find information on the internet about these statistics.
Our Minneapolis/ St. Paul metropolitan area is known for perfoming arts (2nd only in theater seats per capita to New York City) excellent medical facilities, and beautiful lakes and parks. We do have 4 seasons here and it can be humid in the Summer and well below zero in the Winter....that may help you decide! I happen to love Winter, but it is not everyone's &quot;cup of tea!!&quot; The political climate in my state tends to be liberal; we did not elect George W. Bush in the last election. There are several large corporations based here; the area of medical device manufacturing is growing in our state. Good luck in your search and I hope you feel welcomed here.

Sean: This is fun, seeing how various Americans comment about their own country. What a variety of answers, too. I'm an older Middlewesterner with family in the East and have traveled all over. With that said, I find it hard to generalize because the U. S. is such a large land with so many variations, in addition variations within a particular area.

For example, I'm now retired in Springfield, Missouri, and while it is known as a place of religious/political conservatism, we have a host of
&quot;liberal&quot; friends. We have three universities here and a good arts community. Something similar is likely true with many other places, too.

Gail lives in Boston and while the weather can be dismal we very much enjoy Boston where our son lives and up the coast where our daughter lives. Much preferable to the wasteland of Texas (and this is where the stones are hurled). Yes, weather might be a factor as to what you are used to or want to have, certainly also type of community meaning urban-rural. Also other considerations as put forth by jorr. Bardo1 has valid comments about housing cost which vary greatly, also social attitudes that may be appalling.

I think of differences betw. the UK and U.S. and see many geographically, religiously, politically, etc. Even the &quot;language&quot; is different....yes, I'm the one who initiated the recent discussions of &quot;Do you speak American?&quot;
BTW, have you considered Canada?

ozarksbill [email protected]

It's hard to sort entire states by temperatures--quite a few have areas that get hotter than others. California is a good example. The cities along the northen coast have much more moderate (and lovely!) climates than those farther inland, where summer temperatures can easily reach 100 degrees F. However, air-conditioning is widespread, which makes the heat less of a problem.

Since you are both young, I would recommend being near a large city. It will be more fun for you. There will be nightlife and you will be able to walk and take public transportation places.
Weather should be a factor in choosing a destination. It is a lifestyle. Some people can't get enough of the cold weather and others love the heat. Somewhere inbetween is my personal choice.
You will be well received with a brit accent. I don't think anyone would be anti-british here. Most girls will probably find your accent appealing. So, hopefully lots of dates for you!! :)
This country is so big and things like climate varies greatly. See what your career options are and then you can look up the highs and the low averages. Also, remember, the further south you go, the higher the humidity. That is hard to get used to.
Good luck!