Why do Americans live in cold states?

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You got a problem with my culture, bub?

Jk, I respect your opinion. Although I will say this, every time I’ve left the Deep South, I’ve come to realize there is a lot more hospitality down here.

Here's a better question: why would anyone live in a hot, muggy, flat, ugly, overcrowded state like Florida? (I ask myself that question every. single. day, because I have the misfortune to be one of them. >_< ) Why would anyone live in Washington State? Oh, I don't know, maybe because the climate is perfect and you can see the most beautiful mountain in the country from a third of the state? *sigh* Did I mention I really hate Florida?

Only if you're from there; Deep South culture is clannish and pretty hostile to outsiders. For me personally, though, my big issue with Southern culture is that it's so passive-aggressive. I'd rather be told "eff you" by someone who means it than have it cloaked in pretty words; the last thing I need in my life is more subtext.

Florida is not overcrowded it has less than 400 people per square mile.

Sure, if you want to live in the swamp. My city has a population density of 3,856.00/sq mi, and that's not counting the year-round tourists.

Why do I live in Minnesota?

Because my family is here and I do not mind the winter. When you live in a place such as this, you not only get used to the weather but you learn to enjoy it. There are also indoor activities we can do when the temps fall below 0F (-18C). We also have indoor skyways that allow people to remain inside.

That said, warmer states such as Florida are not all that weather wise. I grew up in Western New York and you can deal with snow without losing your home and all its belongings. Not only that but the humidity is an issue in warmer states unless you are in Arizona or Southern California.

I am thinking about moving to a warmer place eventually but right now, I am fine in Minnesota.

I've lived everywhere from Phoenix, Arizona to Bismarck, North Dakota... just about as extreme as you can get. Honestly I much preferred North Dakota... I've always said "you can always put on more clothes, but you can't always take off more clothes"... it is much easier to warm up than cool off.

But there are SCORES of reasons to live in different places...

A: The most "perfect climate" places to live (San Diego, Hawaii) are prohibitively expensive for most people to live.
B: Because of their "perfect climate" they are generally densely populated in addition to being expensive, crowds are not universally appreciated.
C: That population density tends to wipe out a lot of nature.
D: Warm is not universally appreciated.
E: Warm wet climates mean humidity, humidity is not universally appreciated.
Eb: Humidity tends to increase insect life, bugs are not universally appreciated.
F: Warm dry mean a specific type of natural environment.

For me Seattle is perfect for many reasons, but as for the climate:
- Still as "rugged" as any city in the US can be.
- An abundance of beautiful nature of the type that I prefer (temperate coniferous rainforest).
- The option to get to the ocean or mountains with equal ease.
- Occasionally hot, never "too hot".
- Occasionally "too cold", which is a great excuse to Netflix and Chill under a fuzzy blanket.
- Due to some barely understood biological miracle, we have almost no mosquitos within 15ish miles of Puget Sound (we do have more spiders than should be allowed per capita... but they eat a lot of bugs, so I let it slide)...

Ugh,.... did Vermont for about 18 months... too progressive... judgemental, mean-spirited progressive. Recycle your urine progressive... We'll look in your garbage to make sure you are recycling according to the law progressive. Self-harming progressive (Yeah yeah, Walmart and Home Depot are bad... but EVERYBODY drives across the river to NH to give them money rather than paying massively more for boutique sundries on the VT side, so everyone loses [except NH]).

It certainly has its charms, don't get me wrong, but they wore off pretty quick for me. Moved across the river for another 18 months, but NH has less charm to go with it's reduced progressive-ism... and it is still just as cold... just as expensive. I think I went 3 years without seeing a movie in a decent theatre... nope nope nope...

Except this week... DAMN... is cold.

AZ will always welcome you. They are extremely welcoming, honestly... not that kind of "southern" at all. I've never understood it at all, but the state is the most cordial and has the best customer service of anywhere I've ever lived. The people, somehow, were never my problem with that place.

Wow.

Sorry you had that experience. I don't think I had any friends there that weren't weirdos.

I've literally never experienced anything so overt (I lived there for 10 years)... but my outward appearance is pretty benign... still... wow. As someone who lived there long enough to consider myself a member of its community... I apologize.

I've only gotten that kind of treatment in Michigan (lived there a couple years... alternatively to AZ, worst customer service I've ever experienced anywhere [my favorite being the guy behind the Burger King counter who literally stared at me for 5 seconds and then said "Yeah? What do you want?"] )

The south still has this (earned, but possibly outdated) stigma of being intolerant to people who don't look and think a certain way.

I totally agree with this... I feel like Southern Hospitality can be aggressively ingenuine. I think there IS more hospitality in the south, but that sometimes they'll offer me a sweet tea and a smile, but they WANT ME TO KNOW it isn't real. As opposed to "northern" hospitality, which can be equally disingenuine, but they at least try to make you believe it, or they don't bother and tell to go suck it.

I also would much rather someone tell me no than give me some creepy thinly-veiled fake hospitality. Unless I'm paying them, then they better to make me believe it.

As a rather extreme arachnophobe, you just dashed my dreams of living in Washington. I guess there is one nice thing about Florida: I only see a spider about once a year here.

I wish my neck of the woods was free of skeeters. I must lose half my body weight in blood to those little blighters every summer.

The ones you see are predominantly orb-weavers... at least we get pretty webs... We name the one on the back porch Banjo because the first one that set up shop there would plink his threads constantly like he was playing his web. Now the name just goes to whichever spider sets up in the original Banjo's spot each spring.

Lots of various spindly cobweb spiders...

Caught a mouse spider last year... those are neat, but other than that one I've never seen one before, they are uber fast and stealthy (and also not inherently scary, furry and kinda cute if you're into that)...

Of course, most the ones you can't see are Hobos... and that is less cool in every way.

I grew up in Idaho... the skeeters in most of the PNW are the worst part of being here. I saw one fly off with a baby once. Maybe I was just delirious from blood loss.

^^^