Which State would you rather live in: Michigan or Florida

[Mexican Wolf]

Definitely Michigan (as a cold weather person who likes wolves and the Great Lakes).

[Dani Rose]

Michigan by far. Not only is DeSantis actively, aggressively making Florida as uninhabitable as possible to queer people, Michigan is just way more along the lines of what I'm used to and what I like.

[Continential]

Anyway to answer the question, I have family/family friends in Michigan and I live in a place like Michigan so I’d pick Michigan.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

How much time and money you will spend worrying about or reacting to hurricanes in Michigan: 0.

[Del Tachi]

More than 20,000 Michiganders moved to Florida in 2019 (i.e., pre-covid) and Florida is the top out-of-state destination for Michigan residents.

Florida has no state income tax and an overall lower cost of living than Michigan.  Tampa and Miami are better, more amenity-rich cities than Detroit; Orlando is too, actually (it's a top international tourist and conference destination) but I really wouldn't consider living there for other reasons.

You don't get swamp ass in Michigan. Their lakeside beaches are actually much nicer than Florida in the summer due to it not being super f--king hot.

Try going to a Michigan beach between Oct and May LOL

They also have actual seasons

Yes, and one is them is called "spend all day shoveling snow."

underrated scenery in places like the UP

Have you ever heard of Dry Tortugas?  Florida is the imminently premier state for year-round outdoor or water-adjacent activity (i.e., boating, fishing, diving, golf, etc.)

the tourist traps that make up most of Florida

Most of Florida is not particularly touristy unless you're right on certain beaches or near Orlando.  FL is the #1 tourism state in the country, but that's just more evidence of how great it is!

nicer smarter and less crazy people

Michigan has more violent crime than Florida (478.0 vs 383.6 per 100k population in 2020.)

and a better flagship university and college town to go with it

U.S. News and Report actually ranks Florida #1 in the country for higher education, given they have 3 public universities in the top 100 and the lowest tuition and fees of any state

They have an actual, unique and interesting culture,

Uhm, excuse me but is unique or interesting about the Upper Midwest of all places?  The only kind of cool thing I immediately associate with Michigan is Motown.

Also, the foreign-born population of FL is something like 4.4M (~21%) versus 700k (~7%) in MI.  Do vibrant Cuban, Haitian, Venezuelan and Jamaican  (among others) immigrant communities not combine to create something unique in FL?  lmao

whereas Florida feels like one big Jimmy Buffett/Disney resort

Does it?  St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States.  Miami is more international than any American city except NYC/LA/SF.  Key West was Hemingway's muse.  Glitzy, Art Deco South Beach is one of the most architecturally distinct cities in America.  Wilton Manors is the gayest city in the country.  If you think Florida is 100% Kenny Chesney-land then you need to work on branching out while you're down here, LOL  


It's always amusing to watch the Red Atlas' contrived reactions to this hugely successful, dynamic and diverse state.  They hate it so much only because of how it has consistently shifted away from their party for over 20 years now, exposing their "demographics is destiny" hubris.
 

[scutosaurus]

snip

enjoy ur hurricanes lmao

[KaiserDave]

They also have actual seasons

Yes, and one is them is called "spend all day shoveling snow."

Problem?

[Kleine Scheiße]

happy to visit florida, but would never want to live there

[Liminal Trans Girl]

Michigan to be far away from Fuzzy Bear

[SInNYC]

MI, not even close.

I lived in FL and would never consider it as a place to live. The number one reason is that  my neighbors were King of the Hill characters.

I suppose its good if you like beaches, but I'm not a beach person, and much prefer a mountain or at least hill with a lake (no, a 5' deep wetland hole is not a lake). And I like real trees you can sit under (not palms), which dont really exist in a good chunk of the state.

Development-wise, roads arent walkable, and drivers make it even less so. Some suburban parts are too gated for my liking. Most buildings are flat 1-story, though thats wise in huricane/termite country.

If not for warm weather, which many Americans seem to worship, would anybody actually want to live i FL?

[Hammy]

Michigan for not being Florida!

That's coming from an Ohioan. What does that tell you?

