You know you don't need to get a magazine or click on a click-bait link for those "top-n" lists, you can generate them youself with chatgpt or google gemini,

Here's a good one from google gemini:
> give me a top 5 list of reasons why top 5 lists are fake


Top 5 Reasons Why Top 5 Lists Are Fake (or at Least Questionable)
1. Subjectivity Reigns Supreme
Top 5 lists are inherently subjective. What's number one for one person might be number five for another. Without concrete, measurable criteria, these lists often reflect the opinion of one person or a small group, not objective truth.

2. Clickbait Central
Many top 5 lists are designed to attract clicks rather than provide genuinely valuable information. Sensational headlines and provocative content often take precedence over accuracy and depth.

3. Oversimplification is the Norm
Complex issues are reduced to five simple points. This simplification often leads to overgeneralizations and a lack of nuance.

4. Lack of Rigorous Research
While some lists are backed by data and extensive research, many are based on anecdotal evidence, personal opinions, or even guesswork.

5. Potential for Bias
List creators may have personal or financial incentives to include or exclude certain items. This bias can skew the list and undermine its credibility.

40% of Florida is undeveloped still.

Yes but limiting factor ultimately will be water

Water
 

About 40 years ago my plane landed in Phoenix, Arizona. I picked up the local paper and the headlines and article was all about the water shortage in “The Valley of the Sun”. The development had to stop. Well, you know the rest of the story…

Thank God we live in a freeish country to allow us to live where you can!

beware of news articles these days, almost everything has an agenda

Probably written by the "Luffa" author:1rotfl:

I think the most serious problem for high tax states is that the majority of people leaving are the higher earning residents, with significant savings. They paid the majority of taxes for those states and are fed up with that cost and the politics driving up the cost of living there. They flee to Florida, taking their wealth with them.
The majority of their replacements moving into those states are illegals who are a huge financial drain on the state and cities because they consume public funds. Rarely do we ever hear about wealthy people moving into these states. Financially, those states are hurting badly, and time is only making it worse.

Florida is relatively cheap compared to other states this big: California and NY for example.
If you can’t afford it, move! I tell my kids the same thing.
Most people here don’t realize what people are spending in other states. 8 years ago, I met a lady that lived in Connecticut and had a decent nice house (my house in the south at that time was 2x bigger, had more land, custom, and I was paying $4,000), and they were paying $30,000 in property taxes.
How is your social security taxed here? There is no income tax here.

The poor quality of the school system (The Villages may be an exception) drags down Florida's quality of life. Right now there are 8,000 unfilled teacher vacancies throughout the state. Several thousand substitutes are needed and the school year starts in 2 weeks. 33% of all Florida homes are owned by hedge funds and other corporations.

Why is it that I see your name on a post and I'm instantly suspicious of its content?

You might need a new source for news.
UM - in May 2024
“ Today, U.S. News & World Report announced that Florida is again ranked #1 in the nation for education. The publication’s Best State ranking is based on a combination of strong performances in higher education and K-12 metrics.”

Florida Ranked #1 in Education for Second Year in a Row

From the Urban Institute. You really need a better source of information (or just stop making stuff up). My home is owned by a corporation, the officers of the institution are my wife and I.

“As of June 2022, we estimate that large institutional investors own
roughly 574,000 single-family homes. We have defined an institutional investor as an entity that owns at least 100 single-family homes. To put this in perspective, there are 15.1 million one-unit rental properties nationwide. This would suggest that the total institutional ownership share is 3.8 percent;

https://www.urban.org/sites/default/...Properties.pdf

Yeah, in Florida you get both along with constant bug control, termite contracts and on and on. The bills in our northern home are lower than Florida and groceries and great medical care are expensive and hard to come by in that order.

That makes me laugh, I'd like to see the criteria and who funded that study for Florida.:1rotfl:

One can't just pick the worst numbers states, include all the states in your comment and include fees and other than tax expenses.

That ultra conservative magazine, US News and World Report

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-sta...on-and-economy

Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

According to the article, number one for Higher Education but not nearly as good for K-12.

Because you've learned from experience? I'm pretty sure he doesn't really believe half the stuff he posts. He just likes to see everyone's reaction.

Whether one wants to accept information contrary to their own experience is their business.

However, the article is right on for Florida. Someone did their homework for this article. On the other hand, if a profile was developed for all states in the union, one may find some of the same issues.

Bottom line, we all get to pick and choose but our experience personally is many friends have departed Florida. Some have stayed. I think part of the problem is the structured lifestyle gets so stale after while no matter how many things one joins.

As Bill pointed out... Higher Education where you have an influx of students from other states who want to escape for the climate.

