South Carolina:

I've always told my wife that if we up and moved right now, it would be somewhere in Colorado. Love both Colorado Springs and Denver. 4 of us went to good friend's condo in Woodland Park late last summer. Great time. She hates the traffic, but I could live in Denver or Springs pretty easily.

 

Having lived in Florida for many years now, I think there are equally compelling arguments for putting the state both on "worst" and "best" lists.

On the one hand, there's crime, corruption, dumb politicians, bad traffic and poor planning in many of the urban areas and a populace that's heavy on belligerent people, fraudsters and shlubs. The aforementioned weirdness factors is off the charts. Miami-Dade County's government is run like a banana republic; Broward County's government is run like a condo board. In an employment survey of the southeastern counties, "boiler-room operator" no doubt would make the list of most common occupations.

On the other hand -- warm weather, beaches, outdoor sports, lots of fun places to visit. I can hit the road and be in Key West in three hours. Or fly to a tropical island getaway in an hour or two. No state income tax, and the state is in good shape financially. And there's something to be said for simple day-to-day experiences -- such as seeing a flock of parrots on the backyard bird feeder during mid-January, when it's freezing in many other parts of the country. And ... people do continue to move here.

And the weirdness factor is often good for a laugh or two. As proof, I offer up the recent example of a co-worker who went to an anti-Trump protest in West Palm Beach and found himself face to face with ... Casey Anthony.

 

Casey Anthony is anti-Trump?
That cannot help the Dems during the mid-terms.

 

Almost as bad as Lena Dunham.

 

The faces of progressive politics in the US:
Lena Dunham-Casey Anthony for the White House in 2020.

 

Casey Anthony could knock Putin unconscious with chloroform, duct-tape his mouth and nose, then leave him in the woods to suffocate.

 

Or, the first time they have a summit meeting, Lena Dunham could just lift up her shirt and watch Putin's face melt off like the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

A high school friend of mine who was a flight attendant for many years (OK, it was with United, but don't hold that against her) and her husband retired from Chicago to the Longmont area a year or so ago. If her Facebook posts are any indication, they love it there.

And considering it's home to the Left Hand brewery along with Colorado's many other attributes, I'd probably love it there, too.

 

Florida's a pretty diverse state. It'd take me over 10 hours to get to Key West from my neck of the woods in Florida. I can get to grandma's in NE Louisiana faster.

 

Careful there, Mile High. From the I-25/I-70 intersection it is only seven miles east to the city limits of Aurora.