Well, I can only evaluate this in terms of South Carolina. Seems odd that the state gets a low mark for spending too much on healthcare. This is largely a personal choice, and with a fairly significant number of snowbirds who retire here, it is logical to assume they will go to the doctor more often than younger folks. The article mentions requirements on home-schoolers, but failed to take into account the rapidly growing number of public charter schools and the virtual charter school system, which give parents, who cannot afford private school for their children, decent alternatives to the regular public schools. In general, though, I do agree with the author that the State places too many requirements on schools. South Carolina has the second toughest graduation requirements among the states, which is one reason the drop-out rate is very high. The geniuses in Columbia keep trying to improve the graduation rate by adding required Carnegie units and making the exit exam tougher. Of course, the effect is to INCREASE the drop-out rate. Duh.

Nice website. Missouri is much better than I expected.

Is that what you say just before you fire off your 12 gauge salt rocks at intruders? :)

So am I. That's crazy. I never would've thought.

Fascinating. Spot on analysis of my state, Vermont.

That was good! Lol

:-(

Well, Austin appears to be having a good future for foodies! Go get em!

Wow, that was a punch in the gut. I knew this, yet as its not usually at the forefront of my thoughts, didn't really articulate it. Thanks! ;-)

Seriously though, too terribly true.

No matter what other criteria are measured there is no state where you can truly be free and out from under their thumb as long as you can't own property free and clear. Every state in the union has a property tax, which means that you can never fully own your property since you will need to pay off the state every year for the right to reside on your own property. Fail to pay your property taxes and they will take the whole parcel. This means you can never escape their grip or their system without paying the protection money. You can't be self sufficient and left alone anywhere.
http://taxes.about.com/od/statetaxes/a/p...

Yes, whats even more sad is no one is entering these days. Used to be that a guy like me would have aged out already. But, at this point I don't think I have a choice. Ill still be doing my own thing. The automating SOX auditing work will be open source ( any day now ) but the datacenter inventory and automation work will probably just be a thing I keep myself busy with along with instructions to destroy the drives its stored on when I make my last exit. The last straw was tax time this year. I worked around 2500 hours last year, and ended the year owing on my tax bill. Federal Government was the single most expensive thing I bought last year.

hankness of misplaced obligation lol

it is sad that everyone is leaving tech. but I wish you luck, i

hmm, I grew up in Wisconsin and spent most of the last decade working in Illinois. I was in Boston for a while and Now am in Washington State. First, the rankings of Wi. and Il. are pretty much spot on. I know that outside of Boston the rest of Ma. is a completely different state, especially as you get closer to the NH. border. I also spent a bunch of quality time in NH. ( mostly to get away from Ma. ) I really liked it up there, but my wife would not. Ok, we are also pretty tired of snow. Right now she is working at getting experience in chocolateering, and patisserie in a place that will look really good on her resume, along with her picking up some pretty top notch skills. So, in 24 months we will be looking seriously at a move to Tx. I am a Linux guy and Austin while not perfect is probably the best city in the country for someone with my skill set, and my wife will be able to write her own check there. I am also seriously considering the idea of leaving the tech industry and opening a Chicago Style pizza place ( a few years have been spent on crust perfection 8^) ) When I do that Austin is the place I would like to be, they like good food, can afford it and the local regs will not make starting impossible.

The fall in income is a driver. They have a lot of oil and gas. I still haven't decided between here & Wyoming. I may not like some of the dynamics developing in the family and I just might leave them to stew in their own Hankness of misplaced obligation.

I think one component is small population. did you click on WY and go down and read the analysis?

I'm surprised Wyoming ranked so low.

you make a good point. and I agree Kathy would take issue.
up is only relative to other states. even though Colorado lost significantly against itself, it still ranks in the upper half. But it was more than enough to disgust us to leave the states altogether

The funny thing about the insane regulations on firearms and tobacco, is that CT was THE place for firearms mfg. At least Colt is still here. Second, Cuban cigars were wrapped in CT tobacco leaves, and they were considered to be the finest. The empty tobacco barns attest to the fact that the Cuban trade is, of course, deceased.

Wow, Oregon is really in the negative real estate zone.

why?

iI live in Oklahoma and I am glad to see my state in good standing on here!

Thanks for posting. Now I have tool for determining which state will best suit my needs.