I've found when spinning tales 'it doesn't have to be true, just plausible and told with conviction'.

HMMMMMMM I still have a home in AZ that I am trying to sell and came here to my home that I bought 2 years ago to test out.........So what do I notice ? Gas is cheaper but most likely a WASH as You drive farther for errands.......yes groceries are higher than AZ As Frys "kroger" is not really here but aldis and walmart are much better than Publix and you just buy whats on sale.........Restarants seem to be cheaper to me than back home where they are kinda mostly high end places that are ususally packed and prices are high for food items.........Electric seems cheaper to me here.........I did not have a HOA gas or need landscapers and more water use so all those things along with Insurances car and home are more pricy.......Drs are retiring also back home and getting out or cutting back................Weather? Well its LESS HOTTER here than back in AZ that is for sure!!!!!! Even with the humidity its not as bad as you all complain about which I then laugh at you...........Go live in the desert right now you will come crawling if not running back to Florida.......HOT IS hot and ours is very deadly due to the dryness.......STORMS? well AZ has had some pretty bad storms thru the years and we get tons of flooding when it does rain and lightening there is equally as bad...lots of microbursts too.......BUT there isnt nearly as much to do back there like here either........so its not goes without saying no place is really perfect anymore as the US is evolving and not for the better either........the whole world has gone nuts along with everyone in it just pick a place that suits you for now.......

well dont bother to go to arizona as its not that great anymore and thats why I came here...........you wont like it there either and its a blue state with all the californians coming in there to buy homes and really jacking up the prices.............good luck you wont like the north either

76% of statisticians agree with that and 67% of economists.

When I moved to FL, my real estate taxes went from $12000/year to $1700/year.
My state income tax went from $2000/year to zero.
I do just fine with an extra $12300/year.

Moving vans
 

I don’t see a lot of moving vans headed for NY, NJ, Illinois, California, etc etc. to find the good life. Florida is certainly too hot but everything I read has it in the top five, if not #1, states to move to in the country. When I look at all the bad things in this world that I want nothing to do with Florida is very low in all those categories. Maybe I’m getting a little bitter in my old age but there are a lot of people in this world I don’t like and there is less of them in Florida.

Interesting point. The more I think about it the more I think that there is more truth in it than we realize.

I once heard the average week in TV described as "six Saturdays and a Sunday". There is little challenge to living here. After a few months here I found myself unconsciously inventing stress so that I'd have something to worry about when I got up in the morning.

Old habits are hard to break.

There is a name for this. The 'Death Spiral' has been forecasted in some areas for over a decade.

Not only is it a Death Spiral, it is a failure in leadership. Bad policies don't work, so let's double down on them! You can't build a paradise in a Welfare State. See Atlas Shrugged, it was ahead of its time.

Number 6 is real too!
 

The weather in Florida can be dangerous and it’s a valid negative. Even in The Villages. For example : About two weeks ago there was a menacing electrical storm, which went on for half an hour with nonstop lightning. Two homes caught on fire. I mean there’s a lot of lightning here, even without being a full-blown storm. So I don’t downplay that. And then there’s the oppressive humidity.

But like everything else, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Plenty of people see the pros outweighing the cons of living in Fla. 😎

Very well said. There's a happy place for everyone, lots of options. For us its TV.

This is so true of so much information on the Internet. Just yesterday I saw an article in my Google newsfeed that listed Minnesota and Colorado as one of the worst places to retire.

article here

Without knowing the underlying source (and motivation) of any sites data, I always take it with a healthy dose of skepticism.

True words.

I remember a quote from Paul Harvey, decades back, but it was as true today--perhaps even more so--than it was when it was spoken. "We cannot stand around with our hands in one another's pockets, and expect to get rich thereby".

There are always people moving from and to anywhere. When you read an article realize WE would not read it and they would not print it if it said DUH, I have nothing to say.

In the end it is your choice. The population of Florida is growing. The Villages is one of the fastest cities in the United States. Perhaps, part of the problem is so many choices. Sort of like Dunkin Doughnuts, people wait on line and wait till they get to the counter to decide how many and which ones.

Trying to sell? If, it is not selling the question is It is BROKER, PRICE, CONDITION.
Mortgages are high and hard to get. That reduces not want you want to get but what it can be sold for. People often do not realize it costs you money to keep a home you are not using. On top of that their is the value of the equity. Money Market you can even now get 5%

No place was ever perfect. It is said youth is wasted on the young. Endless news.
When, I was working I was working too many hours to have time for it.

I'm staying, were getting a Costco..

10. Too many old people who do not commit crimes.

RIGHT!!! No more driving to Claremont. I can't wait!

11. No Katie Belle's