New England and Oregon Top US States List, South Lags

New England and Oregon beat the US South

What is the best US state to live in? For those eyeing real estate, the answer is consistent: New England and the Pacific coast. Vermont is described as «a European-style principality», an orderly, alpine territory. Oregon, with cities like Portland, takes second place. The discussion has a catch, as one participant joked: the most liked states are, almost without exception, those the Democratic Party wins on election day.

Which US states fare best on the map?

The winning bloc is heterogeneous. New England —six small states, with Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine as favorites— offers history and European-style urban planning. Vermont wins for landscape and scale. Oregon and Washington, with their Pacific facade, form what is called Cascadia, with some proposing a merger including northern California. Colorado enters strongly: Denver functions like Madrid at the foot of a range, except here is a wall of 4,500-meter mountains.

The explanation for this distribution is not just aesthetic. The forested northern states concentrate high-income populations, tech industry, and human capital that has turned a vast, wild territory into the world’s leading power. Alaska and Montana also appear, though with nuances: vast areas, few neighbors, and a romantic image corrected by winter.

Texas and the South, the most widespread rejection

If there is consensus, it is on the rejection of the Deep South. Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama are cited as the worst, arguing they combine unbearable heat, non-existent urban planning, and a climate no one would choose. Texas is described as a mix of plateau and desert; Louisiana, as a territory with New Orleans as a monumental exception, though with sidewalks and roads full of potholes «worthy of Brazzaville». West Virginia accumulates its own legend: a declining mining area, opioid addiction, and a series —Dopesick— turned mandatory reading on the disaster.

It is important to note that much of this rejection is expressed with contempt for its inhabitants, and that this framework does not withstand serious analysis. Mining depopulation, the fentanyl crisis, and industrial collapse are phenomena with complex causes, not character flaws of a region.

Great Lakes and Midwest: industrial power and decay

The Great Lakes region appears as a missed opportunity. Powerful cities, river access, extreme climate —40 degrees in summer and 40 below zero in winter— and maritime connections unmatched by any other zone. Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee form the axis many describe as the best region on paper. The problem, according to this diagnosis, is the gap between that potential and the reality of emptied neighborhoods and decay.

Minnesota enters through pragmatism: a shoreline on Lake Superior, the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area, harsh winters, and a population of Scandinavian origin. Nebraska, known for having nothing, hides two surprises few visit: the Omaha zoo, with a dome reproducing a desert ecosystem, and the Lincoln capitol, an art deco building with Byzantine-inspired mosaics.

California, Seattle, Houston, or Miami: climate decides

Climate is the great arbiter. California wins for best weather —perpetual summer, indescribable light— though its major city divides opinion: Los Angeles is for some an hypertrophied Marbella, with a center full of vacant lots, and for others a place to explore without museum pretensions. Seattle and Washington offer greenery, mountains, and coast, with the cost of months without sun, constant rain, and increasingly expensive housing.

Texas reappears, this time via Houston: a monstrous city, with little pedestrian life, a poor center, and a humid climate prone to hurricanes. Miami closes the list of disappointments for those arriving with European expectations: sun, sociable Cubans, and little else, with a climate described as noxious. Some argue that, in cultural offerings, the city does not compete with New York or Washington.

From MIMAL to Denver’s Blue Mustang

The map has its curiosities. Several central states form the silhouette known as MIMAL, a human figure with a frying pan and fried chicken that serves as a mnemonic rule to remember the order of Kentucky, Tennessee, and company. At Denver airport waits the so-called Blue Mustang, a blue horse with red eyes that killed its sculptor when a piece fell during lifting. And Washington state has a beach, La Push, famous among teenagers for a vampire saga.

All this, of course, without leaving home. With such material, it would be logical for travel agencies to sell Oregon as a mass destination. The screen still wins.