Results

Rate the States is now available as an ebook from Amazon priced at just £1.99.

The results for each state are as follows:

California 16.8
Hawaii 16.5
New York 15.6
Montana 15.4
Florida 15.1
Puerto Rico 15.0
Washington 14.9
Kentucky 14.7
Maryland 14.7
South Carolina 14.6
Delaware 14.5
Virginia 14.4
Arizona 14.3
Minnesota 14.0
Washington D.C. 13.8
New Mexico 13.7
Vermont 13.7
Kansas 13.4
Michigan 13.3
Alabama 13.2
Mississippi 12.8
Indiana 12.3
North Carolina 12.2
Maine 12.0
Louisiana 11.8
Oregon 11.8
Pennsylvania 11.6
Nebraska 11.4
Utah 11.2
Wyoming 11.2
Massachusetts 11.1
Connecticut 10.9
Idaho 10.7
Oklahoma 10.7
Ohio 10.2
West Virginia 9.8
Missouri 9.7
Georgia 9.6
Nevada 9.6
Rhode Island 9.2
Wisconsin 9.1
Iowa 8.8
Alaska 8.7
New Jersey 8.3
South Dakota 8.2
Arkansas 7.8
North Dakota 7.6
New Hampshire 7.5
Colorado 7.2
Tennessee 7.1
Illinois 6.8
Texas 6.1

Introduction

The United States of America is a big country. At almost 4,000,000 square miles it's easy to see why the individual states are so different in climate, culture and attitudes when here in Britain we occupy less than 100,000 square miles and we differ so greatly between Scotland and Cornwall. Most of us would get in a train or car to see the best parts of the rest of the country whereas US citizens would be more likely to check into their local airport and be gone for a week or two at a time.

I've always had a fascination with US culture but if I were to get on a plane to visit I would find it almost impossible to determine which part of the country would be the best to spend time in. That said there are plenty of locals in each state and it's so easy to get hold of people these days that I have spoken to as many residents from each state as possible and compiled some facts to help determine once and for all which is the best state.

This is not simply one person's opinion on what makes an area tick - each state has been rated out of twenty by individuals and the scores have been averaged to give a definitive number for each one. The best state is simply the one closest to twenty.

If you find yourself living in a state that we have covered already then please feel free to get in touch with your experiences and I will add them to the post. Your scores may not count but your voice certainly will. 

See you next week.