Best Places to Live

[djd66]

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/us-news-releases-best-states-rankings

Utah is #1 and NH is #2

Obviously Utah is a great place to be in the winter, what's it like living there in the summer? Is it hot as hell? Do you guys get bored and are just waiting for the snow to fall come August?

 

[2Planker]

Awww man.....
Now everybody is gona know.

 

[thetrailboss]

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/us-news-releases-best-states-rankings

Utah is #1 and NH is #2

Obviously Utah is a great place to be in the winter, what's it like living there in the summer? Is it hot as hell? Do you guys get bored and are just waiting for the snow to fall come August?

It’s hot for sure. Long days make for nice weather evening or morning adventures. Going up in the mountains is fun.

I wish we weren’t #1!

 

[Edd]

It’s hot for sure. Long days make for nice weather evening or morning adventures. Going up in the mountains is fun.

I wish we weren’t #1!

I wish we weren’t #2.

 

[bigbob]

I wish we weren’t #2.

Yup, can suck to be near the top. More people come then ruin what they came for, especially when they try and change it to where they came from.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Utah is #1

Obviously Utah is a great place to be in the winter, what's it like living there in the summer? Is it hot as hell? Do you guys get bored and are just waiting for the snow to fall come August?

Utah in the mountains is better and "less boring" in the summer than it is in the winter. Not kidding. It was actually visiting here in the summer that was the final nail in the northeast coffin, not ski season.

You have amazing hiking, biking, camping, fishing, hunting, it's just an outdoor paradise that puts New England mountains to shame. It's almost always sunny and it rarely rains. Think Florida in the mountains, but with no humidity, sunny days, very little rain, warm but not hot temps, and an ever-present light refreshing breeze.

Now on the Wasatch front like SLC, yes, it does get "hot as hell", and like Florida100 degree days are common; but at least there's no humidity.

 

[2Planker]

Utah in the mountains is better and "less boring" in the summer than it is in the winter. Not kidding. It was actually visiting here in the summer that was the final nail in the northeast coffin, not ski season.

You have amazing hiking, biking, camping, fishing, hunting, it's just an outdoor paradise that puts New England mountains to shame. It's almost always sunny and it rarely rains. Think Florida in the mountains, but with no humidity, sunny days, very little rain, warm but not hot temps, and an ever-present light refreshing breeze.

Now on the Wasatch front like SLC, yes, it does get "hot as hell", and like Florida100 degree days are common; but at least there's no humidity.

Great ! Everyone should move to Utah.
Nothing good here in New Hampshire

 

[Hastur]

Awww man.....
Now everybody is gona know.

i wouldn’t worry too much.

its tough to take these rankings seriously if Nebraska and South Dakota are in the top 10

 

[deadheadskier]

Utah in the mountains is better and "less boring" in the summer than it is in the winter. Not kidding. It was actually visiting here in the summer that was the final nail in the northeast coffin, not ski season.

You have amazing hiking, biking, camping, fishing, hunting, it's just an outdoor paradise that puts New England mountains to shame. It's almost always sunny and it rarely rains. Think Florida in the mountains, but with no humidity, sunny days, very little rain, warm but not hot temps, and an ever-present light refreshing breeze.

Now on the Wasatch front like SLC, yes, it does get "hot as hell", and like Florida100 degree days are common; but at least there's no humidity.

The lack of warm swimming water is what makes the West a turn off for me in summer. The humidity can suck in the Northeast, but it means 80 degree lake water. Very little of that exists anywhere out West. Now if I was more into mountain biking, trout fishing etc, I could absolutely see why people love the summers out there.

Doesn't surprise me that New Hampshire is second on a list like this. NH is not the best at anything, but it's very good for virtually everything. Many NH folks won't admit it, but a large part of why it is a great place to live is because of the neighbor to the south most locals hate.

 

[2Planker]

True That - Especially for Healthcare.
I can not even begin to guess how many hundreds of patients we have that come from NH, and I don't mean border towns...

 

[jimk]

Funny that the top two happen to be quite popular with current AZers.
This has been my seventh consecutive full winter in Utah. I have quite a sweetheart deal staying at son's house at base of the Cottonwoods. Over the years I've been amazed at how mild the winters can be in the Salt Lake Valley and actually much friendlier than my home region near Wash DC. I suppose the Wasatch Back is a little cooler with spring weather coming a bit later, but I'll defer to others on that. There is more snow in the Salt Lake Valley than DC, but it melts quickly and then the sun comes out for numerous days. DC is cloudy and rainy a lot in winter. IMHO, Utah is better for outdoor recreation such as biking, golfing and jogging in the winter than DC! And of course, there is the 15-20 minute drive and ~5000' vertical climb to world class skiing.
Usually I head back to DC area by late May, but in 2020 I stayed in UT until late July. I experienced a few 95-100 deg days that year, but they felt refreshing compared to a muggy 85 deg day in DC. All you have to do is step into some shade, or drive a few minutes into the mtns.
Smog, there is some, but it's only for a week or two, usually in January. DC doesn't have much smog, but the pollen really gets me from May to July.
Utah traffic is a dream compared to DC area. On a bad day here I-15 slows to 40 MPH for a few miles, most other major arteries don't slow at all. In DC there is stop and go rush hours that last 4 hrs in the AM and 4 in the PM in every direction for 75 miles outside the city.

