America’s Best State To Live In Today May Come as a Big Surprise: MABA Massachusetts RealEstate HomeBuyers

 With remote work a plausible option for a growing number of Americans, many might be tempted to pick up and move to another state. So which one is your best bet? WalletHub’s 2022 Best States to Live In report sized up how our nation’s fifty states stacked up on fifty two livability indicators, including affordability, safety, education, health, and quality of life factors like commute times and road conditions.

And the winner overall might come as a surprise: Massachusetts.

 As for second and third place, New Jersey and New York take those two slots respectively, none of which astonishes WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. “We were expecting states on the East Coast, such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, or New York, to rank at the top, due to their better performing economies and better health care and education systems, as well as an overall higher quality of life,” she says. “At the same time, these states are safer than most of the others.”

 Granted, these three states are also relatively expensive places to live, but they’re proof that you get what you pay for meaning top-notch health care (think Massachusetts General and NewYork-Presbyterian hospitals) and prestigious educational institutions (four of the eight Ivy League schools are located in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts).

 “It’s true that New York and New Jersey are among the least affordable states,” Gonzalez continues. “However, they do have low crime rates, a small number of traffic-related fatalities, as well as a large number of law enforcement officers per capita.” If you’re not a fan of the cold weather that’s prevalent up north, you have some good options in the South, with Virginia and Florida placing well, plus the Midwest (Minnesota) and the Rockies (Wyoming). In short, whatever your region of choice, there’s a state where life is good.

The 10 best states to live in

1. Massachusetts
2. New Jersey
3. New York
4. Idaho
5. Virginia
6. New Hampshire
7. Florida
8. Wyoming
9. Minnesota
10. Wisconsin

 As for the states you’ll want to think twice about, Mississippi has been deemed the worst. While the Magnolia State boasts the seventh spot in terms of affordability and it’s not far from the middle in terms of safety, it ranks at the very bottom for its economy, education, health, and quality of life.

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 The five states with the most people living in poverty are all from this bottom ten grouping, and three of them (New Mexico, Louisiana, and Mississippi) have the lowest percentage of people with a high school degree.

The 10 worst states to live in

1. Mississippi
2. Alaska
3. Louisiana
4. Arkansas
5. New Mexico
6. South Carolina
7. Oklahoma
8. Alabama
9. Kentucky
10. West Virginia

 Still, there’s a silver lining in each state of the union, based on what’s most important to you. For example, if you’re sick and tired of enduring a long commute, South Dakota should be on your radar since it boasts the shortest travel time to the office just seventeen minutes versus New York state with the longest, at thirty four minutes. Yet some real estate agents think these rankings may not accurately reflect what life is like in these areas overall.

Tony Mariotti, a real estate agent and founder of RubyHome in Los Angeles, believes California should be higher than twenty seventh, noting “the economic opportunity and weather are unsurpassed.” Plus, he adds, “I was shocked Utah ranked forty first for safety I lived there years ago, and I don’t think it’s turned into a war zone since then.”

 Perhaps the take-home lesson here is that while statewide rankings can provide some broad brushstrokes on quality of life, it will really depend on where within a state you plan to live. Another lesson to be gleaned is that picking up and moving to a new state is a huge leap of faith that should not be done on impulse. “Try to visit the area in person, ideally multiple times in different seasons,” suggests Katrin Anacker, a professor of policy and government at George Mason University. “Read up on the state based on multiple venues to obtain a diversity of viewpoints.”

The post America’s Best State To Live In Today May Come as a Big Surprise appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

First Time Home Buying in Massachusetts

MABA Buyer Agents help first time home buyers reduce the stress and frustration normally associated with buying a home or condo – especially for first time home buyers.

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