New York State is huge, a bit bigger than England (not Britain), so there must be other good places than NYC itself. Big cities tend to attract young adults for the opportunities to study, socialise, party and find work. With time, lots of people progressively move towards the suburbs or even the countryside, where life is quieter and more relaxed.
I am curious about which US state(s) are, in your opinion, the best to live in? I have never lived in the US, so I can only judge from statistics and hearsay.
If I were younger and looking where to settle, many of the data points in the maps, while very interesting, wouldn't affect me, and so wouldn't impact my choice. It doesn't matter how many people eat fast foods, because I don't, or don't exercise, because I do, etc.
As I mentioned above, I would look at job opportunity, cost of living, especially in terms of housing, tax rates, quality of health care, education system(good private schools, at least), proximity of institutions of higher learning, some access to cultural venues, scenery, bearable climate, recreational activities etc. I would also look at political orientations. I emphatically do "not" want to live surrounded by ultra-leftist "WOKE" people.
It's difficult to find the place that ticks all the boxes, and I'd have to make some compromises. That said, some parts of North Carolina would be good, some parts of Florida, maybe Austin Texas, for younger people starting their climb, although the summer weather in Florida and Texas would be a big problem for me. Maybe even some of southern New Hampshire, although I'd have to look some more at the stats. A lot of California people have moved to Boise, Idaho. I've been there and it's beautiful, and the people lovely, but there's not enough cultural life for me.
Some parts of New York State, particularly parts of Long Island, are great if you're upper middle or upper class. For someone starting out it's impossible. It has many of the problems which beset California, such as too high taxes, too high housing costs. It's part of New York, and some things are conditioned by the state government, whose decisions are helping to encourage not only flight from the city, but from the state itself with its too high taxes resulting in part from too many people being on welfare, its hostility to business with its high business taxes, it's lax law enforcement and shackling of the police.
The flight from NYC that I'm talking about is not the normal transition as people become older; it's based on fear of what it is becoming, and is not just Covid related. I can tell you from personal experience that when I put my house on the market I got more than five full price and over offers within two days. It's unheard of...Then, I couldn't find a house for a worrying amount of time further east because it had spread to there. I was overpaid for my old house and overpaid for my new one. It's ok; I have much more land, a pool and spa, a nature preserve out the back yard, close to useable beaches and hiking, and not that far from the city if it ever becomes safe enough to go to the ballet or orchestra or museums. As I said, however, it wouldn't be a choice available to younger people unless they had a lot of family help.
For those starting out, the Saratoga, New York area is also a pretty good bet. If it weren't for my husband, that's probably where I'd be. In addition to the lower housing prices and much lower real estate taxes, and the State jobs in Albany, and good schools, and marvelous scenery and recreational activities it has the Philadelphia Orchestra and New York City Ballet all summer as well as SPAC performing arts center. People should go before more people discover it.
