What do you love about your state?

[bif]

[schmuls]

1. House on the Rock in Wisconsin - not what you might think it is!

[taterguy]

2. The scenery

It has some cool people too. And we were the first Southern state whose governor supported JFK

[mainegreen]

3. It rarely get above 85.

Ung I hate heat. Give me snow!

[SteppingRazor]

4. Winter doesn't exist; there's something to do any time day or night...

the Everglades; the Keys; the cultural mishmash that is South Florida; the lunacy of a great amount of the populace; the Florida Marlins' amazing ability to field a great team even after owner after owner sells off all the players after a World Series win; the pace of life, which leaps from slow, hammock-swaddled days to speed-fueled weeks of life in the passing line... man, I could go on and on. Hell, even the Mouse is fun now and again. Florida freakin' rules.

[nosillies]

11. It's the most funnest place to raise kids

Beaches, theme parks, museums, unique scenery. There's a reason all those tourists and retirees bug us!

[cobalt1999]

27. Up here in the panhandle, but it's still great.

Winter lasts about 3 weeks, lots of water, beaches, nature, fishing, etc. I appreciate this place, especially on a holiday weekend, when I see all these folks that saved up and travel to spend 3 days in a place where I get to live.

[Ohio Joe]

5. OK, I had to think about this

The music. There is a large number of good local bands and lots of places to go see them.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

6. let's see

where I live (Bayonne, NJ) - close to water with great view of Manhattan, the Verrazano Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge and the Statue of Liberty - the rest of NJ that I've seen (Hunterdon Co., Morris, Essex) is beautiful.

where I work (NYC) - should be a state of its own; a magical place, where you hear more languages spoken than at a UN general assembly meeting; if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere

where I used to live and where I'm returning to (Ral/Durh/CH/RTP, NC) - Best. College. Basketball. Rivalries. Evah!

[XNASA]

7. We only get back $0.73 on the dollar from Washington......

And are still able to kick ass.

[InvisibleTouch]

8. Now that's a very tough question.

I don't live here by choice. Way too far north, way too cold. I'm not sure I outright love anything about it, but I can acknowledge some good aspects. There are some nice parks, but you can find beautiful natural scenery almost anywhere, so I'm trying to think what Ohio has that's noteworthy, that no other state has. The only thing I can think of, offhand, is Sunwatch Village, a pre-Columbian Indian settlement that's been excavated and restored. I like to bring visiting friends there, so I end up going every couple of years or so. (During a 2004 Kerry/Edwards rally, John Kerry mentioned Sunwatch specifically - he said those ancient Indians had a medicine man who came around to each house as needed, which gave them a better healthcare system than Bush's version for the country. No kidding!)

Oh, and Ohio is the site of discovery of the world's largest trilobite, so that's another thing. Probably one of the most exceptional Ordovician fossil sites in the world.

[swag]

9. The Columbia River Gorge, the Oregon Coast,

the concentration of liberals in Multnomah County, the excellent beer and wine, my neighborhood, my house, all the funky-assed people running around.

[bicentennial_baby]

10. Gay marriage, the rural beauty, Boston

Clam chowdah, Beantown accents... :D

[MorningGlow]

16. '90s slang

I went to BC for grad school in the early '90s, and I miss hearing my favorite slang from that time--in a Beantown accent, of course: "wikkid pissah!"

[bicentennial_baby]

20. and we still say it...

my one friend says it all the time...i love it :D

[MorningGlow]

23. You do?! Wikkid pissah! n/t

[Zomby Woof]

12. Weather, natural beauty, plethora of activities

The varied topography is the greatest in the U.S. The beaches, the mountains (within scant miles of the shores in some places), the lush green valleys, the gargantuan forests... the redwoods, the sequoias, the endless miles of palms in the south. Even the deserts have a strange beauty of their own. There is no lack of anything to do, no time to be bored. It's still the greatest state in the union. It IS The Golden State.

[huskerlaw]

24. Seconded.

If you're bored or don't like it here, it's your own damn fault.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. I love the mountains, I love the glaciers, I love the water

I love that there are less than 700,000 people in the whole state. I love Anchorage's diversity. I love that just when you think you can't stand another day of winter, spring happens.

[Critters2]

14. If by "my state" you mean the state where I live now...

Not a thing! My home state, Iowa...open space, interesting people, progressive attitudes (except in the western 1/3, which leaves me perplexed), strong sense of community, Des Moines Register--the best newspaper in the world. Did I mention open space?

[Broken_Hero]

15. The

Ocean, the trees, mountains, the streams, and creeks...the scenery, the winters, the moderate summers, the fresh air...the bears, the LACK of snakes, good fishing, great hunting.....My family is there!...:P

[Fuzz]

17. Hmmm, NJ, it's as crowded as NYC without the culture but . .

you can have nearly any kind of food delivered to your front door within the hour, which is nice in a pinch.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

28. It's depends on the part. I'm in NJ and I have one neighbor.

Lots of wildlife though. However, since I'm in Morris County, I'm only about 10 minutes away from anything I could ever need. Once you're out in Warren & Sussex county however, there's no edible take out beyond pizza.

[MorningGlow]

18. The fact that we go kind of unnoticed

"New York" usually means NYC to most folks. Western NY? Not so much. So we have no crowds (20-minute "rush hour"!), less pollution, gorgeous scenery, true seasons (I require those!) with all kinds of weather but none too severe (oh well sure there's the snow but heck...), big cities cheek by jowl with small towns, a decent amount of history, etc.

I moved away, moved back, moved away, moved back, and I realized it's a pretty cool place to stay.

[fizzgig]

19. the sheer beauty

the mountains, the valleys and canyons, even the plains

the growing commitment to alternative energies

the perfect, brilliantly blue sky (outside of denver, that is)

[Jamastiene]

21. Nature/wildlife/scenery.

North Carolina's scenery and wildlife are just gorgeous. The animals are all sort of relaxed and groovy. The trees are mostly scenic (except those poor trees in some mountain areas that are mutated due to pollution). We have mountains, foothills, sandhills, and the beach. The only thing we don't have is desert. Gotta love looking at the wilderness areas in NC. I have to give it that much credit. Now, if more people would just evolve (enough anyhow) to turn it blue.

[begin_within]

22. You can surf in the ocean, cross-country ski in snow, and in the desert,

see wildflowers in bloom - all on the same day (in February or March) in San Diego County.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. You asked for it...

Assateague Island

Cunningham Falls State Park

C&O Canal

brackish marshes

upland bogs

Baltimore

Annapolis
http://www.ipphotography.com/images/Calvert-Cliffs-at-sunrise,-.jpg
Calvert Cliffs (Miocene fossils are embedded in the cliffs)

About a million other little things... :-)

[RebelOne]

26. Georgia is my adopted state.

I moved here from South Florida in 1989. I love the climate here. Even though the summers are hot, I know it will cool off around October not like South Florida where it is hot year 'round. The winters are not bitter cold and we only have maybe one light snow fall per year. The negative side is that we have frequent ice storms in the winter, which are not very pleasant.

[Saphire]

29. the beach, the mountains, the desert, the forest...what's not to love e/m

[femmocrat]

30. Pennsylvania: The four seasons, the beautiful scenery, the warm and

friendly people. I can't imagine living anywhere else.

I like that it is kind of old-fashioned here. You can still raise a family in a small town where everyone knows each other. Much of the sprawl of other cities has missed us so far, fortunately.