Tell us about your state ... The good, the bad, and the crazy.

Louisiana is home now. Have lived in many states. Texas and AK were two of my favorites besides Louisiana.

Texas: Lived in Abilene. Loved the people, hated the dry heat of West Texas and couldn't get much to grow in that soil, but enjoyed the community spirit.

AK: Lived in Anchorage. (and no it's not the armpit of AK). In fact, not sure if AK has an armpit. Loved the people, the laid back way of life there, the hunting and fishing is unbelievable. No comparison in the views and landscape. Breathtaking no matter where you are in that state.

Louisiana: Love it the most because it is home. The land is fertile, the weather is interesting, (90's last weekend and 50's yesterday), but 242 days in the growing season. Lots of interesting people. Very diverse state and diverse people. It seems that having fun is high on everyone's agenda. The humidity is a killer from June-Sept. Bugs...we have em but not bad up in the north part of the state. Graceful living...we have it. Great food and music. Low property taxes. 6 acres homestead with home costs 144.00 a year. State tax 6%, and average city tax 9%. Lot's of jobs everywhere...mostly service industry, gas and oil, and medical. Not a lot of restrictive codes and regulations. It is a state where each corner is like living in a different world both climate and people. Come on down...you will love it.

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Christanie Farm...living life as it was intended

I live in Alabama. I love it here. Several people have already sung its praises and I'll agree with every one. When I was young I used to cry because I didn't want to go to heaven when I died--I just wanted to stay in Alabama.

But what they say about bugs and humidity and tornados is all true. I tend to like humidity, though. And the bugs--I've learned to catch and release the big ones that get into the house because it's just too big a mess if you squash them. Tornados are the worst part for me. I really really need a tool shed with a basement to run to during those times.

We love WV! Mountain people are helpful, friendly and Christian. But, we also treasure our privacy! But, we have this new Governor that has changed our state slogan to WV Open for Business! And, to beat all he has been traveling to Japan, China and who knows where else to get business! Already loggers are raping our beautiful forests. Big housing developments are being built in the woods, driving deer, bear and other critters out. And we wonder why?
Oriental restaurents on every corner. I guess I am an old fashioned hill billy, but I would love to see commercial progress in our state stop.

[QUOTE=Farmer Willy] Had a sis in law that lived in Lynch for years, then Pikeville.

Heck, we're probably related, as most folks in those parts are. I'm a Benham native.

Kind of like Ky -- Bugs -- Big HUGE UGLY ones that bite, killer snakes, no jobs, taXES TOO HIGH, No jobs, no yankees allowed, everyone is related, roads bad, no food!!! But really? Taxes low, not a lot of jobs in rural areas, great fishing n hunting, everyone carries a gun in car -- asked a state trooper about gun carry -- he told me how else you gonna shoot that deer on the side of the road? TRUTH! Land getting pricey tho, too many yanks movin in! Get away from the citys and its a great place to live!

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don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- George W. Bush

We just bought our place in Central Texas. Almost 14 acres, half fairly heavily treed - the woodlot for our woodburning stove is sorted. The other half in pasture that can be good with a year or two or rest and some fertilizing. Sandy soil that needs a bit of building up, but has a clay base 1 - 2 feet down that holds the water well. Almost 1500 square foot double wide mobile home in place and in very good almost new condition. Our taxes are just under $400 a year!

We just retrofitted the house for gas appliances (stove, dryer, tankless water heater) DH is setting up the batch solar hot water heater which will preheat before the tankless gets the water, and it likely won't even have to come on for some months.

Next we plan to put in our solar electric system and put a big cover over the huge front deck and we should be pretty comfortable. Wait - we already are. The back has a huge deck too, completely shaded with old oak trees right up to the roof - and they shade the house too when the sun gets past midday.

Yeah, there are bugs. And heat. And humidity, though not as bad as east Texas by any means. We are cooling with an evaporative cooler and it's doing a pretty good job.

It was very dry all last year from August, but we are doing ok right now. We do have our own well, and it's on a separate electric meter from the house. We think we'll just leave it as is, and pay the electric for the water.

BUT - the folks are friendly, pleasant, and helpful, and not nosy at all. The gun law is not a problem, and out here, you want something you just build it, you don't ask for permission. The sales tax is about average - with city taxes added on we pay 8.75%. Don't like it much, but since the taxes on the place are so low and we don't have the added complication of state income tax, I'm not complaining.

Fantastic long growing season, though midsummer the only things that like it are melons, corn, blackeyed peas and okra. Tomatoes are fine as long as it doesn't get above 80 degrees at night.. or they can't set fruit. They don't die, just don't produce until it cools off again.

Our place came with peach trees, plum trees, an apple tree and pear tree. The pear and some of the peaches got frosted, but we still are going to have fruit!