It tells me people in Ohio know what they're talking about

[Хahar 🤔]

Florida (normal)

It's always amusing to watch the Red Atlas' contrived reactions to this hugely successful, dynamic and diverse state.  They hate it so much only because of how it has consistently shifted away from their party for over 20 years now, exposing their "demographics is destiny" hubris. 

This is definitely part of it but I don't think it's all of it. A lot of Atlas posters have always been very performative about how much they hate places with warm weather. I think that this is because they don't go outside.

[Since I'm the mad scientist proclaimed by myself]

Michigan because I'm trans and so the fact that Florida's government is so focused on targeting trans people is not appealing(and since because of my mental health issues I may be on medicaid for a while, Florida not letting medicaid cover HRT is particularly bad). Also from what I can find online Michigan is better on mental health than Florida by quite a bit.

[Torie]

Florida is not loathsome by virtue of its warm climate (I grew up in SoCal), or even its hurricanes. It's loathsome because it's flat and ugly with unplanned sprawling development and with particularly ugly architecture built for the express purpose of punishing my eyes. Ugh!

And I loved the three years that I spent in Ann Arbor. The Hudson River is the best of course. I still am in utter awe of it, in all its majesty.

[Xing]

Tough call. I definitely prefer Florida's climate, though I would argue that as far as warm climates are concerned, Southern California and Hawaii definitely have Florida beat. While Michigan has some interesting history in it, I would agree that the multiculturalism in places like Miami are a plus, though not unique to Florida. There are also places that are cool to visit and not as swamped (no pun intended) by tourists, like the Space Coast, or some of the lakes (and chains of lakes.) I'd say that if I were offered a week vacation in Florida or Michigan, the choice would be clear, unless perhaps it were mid-July.

That said, the question is where I'd rather live, not merely visit, and that means that I can't completely ignore political issues, particularly since I work in education, which has unfortunately become an increasingly political issue. I don't know if I could manage to be a teacher in a state like Florida, given DeSantis's actions in regard to education. I'm not against living in an area that votes Republican, since I frequently go to Republican-leaning places in my state, but when politics infiltrates my area of work, I don't have the option of ignoring it. I'm not sure how much better it would be in Michigan, though, so I can't really say for sure.

[Hammy]

Florida (normal)

It's always amusing to watch the Red Atlas' contrived reactions to this hugely successful, dynamic and diverse state.  They hate it so much only because of how it has consistently shifted away from their party for over 20 years now, exposing their "demographics is destiny" hubris.  

This is definitely part of it but I don't think it's all of it. A lot of Atlas posters have always been very performative about how much they hate places with warm weather. I think that this is because they don't go outside.

I spent three decades in Florida, the climate and people were primary reasons I left first chance I had.

People were insufferable. Everybody, everywhere, regardless of their views, had to make their political opinions known to every person that crossed their path, it was unavoidable. I couldn't stand in line anywhere, or make random chat with people, without them launching into some diatribe about either Obama or Republicans--worse was in gas stations where people would often turn the cashier into their rant wall. And the people I personally knew were far worse (and often abusive on top of that)

I'm somebody who generally avoids anything politics-related outside of this site but the entire state felt like one long, unending Atlas visit on top of people being rude, selfish, and insufferable in general, on a level I've not seen since moving, or from visitors to the state.

Georgia's summers are still miserable but you get a break during the winter months and the humidity has only on rare occasions reached the level Florida's does on a routine basis. And all my years in Florida

It's loathsome because it's flat and ugly with unplanned sprawling development and with particularly ugly architecture built for the express purpose of punishing my eyes. Ugh!

Have to agree here, though I'll also add there's not a lot to do unless you're either a beach person or enjoy purely tourist-y stuff

[OSR stands with Israel]

Keep in mind pre 2018 the state Liberals loved to hate on the most was Texas. Like the hate Texas got was beyond insane and probably even worse than today's Florida hate.

[Alben Barkley]

They have an actual, unique and interesting culture

Moving to grand fucking rapids over Miami because of the "interesting culture" lmfao. DT is correct and only terminally politicsbrained freaks would disagree.

I was thinking much more Detroit than Grand Rapids but way to strawman.