 

[1dog]

Great ! Everyone should move to Utah.
Nothing good here in New Hampshire

No ocean access- thats a big deal for a lot of people. must be 4K -6K miles plus of coastline to Atlantic in New England. plus four actual seasons. But don't come to NH- it has only 13 miles of it. . . . .

 

[jimk]

During several of my winters in UT I've made the 11 hour drive to visit relatives in the San Diego area. It's a pleasant/low traffic drive except for the final couple hours in hectic CA. One Feb I went from skiing 10 deg temps in UT to dipping my toes in the water and 80 degs in SD in the course of two days.

I rode a chair at Snowbird last week with a retired UT local who had the 1000 miles from an ocean thing figured out. He had 122 ski days this winter and said he should have about 150, but he takes 2 or 3 weeks each winter to go on tropical vacations with his non-skiing wife.

 

[mister moose]

No ocean access- thats a big deal for a lot of people. must be 4K -6K miles plus of coastline to Atlantic in New England. plus four actual seasons. But don't come to NH- it has only 13 miles of it. . . . .

And cold ones at that. With fog. And rocks.

Did we mention rocks?

 

[Former Sunday Rivah Rat]

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/us-news-releases-best-states-rankings

Utah is #1 and NH is #2

Obviously Utah is a great place to be in the winter, what's it like living there in the summer? Is it hot as hell? Do you guys get bored and are just waiting for the snow to fall come August?

Moving from NH in July to go to UT was heavenly. It was like going from a steam bath in NH, to a dry heat that was very comfortable. I think it rained over half the days last spring/early summer in NH. My shirts were constantly soaked in sweat.
Trying to sell a house with a wet basement when it was raining all the time in northern NH sucked out loud. It was like New England had to screw us one more time, $12k in drainage excavation on the way out the door.

 

[deadheadskier]

True That - Especially for Healthcare.
I can not even begin to guess how many hundreds of patients we have that come from NH, and I don't mean border towns...

It's everything

Healthcare
Employment
Culture

Moving from NH in July to go to UT was heavenly. It was like going from a steam bath in NH, to a dry heat that was very comfortable. I think it rained over half the days last spring/early summer in NH. My shirts were constantly soaked in sweat.
Trying to sell a house with a wet basement when it was raining all the time in northern NH sucked out loud. It was like New England had to screw us one more time, $12k in drainage excavation on the way out the door.

As much as I love living in NH, I'm on suicide watch most years between roughly 4/10-5/20 and 11/10-12/20.

 

[BenedictGomez]

And cold ones at that. With fog. And rocks.

Did we mention rocks?

Yeah, the beaches in Maine and New Hampshire suck. I'm not sure where the "good" beaches actually start, but it's well south of there. As a Jersey boy I recall the first time I went to the beach up there and being completely shocked. I had no idea how rocky it was & how coarse the sand is. Then there was the issue of the "Brigadoon" beach I encountered in Maine. I had no idea about that either. lol

 

[thetrailboss]

Yeah, the beaches in Maine and New Hampshire suck. I'm not sure where the "good" beaches actually start, but it's well south of there. As a Jersey boy I recall the first time I went to the beach up there and being completely shocked. I had no idea how rocky it was & how coarse the sand is. Then there was the issue of the "Brigadoon" beach I encountered in Maine. I had no idea about that either. lol

I just got back from Oahu. Their beaches don't suck! The ones on Maui and Kauai don't suck either!

 

[deadheadskier]

Yeah, the beaches in Maine and New Hampshire suck. I'm not sure where the "good" beaches actually start, but it's well south of there. As a Jersey boy I recall the first time I went to the beach up there and being completely shocked. I had no idea how rocky it was & how coarse the sand is. Then there was the issue of the "Brigadoon" beach I encountered in Maine. I had no idea about that either. lol

Gotta know where to look. Popham Beach Maine is by far my favorite beach I've ever been to anywhere on the East Coast. .......other than the 55 degree water.

 

[mister moose]

Yeah, the beaches in Maine and New Hampshire suck. I'm not sure where the "good" beaches actually start, but it's well south of there. As a Jersey boy I recall the first time I went to the beach up there and being completely shocked. I had no idea how rocky it was & how coarse the sand is. Then there was the issue of the "Brigadoon" beach I encountered in Maine. I had no idea about that either. lol

I've spent a lot of time on the NH and ME coastline. Relatively warm water exists south of the canal, including the Vineyard and Nantucket. The East coast of the Cape cools off, and north of the canal the Labrador current keeps the water cold. It gets progressively colder as you head for Fundy, and lasts all along Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is rockier and foggier than Maine, if you can imagine that.

There is ONE small beach east of Mt Desert, I forget the name. The rest is rocks, the beach, the sea floor, the offshore ledges, the shoreline.

What's interesting is the Bay of St Lawrence. Once you're past Cape Bretton the water warms up as you're out from the ocean current and the water is shallow enough near shore. It's well known to those who have been there that the waters around PEI and the Magdelaines are the warmest water north of NC.

If you're up for off the beaten path adventuring, the Magdelaines are an undiscovered tough to get to, worth the trip, piece of French islands. They are like nothing you'd imagine.



This is Elephant Rock in the Magdelaines. No longer the Maine granite. The summer NYC and Boston crowds are far behind.