We live 12 miles from the nearest town of 2,500. Gas is expensive, but we try not to go too often, and we really hate leaving anyway. In a few months we plan to have chickens and a couple of pigs to raise up, next year we will try adding a beef calf perhaps, and maybe some dairy goats. And we can do all of that without anyone out here batting an eye. If NAIS will just leave us alone...

Oh yeah. In this area you will see jobs advertised, but they don't pay as well as more urban areas, and about 50 people apply for each position. So the job situation isn't good. Not horrific, my sister just got a new job with the local college. It's not impossible, but the pay isn't usually very exciting. Well, ok, maybe it is if you've not had a job lately, but you get the idea.

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"Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not."
Thomas Jefferson

Here's the places I've had experience with:

Seattle, WA:
Pretty city, educated people, liberals, somewhat standoffish people (they did a story about it in the paper!), gray skies and cloudy but the sun does come out occasionally. Schools vary from district to district. Home prices beyond most folks budget except for those who work at Microsoft or those who brought their equity up from Southern Ca.

Manzanita, OR (North Oregon Coast):
funky, stormy, rains A LOT, hippies, surfers, tiny towns, more liberals, large unemployment rate (not many jobs), some of the most gorgeous scenery you'll ever lay eyes on.

Anchorage, AK:
Not what you think of when you think of Alaska except that moose wander through yards even in the city. Dirty, hookers, drug deals at Earthquake Park, high home prices.

Bend, OR (dead center of the state):
2 seasons--Winter and Summer, huge growth in the past 10 years (mostly CA transplants), active people (skiing, biking, kayaking, you name it), tans, wealthy folks, everyone owns a dog (not kidding--this was in the paper, too!), small town in some ways but still has a "rush hour", growing pains, still somewhat conservative, low humidity (too low for some folks--they call it Benditis--mimics allergies), 22 roundabouts because people don't want to wait their turn at an intersection.

Whidbey Island, WA: (specifically the north end)
Sunny (we're in a rain shadow---enough rain to keep it green, but not enough to drown ya), vocal minority of liberals, farmers markets, farmers, mix of neighborhoods and 5-10-20 acre parcels, HIGH property taxes, HIGH home/land prices, 8.3% sales tax, people can be standoffish to outsiders but VERY open once they get to know you. Probably the best place to live I can think of. Great weather, BEAUTIFUL scenery, huge cedar trees, eagles, fishing (not as plentiful as it once was), secluded but a 20 minute ferry ride to Seattle, codes are inforced by the county and permits are required for almost anything BUT that does preserve the feel that everyone treasures around here so it depends on how you look at it.

--f.g.

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Make April 15th just another day! www.fairtax.org

Live in Central Arkansas, about 25 miles south west of Little Rock, with directions to the house that naturally containd the phrase " turn up a gravel road".
Coming from a country tahat doesnt have chiggers, red wasps, poisonous snakes ( except adders which might you swell a bit ) , ticks, tornadoes, the most phenominal thunder storms and 100F before you take humidity into account this all came as a shock to us. But we are glad we moved to AR.
Trees, lakes, rivers and more trees. Great fishing and deer hunting. They say here if you dont like the weather hang around for a few hours, its sure to change.
People are really friendly and most will ask how are you doing, and it is real easy to strike up conversations with strangers.
Crime where we live is low although obviously its different in the city.
Gun laws are fairly relaxed and you can get a concealed weapon permit. Maybe in some of these liberal States crime would be lower if people knew that if you went to rob someone in the street they may just pull a handgun and blow your ass away.
There is a Church behind every tree, and when we come before the Great Judge telling him you lived in Arkansas but never heard of Jesus wont fly. We were all saved and accepted Jesus into our hearts and even this would be worth selling everything we owned and moving 3500 miles to AR. Why AR - I guess God knows that one. I only know that we are truelly blessed. Only another 12 months and we should be able to get US citizenship. This is home.

Do you race Pigeons? I use to dabble in it when i was little. I want to raise a few for meat when i get home to the wonderful state of AR,Your right I could not belive the temp flunctuations in Ar never had seen anything like it.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

i'll be the oklahoma sucker, not terrible, but it's not home. it has a right to farm law, but i couldn't tell you what it says. land seems to go for about 2000 an acre around here. my particular spot is rocky, but i know people 10 miles from here that have good soil.

jobs in this small town are minimum wage for the most part. property taxes aren't bad, though i couldn't quote you right now. local sales tax is 9% not a typo!! kinda sad. the do have a homestead exemption, but again, can't quote anything on that.

all in all, i'd rather be in AR, MO or KS and will be after a few years. just my personal preference.

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-when life gives you lemons, find a big slingshot!!!-

I will throw in my 2 cents on Michigan. Land prices through the roof in my area as the influx of McMansion builders from Chicago. The orchards and vineyards that earned this area the fruit belt nickname are being ripped out in favor of 5 acre lawns.