[Alben Barkley]

Florida (normal)

It's always amusing to watch the Red Atlas' contrived reactions to this hugely successful, dynamic and diverse state.  They hate it so much only because of how it has consistently shifted away from their party for over 20 years now, exposing their "demographics is destiny" hubris. 

This is definitely part of it but I don't think it's all of it. A lot of Atlas posters have always been very performative about how much they hate places with warm weather. I think that this is because they don't go outside.

I love most of the rest of the South and outdoor activities in general (Colorado might well be my favorite state) so try again.

[Alben Barkley]

snip

I just want to remind you that you live in a state that is so unanimously agreed by everyone to be the worst state in the country that it has its own Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_God_for_Mississippi

Despite your snide remarks, I can assure you that the only reason I dislike Florida is NOT its politics and certainly not the "demographics are destiny" BS; I live in and love Kentucky for God's sake! I have actually spent a lot of time in both states (indeed possibly more in those two states combined than any other combination of states that doesn't include Kentucky) but genuinely just admire the qualities I mention more in Michigan and am unpersuaded by a single one of your so-called counter-arguments. (Such as not caring at all how many snowbirds move from Michigan to Florida.)

And yeah I exaggerate some of my Florida hate for comedic effect. I wouldn't have spent as much time as I have there otherwise! I'd still in all seriousness take it over, say, Ohio, and certainly Mississippi! (Which is like ONLY the worst parts of Florida.) But as a place to actually live, it just strikes me as somewhat soulless and empty (partly for the reasons Torie described), and I'd just get too f--king sick of the goddamn heat too fast. Even Arizona, which I've compared to Florida in other threads, has places in the Northern part of the state with more varied climates where you can escape the heat. Florida is just pure swamp ass.

[Mexican Wolf]

Florida (normal)

It's always amusing to watch the Red Atlas' contrived reactions to this hugely successful, dynamic and diverse state.  They hate it so much only because of how it has consistently shifted away from their party for over 20 years now, exposing their "demographics is destiny" hubris.  

This is definitely part of it but I don't think it's all of it. A lot of Atlas posters have always been very performative about how much they hate places with warm weather. I think that this is because they don't go outside.

I love most of the rest of the South and outdoor activities in general (Colorado might well be my favorite state) so try again.

Same here. I love being outdoors and also like hiking and exploring in other warmer states like Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. I just like being out in cooler weather more.

[KaiserDave]

Very nasty and angry comments in this thread, very sad!

Anyways I can’t stand the climate in Florida. Bad! Shoveling snow is good for the soul.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

One of the states that's always fascinated me most is Wyoming, among other Mountain West states. Wyoming was Trump's #1 best state and is solidly Republican at all levels of government. Politics might break a few ties here and there for me for ranking purposes, but it's not that high on my priority list and I really never desired to live in Florida. I don't like swamps, don't want to deal with the bugs or gators, and even in Virginia the humidity gets to you on some days. Florida is also the flattest of all 50 states, which for bikers who enjoy diverse terrain can get pretty boring after a while. Oceanside beaches are great, but there's plenty of adventure to be found in the humble lake.

[HisGrace]

I joke about Florida like everyone who has lived there at some point but if I can't live in a legit city (New York, Boston, DC, London, maybe Hong Kong for a major change) there's nowhere I'd rather be outside of maybe the middle of nowhere in Montana or South Dakota.

[Alben Barkley]

I think Sam Houston's warning to the secessionists pretty much sums up this thread:

After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, you may win Southern independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with you in the doctrine of states rights, the North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will overwhelm the South.

It's why the North won then and always has won, really. I say this as someone raised more culturally Southern than Northern. (And is DEFINITELY a "fiery, impulsive" person.) It's simply undeniable.

The people of the North are constantly underestimated by arrogant Southerners putting down "Yankees." To this very day. This is no less true of Florida vs. Michigan than any other Southern vs. Northern state match-up. But I find at the end of the day, the North almost always wins out in almost every way.

This doesn't mean I don't love the South because I do. Much more than the North on the whole, in fact. I just think it's rather foolish to deny all the advantages the North has over it. Michigan is simply a greater state than Florida, and certainly has been for most of each state's history.