South Carolina:

The more time that elapses since I left, the more I realize what a complete shithole Pennsylvania is.

 

Well, there went lunch plans.

 

Haven't been to Indiana enough to say definitively that it should be a contender, but ... seems like it should be.

 

Some of it, for sure, but I think there's a case to be made for Pittsburgh as the great American city.

 

I like Philadelphia proper, and Pittsburgh has a good rep, but agreed on much of the state. I think there are tribes living under overpasses on I-80 that have never had contact with the outside world.
And then there's U.S. 1/U.S. 13 corridor between Philly and Trenton. If you ever need to find a muffler shop, shady body shop, or a carpet wholesaler, that is the place to be.

 

First time I stayed in West Lafayette, I was amused by the amount of fertilizer ads on TV.

 

And it's not just that Louisiana leads the nation in murder rate, but also that its rate is so far higher, relatively speaking, than all the runner-up states. (But, yikes, then there's D.C.: totally off the chart!)

Murder and Non-negligent Murder per 100,000 (2015):

Louisiana 10.3
Mississippi 8.7
Maryland 8.6
South Carolina 8.1
Alaska 8
Alabama 7.2
Nevada 6.2
Tennessee 6.2
Georgia 6

Washington, D.C. 24.1

Louisiana tops murder rate again, new FBI data shows

 

I give Pennsylvania points for inspiring my favorite series of sketches.

 

I haven't been to Pittsburgh since 1991.
But I love Philly.

I've always thought Louisiana was dumpster fire. Don't really know. Just my impression.

Of course, I'm originally from NJ, where they have no-bid gov't contracts and the state Supreme Court says public bond money can be spent in ways not approved by voters.

 

In the last 18 months or so, I've spent time in Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana.

New Jersey was the shittiest by a factor of 10. No competition.

 

Again, I state my case for Oklahoma.
Just a vast open space of nothingness. And the large majority of the people that reside in that giant cesspool of depression are morons.
I can honestly say there is not one redeeming quality about the state.

 

Illinois and Vermont should get together and go bowling sometime ...