Education budget cuts have left our schools in dire shape. That might change after we vote our dear lady govener back to Canada where she came from.

Unemployment rates among the highest in the country. Gee cant figure out why. Autos and Agriculture are two of the largest industries in the state. So what do they do? Rip out the crops to build bigger garages to park their forign cars in.

Roads are more pot hole than pavement.
2.50 a pack tax on cigs.
We arnt known as the welfare state for nothing.
Beaches full of Chicagoites. OK so we do have tourism going for us.
Taxes going up fast. Have to pay for county and state services to acomodate all those new home owners.

Thats my take on my state. Id never live anywhere else.

I am in sw Virginia.

Too many city types coming in and ruining everything. Overvalued real estate, and rising property taxes. If they had their way, there won't be a tree standing in the state. Regulations, can't build this here, only homes worth $xxxxxxx can be built there. Hey! we forgot to put a strip mall in. Aw heck, let's just go ahead and make it two.


KEEP OUT! You're ruining everything!!!!!

Western WA -- you don't want to move here. As someone mentioned already, it rains. 40 days and 40 nights is considered a drought here. Mt. Rainier is just a rumour; you can never see it because it's always raining. The state bird is a slug. A really BIG slug. Lots of 'em. Algae grows on the cars here. And we don't have lawns here, we have moss plantations. Property taxes will kill you if you managed to scrape up enough money to buy any land. Oh -- earthquakes: we have those, too. The BIG ONE is due any day now, and there is nothing you can do about it.

I've heard eastern WA is a good place to live. If you like to grow rocks.

I gotta agree about the northern tier.
One thing about PA. thats not often thought about is our liberal gun laws.
We are a "Shall issue" state which means that if you quilfy for a conseal carry permit. They MUST issue one. Also all you need to get a gun is a clean record (no felonys or mental disease) and a drivers licence for ID and cash. Thats it. Hand guns too.

As for building codes..... If it's a farm structure. The UCC code has no effect. So it's really not so bad.

Hey that is not true i lived in Spokane for a year. There is sage brush to and if you look really hard you can find stunted pine trees in patches and near water they even have aspens and morels there.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

Jnap31 -- You're one of those half-full people, aren't you?

Maybe I am most of the time anyway. LOL

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

Pleasant Hill, SC
The best place on earth, if you overlook the mosquitoes, fireants, heat, flooded yards when it rains- poor drainage and the occasional hurricane or tornado.
In the spring it is hot during the day, cool at night. Summer is hotter during the day, hot at night, fall is hot during the day, cool at night. Winter is Chilly some days, pretty damned cold at night. I love the weather here 'cept when I'm complining about it.
This is the weather report for the summer: "Highs in the low 90's with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms"
If I had to make a welcome kit for a new resident, I would include: Bug repellant, fireant poison, A straw gardening hat and gloves, an azalea bush, suntan lotion, and a bush axe.
We like BBQ, boiled peanuts, pileau (pronounced 'Per low'), baseball and softball, hunting and fishing, and vegetable gardens. If you come here, mention any of these things and you will have started a conversation.
Taxes are almost reasonable. The elementary school here is just the best, but middle and high are trying to improve, still got a ways to go. Statewide, SC ranks pretty low education wise, but I don't know why unless it is a few school districts bringing down the average for the state.
The upstate, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, is beautiful. Totally different atmoshere than the low country. More job opportunity too, I believe.

I was born in Alabama and chose to retire here. I love the state and its people. Nevertheless, I grieve at some of the evil things that remain from reconstruction. The racism that was here when I was a child remains, it's just done underground. The politicians really are as stupid as they seem on TV, because most bright people pursue other jobs that pay them well and don't involve the ethical lapses that many corporations promote.

The culture seems trapped in its need to affirm both God and the military, without every questioning how the politicians manipulate those ideas for their own ends.

Most of the people are generous and frugal. It makes for some interesting discussions when you ask about ways to get a job done. Several times I have had to insist that my contractors build the house according to code, even though we have no county inspections.

Most liberals here make their presence known by discussing literature.
It's safer and avoids the name calling. Although, you will get fooled every now and then by the "conservative libertarians".

Having lived in two other places 1,000 miles away in each direction, I have yet to find places that are as beautiful and affordable. That's why I came home.. Mama called.

I’ll take on California. CA is really divided into northern and southern. Liberal along the coast, more conservative inland. High land costs all over. We have mountains, deserts, oceans and a lot of people. Taxes are about in the middle. Property taxes are secured by Prop 13. Sale taxes are from 7.5% to 8.5% depending on county. There are areas that welcome the self-sufficient lifestyle like in the Trinity Mtns. If you are involved in politics the different regions can drive you crazy. Did I mention high property costs? There are top school districts, you just need to look. Illegal immigration is taking its toll on public services. Southern CA, particularly LA is a world of thier own and we have Arnold.