Yeah, I guess FL and TX are more conservative which I lean... However, I think my view of what a conservative is and some others differ a bit.. I heard some people are running as Republicans just because they feel that’s what will give them the votes even if they aren’t really truly aligned. Then again I even disagree with a few ideas too. I guess you have to pick a label though. I’m for smaller government, leaving people alone if they aren’t harming anyone else, so personal freedoms and spending where they break even so spending within their means.

I know the governor here raised the gas taxes, and people on Facebook were commenting saying he isn't even a real Republican... Not sure how true that is or not.

Not sure about the more spread out part. I know a lot of places are designed around the car but I hear that’s even a problem in Los Angeles. Miami is supposed to be a walkable city, then Austin too... but been looking at Austin as an area to move to once I start having some success but it seems only downtown is really walkable. So seems like having a car would be useful unless using Uber or Lyft if you rarely go outside of the downtown area.

If money wasn’t an issue I’m not really sure where I’d want to live... Maybe Austin but not sure if forever would want to live there. One of the largest cities with unsynchronized traffic lights apparently as traffic is really bad there. But I guess they are a growing city with growing pains, some statistic says 100 people a day move there.

Central Florida around Disney would be nice too, and less worrying about hurricanes but you still get a lot of wind. East Tennessee, always thought a cabin in the mountains there would be nice but cold winters. Utah is very nice too but also gets cold. Used to want to move to San Francisco but kinda realized it was a bad idea due to both the costs of living and some politics. However a lot of investors and networking. I know startup communities are growing in other places though like Austin, TX, and is center between both the west and east coasts. So maybe you need to fly to SF for some event only 4-hour flight. Just seems friendlier to businesses. Fewer regulation headaches and get to keep more money in your pocket. However, I guess tech startups don't really have to deal much with permits unless doing something physical like the Hyperloop, recycling, building a new office instead of existing one or dealing in a regulated industry like medical or banking.

I was watching a story about a company who wanted to do a recycling plant... California seems to promote recycling a lot more than other states even with bag bans, etc... Waste Management spent over 10 years trying to get the permits approved to build it at an old landfill site in the LA area, at some point the company decided to move the project to Arizona and got the permits needed approved within a single day then spent 2 years to build it. [1] Los Angeles even has a Freelancer Tax for people who work from home. Sounds like some other cities are catching on and starting to tax people who work at home... Was looking if Austin did a thing, and it looks like nothing special is required but there's a set of guidelines to follow... However, just someone sitting on their laptop coding wouldn't break them it looks. Some cities though don't even mention this though so I guess working from home isn't a problem unless you have like customers visiting that disrupts things. I think places across the country are getting greedier though for some reason and I think it will drive people away.

I know where I am currently, we have a bunch of taxes. There's city taxes, school district taxes, state income taxes, a CAT tax if you make more than $150,000 and of course fed taxes... When I was looking at Utah a few years ago since I have a friend there, I was shocked they didn't have city taxes. I figured that was everywhere so surprised me. There's a site that ranks states as friendly California ranks 49. Looks like Ohio is ranked 42, while Texas is a 15. South Dakota is a 3. I feel like we're turning into the next California or New York.

So I think I have my eyes on Austin, Texas right now. Be nice to be able to work on some code, get frustrated and be able to go on a long walk. Where I live we don't even have sidewalks everywhere, so walking along the street but I even have had people in cars flick me off. Maybe if I was somewhere like Cincinnati maybe would be better as a bit bigger city for someone interested in tech, but hey it's cold and an area hit hard by the heroin epidemic so might have to walk over dead bodies on the sidewalk of people who overdosed. Well maybe not that bad but would seem so if I listen to the news. So If I made enough money to get my own place there since I still live at home and, might as well just leave for Texas. Fly there and get a small apartment and ship the few things I own. Seattle has a huge drug and crime problem too. KOMO did an hour special called "Seattle is Dying" back in March. [3]

I know some people call this the "brain drain". Even the local governments themselves are having trouble hiring people with the skills they need. Young people grow up, and leave to never return. [4] The midwest seems to be suffering the most brain drain. Probably partly school problems too. I remember I used to play online gaming a lot and voice chat with people on them, and someone told me their school had brand new iMac's while our school still had computers that ran Windows 95. Even mentioned they were doing web design stuff too, well sounds like Dreamweaver type of stuff but amazed me hearing that. Seems crazy using an operating system released when you were a 3 year old when you are in middle school.

Overall though I really feel like the nomadic lifestyle would make me the happiest though if can figure out how to make it work. Live out of a suitcase traveling the world or an RV across America. However, I do want to check out some of the bigger cities but some don't seem to have any or many RV park choices nearby.

There is even some guy who goes by Super Mario who lives on cruise ships full time sailing out of Miami. Interesting lifestyle, I believe he does some type of investments off of his laptop. I think if I made enough from my computer I'd do the same for a while. Reading some stories on HN is inspiring though. Right now been researching blockchain related stuff, got some ideas in that space... So maybe make it big in that area haha. I asked my folks why they didn't move since always talked about Florida but the family was one of the main reason to stick around. Also, I know a lot of people collect so much stuff, looks like junk to others but to them, it has stories and meanings. So I guess if you lived at the same house 30 or 50 years getting up and going for another lifestyle can be a hurtle emotionally. While I'm young without much stuff, so a bit easier.

[1] https://youtu.be/HRQRg3xhehs

[2] https://statetaxindex.org/

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpAi70WWBlw

[4] https://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20190215/column-brain-drain... and https://www.crainscleveland.com/scott-suttell-blog/brain-dra... and https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/25/1853221/-Brain-dr... and https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/05/08/middle-a...