Find can google photos of slums or people crapping in the street all day long and it won't change the fact that California is the most beautiful state in the Union. In fact, it's not even really close. Either half of California, (north or south), would probably win. To say that Kansas or Iowa are even remotely similar is a lie.
That's not to say that other places are not nice, I've been singing the praises of northern Wisconsin all year and Minneapolis remains one of the, if not the most beautiful smaller cities in the country. That doesn't change the equation wrt California. And yes, it's a huge state w big problems as well. But if you are talented and know how to live, it's a great place. Unbeatable, up until this year...we'll have to see going forward.
As a place to raise a family, I'd say not great unless you have a large income and the brains to know where to set down stakes within the state and send your kids to school, etc. I will concede that other parts of the country are a lot better, especially for middle-class people, which are most Americans. Still, I know people raising great kids in Los Angeles, not all rich but definitely all employed well.
Fint's posts often betray a lack of unbiased information gathering as well as anecdotal evidence, such as his brief stay somewhere in CA. He doesn't say where or what he was doing here, (military?), but it probably doesn't represent a broad range of experience. Other parts of the country are definitely better for some people, we see guys who like living in Oklahoma here. The Okies I've met in my life all left the place in a cloud of dust a looong time ago.
