Out of the five most populated states, where would you want to live?

[Хahar 🤔]

Northern California, naturally.

[MODU]

Given the choice, I'd probably "go back home" and move to Illinois.  I'd head back South to the farming region, kick back in the old town, and enjoy retirement.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Northern California, naturally.

You don't say!

[useful idiot]

I could settle in the Chicago area, or live in Austin or San Antonio temporarily. Wouldn't live in CA, NY, or FL.

[Dancing with Myself]

Florida, mainly because I have family there. My father was born near the Bradenton area, he moved up to NC when he was 6.

[Miles]

Probably Texas.

[© tweed]

Plano, Texas

my mom almost took a job there in the 1980s.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Plano, Texas

my mom almost took a job there in the 1980s.

I have a friend that lives there and it'd be way rad to be near her.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. California
4. New York
5. Illinois

[Redalgo]

Rural, up-state New York would be nice. Otherwise it would have to be somewhere in northern California. Illinois probably wouldn't be bad, per se, but I wouldn't be enthusiastic about the prospect of living there. Texas and Florida are completely out of the question, though if I had to choose between them I would go with Florida.

Why?  Could you give some reasons?

I like to have mountains, lakes, forests, opportunities for outdoor recreation, harsh winters, and strong shifts in temperature from one season to the next. Texas and Florida are far too hot for me - I'd almost never want to be outside between dawn and dusk. Florida would be preferred over Texas, however, because I imagine it would be fun to visit the Everglades from time to time and because I find swamps and wetlands to be more aesthetically pleasing than open plains. Both get hurricanes from time to time and neither seems more likely than the other to sunburn me, so ya...

Illinois could be fine but the settings, geographically speaking, would not be appealing to me as up in northern NY or CA. In any case, I would prefer to live out in the countryside or a small town rather than in any sizable city or fully-urban, metropolitan area. The politics are not quite as important because I am already accustomed to Democrats near my home being outnumbered by Republicans by a ratio of four to one. Anything better than that will be an improvement over the norm for me, and since I don't clearly fall within the ideological bounds of mainstream American politics it stands to reason that I will be in a minority wherever I go. Then again, California's crushing debt and at times painfully excessive, nanny'esque policies seem worse than what New York would have to offer, so I err toward the latter.